There is a lot of wrong information, or downright confusion, when it comes to the Vanderbilts on the internet. I’ve seen articles saying they earned their fortunes in the 1930’s, and that Gloria Vanderbilt’s father was the man who made the millions. But the family has origins much earlier than that, with the “Commodore Cornelius” Vanderbilt. Can I fault people for the confusion? Not really, considering that there were six or more men named Cornelius, at least five Williams, and several George Washingtons. It is my belief that all New Yorkers, and everyone that ever steps through Grand Central, ought to know about the Commodore and his family that had so much influence on our area. It was he that united New York state’s oldest railroad, with New York city’s oldest railroad. The family that built the New York Central railroad into an empire, and constructed our wonderful monument, Grand Central Terminal. So, if you were ever confused about the Vanderbilts, hopefully they’ll now make more sense to you… as I present to you, the Vanderbilts in a nutshell.
I've been to the Vanderbilt's summer party mansions in Newport, RI, but if I had millions of dollars I made orchestrating a depression I would have built a mansion there too, what a beautiful spot!
Well done!
i read the whole thing. I'm glad the name Cornelius went out of style…it was kind of corny anyway :P
Yeah, but you are the corniest of all time.
Fantastic work! It’s nearly impossible to get all of them straight…
Great job. Your site is amazing.
Since I’m looking at this (and linking to it in a post), remind me to sucker my parents into taking me to the Biltmore next time I’m visiting. Asheville is about an hour from their house. I’ve been by it on the highway, and I had to listen to my mom prattle on about how fantastic it is :P
Back in the early 70’s while living in Palm Beach, I became friends with a young man named Patrick Vanderbilt who asked me to accompany him on a European jaunt, which I agreed to do (we had mutual friends) provided my young daughter could go along, which he thought was a great idea so I arranged for a new passport which included my daughter. He had mentioned, as I recall, that his aunt was Consuelo Vanderbilt. Does this sound accurate, or could she have been his grandmother?