Vanderbilt family

Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1846.

The Breakers, built in 1892–1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, Newport, Rhode Island

Frederick William Vanderbilt's home, now known as the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Hyde Park, New York.

The progenitor of the Vanderbilt family was Jan Aertszoon or Aertson (1620–1705), a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands, who emigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland as an indentured servant to the Van Kouwenhoven family in 1650.[3][4] Jan's village name was added to the Dutch "Van" (from) to create "Van der Bilt", which evolved into Vanderbilt when the English took control of New Amsterdam (now Manhattan). The family is associated with the Dutch patrician Van der Bilt.[5]

His great-great-great-grandson Cornelius Vanderbilt began the prominence of the family, the fourth of nine children born to a Staten Island family of modest means. Through his paternal great-great grandmother Abigail Southard, he descends from Republic of Salé President Jan Janszoon and his son Anthony Janszoon van Salee. They were among the earliest arrivals to 17th-century New Amsterdam. In a number of documents dating back to this period, Anthony is described as tawny or mulatto,[6] as his mother was of Berber origin from Cartagena in the Kingdom of Murcia.[7][8] Cornelius Vanderbilt left school at age 11 and went on to build a shipping and railroad empire that, during the 19th century, would make him one of the wealthiest men in the world. Starting with a single boat, he grew his fleet until he was competing with Robert Fulton for dominance of the New York waterways, his energy and eagerness earning him the nickname "Commodore", a United States Navy title for a captain of a small task force. Fulton's company had established a monopoly on trade in and out of New York Harbor. Vanderbilt, based in New Jersey at the time, flouted the law, steaming in and out of the harbor under a flag that read, "New Jersey Must Be Free!" He also hired the attorney Daniel Webster to argue his case before the United States Supreme Court; Vanderbilt won, thereby establishing an early precedent for America's first laws of interstate commerce.

The Vanderbilt family lived on Staten Island until the mid-1800s, when the Commodore built a house on Washington Place (in what is now Greenwich Village). Although he always occupied a relatively modest home, members of his family would use their wealth to build magnificent mansions. Shortly before his death in 1877, Vanderbilt donated US$1 million for the establishment of Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

The Commodore left the majority of his enormous fortune to his eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt. William Henry, who outlived his father by just eight years, increased the profitability of his father's holdings, increased the reach of the New York Central Railroad, and doubled the Vanderbilt wealth. He built the first of what would become many grand Vanderbilt mansions on Fifth Avenue, at 640 Fifth Avenue. William Henry appointed his first son, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, as the next "Head of House".

Cornelius II built the largest private home in New York, at 1 West 58th Street, containing approximately 154 rooms, designed by George B. Post. He also built The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island.

Cornelius II's brother, William Kissam Vanderbilt, also featured prominently in the family's affairs. He also built a home on Fifth Avenue and would become one of the great architectural patrons of the Gilded Age, hiring the architects for (the third, and surviving) Grand Central Terminal. He also built Marble House at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.

George Washington Vanderbilt II, the 3rd and youngest son of William Henry Vanderbilt and youngest brother of Cornelius II, hired Architect Richard Morris Hunt and Landscape Architect Frederick Law Olmsted to construct Biltmore Estate on 125,000 acres near Asheville, North Carolina. The 250 room mansion and 175,856 square feet of floor space remains on top of the list of largest houses in the United States to date.

While some of Cornelius Vanderbilt's descendants gained fame in business, others achieved prominence in other ways, e.g.:

• Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915), was a passenger on the RMS Lusitania and died when it sank.
• Alfred's eldest son, from his first marriage, William Henry Vanderbilt III was Governor of Rhode Island.
• Alfred's second son Alfred Jr. became a noted horse breeder and racing elder.
• Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970) gained fame as a sportsman. He invented the contract form of bridge and won the most coveted prize in yacht racing, the America's Cup, on three occasions.
• Harold's brother William Kissam "Willie K" Vanderbilt II launched the Vanderbilt Cup for auto racing.
• Gloria Vanderbilt (1924–2019) was a noted artist, designer and author.
• Gloria's son, Anderson Cooper, is a Peabody Award-winning journalist, author, and television producer and personality.
• Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was a sculptor, art patron and collector, and founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art

In 1855, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt donated 45 acres (~182,000 m²) of property to the Moravian Church and Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island, New York. Later, his son William Henry Vanderbilt donated a further four acres (16,000 m²). The Vanderbilt Mausoleum was designed in 1885 by architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted.