You might think that the descendants of Cornelius Vanderbilt running around spending such exorbitant amounts of money on such things as summer homes would have run through the Commodores wealth. Though we have little else documenting George Vanderbilts youth via personal writings, his few remaining diaries give a bit of insight into his personality and confirm that both books and reading were lifelong passions. She said no foul play was suspected in Cooper's death. For example, after Alva Vanderbilt had her "Petit Chateau" constructed, her sister-in-law, Alice Vanderbilt, set out to build an even larger mansion that ended up being the "largest single family house in New York City at the time." Thats him. "And not only just having a family, but a strong family based on lots of love and respect," she said. She and her husband were some of George Vanderbilt's closest friends. George Washington Vanderbilt, heir of a portion of the family fortune acquired in railroad development, turned his interests to agriculture and forestry and became outstanding in both. Designed by architect Richard Morris, it took six years to construct the Biltmore mansion. ", Vanderbilt might have received a much higher price for the timber if he had waived restrictions under this sale as to methods of cutting, but he required that the techniques of practical forestry be followed. The Vanderbilts also spent quite a bit of money on philanthropy and exploring their personal interests, especially the Vanderbilts of later generations. While his father was a well-known collector of paintings, George had a different preoccupation: books. [5], Living in one or another of his family residences well into adulthood, Vanderbilt decided to construct his own country mansion and estate in 1888. He was the second son of thirteen children born to Cornelius Vanderbilt and Sophia Johnson Vanderbilt, who were first cousins. It is clear, though, at this point in time, that the Vanderbilt family fortune was nowhere near what it had been before. She sold additional land as finances demanded; today, about 8,000 acres (32km2) remain. The home has an indoor pool in the basement, a bowling alley, 65 fireplaces, 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms. George W. Vanderbilt was a patron of the arts, an early adopter of new technology, and a collector of rare and beautiful objets d'art. Besides building a pair of Fifth Avenue mansions known as the Marble Twins, preceded by a townhouse on West 53 rd, and a summer cottage in Bar Harbor, George Washington Vanderbilt II built Biltmore House, which remains the largest house ever built in the United States. A Yale graduate, Frederick worked in several departments of the family-run New York Central Railroad, eventually . 1896. Label vector designed by Ibrandify - Freepik.com. "He would want to be most remembered, not because of his lineage," said Jack Cecil, George Cecil's son and President of Biltmore Farms, "But because of the humility and the love of fellow mankind he had, and his vision for what he hoped WNC would become. Other notable agricultural initiativesof WNC Communities includethe WNC Farmers Market; the WNC Agricultural Center; the Mountain State Fair; the N.C. State Horticulture Crops Research Station; The North Carolina Arboretum;the WNC Regional Livestock Market; The Hemlock Restoration Initiative;the I-26 corridor from Madison County into Tennessee and numerous others, Ward added. Known as "Billy," he was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family.Vanderbilt became the richest American after he took over his father's fortune in 1877 until his own death in 1885, passing on a substantial . Less than a century later, in 1973, when 120 Vanderbilts came together for a family reunion at Vanderbilt University, there wasn't a single millionaire in attendance. Following an operation for appendicitis about a week previously, Vanderbilt died at his Washington home of "a weak heart." When George was 26 years old, he discovered the resort town of Asheville, North Carolina, on a trip with his mother. When Cornelia was 13, tragedy struck when her father George unexpectedly died following an emergency appendectomy in Washington, D.C. in March 1914. Ward wrote in a dedication to Cecil, which he shared with the Citizen Times. ", More:Biltmore will be open for fall and Christmas seasons, releases fall color forecast. I was honored with a visit 2 times to the hotel and estate once with the granddaughter of this great woodcarver, my mother when she was about 80 years old and after her passing in 2016, I travelled with my husband to let him experience such a beautiful and incredible destination. Over time, the Commodore moved on to invest in steamships and then railroads, and before he knew it, he had built up the shipping and railroad empire New York Central and become the richest American. WASHINGTON, March 6. As written by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II inFortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, despite the Commodore's great success as a businessman and investor, the man was notoriously harsh and rarely trusted his family with his business and money. "Thinking through how to use the land, and he had it as a tool for healthcare, for education, for jobs, so that everyone has the opportunity to support their families in the way that they hope to.". Carter Cooper, 23, described . On his 21st birthday, the night he came into his $15.5 million inheritance, he lost $70,000 gambling. Immerse yourself in the beauty of Biltmore Blooms and the brilliance of Italian Renaissance Alive. Three of Billy Vanderbilt's sons were particularly known for contributing to philanthropic or cultural causes. George inherited $5 million upon his father's death. By the time of his death, only two of the Commodore's sons were alive, and only the elder, William "Billy" Vanderbilt, had the skills to handle the family business and fortune. He became a scholar and world traveler who learned to read in eight languages. The Biltmore Estate is commonly known as America's largest home (photo by Thomas Kreulen/shutterstock.com). The history of Americas largest home. Lady Sarah raised funds for battered women and other charitable causes in Connecticut. He bought another home in Washington, D.C. but spent most of his time in the North Carolina mountains, overseeing the work of the estate, studying trees, bird, and animals, or doing research in his large library, which held many books on nature. Edith Cecil said she believed it was both a strong work ethic and sense of the importance of family that brought her parents together to begin with. In 1912, George and Edith booked passage on the doomed Titanic, but they changed their plans at the last minute via telephone, instead sailing on her sister ship, the Olympic. Full text is unavailable for this digitized archive article. The Commodore is said to have told his oldest son, William Henry "Billy" Vanderbilt, "Any fool can make a fortune; it takes a man of brains to hold onto it." I have been to Biltmore 5 times since my years at Brevard College, 1977-79. Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park in New York City and of the capitol grounds in Washington, D.C., was engaged to develop plans for the estate grounds. How Mr. Vanderbilt Lived at His Great North Carolina Estate", Curiosity served: Biltmore opens servants' quarters, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Washington_Vanderbilt_II&oldid=1149950003, This page was last edited on 15 April 2023, at 12:43. It seems the familys chief legacies are the university in Nashville that bears his name (he provided the initial $1 million endowment) and his grandsons little mountain getaway. Washington, D.C.: 1914. As a result, 32,000 bricks a day were produced on-site. George Vanderbilt Is Killed in Plunge; George Vanderbilt, 47, Is Killed In Plunge From Hotel on Coast, https://www.nytimes.com/1961/06/25/archives/george-vanderbilt-is-killed-in-plunge-george-vanderbilt-47-is.html. Even as a young man, Vanderbilt donated land for the campus of Columbia Universitys Teachers College in New York City and funded the building and collection of one of the first public lending libraries in the country. George Washington Vanderbilt II envisioned a baronial existence at the Biltmore Estate. In the 1880s, George Washington Vanderbilt II came to the mountains of North Carolina with a dream. She died in 2019 with a relatively small fortune of which she left $1.5 million to her son, CNNs Anderson Cooper. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Accounts vary, but it has been suggested that a family member (reportedly his wife's well-travelled sister) warned the pair from travelling on Titanic, saying, "so many things can go wrong on a maiden voyage". Relatives described him as slender, dark-haired, and pale-complexioned. 421. https://archive.org/details/americanforests20natiuoft(accessed April 7, 2015). For this purpose, he acquired 125,000 acres of woodland in North Carolina, employing the architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a limestone house modeled on the Chateau de Blois and other chateaux of the Loire Valley. Vanderbilt purchased nearly 700 parcels of land. George Vanderbilt died unexpectedly of heart failure on March 6, 1914. They also were prone to bouts of family competition, building huge mansions to rival each other. During his lifetime Cecilserved on numerous boards including Carolina Power & Light, Multimedia Communications, First Union National Bank, UNC Hospitals, North Carolina Medical Care Commission and Memorial Mission Hospital. American Forestry Association. American ForestryVolume XX (1914). When his father died of a cerebral hemorrhage, Alfred was the primary inheritor of his $72 million estate, according to The Lusitania Resource. Volume XX (1914). As told by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, the father and son duo couldn't have been more different. Cecil, who spoke four languages, was known for his curiosity about the world, his family said in his obituary, his love for history and facts, appreciation of community and friends, humility, and recognition for the needs of others and love of family. The operating hours, policies and procedures of other businesses may change at any time without notice. She looks like fun. On his 21st birthday, the night he came into his $15.5 million inheritance, he lost $70,000 gambling. Subscribeto ournewsletterand we will instantly deliver the best area discounts to your inbox. He was the father of Gloria Vanderbilt and maternal grandfather of Anderson Cooper. Its hard to determine how much actual Vanderbilt wealth remains. As told by descendant Arthur T. Vanderbilt II in his bookFortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, not even 30 years after his death in 1877, the Vanderbilt family had fallen off the list of the wealthiest families in the United States. He and his wife, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser, had only one child, Cornelia Vanderbilt. Technically . Ward said local writer Jay Fields is in the process of completing a historical account of WNC Communities, "In Pursuit of Greater Good. Come see for yourselfGeorge Vanderbilts magnificent dream awaits you at Biltmore. In 1892, Frederick Law Olmsted suggested that Vanderbilt hire Gifford Pinchot to manage the forests on the estate. His father William died in 1885. Ward said Cecil directly impacted the lives of hundreds of college freshmen with scholarship funds. What they loved splurging on were assortments of grand mansions, townhouses, and estates. London, September 28I think I enjoy it here more than any of them as I am interested in going [sic] about the old book stores and consequently have plenty of books to read when at the hotel. How will Biltmore Estate handle the transition to new owners? With him at the time were Mrs. Vanderbilt and their thirteen-year-old daughter, Miss Cornelia S. Vanderbilt. Born in New Dorp (now Richmond Borough), Staten Island, N.Y., the youngest son of William Henry and Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt, he was educated by tutors and through world travel. Our site produces editorial content for the purpose of entertainment. Anyone can read what you share. Virginia Purdy Bacon was George's cousin on his mother's side, the youngest granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt. "The book will be published within a couple months and will be an awesome read. He was a model young man. Quiet and patient like his father, he also inherited William Henrys appreciation of art and antiques and would grow up to become a patron of the arts, an early adopter of new technology, and a collector of rare and beautiful objets dart. George Jones's full name was George Glenn Jones. The younger, Cornelius "Corneel" Vanderbilt II, was wildly irresponsible and had built up so much debt that the Commodore refused to see him even on his deathbed. His son, William "Billy" Vanderbilt, would continue to donate to Vanderbilt University and even left gifts in his will to organizations like the YMCA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (via Britannica). ", Another neighbor said the Cooper brothers "were attractive boys. Biltmore is Remarkable for anyone of a number of reasons. Read Also: Is Christmas at Biltmore worth it? On his own, Cornelius made several technological developments that earned him royalties from patents and lived a lavish life. Vanderbilt became a scientific farmer and stockbreeder, as well as one of the pioneers in scientific forestry in America. This left him time for intellectual pursuits. Glorias father Reginald, an avowed playboy and gambler, squandered most of that branch of the Vanderbilt family trees fortune. He was 95 years old. Edith Dresser Vanderbilt later married Peter Goelet Gerry (18791957), a United States Senator from Rhode Island. Peaking in the 1920s, the transport and freight industry began to slump in the 1930s. Wikimedia. Around the age of twelve, he began recording each book he read in a series of small notebooks. Though there is no evidence to suggest that he referred to himself using a numerical suffix, various sources have called him both George Washington Vanderbilt II and III. George Jones died on 26 April 2013 at the age of 81. While Gloria had a publicly successful career, she made it clear to her son, news anchor Anderson Cooper, that "there's no trust fund," as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Among the organizational accomplishments over the 71 years is an effective rural community development program, which lifted up a total of 461 communities through what Ward called "self-help programs to improve community life.". Edith Vanderbilt met and married Peter Goelet Gerry (pronounced GARY). George Cecil, the elder of the two sons, chose to inherit the majority of the estate's land and the Biltmore Farms Company, which was more profitable than the house at the time. According to NYC experts at 6sqft, the Vanderbilt family owned multiple GildedAgemansions on Fifth Avenue's millionaire row, including the massive three townhouses called the "Triple Palaces." The Gilded Age was when many of the infamously wealthy families got their start, from the Rockefellers to the Carnegies to the Vanderbilts (via ThoughtCo). In addition to frequent visits to Paris, France, where several Vanderbilts kept homes, George Vanderbilt traveled extensively and became fluent in several foreign languages.[3]. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newsouth/4744 (accessed March 24, 2014). -- George Washington Vanderbilt of New York died suddenly this afternoon at his Washington residence, 1,612 K Street. George Cecil and his younger brother, William, would eventually inherit the Estate and all its holdings, including Biltmore Farms, one of the largest and most successful dairy operations in the Southeast, and Biltmore House, America's largest home. 1903, Excerpt from one of George Vanderbilts Books I Have Read journals, George Vanderbilt relaxing during a hike in Pisgah Forest, ca.
