William Henry Vanderbilt ¹

  General Notes:

William Henry Vanderbilt 1821–1885, financier, railroad magnate and philanthropist, born New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was president of the New York & Harlem Railroad 1886-99, chairman of board of New York Central & Hudson River and of Michigan Central. He soon forced his siblings to settle for few hundred thousand dollars of his father’s estate, inheriting the remaining $95 million and control of the New York Central railroad. A frail and seemingly unambitious youth, William was dismissed by his strong and dynamic father as incompetent to run the family business. He was already a successful railway executive in his own right when, about 1863, he joined the family enterprises. He was given control of the Staten Island Railroad in 1857. Cornelius made William vice-president of the New York & Harlem Railroad 1864 and became president of the New York Central Railroad in 1877. William expanded the railroad empire further through acquisitions; he secured his position with favorable treatment to commercial customers, and covered his tracks with bribes to officials investigating the preferential treatment. He retired as president of the railroad in 1883.
He married Maria Louisa (Louise) Kissam, born 24 Jun 1821, Coeymans, Albany Co., NY, USA, died 6 Nov 1896, Scarborough, Westchester Co., NY, USA, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. They had eight children:
Cornelius II 1843-1899, William Kissam 1849-1920, George Washington 1862-1914, Frederick William 1856-1938, Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepherd 1845-1924, Emily Vanderbilt Sloane 1852-1956, Florence Vanderbilt Twombly 1854-1952, Eliza Vanderbilt Webb 1860-1936
He devoted himself to horses and philanthropic causes, to the Vanderbilt University, funding the Metropolitan Opera in 1883 and endowing the College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the Medical School of Columbia University. The shrewd financier proved to be an equally astute collector, assembling more than 200 paintings. These were displayed in the 59-room mansion he built in 1881 at 640 Fifth Avenue, the largest and most splendid house in Manhattan, on the corner of 54th and 5th. His other house in New York City is now occupied by Bergdorf Goodman, which is the most exclusive retail store in the U.S. The 8th of december 1885, while discussing railroad matters William Henry Vanderbilt had a stroke and died within minutes in his Fifth Avenue mansion. William Henry left $200 million, having doubled the family fortune in just eight years, the equivalent in today's currency of more than $3 billion, he nonetheless felt the money created more worry than it was worth. He was presumed to be the richest man in the world at the time of his death. In the 1890's the income tax had been ruled unconstitutional.

William married Maria Louisa (Louise) Kissam, daughter of Rev. Samuel Kissam and Margaret Hamilton Adams, in 1840. (Maria Louisa (Louise) Kissam was born on 24 Jun 1821 in Coeymans, Albany County, New York, USA and died on 6 Nov 1896 in Scarborough, Westchester County, New York, USA.)