They moved into a boarding house on Broad Street in Manhattan. On December 19, 1813, at age 19 Vanderbilt married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson. Along with other members of the Vanderbilt family, he helped erect a local Moravian parish church in his city. While many Vanderbilt family members had joined the Episcopal Church, Cornelius Vanderbilt remained a member of the Moravian Church to his death. Such was his energy and eagerness in his trade that other captains nearby took to calling him 'The Commodore' in jest-a nickname that stuck with him all his life. He began his business by ferrying freight and passengers on a ferry between Staten Island and Manhattan. However, according to the first account of his life, published in 1853, the periauger belonged to his father and the younger Vanderbilt received half the profit. According to one version of events, he borrowed $100 (equivalent to $1,900 in 2022) from his mother to purchase a periauger (a shallow draft, two-masted sailing vessel), which he christened the Swiftsure. At the age of 16, Vanderbilt decided to start his own ferry service. He began working on his father's ferry in New York Harbor as a boy, quitting school at the age of 11. Early years Vanderbilt's mother, Phebe HandĬornelius Vanderbilt was born in Staten Island, New York, on May 27, 1794, to Cornelius van Derbilt and Phebe Hand. Anthony Janszoon van Salee was one of Cornelius Vanderbilt's great-great-great-great-grandfathers. This was eventually condensed to Vanderbilt. The Dutch van der ('of the') was eventually added to Aertson's village name to create ' van der Bilt' ('of the Bilt'). While Vanderbilt could be a rascal, combative and cunning, he was much more a builder than a wrecker being honorable, shrewd, and hard-working.' AncestryĬornelius Vanderbilt's great-great-great-grandfather, Jan Aertson or Aertszoon ('Aert's son'), was a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands, who emigrated to New Amsterdam (later New York) as an indentured servant in 1650. Roger Grant: 'Contemporaries, too, often hated or feared Vanderbilt or at least considered him an unmannered brute. He provided the initial gift to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into leadership positions in the inland water trade and invested in the rapidly growing railroad industry, effectively transforming the geography of the United States.Īs one of the richest Americans in history and wealthiest figures overall, Vanderbilt was the patriarch of the wealthy and influential Vanderbilt family. Cornelius Vanderbilt (– January 4, 1877), nicknamed ' the Commodore', was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping.

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