National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-10
Hatiaaal gepablitatl.
HANDERBILFs WEALTH
AN ESTATE OVER 100000, ooo-AMoNa
WHOM IT WILL BE DIVIDED.
From the New York Graz

been variously estimated, and the reticence OF
the commodore himself has admitted Of little
eise than mere conjecture on this point. There
Is general opinion, however, among those
VINO are In position to Judge most correctly
.nat tne wealth vested in Commodore Wander
oiis exceeds sloo, ooO, 900, and . prominent
member OF the family recently said that the
"old man" was worth more than that sum.
This vast fortune was acquired BY Corpelius
Vanderbilt through his own efforts, starting
early In life without capital or influence. His
parents were poor, and his first money vss
earned In conveying people to and fro in
row-boat between New York and Staten island.
He made large amount Of money In steam
boating, but the great bulk Of his wealth has
been acquired in railroad combinations and IN
the manipulation Of. railroad stocks. He is,
and has been all his life, . very remarkable
man. His selfreliancs and pluck are as natu-
raj with him as drawing breath, and his viii
and purpose are fndomitable. ----..-
A man Of such tremendous mental force has
he been that he has moved forward to the &C
complement of his objects with power as
irresistible as one of his steamboats, His one
purpose In life has been the acquisition of
money. To this end he has trained his mental
and physical resources with the greatest care.
He has made of himself q machine that has
always obeyed the requirements Of his intellect,
and wherever he has struck It has been with
telling force and effect He has had very few
vices. He has always drank moderately and
lived regularly, taking just the requisite
amount Of exercise always. Smoking and
whist-playing are the only Indulgence which
be has permitted himself TO any considerable
degree. . ....-.'
Every day he is TO be seen driving on the
road, with the stump Of . cigar between his
teeth, and until within year past he has had
some of his cronies In for . rubber at whist and
to talk horse, subject Of which he never tires.
Latte5iy, however, hi, evenings have been
passed very quietly. He has always been o
strict man Of business, kept his own counsel,
and admitted or known no partners. He never
allows the plea Of affection or charity to inter-
fere with his business matters. Appeals 10
his sympathy have about as much effect as q
straw forced under the wheels of locomotive.
He has been well, active, and In the harness all
his life, and has never tired or weakened.
He viii be eighty years Of age in May, and
his sixty odd years Of constant hard work show
that he has had one Of the strongest physical
constitutions ever given to Q man. Some peo-
pie look at him and say that he viii never die,
but 1t is well known that the machine so adj
mirably built, and which has lasted so long, is
slowly but surely wearing out. His mental
faculties remain unimpaired, but his gait Is less
steady than it was, and he no longer trusts
himself with the duties be used to perform.
He frequently complains of exhaustion, and
when he drives out it Is to be noticed that he
no longer drives fast. He Is getting ready to
lay his harness aside, and has doubtless made
full provision for the distribution Of his eolos-
sal aecumulations.
For q number Of years his son-in-law, D. B.
Allen, was his right-hand man; but of late
years his son, William H., has represented him
in carrying out the more active duties of adj
ministration. William II. is as assiduous In
his attention to work as his father ever was; is
scarcely, If ever, seen In public, and can nearly
always be found, during business hours, at his
desk in the Grand Central depot. Cornelius
Vanderbilt was born in May, 1894, at Stapleton,
Staten Island, and his parents were also born
on Staten Island. Their parents came over
from Holland. The house in which he was
born is still standing, andis owned by him. At
the age Of nineteen he married Sophia johnson,
his second cousin, who was then eighteen. She
died five years ago last August. She was as
remarkable woman as he was q man; pos
sessed great frmness, a very shrewd manager,
strong principle, and it is said she earned every
children In all were born to them, nine girls
and four boys, Of who are now living eight
daughters and two sons.
. Their first child was Phoebe Jane, who mar
ried j. NJ. Cross. She is sixty years of age,
and is now living IN this city with her husband.
They have four children now living, two boys
and two girls. The girls and one Of the sons are
married. They reside at No. 50 West Twenty
second street.
The second child was Ethelinda, who is the
wife of D. B. Allen, of this city. Mr.. Allen was
associated with Commodore Vanderbilt In his
steamboat business for some thirty years, but
has retired from active business. He is worth
. half million dollars and has SIX children, i've
of whom are boys. All are married except one
son and the daughter.
Eliza was the third child. She married G.. A.
Osgood, the broker. HE'S presumed to be worth
S250, 200. They have no children. They live at
No. 19 East Twenty-frst street.
Emily was the fourth child. She Is the
wife of W. X. Thorne, the lawyer, who is
worth 81, 600, 900; They have. four children.
One daughter and one son are married, and
q daughter and son are still unmarried.
William Henry Is the next child. He mar
ried the daughter Of the late Mr.. Nissan, the
clergyman. He has seven children.
William q. has q son and two daughters
married, and two sons and two daughters are
yet single. He occupies one of the finest resi-
dences in the city, at 4S9 Fifth avenue.
Sophia was the next child. She married
Daniel Torrance, of this city, who was long
president of the Ohio and Mississippi railroad,
and is worth from 81 ,OO0,O 900, to 81, 900, 900.
They have three children, one boy and two girls,
They live at S79 Fifth avenue. One daughter
Is married to Meredith Rowland, esq, who is q
very wealthy man.
Maria Louise was the next child. She mar
ried the late Horace F. Clark, who died leaY-
ing fortune of about 81 OO0, 900 to 50 00O, 900,
and one child, daughter, married to Clarence
Collins, Of Connecticut.
Maria Elicia was the eighth. She married
Nicholas B. lie Bon, who was formerly member
of Congress from this State, and who died last
September. He left four children, two daugh-
tiers and two sons, and t175, GOO. The children
are all unmarried.
The next child was a boy, who died at the
age of seven years.
The next was Cornelius j., or, as he Is ac-
customed to sign himself, Cornelius Jr. He
married granddaughter of Chief Justice
Williams on one side and Olive Ellworth on
the other. She died two years ago, leaving no
children.
The eleventh child was Frances, who was
feeble IN health all her life. She was never
married, and died at the age of forty.
The twelfth was George, who served IN the
late war with gallantry. He graduated from
UCcS L OAAS, hnd WAC vi OCuCEd4 lACI blou
He died single, seven years ago, at the age of
twenty-six.
The next and last child was Catharine, who
married Smith Barker, son of Isaac o. Bar
ker. He died three years ago, and she married
Afterwards Mr.. LATTE, of Paris, where she
is now living with him and her five children
two girls and three boys-the eldest of whom
is now in college. -
The parents of the commodore lived to an
advanced age, his father dying in his seventy
fifth year, and his mother living to the age Of
sixty-eight.
One year after his wife's death Commodore
Vanderbilt married Miss Frances Crawford, of
Mobile, with whom he lives very happily. His
will has been made for nearly twenty years,
and he is said to overhaul It every year, max
ing additions or changingit as he thin ks proper
Some one once said to him: sFYou ought to be
very careful about your viii, Commodore, for
where there are such vast interests at stake
there may be endless trouble and litigstion.n
To which he is reported as having said: "What
the hi do care what they do with my money
after am gonei kshall take good care of il
while am here, and after that It does me no
good" Still 1t Is believed he does care, and
that his plan is TO preserve the bulk of his for
tune In the shape in which he will leave it, at
least during the generation which next succeeds
him.
Of course, Commodore Vanderbilt is sur
rounded with a vast number of hangers-on and
fayorites, but he allows none around him who
- IA l. . 6oHRrNN ErnN