Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-12-24
THE VANDERBILTS.

The Family Skeletons Getiiag into
Full view-CorneIiUH vamderb1It
Relates the Realities of His
Home Life.
NEW York, December 19.-
Scott Lord introduced another SEN
sation yesterday in the Surrogate's
Court, by bringing Cornelius j.
Vanderbilt upon the stand. He
testified substantially as follows:
/ am past forty six years Of age.
| lived at home more or less until /
was eighteen; after that / boarded
in different places in New York. l
don't know any special reason for
my leaving home, except that my
treatment by my father was rather
rough; it was not agreeable for me
to remain at home; | preferred to
be outside, and think he preferred
so to have me. He gave me a
monthly stipend of about 500 un-
til my marriage, | married with
his knowledge and consent. He
was present at the wedding. After
my marriage my stipend was in
creased to $130a month. Eight or
ten months afterward my wife i'm
portuned the commodore for an in
crease, and he gave us 5000 a
month up to the time of her death.
A few months later he increased
the stipend to $3.50 a month. He
did this voluntarily, and without
my asking for it.
A long argument arose on a ques-
tion whether, after the death of
witness wife, the commodore's
treatment Of him underwent a
change. The surrogate excluded
the question.
The witness continued: One
Sunday evening in 1854 l was ar
rested and taken to a lunatic asy-
lum. l remained there over night
the principal, DR.. Brown, dis
charged me as sane in the morning.
| rode to town at once, and went to
work to get a writ OF habeas cor
pus, as was aware that under the
commitment | could be arrested
again at any time and sent to an
other institution. / was taken be-
fore Judge Ingraham. William II.
Vanderbilt and Charles Rapello ap-
peared against me. l was dis
charged. My father then was very
sick, and was not expected to live
from day to day. / don't think ]
saw him until the following fall.
William H. met me in the court
room, and told me / had better
withdraw my motion for dis
charge, as, if | persisted, father
would disinherit Inc. / answered
that / didn't care whether he did
or not-I would not live with that
hanging over me. William said l
had no business to make the matter
public. Mr.. Rapello also came to
me and made the same observation.
The nominal charge against me was
forgery, and William told me that
he only had this thing done to save
me from State prison, and that the
doctors swore to the commitment
with the same object in view. |
told him | would rather be consid-
cred a damned rascal than a lunatic.
He told me he had only acted for
my own good. | was perfectly in
nocent.
1t was two years before spoke
to William again on any subject. /
saw my father in the hall at No.
10 Washington Place. Ny mother
was present. NY mother alluded
to my arrest, and said: Father,
William planned the whole thing
out, and got some one to forge the
check and offer it. He expected
that You were going to die, and he
wanted to get Caroline out of the
way" She denounced his conduct
in severe terms. Father said !:
"WelI, this is . funny world per-
haps its all for tbs best" Mother
said, speaking of Dr. Ainsley;
"He'd swear every child she had
into the lunatic asylum If father
told him to do it Mother told
father that William had always
been lying about me.
In the fall of 1879, or early in
1873, ! had a conversation with
William at the Grand Central depot,
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