Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-07-26
-Four VapderbiltS.

NEW YORK, july 2l.-u Cohlilio-
dore Vanderbilt could to-day revisit
New York he would undoubtedly be
clad to find the destinieS of the house
of Vanderbilt in such good hands.
Since the retirement Of William IL.
Vanderbilt from active participation
in affair. his three eldest sons, Cor
nelius. William K. and Frederick
have been, so to speak, joint regents.
The heir apparent, the crown prince,
of the Vanderbilt dynasty, IS Cor
nelius
The future railroad monarch is now
about thirty-five years of age. His
personal appearance is decidedly pre-
possessing. He is very tall, and has
an erect, slender, and graceful figure.
His hair and eyes are very dark and
his face, which is clean
shaved, with the exception of small
closely cut side whiskers, shows
strength and decision in every line.
He began his commercial education as
A CLERK IN 4 BROKERS' OFFICE
in Broad street, and after being thor
Oughly grounded in the principles of
business was transferred to one Of the
clerical departments Of the New York
Central railroad in the Grand Central
depot There his position was by no
means o sinecurc and he was obliged
to perform exactly the same duties as
his fellow clerks whose futures were
less brilliant By steady application
and natural business ability, without
one particle Of favor being shown
him, he gradually rose step by step,
passing by degrees from one depart
ment to another and mastering sue
cessfully every detail of railroad man
agement, until he had thoroughly fit
ted himself for the exalted position he
now holds. 1t is probable that no one
in this country is more thoroughly
conversant with railroad methods than
he is.
At his fathers abdicatiOn, Cornelius
became chairman of the board Of di-
rectors Of the New York Central and
president of the Nickel Plate" In
addition, he is a director in countless
other roads When quite young he
married a Miss Gwyn, of Philadel-
phia. lie has now four children, the
eldest Of whom is about eleven years
of age
Although most of his time is devOt-
ed to the care of the vast interest in
his charge, Mr.. Cornelius Vanderbilt
finds leisure to indulge his taste for
art, of which he is an enthusiastic
lover. His gallery of paintings in his
splendid home at Fifth avenue and
Fifty-seventh street, is one of the fin
est in the city, and is constantly re
I. ,l-,>r4
great interest III the
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.
He is a deeply religious man and much
interested in the welfare of the Young
Mems Christian association, of which
he is one Of the principal officers. He
is also a director of St Lukefs hospital
and, indeed, his name figures on the
list of patrons Of almost every charity
III the city
The second son. William Nissan
Vanderbilt, the head of the Lake
Shore road, somewhat resembles his
elder brother in personal appearance,
without, however, being able to lay
claim to the same amount of good
looks Although he has not been
subjected TO the same rigid course of
trading, he is a remarkably good
business man. He seems to have a
wonderful power of grasping the
most difficult business problems. 1t
was said of him the other day by a
prominent railroad man that the rap
idity with which he could analyze
questions involving the consideration
of a half dozen conflicting interests,
and almost instantly arrive at an I'M
errlng conclusion, was simply mar
yellOus and made it really a pleasure
to do business with him. He is
an undefatigable worker and devotes
almost the whole of his time to rail
road affairs Like his grandfather
he is great
LOVER OF CARDS AND HORSES,
but his taste in hOrsefesh is. unlike
the commodore's, very English He
is strong supporter of the turf so far
as running horses are concerned, but
cares nothing for trOtterS. He mar
three children Of late years he has
gone much into fashionable society,
particularly among the English set,
MS VIE Delng relative by marriage
Of Lady Vaudeville. His house at
lslip is managed after the fashion of
an English country home. In fact,
he seems to be strong supporter of
the prevailing Anglomania
The third son, Frederick, is also a
director in most of the roads con-
trolled by the family, but holds no
executive position and does not take
a very active part in affairs. His
personal appearance is very different
to that of his brothers, his complexion
being fair and his hair and whiskers
Of pronounced reddish hue. He is
married, but has no ahildren.
George Vanderbilt is the fourth and
youngest son. He is now about nine
teen. He is by nature a student, an
ardent lover of books 1t is quite