Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-12-25
A SUDDEN

- SO tWlM q
William III. Vanderbilt, the Noted MIMI.
aire, Expires While sitting in His or
I Convcrsing with Il Friend-Detnils -.
the Occurrencc-His Immense Vye.,.,"
Biographical Sketch.
NEW YORK. Dec. "a great sens,t;ou
was caused in this city yesterday aftcrnoonl
upon receipt of news that William n W. oa
derbilt had died suddenly at his Fiji
Avenue mansion at half-pest twn
O'Clock. He transacted his morn inv
business on Tuesday without any comnlains
OF lndlspositlon. At luncheon he was nv
usually bright and cheerful. Mr.. Robert
Garrett, President of the Baltimore & 0his
Railroad, called at one o'clock D, m MY
Vanderbilt greeted him cordially and on
gagged i'll a long and animated conversation
about railroad matters. While the twn
railway magnates We're discussing matters
OF interest to each other, Mr.. Garrett was
suddenly made aware of a slight indist;ma.
ness in Mr.. Vanderbilt's speech that grea.
into an inarticulate sound, AS he iaeon v"
over to catch his words Nh. Vander
bilt pitched forward without warninr and
fell heavily to the floor on his face. Mr.
Garrett sprang to his feet, and Selling n nil.
low from the sofa laid it under his friends
head. MIR. Vanderbilt never spoke nor
moved, and died in a few minutes without
q struggle. DIR. Mclean pronounced his
ueath the result of a sndden stroke of
paralysis, due to the bursting of a largo
blood-Vessel at the base of the brain.
The stroke was so sudden and nnex.
pected that no member of the family OK.
cept his wife was able to respond to Mr.
aureus ummon i'll time to he present,
wieh MI. Vanderbilt breathed his last
HIS son George was the next to enter tho
room, quickly followed by the other sons
and daughters who were i'll the house. The
various relatives by marriage living in the
city were also summoned, and soon made
their appearance at the stately mansion
now the abode of death.
His enfeebled condition has recent,r
caused much cOmmen unlong Mr.. Vandnt.
bits friends: his physique showed signs Of
ill-health and his motions were lancuid
The children Mr.. Vanderbilt leaves ara
IN their regular succession from Cornelius
who is about forty years of age, down: Cor.
nelius, William K, Frederick W. and
George w., and four daughters, Mrs. Elliott
+. Shepard, Mrs. William D. Sloane. Mrs
Hamilton Nick. Twombly and Mrs, Dr.
Seward Webb. Cornelius and William K
are both actively engaged in the mar.
agement Of the family railroad interests.
Cornelius is the Chairman of the Board Of
Directors of the New York Central and the
Michigan Central systems, and William K.
holds the same office in the Lake Shore and
Nickel Plate systems. Frederick W., who
is about tllirty-two years old, is q director
in all the roads.
NEW YORK, Dec. 1O.-There was intense
anxiety throughout the speculative world
yesterday in regard to the effect on the mar
kets Of the death of W.. II. Vanderbilt. The
London Stock Exchange showed wild
fluctuations, with a general decline of from
one to three per cent. The great
interests in Wall street banded together
like a stone wall in support of prices.
The opening transactions in the Wander.
bllt properties showed a decline of from .
to 3 points. Chauncey NJ. Depew and his
associates put New York Central back to
1o45s, Lake Shore to s61s, Michigan Cen
trail to 76 and Northwestern to 1922. Other
spectators improved the opportunity to lift
Lackawanna from 1929 to 12s. When the
syndicates grew weary, the public evil
IDENTIFY took a hand. The transactions were
nearly 700, 600 shares. The market closed
strong.
William II. Vanderbilt was the son of "Com-
modolen Cornelius Vanderbilt. and was born
i'll New Brunswick, N. j., May 8, 1921. He en-.
tered the railway service rs receiver of the
Staten Island Eailroad in 1861; was elected
Se.AS u Siut. III lCtD, WAS v ICE
President of the New York and Harlem Rail-
road Company from 1864 to 1877, and afterward
President of the same; was President of the
Now York Central and Hudson River Rail
road from 1877 to 1883, and President
of the Lake Shore and Michigan
Southern, the Michigan Central and the Cana
da Southern Railroads. He was made the
heir of his fathers vast railroad interests,
which he largely increased The wealth that
ne leaves is vnriousiy estimated at from $l5l,-
900, COO to Sl10, 600, 0GO.
MIR. Vanderbilt was married ut the age Of
twenty 10 Miss Kassam, the daughter OF 4
New York clergyman, a lady of high char
acter and of many accomplishments. BY her
he had nine children, eight OF whom are liv-
ing.
Mr.. Vanderbilt was, it is thought. richer
than any single member of the Rothschild
family. He wns worth $500, COO, UO). His in
come was calculated as follows: From Gov
eernment bonds per year. - J Z 600; s7,a94, 600
laneous securities; total, over $4,000 900 a.
year, OR $2S,0O a day, Sl,2UO an hour, or sl9.75