The San Francisco call., 1899-09-13

| died on January +, 1877, at the age of
So. after long illness. He left for
tune Of about ninety millions
William H. Vanderbilt, son of the
commodore. expired suddenly on De-
cember S, 1885, less than nine years
later, at the age of 81, and his wealth
was estimated at about two hundred
millions. Cornelius Vanderbilt, grand
son and namesake of the commodore
and oldest son of William H, was aged
90 years, and while the Vanderbilt for
tune has possibly not doubled as it did
between the first and second genera
tions, 1t has certai''s increased tre-
mendously. To call one who inherited
between eighty and eighty-f1ve millions
a self made man seems a nisnomer, yet
Mr.. Vanderbilt's early history bears a
close resemblance to that of the boy
who, almost friendless and without ad-
vantages of books, hews his fortune
with his own hand. He was the oldest
son of William II. and Maria Louisa
Vanderbilt, and was born at Newdorp,
Staten Island, November q, 1S43 His
mother had been Miss Maria Louisa
Kissam, daughter of Rev. William Kis-
sam of the Dutch Reform church. 1t
was doubtless from his mother that
Cornelius Vanderbilt inherited those
traits which made his life stand for in
tegrity, piety and publicspirited kind
ness. William H. Vanderbilt, during
the boyhood of his oldest son, was a
farmer, and he had the usual hard lot
of a farmer The old commodore was
still engaged in planting seeds for that
great fortune of the future. Himself
a self-made man, he left his children
and his children's children to shift for
themselves, so that they might show
what was in them.
Cornelius had a common school edu-
cation. and when he was 16 years old
he presented himself to John NJ. Crane.
then the president of the Shoe and
Leather Bank, and asked for employ
ment, promising to do his best to
please. Mr.. Crane read the letter the
boy presented. Il see you are Van
derbilt." he said. Are you a relative
of the commodore"
He is my grandfather" was the re-
ply.
why don't you ask him to recon-
mend you?" suggested Mr. Crane.
Because I don't want to ask him
for anything" The young man OBJ
tanned place.
When the grandfather heard of the
incident he was much pleased He
asked his grandson why he had not
applied to him and received the same
reply. Early and late the new clerk
toiIed in the Shoe and Leather Bank,
boarding in the city and going home on
and there he formed those habits of
method and punctuality that became
such a ruling characteristic in after
life
He was thrifty. saved his money and
was not dependent on any one. His
grandfather had been watching the
course of his namesake, and one day
he offered to take him to Europe Cor
nelius had never taken a vacation.
He wanted one. The trip to Europe
would have necessitated the loss of two
months salary at $50 month
Il can't afford to lose the wages
said Cornelius, and he rose still higher
in the estimation Of his grandfather.
In everything but years the boy was
man.
There had been established in Wall
street by this time the banking house
of Kissam Bros, and to this firm early
in the sixties Cornelius was transferred
when he was 20 years old. Here he
worked as diligently as ever. He
scarcely ever knew an idle hour.
Commodore Vanderbilt had gone into
the railroads and made one of those
brilliant strokes that mark the Van
derbilt genius. He bought Harlem
stock in Wall street at 6. and soon
thereafter astonished the world by
paying an per cent dividend and
sending the stock kiting above par.
Cornelius was transferred from the
banking house to the office of the Har-
lem Railroad. Here, with economy his
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