Visiting the Biltmore Estate is such an enjoyable experience for me. Happy Birthday to Cornelia who was born on the estate this day in 1900.
h/t to the Biltmore Estate for the picture.
Category: Uncategorized
Happy Birthday to the 11th Duke of Marlborough
Today is the 87th birthday of John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill, the 11th Duke of Marlborough. He is the grandson of Conseulo Vanderbilt.
Commodore Sighting!
Today while at work, I heard a commotion outside my office window – heard clapping. I looked out and saw a crowd. Since I’ve just joined Instagram I’ve got picture-taking on my mind, so I took one.
Turns out it was for National Walking Day and a group had convened in front of the library to begin a 20-minute walk.
It was only after I took the picture when I realized that the Commodore mascot was in it. How fun! If I’d known he was going to be there, I may have walked 🙂
Birth Day: William Osgood Field
On this day in 1904, William Osgood Field (1904-1994) was born to Lila Vanderbilt Sloane (1878-1934). Lila was a great-granddaughter of the Commodore.
Lila married William Bradhurst Osgood Field in 1902 and had 4 children; William Osgood Field Jr. was her eldest.
Parris R. Sumner sues George Washington Vanderbilt
From the Kinston Free Press newspaper of Lenoir County, NC
October 30, 1910
Asheville, Oct. 28 – Pariss R. SUMNER, formally an employee on the Biltmore estate, has brought suit against Mr. Vanderbilt for damages alleged to have been received for the plaintiff was working on the estate. It is alleged for the plaintiff that while operating a machine in the Biltmore shops his hand was caught in the swiftly-moving knives and one finger was cut off.
Vanderbilt Commencement 2010
On May 14, 2010, yours truly had the distinct honor of graduating from Vanderbilt University with my Masters in Public Health. I won’t go into the specific details of the ceremony, but if you’re interested, you can read the details on my personal/family blog here.
The ceremony was beautiful and the Chancellor even mentioned the Commodore’s gift to establish the university, noting that the $1 million dollar contribution in 1873 would be worth $3 billion dollars today. This would be the beginning of the Vanderbilt family’s philanthropic activities as we have come to know them today.
My commencement took place on one of the campus lawns:
Today, while doing research at the Tennessee State Library & Archives, I took photographs of some of the old Vanderbilt yearbooks. In contrast to my ceremony, here is a picture of commencement from 1909. Looks like the students marched on the lawn and the ceremonies were held inside. I wonder if it rained that day?
Now that I’ve graduated, here’s hoping for more Vanderbilt Genealogy posts!
What People Are Looking For
The most common search term that ends people up on this blog? “Gloria Vanderbilt.” – since starting the blog, there have been more than 8,000 searches that landed up here. Wow.
And 9,000 views of this post w/ an absolutely amazing picture of her taken by Gordon Parks.
People love Gloria don’t they? 🙂
Wordless Wednesday: Mrs. Reginald Vanderbilt’s Exquisite Skin Care
Mrs. Reginald Vanderbilt gives her skin this exquisite care. 1925. Emergence of Advertising in America, 1850-1920. Duke Digital Collections. <http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa.P0186/>
Picture Perfect
Today I discovered a resource from the Museum of the City of New York. They have images from their Byron Collection available online. A little search on Vanderbilt reveals many photos, one of which includes this one of Catherine NIelsen, 1st wife of Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880- 1925). She is being painted by Richard Hall.
Feature Friday – A Railroad Report
Feature Friday posts will feature relevant information from a chosen online resource. This month, the database is Google Books.
As I was browsing Google Books for Vanderbilt-related content, I found the 27th Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company. Even back then in 1896 companies generated reports for their stockholders.
At the time, the Board of Directors consisted of names we are quite familiar with:
- Cornelius Vanderbilt
- Chauncey M. Depew
- Charles C. Clarke
- Horace J. Hayden
- William K. Vanderbilt
- Frederick W. Vanderbilt
- Samuel F. Barger
- J. Pierpont Morgan
- Samuel D. Babcock
- William Bliss
- Sherman S. Jewett
- Erastus Corning
- George C. Buell
At the time of this report, there were over 12,000 stockholders in the company, with the accounts at more than $158 million dollars. The report contains all kinds of financial figures, statistics, and numbers of the railroad operations. Probably not something I’d read from beginning to end, but it’s an interesting glimpse into the Vanderbilts’ operations.
Vanderbilt Family Genealogy 