Cornelius Vanderbilt

by Bill Traughber

Did you know that Vanderbilt University was originally named Central University? Later the name was changed to Vanderbilt University. The Central Commodores?

Vanderbilt University is named for Cornelius Vanderbilt, an entrepreneur who amassed a fortune from shipping and railroad investments. Born in 1784 on New York’s Staten Island, Vanderbilt was the fourth of nine children whose ancestral family emigrated from the Netherlands.

As a young boy who quit school at age 11, he was operating his own business. By 16, he was ferrying freight and passengers in New York City. His enterprise would later include steamships. Vanderbilt and his wife, Sophia Johnson, had 13 children (nine girls and four boys). His wife was a cousin, who was the daughter of his mother’s sister.

During the War of 1812, he gained a contract from the government to supply the forts around New York. The profits would enable Vanderbilt to build schooners and other vessels for his coastal trade. Vanderbilt acquired the nickname “Commodore” when he was in command of the largest schooner on the Hudson River. Commodore is also a commissioned officer in the navy ranking above a captain and below a rear admiral.

Credit to the usage of “Commodores” being applied to Vanderbilt athletic teams is given to William E. Beard. Beard played for the Vanderbilt football team in 1892 and as a member of the Nashville Banner’s editorial staff, he would write about the “Commodores.”

Vanderbilt’s shipping interest had extended to the Hudson River and the New England coast. He would open a steamship line from New York to California through Nicaragua during the Gold Rush. Later, he was elected as the director of the Long Island Railroad, which provided a steamship transfer between Boston and New York.

Vanderbilt was well on his way to fame and fortune and by the 1840’s he was running more than 100 steamboats. His vessels not only offered comfort and luxury, but also reasonable fares. Vanderbilt’s company employed more people than any other business in the United States.

Railroads were no longer regional and went national as the country began to expand westward. Vanderbilt withdrew some of his steamship holdings to invest in these railroad enterprises. In the 1860’s, during the Civil War, he began to acquire the New York area railways such as the New York and Harlem Railroad, Hudson River Railroad, and the New York central Railroad. Vanderbilt had extended his lines to Chicago by 1873.

Vanderbilt donated his steamer, the S. S. Vanderbilt, to the Union forces during the Civil War. He was awarded a gold medal for the patriotic gesture.

After the death of Sophia, Vanderbilt married a distant cousin in 1869, a woman 43 years his junior.

Vanderbilt had a reputation of being ruthless and mean while making few friends in his lifetime. But, he was considered an honest and reasonable man. In his will, Vanderbilt left the majority of his estate to William, his first-born son, while disowning the other sons. It is reported that William was just as ruthless in business as his father. Vanderbilt believed his son’s personality would be the only son capable of continuing the empire.

Vanderbilt’s estate was estimated to be 100 million dollars. At the time of his death, he left 95 million dollars to William, but only $500,000 to each daughter. His wife received the couple’s New York home, $500,000 and 2,000 shares of common stock in the New York Central Railroad.

It is said the Vanderbilt gave little to charity in his lifetime, but he did leave one million dollars for the founding of a new university in Nashville. The university would later be named for him–Vanderbilt University. Cornelius never set foot on the campus, but a statue of the Vanderbilt patriarch is prominent on the grounds.

Vanderbilt University was founded in 1873 with a hope that building a major university in the South would strengthen the ties to the rest of the country. The university was affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and became independent in 1914. The original campus opened as a single building with 75 acres, expanding to the current 330 acres in 1979 with the merger of George Peabody College for Teachers.

Cornelius Vanderbilt died on January 4, 1877 and is buried in the family vault in the Moravian Cemetery at New Drop on Staten Island.

The Daily American newspaper (Nashville) reported on Vanderbilt’s death:

“Commodore Vanderbilt died this morning at nine minutes before 11 o’ clock, at his residence, Washington Place. Commodore Vanderbilt remained perfectly conscious to the last moment of his life, and died almost without a struggle. Ever since Tuesday, it has been apparent to his doctors that his hours were numbered and at most he could live only a few days or a week.

“At 4 o’ clock this morning his condition became rapidly worse, and he expressed a desire to see Rev. Dr. Deems, his spiritual advisor. The latter arrived in a few minutes, and Commodore Vanderbilt said, ‘I think I am nearly gone.’ Dr. Deems prayed by the bedside of the dying man, and then some members of his family sang a few hymns in low tones. The music seemed to soothe him.”

In 1973, the Vanderbilt family held a reunion at Vanderbilt University where 120 descendents gathered for the event.

Alfred G. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Cornelius and was a noted horse breeder and sportsman. On May 1, 1915, Alfred Vanderbilt boarded the RMS Lusitania in route from New York to Liverpool.

Traveling with only his valet, the Lusitania would be torpedoed by a German submarine in the Irish Channel. Vanderbilt reportedly gave his lifejacket to a female passenger. He and his valet both perished as the ship sank in 18 minutes. Vanderbilt’s body was never recovered as 1,193 passengers perished.

If you have any comments or suggestions you can contact Bill Traughber via e-mail WLTraughber@aol.com.

This concludes the second year of Commodore History Corner stories. I hope that during the past two years CHC readers have learned about the historic past of Vanderbilt athletics and the prominence the university had on developing sports in the South, beginning in the 19th century.

Vanderbilt should be proud of its glorious past. I have been pleased to research and write stories recalling events long lost to time and not known to recent generations of Commodore fans.