...The Vanderbilt Family and the Biltmore House Patricia A. Barnes Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), became the most successful entrepreneur and American businessman of the time. He made his fortune developing steamship lines and railroads and extended his investments in manufacturing and banking. Vanderbilt became known as “Commodore” because of his steamship interests. The Vanderbilts were originally Dutch farmers who immigrated to America prior to 1685. (7) There isn’t much information on the early families and it wasn’t until Cornelius Vanderbilt came along and borrowed a hundred dollars from his parents to buy a boat, that the name Vanderbilt would become a name of stature and fame. (7) Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794, in Port Richmond on Staten Island, New York. He was raised in a modest farm house on Bay Street, in Stapleton, Staten Island with his parents. He had five sisters and one brother. At the age of 16, he bought a small piragua boat,(this is a flat bottom type of sailing barge), which he used to ferry freight and passengers. He was so successful with this venture that he paid his parents back the one hundred dollars, he had borrowed in one year. His desire to succeed was shown by the fact that he signed on as an apprentice on numerous types of large ship bearing vessels so he could learn as much about the seagoing industry as possible. (1) page-16. During the War of 1812, (1812-1815) Cornelius Vanderbilt transported supplies to forts along New...
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...America’s Castle, Biltmore House and Gardens, was built by George Vanderbilt in the last 1800s. George Vanderbilt, who was the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, was a man of action, a visionary, and a progressive land steward. His first visit to Asheville was in 1888. He was 26 years old. He fell in love with North Carolina and decided he would buy lots of eroded land in the western part of the state to “nurse” it back to health and productivity. Over a decade, Vanderbilt bought more than 100,000 acres of land. He built a French Renaissance 250-room caster, which is considered to be premier home. It took six years to build. The home covers four acres of floor space, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. In 1898, Vanderbilt married Edith Stuyvesant...
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