T j stiles the first tycoon the epic lif ilt (v5 0)

ALSO BY T J STILES Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War To Jessica and Dillon, for giving me the future To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world —SALMAN RUSHDIE, Midnight's Children Contents List of Illustrations List of Maps Part One CAPTAIN 1794–1847 The Islander The Duelist A Tricky God Nemesis Sole Control Man of Honor Part Two COMMODORE 1848–1860 Prometheus Star of the West North Star 10 Ariel 11 Vanderbilt 12 Champion Part Three KING 1861–1877 13 War 14 The Origins of Empire 15 The Power to Punish 16 Among Friends 17 Consolidations 18 Dynasty Epilogue Acknowledgments Bibliographical Essay Notes Primary Source Bibliography Illustrations INSERT FOLLOWING PAGE 106 Phebe Vanderbilt The Quarantine, Staten Island Sophia Johnson Vanderbilt Battery Park The Fly Market Tontine Coffee House Thomas Gibbons Bellona Hall Destruction of the Lexington A view of New York Cornelius Vanderbilt Daniel Drew George Law William H Vanderbilt's farmhouse Cornelius Vanderbilt San Francisco, 1848 INSERT FOLLOWING PAGE 298 Abandoned ships, San Francisco, 1849 Greytown Harbor San Juan River San Carlos Virgin Bay San Juan del Sur San Francisco, 1851 The Narrows Steamship Row Cornelius K Garrison William Walker Execution of Ponciano Corral Hipp's Point Merchants' Exchange The steamship Vanderbilt George W Vanderbilt William H Vanderbilt The steamship Champion The Merrimack vs the Monitor INSERT FOLLOWING PAGE 531 USS Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt Sighting the Alabama Capture of the Ariel Harlem Railroad Station, Twenty-sixth Street and Fourth Avenue Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive Hudson River Railroad Station, Chambers Street Horace F Clark Augustus Schell The Albany Bridge Henry Keep Erastus Corning Jay Gould James Fisk Jr Thomas A Scott St John's Park Freight Depot The Vanderbilt statue Stock watering (cartoon) Racing Fisk (cartoon) Primary Source Bibliography UNPUBLISHED PRIMARY SOURCES Albany Institute for History and Art, Albany, New York Erastus Corning I Papers New York Central Railroad Collection American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts Comstock Family Papers Richard Ward Greene Papers Baker Library, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts Erie Railway Company Collection Records of R G Dun & Co Western Union Telegraph Company Collection Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California Joseph N Allen Diary H H Bancroft Collection H H Bancroft Notes on the Vanderbilt Family Papers Concerning the Filibuster War Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan James F Joy Papers, Henry B Joy Historical Research Collection Rare Books and Manuscripts Department, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts Charles Francis Adams Papers William Lloyd Garrison Papers Victoria Woodhull-Martin Papers Butler Library, Columbia University, New York, New York James Buchanan Papers, Microfilm Copy California Historical Society, San Francisco, California Winchester Papers Carl A Kroch Library, Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York Frederick Gardiner to Charles Gill, September 6, 1838 Detroit Public Library, Detroit, Michigan Burton Historical Collection James F Joy Papers Mrs F A Vanderbilt Papers Archives and Special Collections, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey Gibbons Family Papers Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina “Memoir of Alva Murray Smith Vanderbilt Belmont,” Matilda Young Papers Hanson A Risley Papers Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History New-York Hstorical Society, New York, New York Aaron Burr, “Of the Validity of the Laws Granting Livingston & Fulton the Exclusive Right of Using Fire and Steam to Propel Boats or Vessels” John P Hale to Charles Sumner, March 18, 1854 Horace Greeley to William P Fessenden, October 4, 1864 Horace Greeley, E D Morgan et al to William P Fessenden, October 10, 1864 Horace Greeley to William P Fessenden, December 1, 1864 Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware Central Railroad Company of New Jersey Papers Huntington Library, San Marino, California Samuel L M Barlow Papers Lauriston Hall Papers Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia Chester A Arthur Papers Nathaniel P Banks Papers Baring Brothers Archive, Microfilm Copy John M Clayton Papers Hamilton Fish Papers Benjamin B French Papers Abraham Lincoln Papers William L Marcy Papers Hiram Paulding Papers Reid Family Papers Edwin M Stanton Papers John Hill Wheeler Papers Department of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, Morgan Library, New York, New York Cyrus W Field Collection J P Morgan Letterpress Books National Archives, College Park, Maryland Diplomatic Instructions of the Department of State, 1801–1906: Central American States, vol 15, May 29, 1833–July 25, 1858, Micro lm Publication M77 Costa Rican Claims Convention of July 2, 1860, Record Group 76 National Archives, Washington, District of Columbia Letters Received by the Secretary of the Navy from Commanding Officers of Squadrons, 1841–1886, Microfilm Publication M89 Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for New York and New Jersey, 1862–1866, Microfilm Publication M603 U.S Military Academy Application Papers, Microfilm Publication M688 Custom House Records, Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Record Group 41 Letter Books of U.S Naval Officers, March 1778–July 1908, Record Group 45 Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army), Record Group 153 National Archives, New York, New York New York Tax Assessment Lists, 1867–1873, Record Group 58 Old Records Division, New York County Clerk's Office, New York, New York John De Forest and Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr vs Daniel Morgan, April 5, 1817, file 1817-#337, Court of Common Pleas Cornelius Vanderbilt and Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr vs Phineas Carman and Cornelius P Wycko , May 26, 1817, le 1817-#1201, Court of Common Pleas Aaron Ogden v Thomas Gibbons, December 4, 1819, file O-109, Court of Chancery Fitz G Halleck v Daniel Drew, March 15, 1820, file 1820-#479, Court of Common Pleas John R Livingston v Cornelius Vanderbilt, December 28, 1822, file L J-1822-V-18, Supreme Court Judgments John Adams, Treasurer of New York Hospital, v Cornelius Vanderbilt, June 27, 1826, file 1820-#20, Court of Common Pleas Cornelius Vanderbilt v Patrick Rice, November 26, 1827, file 1827-#1300, Court of Common Pleas Patrick Rice v Cornelius Vanderbilt, November 26, 1827, file 1827-#1671, Court of Common Pleas Walter Blair v Daniel Drew, March 10, 1831, file 1831-#87, Court of Common Pleas Charles Hoyt v John Brooks Jr., May 8, 1833, file BM 2163-H, Court of Chancery James Ingham and James Leslie v Cornelius Vanderbilt, December 15, 1834, file 1834- #756, Court of Common Pleas Nestor Houghton v Cornelius Vanderbilt, August 10, 1837, file BM V016-H, Court of Chancery James Guyon and Cornelius Vanderbilt v Moulton Bullock, James W Otis, and Jonathan Prescott Hall, March 16, 1838, le BM 1404-G, Court of Chancery Cornelius Vanderbilt v John W De Grauw and Jane, His Wife, Walter N DeGrauw, John J Stephens, and Others, May 30, 1839, le D CH 104-V, Court of Chancery Cornelius Vanderbilt v John Martineau and Eliza, His Wife, and Anna B Cook, Executrix of Richard M Cook, Deceased, September 13, 1839, le D CH 100-V, Court of Chancery Joseph Tobey v Cornelius Vanderbilt, October 15, 1839, file 1839-# 1291, Superior Court Daniel Drew v Bates Cooke, September 8, 1840, file BM 1233-D, Court of Chancery Richmond Turnpike Company v Oliver Vanderbilt, July 24, 1841, file BM 4–42, Court of Chancery State of Indiana v Daniel Drew, Nelson Robinson, Eli Kelly, Milton Stapp, William S Dunham, and David Leavit, August 20, 1841, le BM 19-I, Court of Chancery Isaac Schuyler v Daniel Drew, Nelson Robinson & Co., October 27, 1841, file BM S-476, Court of Chancery Richmond Turnpike Company v Oliver Vanderbilt, July 11, 1842, file L.J.-1842-N-66, Supreme Court Law Judgments Daniel Drew and Isaac Newton v New York and Erie Rail Road Company, September 10, 1842, file 1842-#331, Superior Court Oroondates Mauran and Cornelius Vanderbilt v Morris Woolf May 11, 1843, file 1843- #814, Court of Common Pleas, NYCC Phebe Vanderbilt v Charles M Simonson and His Wife, John K Vanderbilt and Charles M Simonson Junior, Executors, and Mary Simonson, Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of Cornelius Simonson, Deceased, and John K Vanderbilt, April 27, 1844, file D CH-177- V, Court of Chancery Jacob H Vanderbilt and John Vanderbilt v the People of the State of New York, May 10, 1844, file PL-1844-P-424, Supreme Court Pleadings People of the City of New York v Jacob H Vanderbilt, December 19, 1844, file 1844-#771, Court of Common Pleas Cornelius Vanderbilt v Henry N Caldwell, March 4, 1845, file 1845-#1669, Court of Common Pleas New York, Providence, and Boston Rail Road Company v Elisha Peck, Richard M Blatchford, James Foster Jr., Henry G Stebbins, Matthew Morgan, Samuel Jaudon, and William S Wetmore, January 3, 1848, file PL-1848-N-4, Supreme Court Pleadings Curtis Peck v Daniel Drew, January 31, 1848, file PL-1848-P 256, Supreme Court Pleadings Isaac Spencer Jr v Daniel Drew, Nelson Robinson, Robert W Kelley, and Daniel B Allen, March 20, 1848, le 1848-#951A, Court of Common Pleas Nelson Robinson, Robert W Kelley, and Daniel B Allen v Daniel Drew and Isaac Newton, file PL-1848-R, June 27, 1848, Supreme Court Pleadings Oliver Vanderbilt v the Richmond Turnpike Company, July 17, 1848, file 1848-#1238, Superior Court Nelson Robinson, Robert W Kelley, and Daniel B Allen v Daniel Drew and Isaac Newton, le PL-1848-R 2, November 2, 1848, Supreme Court Pleadings Curtis Peck v Daniel Drew, January 7, 1850, file PL-1850-P-3, Supreme Court Pleadings, NYCC Russell Sturgis v George Law and Alanson P St John, March 27, 1850, 1850–922, Superior Court Daniel B Allen, Jeremiah Simonson, William McLean, Alexander H Britton, William H Vanderbilt, Nathaniel Hayward, Henry Anderson, John Peck, and the Said Daniel B Allen, Jacob H Vanderbilt, and James Brady, Trustees of the California Navigation Company of New York v James H Fisk and Cornelius Vanderbilt, January 24, 1851, file PL-1851-A 17, Supreme Court Pleadings Cornelius Vanderbilt vs George Law and Others, August 16, 1851, file CV-V-20, Supreme Court Pleadings Cornelius Vanderbilt v Accessory Transit Company, January 12, 1854, file PL 1854-V9, Supreme Court Pleadings David S Manners and Lydia Roberts, Administrators of Samuel Roberts, Deceased, v George Law and Arnold Mason, March 18, 1854, le 1854- #2117, Superior Court George J Lathrop v Cornelius Vanderbilt and Daniel Drew, May 4, 1854, file LJ-1854-V-131, Supreme Court Law Judgments Cornelius Vanderbilt v William C Moon, June 7, 1854, file L J-1854-M-398, Supreme Court Judgments Cornelius Vanderbilt v Reuben C Stone, September 12, 1854, file L J-1854-S-19, Supreme Court Judgments Cornelius Vanderbilt v John C Thompson and Minthorne Tompkins, September 26, 1854, file J L-1854-T-172, Supreme Court Judgments James H Quimby v Cornelius Vanderbilt, November 13, 1854, file 1854-#1242, Court of Common Pleas Cornelius Vanderbilt v Spring Valley Shot & Lead Manufacturing Company, April 21, 1855, file L J-1855-S-206, Supreme Court Judgments Cornelius Vanderbilt v Spring Valley Shot & Lead Manufacturing Company, July 26, 1855, file L J-1855-S-208 Cornelius Vanderbilt v Spring Valley Shot & Lead Manufacturing Company, May 2, 1855, file L J-1855-S-212, Supreme Court Judgments New York Life Insurance & Trust Co v Cornelius Vanderbilt, Freeman Campbell and Mary Ann, His Wife, Rutherford Moody and Eunice P., His Wife, Jacob J Van Pelt and Sarah, His Wife, and Jay Jarvis, President of the Citizen's Bank, September 25, 1855, le PL 1855-N14, Supreme Court Pleadings James H Quimby v Cornelius Vanderbilt, November 21, 1855, file 1855-#1313, Court of Common Pleas Charles H Wright v Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., January 21, 1856, file LJ-1856-V-100, Supreme Court Judgments Cornelius Vanderbilt v Jesse P Wilson, March 19, 1856, file 1856-#2735, Superior Court George S Salls v Cornelius Vanderbilt, November 17, 1856, file 1855-#1226, Court of Common Pleas Cornelius Vanderbilt v Mark Wadleigh and Calvin E Knox, June 24, 1857, file LJ-1857-W- 173, Supreme Court Judgments Cornelius Vanderbilt v New York and Harlem Railroad Company, July 16, 1858, file LJ- 1858-N-41, Supreme Court Judgments Accessory Transit Company v Cornelius K Garrison, September 13, 1858, file 1858-#53, Superior Court David Colden Murray, Receiver of the Accessory Transit Company, v Cornelius Vanderbilt, November 3, 1859, Pleadings Cornelius Vanderbilt v Joseph L White, November 7, 1860, file 1860-#985, Superior Court Theodosius F Secor and Charles Morgan v George Law, May 22, 1861, file 1861-#832, Superior Court le PL 1859-M V74, Supreme Court Certificate of Incorporation, November 27, 1863, Atlantic Mail Steamship Company Certificate of Increase of the Capital Stock, October 5, 1866, Atlantic Mail Steamship Company Henry S Thatcher and George Buckland v Cornelius J Vanderbilt, April 2, 1867, file LJ- 1867-V-192, Supreme Court Law Judgments George R Pecker v Cornelius J Vanderbilt, April 2, 1867, file LJ-1867-V-100, Supreme Court Law Judgments Frank Work v Daniel Drew, John E Eldridge, Alexander Drew, Homer Ramsdell, J C Bancroft Davis, Henry Thompson, Dudley Gregory, Frederick A Lane, George Gravel, James Fisk Jr., Jay Gould, and William Skidmore, July 24, 1868, file PL-1868-W-25, Supreme Court Pleadings Cornelius Vanderbilt v Jeremiah Simonson, August 13, 1868, file LJ-1858-S-574, Supreme Court Law Judgments New Jersey Historical Society, Jersey City, New Jersey Stevens Family Papers New-York Historical Society, New York, New York Thomas Gibbons Papers Samuel S Griscom “Journal of a Tour thro N Jersey, Penn and N York with occasional remarks on the people, Literary characters Ladies Institutions &c &c &c.,” 1824 Philip Hone Diary Livingston Family Papers Misc Manuscripts John M Clayton Charles O Handy Cornelius Vanderbilt Misc Microfilms Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt Diary, 1876–1878, reel 72 Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt Diary 2, 1876–1878, reel 72 G P Morosini, “Jay Gould and the Erie Railway” William D Murphy Account Books Hiram Peck Diary Staten Island Papers David Mitchell Turnure Journal Vanderbilt Family Papers Thurlow Weed Papers Isaac Woodruff Papers New York Municipal Archives, New York, New York John T Hoffman Correspondence, Mayors' Papers New York City Census, 1816 Staten Island Court Papers Hugh McLaughlin v Cornelius Vanderbilt, December 12, 1843, Supreme Court, Richmond County, box SI-66 Charles S De Forest v Tunis Egbert, Francis Perkins, Preston Sheldon, Helmus M Wells, March 5, 1852, Supreme Court, Richmond County, box SI68 People of the State of New York v Cornelius Vanderbilt, Anthony Bird, Stephen Williams, Elias Butler, Jacob Van Cleef and Jacob Arnold, November 22, 1851, Supreme Court, Richmond County, box SI-68 Manuscript Division, New York Public Library, New York, New York Horace Greeley Papers William D Lewis Papers Misc Files Horace F Clark Thomas Gibbons Aaron Ogden Augustus Schell Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr [Cornelius J Vanderbilt] PennCentral Collection Annual Reports, Directors' and Executive Committee Minutes, Ledgers, and Letter-books, Canada Southern, Dunkirk, Warren & Pittsburgh, Hudson River, Lake Shore, Lake Shore & Southern Indiana, Long Island, Michigan Central, Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana, New York & Harlem, New York Central, New York Central & Hudson River, and Spuyten Duyvil Railroads Samuel J Tilden Papers Correspondence of Cornelius and William H Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Will Trial Case Clippings Isaiah Thornton Williams Papers New York State Library Edwin D Morgan Papers John V L Pruyn Papers Cornelius Vanderbilt to Pliny Miles, June 8, 1859 New York Stock Exchange Archives, New York, New York Minutes of the New York Stock and Exchange Board New York Yacht Club Library and Archives, New York, New York Book of Minutes No Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Collection Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts George Peabody Papers Rockefeller Archives Center, Sleepy Hollow, New York John D Rockefeller I Correspondence, Record Group 1.2 Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey Gibbons Papers Nielson Papers Aaron Ogden Papers Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, Staten Island, New York Ferry and Railroad Collection Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C Western Union Telegraph Company Collection Special Collections Research Center, Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, Carbon-dale, Ill Victoria Woodhull-Martin Papers Watkinson Library, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut Williams Family Papers Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island Colt Family Papers Special Collections, Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee John James Tigert IV Papers GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS Annual Report of the Comptroller of the Currency Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1876 Bureau of Navigation Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 18 07 to 18 56 Washington, D.C: United States Department of Commerce, 1931 Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 178 4–18 31 Vol New York: City of New York, 1917 New York State Assembly Document 75 84th sess., 1861 New York State Assembly Document 100 85th sess., 1862 New York State Assembly Document 175 86th sess., 1863 New York State Assembly Document 125 87th sess., 1864 New York State Assembly Document 19 90th sess., 1867 New York State Assembly Document 114 90th sess., 1867 New York State Assembly Document 210 90th sess., 1867 New York State Assembly Document 142 92nd sess., 1869 New York State Assembly Document 38 103rd sess., 1880 New York State Senate Document 52: Report of the Select Committee of the Senate, Appointed April 10, 18 68 , in Relation to Passage of Certain Railroad Bills Albany: Argus Company, 1869 O cial Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion Washington, D.C.: Government Printing O ce, 1894–1922 30 vols United States House of Representatives Executive Document 75 31st Cong., 1st sess., vol 10 United States House of Representatives Executive Document 103 34th Cong., 1st sess., vol 11 United States House of Representatives Executive Document 24 35th Cong., 1st sess., vol United States House of Representatives Executive Document 47 35th Cong., 1st sess., vol United States House of Representatives Executive Document Part 2, 38th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States House of Representatives Executive Document 78 38th Cong., 2nd sess., vol 13 United States House of Representatives Executive Document 52 39th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States House of Representatives Report 145 30th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States House of Representatives Report 36th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States House of Representatives Report Part 2, 37th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States House of Representatives Report 28 41st Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States House of Representatives Report 31 41st Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States House of Representatives Report 78 42nd Cong., 3rd sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 32nd Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 50 32nd Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 33rd Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 68 34th Cong., 1st sess., vol 13 United States Senate Executive Document 13 35th Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document Part 2, 36th Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 45 36th Cong., 1st sess., vol 11 United States Senate Executive Document 30 37th Cong., 3rd sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 71 37th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 46 39th Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 44 41st Cong., 3rd sess., vol United States Senate Executive Document 46 Part 2, 44th Cong., 2nd sess., vol 13 United States Senate Journal United States Senate Misc Document 27 37th Cong., 3rd sess., vol United States Senate Report 326 35th Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Report 292 36th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States Senate Report 75 37th Cong., 3rd sess., vol United States Senate Report 307 Part 2, 43rd Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Report 577 48th Cong., 1st sess., vol United States Senate Report 1262 48th Cong., 2nd sess., vol United States Census Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the O cial Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901 128 vols PUBLISHED PRIMARY SOURCES Annual Reports of the New York, Providence, and Boston Rail Road Company, 18 33 to 18 74 Westerly, R.I.: 1874 Barnum, Phineas T The Life of P T Barnum, Written by Himself New York: Redfield, 1855 Beach, Moses Wealth and Pedigree of the Wealthy Citizens of New York City, 3rd ed New York: New York Sun, 1842 Beale, Howard K., ed Diary of Gideon Welles Vol New York: W W Norton & Co., 1960 Bergeron, Paul H., ed The Papers of Andrew Johnson Vol 13, 14 Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1996, 1997 Blunt, Edmund M Blunt's Stranger's Guide to the City of New-York New York: Edmund M Blunt, 1817 Calcagno, Francisco Diccionario Biográfico Cubano New York: Ponce de León, 1878 Charter and Act of Incorporation of the American Atlantic and Paci c Ship Canal Company and Treaty of Protection Negociated Between the United States and Great Britain New York: Globe Job, 1850 Childs, Orville W Report of the Survey and Estimates of the Cost of Construction of the Inter-Oceanic Ship Canal New York: William C Bryant, 1852 Choules, John Overton The Cruise of the Steam Yacht North Star New York: Evans & Dickerson, 1854 Clews, Henry Fifty Years in Wall Street New York: Irving Publishing, 1908 Twenty-Eight Years in Wall Street New York: Irving Publishing, 1888 Colton, J H Guide to Burr's Map of New York and Steam-Boat, Stage, Railroad, and Canal Register, &c., &c., &c., for the year 18 35 New York: J H Colton, 1835 Compilation of Executive Documents and Diplomatic Correspondence Relative to a Trans-Isthmian Canal in Central America Vol New York: Evening Post Printing, 1900 A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the President New York: Bureau of National Literature, 1897 Depew, Chauncey M My Memories of Eighty Years New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922 Dickens, Charles American Notes for General Circulation New York: Penguin, 2000, orig pub 1842 Doubleday C W Reminiscences of the “Filibuster” War in Nicaragua New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1886 Fairfield, Francis Gerry The Clubs of New York New York: Henry L Hinton, 1873 First Annual Report of the President and Directors of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company, to the Stockholders, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 18 70 Cleveland: Fairbanks, Benedict & Co, 1871 Fowler, William W Ten Years in Wall Street Hartford: Worthington, Dustin & Co., 1870 Gordon, John B Reminiscences of the Civil War New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1904 Gouge, William M A Short History of Paper Money and Banking in the United States Philadelphia: T W Ustick, 1833 Hayes, John D ed Samuel Francis Du Pont: A Selection from his Civil War Letters Vol Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1969 King, Andrew J., ed The Papers of Daniel Webster: Legal Papers Vol 3, part Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1989 Kroos, Herman A., ed A Documentary History of Banking and Currency in the United States New York: Chelsea House, 1965 Lambert, John Travels Through Canada, and the United States of North America, in the Years 18 06, 18 07, and 18 08 Vol London: C Cradock, 1814 Levasseur, A Lafayette in America, in 18 24 and 18 25: or, Journal of Travels, in the United States New York: White, Gallagher & White, 1829 Manning, William R., ed Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States: Inter-American A airs, 18 31–18 60 Vols 3, 4, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1934, 1934, 1936 Medbery, James K Men and Mysteries of Wall Street Boston: Fields, Osgood, 1870 Memorial of the Golden Wedding of Cornelius and Sophia Vanderbilt, December 19, 18 63 New York: Baker & Godwin, 1864 Nevins, Allan, ed The Diary of Philip Hone, 18 28 –18 51 New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1936 Nevins, Allan, and Milton Halsey Thomas, eds The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Vols 1, 2, 3, New York: MacMillan, 1952 Niven, John, ed The Salmon P Chase Papers Vol Kent: Kent State University Press, 1993 Otis, F N Isthmus of Panama: History of the Panama Railroad and of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company New York: Harper & Brothers, 1867 Paci c Mail Steamship Company Proceedings in Connection with Negotiations with C Vanderbilt, November 30th, 18 59 New York: G F Nesbitt & Co., 1859 ——–Seventh Annual Report of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, May 18 61 New York: G F Nesbitt & Co., 1861 Petition of C Vanderbilt for Confirmation of Letters Patent, Issued April 3, 18 16 New York: S S Chatterton, 1852 Read, George Willis, ed A Pioneer of 18 50: George Willis Read, 18 19–18 Boston: Little, Brown, 1927 A Replication to a “Statement by the Boston and Providence Rail Road Corporatin in Explanation of their Proceedings in Relation to Steamboats.” N.p., n.d Report of the President to the Stockholders, Pacific Mail Steamship Company N.p.: 1868 Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Duc de La Travels Through the United States of North America, the Country of the Iroquois, and Upper Canada, in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797; with an Authentic Account of Lower Canada London: R Phillips, 1799 Royall, Anne Sketches of History, Life, and Manners in the United States New Haven: n.p., 1826 Schell, Francis Memoir of the Hon Augustus Schell New York: Privately printed, 1885 Semmes, Raphael Memoirs of Service A oat During the War Between the States Baton Rouge: Lousiana State University Press, 1996, orig pub 1868 Seventeenth Annual Report of the Board of Directors to the Stockholders of the Hartford & New Haven R R Co Hartford: Case, Tiffany, 1852 Sheridan, Philip H Personal Memoirs of P H Sheridan Vol New York: C L Webster, 1888 Sherman, William T Memoirs of General William T Sherman New York: Da Capo Press, 1984, orig pub 1875 Simon, John Y, ed The Papers of Ulysses S Grant Vols 16, 23 Carbondale: Southern Illinois University, 1988, 2000 A Sketch of the Events of the Life of George Law New York: J C Derby, 1855 Smith, Matthew Hale Twenty Years Among the Bulls and Bears of Wall Street Hartford: J B Burr, 1870 Squier, Ephraim George Nicaragua: Its People, Scenery, Monuments, and the Proposed Inter-oceanic Canal New York: D Appleton, 1856 Soulé, Frank, John H Gihon, and James Nisbet The Annals of San Francisco New York: D Appleton, 1855 Statement by the Boston and Providence Rail Road Corporation in Explanation of their Proceedings in Relation to Steamboats Boston: John H Eastburn, 1838 Summersell, Charles G., ed The Journal of George Townley Fullam Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1973 Tanner, Hudson C “The Lobby” and Public Men from Thurlow Weed's Time Albany: George MacDonald, 1888 Terms of Contract Between the State of Nicaragua and the Atlantic & Paci c Ship Canal Company: Proposed by the Commissioners of the State of Nicaragua, at the City of León, in the State of Nicaragua, on the 27th Day of August, 18 49 New York: William C Bryant & Co., 1849 Tocqueville, Alexis de George Lawrence, trans Democracy in America New York: HarperCollins, 1988, orig pub 1966 Treat, Joseph Beecher, Tilton, Woodhull, and the Creation of Society: All Four of Them Exposed, and if Possible Reformed, and Forgiven, in Dr Treat's Celebrated Letter to Victoria C Wood-hull New York: n.p., 1874 Trollope, Frances Domestic Manners of the Americans New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1949 Twain, Mark “Open Letter to Com Vanderbilt.” Packard's Monthly, March 1869 Walker, William The War in Nicaragua Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1985, orig pub 1860 Wallace, David H, ed “‘From the Windows of the Mail Coach’: A Scotsman Looks at New York State in 1811.” NYHSQ 40, no (July 1956): 264–96 Williams, Mary Wilhelmine, ed “Letters of E George Squire to John M Clayton, 1849–1850.” Hispanic American Historical Review 1, no (November 1918): 426–34 Wright, Tobias Alexander, ed Collections of the New York Records, Genealogical and Biographical Society Vol 4: Staten Island Church Records New York: n.p., 1909 LAW REPORTS New Jersey Law Reports Southard's New Jersey Supreme Court Reports Johnson's New York Chancery Reports Johnson's New York Reports Wheaton's United States Supreme Court Reports NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS Albany Argus Albany Evening Journal Alta California American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge American Law Review American Railroad Journal Anglo-American Ariel Army and Navy Chronicle Atlantic Monthly American Phrenological Journal Banker's Magazine and Statistical Register Boston Daily Advertiser Boston Globe Brooklyn Eagle Chicago Tribune Cincinnati Mirror Circular Cleveland Leader Commercial and Financial Chronicle Congressional Globe Eclectic Magazine Farmer's Cabinet Flag of Our Union Flake's Bulletin Forest and Stream Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper Georgia Gazette Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion Harper's New Monthly Magazine Harper's Weekly Hartford Courant Home Journal Independent Hazard's Register Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York Ladies' Companion Ladies' Repository Liberator Littell's Living Age London Times Maine Farmer Magazine of Western History Merchant's Magazine (also Hunt's Merchant's Magazine) Nation National Era New Brunswick Fredonian New York and Richmond Free Press New York Commercial Advertiser New York Courier and Enquirer New York Daily Advertiser New York Evangelist New York Evening Post New York Farmer New York Herald New York Illustrated Magazine of Literature and Art New York Illustrated News New York Journal of Commerce New-York Mirror New York Observer New York Observer and Chronicle New York Review New York Sun New York Times New York Tribune New York World New-Yorker Niles' Register North American Review Packard's Monthly Putnam's Monthly Magazine Pittsfield Sun Providence Journal Railroad Gazette Railway World Railway Times Richmond County Advance Round Table Saturday Evening Post Scientific American Spirit of the Times Staten Island Advance Texas State Gazette Trenton Emporium and True American Trenton Federalist United States Magazine and Democratic Review United States Magazine of Science, Art, Manufactures, Agriculture, Commerce United States Service Magazine Washington Evening Star Washington Post Way Bill Western Journal of Civilization Workingman's Advocate Zion's Herald and Wesleyan Journal A Note About the Author T J Stiles is the author of Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, winner of the Ambassador Book Award and the Peter Seaborg Award for Civil War Scholarship, and a nalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize He has written for the New York Times Book Review, Smithsonian, and Salon.com, among other publications, and held the Gilder Lehrman Fellowship in American History at the Dorothy and Lewis B Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library He lives in the Presidio of San Francisco with his wife and son For more information about T J Stiles and The First Tycoon, see www.tjstiles.com THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A KNOPF Copyright © 2009 by T J Stiles All rights reserved Published in the United States by Alfred A Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto www.aaknopf.com Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stiles, T J The first tycoon: the epic life of Cornelius Vanderbilt / T J Stiles.—1st ed p cm eISBN: 978–0-307–27155-6 Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794–1877 Businessmen—United States—Biography Millionaires—United States—Biography Railroads—United States—History —19th century Steamboats—United States—History—19th century Title CT275.v23s85 2009 973.5092—ddc22 [B] 2008047879 v3.0 ... few row-boats to the work He put his son in charge of the wagons as they shuttled the cargo from the beached ship across the sandbar to the boats on the other side Cornelius departed with the scows,... feet from the shores of the Narrows They were pulled to the water's edge by the gravity of commerce Living across the bay from New York, the Vanderbilts enjoyed a year-round market for their produce,... practicality and toughness: the mixture of virtues that emerged from the marriage of these two people lifted them out of the poverty in which they had begun their lives together They created a household