Home > William Kissam Vanderbilt

The second son of William Henry Vanderbilt, from whom he inherited $60 million, he was for a time active in the management of the family railroads, though not much after 1903. His sons William Kissam Vanderbilt, Jr. (1878-1944) and Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884-1970) were the last to be active in the railroads, the latter losing a proxy battle for the New York Central Railroad in the 1950s.

William K. Vanderbilt's first wife was Alva Erskine Smith (1853-1933), who he married in 1875. Born in 1853 to a slave-owning Alabama family, she was the mother of his children and was instrumental in forcing their daughter Consuelo (1877-1964) to marry the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895. Not long after this the Vanderbilts divorced, William K. later marrying Anne Harriman Rutherford Sands and Alva marrying Oliver Hazzard Perry Belmont.

After the death of his brother Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1899 he was generally regarded as head of the Vanderbilt family.

Like other members of his wealthy family, he built magnificent Vanderbilt houses. His homes included Idle Hour (1900) on Long Island, New YorkNew York is a state in the northeastern United States whose U. postal abbreviation is NY . It is sometimes called New York State when there is need to distinguish it from New York City. History See: History of New York New York was one of the thirteen col and Marble House (1892), designed by Richard Morris HuntBiography Richard Morris Hunt ( 1827- 1895) was one of the Fathers of American Architecture. He was one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects and became its President in 1888. His work is in the European style and some was derived from t who also designed his 660 Fifth AvenueFifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in New York City. It runs through the heart of Midtown and along the eastern side of Central Park and is a symbol of ritzy New York. Fifth Avenue extends from the north side of Washington Square Park through Greenwich mansion (1883), in NewportNewport is a city located in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is the largest city on Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 26,475. It was founded in 1639 and incorporated as a city in 1784. It was.

William Kissam Vanderbilt died in Paris, France in 1920. His remains were brought home and interred in the Vanderbilt family vault in the Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten IslandFor other uses, see Staten Island (disambiguation Staten Island is both the name of an island on the west side of the Narrows at the entrance of New York Harbor as well as the name of the one of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States., New York.