The Vanderbilts
The Family that Built a Transportation Empire
The Vanderbilts were one of the oldest and best-known families in America. Jan Aertsen van der Bilt emigrated from Holland around 1650. Although his descendants prospered as farmers on Staten Island, New York, they lived modestly; it was only during the lifetime of Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), known as the “Commodore,” that the family name became synonymous with extraordinary wealth.
Related Posts
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Apr 28
2020
Kleiner’s Korner: The Motor Parkway in Maps - Part IV
Part IV in the map series includes maps primarily published in the touring guides of the Automobile Club of America (ACA). The ACA's publications were first named The Club Journal (approx. 1919+) and later Motor Travel (approx. 1916+).
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Apr 20
2020
Mystery Foto #16 Solved: The Lakeville Road Entrance to the Great Neck Lodge in 1914
Frank Femenias challenged you to solve one of my all-time favorite Mystery Fotos.
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Mar 30
2020
Mystery Foto #13 Solved: Willie K’s Seaplane at Port Washington Marine Base in 1938 & Howard Hughes
Jennifer Robinson challenged you to solve these Mystery Fotos from the Beutenmuller Family Collection.
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Mar 14
2020
President of Renault Owners of America: The Recent Sale of a Vanderbilt Renault at Amelia Island
Marvin McFalls has forwarded this article on the recent sale of Robert Kaufmann's Vanderbilt Renault at Bonham's Amelia Island Auction. Congratulations to the proud new owner: My friends at the Audrain Automobile Museum in Newport, Rhode Island.
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Mar 11
2020
Kleiner’s Korner: Another Poole Connection to the Vanderbilt Cup Races
As shown in the Helck Family Collection of letters to Al Poole from his brother Alex, we can establish that Alex also counted Joe Tracy as a friend and was deeply involved with the design and manufacture of automobiles.
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Mar 10
2020
Kleiner’s Korner: Mechanician Al Poole - Letters from Home
Included in the Peter Helck Family Collection is correspondence between Al Poole (chauffeur, mechanician and driver) and his father and brother between the years 1902 and 1906.
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Mar 05
2020
Update: A Renault Vanderbilt Racer was Sold Today at the Amelia Island Auction
Bonham's sold one of the four U.S. surviving Renault Vanderbilt Racers for $3.333 million today at The Amelia Island Auction.
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Feb 22
2020
VanderbiltCupRaces.com Exclusive: The Last Known Surviving Poster for the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race
My favorite co-author Al Velocci and I met in 2003 researching the Motor Parkway and Vanderbilt Cup Races at the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport. With the permission of the museum, we were able to discover thousands of documents & photos over the years including the last known surviving poster for…
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Jan 14
2020
Kleiner’s Kolumn: Planning a Long Island Auto Speedway Before the Motor Parkway (1901 to 1905)
A review of early 20th century newspaper articles reveal plans for an automobile speedway on Long Island as early as 1901.
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Jan 14
2020
Willie K. Presentation Draws Capacity Crowd in Roslyn
A capacity crowd of 100 people enjoyed Dr. Steve Gittelman's thought-provoking presentation on William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. at the Bryant Library tonight. Thanks for coming out!
Never figured out why a gatehouse was erected in this area.