G.W. Vanderbilt II (1862-1914)
George Washington Vanderbilt II (New Town, November 14, 1862 - Washington, D.C., March 6, 1914) was a member of the stone-rich American family of Dutch origin Vanderbilt. He was active with steam boats, railways and other companies.
He was the fourth son and youngest child (of 8 children) of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam. He was named after his father's youngest brother who died in the American Civil War in tuberculosis. He seems to have been his father's favorite son. Of character he was introverted and loved much of painting, philosophy and books. He visited many countries (especially Paris in France) and spoke 8 languages smoothly.
In 1877, his grandfather inherited an enormous amount of 1 million dollars and received the same amount for his 21st birthday from his father. When his father died in 1885 he inherited $ 5 million and also received a regular allowance from a fund of 5 million dollars. He built a large town hall in New York on 9 West 53rd Street (completed 1887) and bought a land where he built a castle based on the castles in the French Loire Valley, the Biltmore House that is at the place Asheville is located in the state of North Carolina. For a number of years, he bought this land to a total of 591 square kilometers. In 1895 the 250-room castle / country house was completed and on the Christmas eve the whole Vanderbilt family celebrated the opening. The house became the largest house in the United States. In addition, he conducted the management of the family farm in New Village on Staten Island and Woodland Beach. However, the family business was run by his two older brothers, after the death of his father.
At Biltmore House he led the life of a landowner with frequent research into agriculture, garden culture, forestry and animal husbandry. He strived for the estate to be able to hide himself completely. As a culture lover, he filled the house with many works of art. On the business side, however, it was less and he had some setbacks. However, the cost of maintenance was so high that even its assets and other income could not cover it. A number of rooms are therefore never furnished.
On June 1, 1898, George W. Vanderbilt married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873-1958) at the American Cathedral in Paris. She got together 1 daughter Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900-1976). He died of a heart attack and is buried in the family mausoleum in New Village.
They were so lucky because of family conditions at the last moment to cancel the trip with the Titanic, but their butler and luggage had already boarded and both were lost when this ship ran and sunk in 1912. < / p>
After his death, the widow sold most of the land around Biltmore House, leaving another 32 square kilometers. The two sons of their only child Cornelia eventually inherited these goods. Biltmore House
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