Editing Cornelius Vanderbilt (section)

==Early years==
[[File:Phebe Hand.jpg | thumb | 220x124px | right | Vanderbilt's mother, Phebe Hand]]
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in [[Staten Island]], New York, on May 27, 1794, to Cornelius van Derbilt and Phebe Hand.<ref name=obit/> He began working on his father's ferry in [[New York Harbor]] as a boy, quitting school at the age of 11. At the age of 16, Vanderbilt decided to start his own ferry service. According to one version of events, he borrowed {{USD|100|long=no}} ({{Inflation|US|100|1810|fmt=eq|r=-2}}){{Inflation/fn|US}} from his mother to purchase a [[periauger]] (a shallow draft, two-masted sailing vessel), which he christened the ''Swiftsure.''<ref name=vanderbilt7>{{cite book| first=Arthur T.| last=Vanderbilt| title=Fortune's Children| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4-hhPwAACAAJ| year=1989| publisher=Sphere| isbn=978-0-7474-0620-4| page=7| via=Google Books}}</ref> However, according to the first account of his life, published in 1853, the periauger belonged to his father and the younger Vanderbilt received half the profit. He began his business by ferrying freight and passengers on a [[Staten Island Ferry#Early years|ferry between Staten Island and Manhattan]]. Such was his energy and eagerness in his trade that other captains nearby took to calling him "The Commodore" in jest—a nickname that stuck with him all his life.<ref name=vanderbilt7/>

While many [[Vanderbilt family]] members had joined the [[Episcopal Church (USA)|Episcopal Church]],<ref name="THE EPISCOPALIANS">{{cite news| first=B. Drummond Jr. | last=Ayres| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/28/us/the-episcopalians-an-american-elite-with-roots-going-back-to-jamestown.html| title=The Episcopalians: An American Elite With Roots Going Back To Jamestown| newspaper=The New York Times| date=December 19, 2011| access-date=August 17, 2012| archive-date=July 14, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144740/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/28/us/the-episcopalians-an-american-elite-with-roots-going-back-to-jamestown.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Cornelius Vanderbilt remained a member of the [[Moravian Church]] to his death.<ref>{{cite book| title=Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders, Part 4| first=John N.| last=Ingham| page=1501}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=Staten Island, Volume 14| first=Gustav| last=Kobb| page=48}}</ref> Along with other members of the Vanderbilt family, he helped erect a local Moravian parish church in his city.<ref name="Jr.2009">{{cite book| first=Edward J. Jr. | last=Renehan| title=Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt| date=March 14, 2009| publisher=Basic Books| isbn=978-0-465-01030-1| page=8| quote=Shortly thereafter, his son Cornelius (brother to Jacob II, and the second in the family to bear the name ''Cornelius'') was among several signers who petitioned the leaders of the American Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for permission to build a meeting house. Once the New Dorp worthies received the proper authority from Bethlehem, Cornelius, Jacob II, and many more of the by-now ubiquitous Staten Island Vanderbilts helped construct an austere but sturdy house of worship, which opened its doors in 1763.}}</ref>

On December 19, 1813, at age 19 Vanderbilt married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson. They moved into a boarding house on [[Broad Street (Manhattan)|Broad Street]] in Manhattan.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

They had 13 children together: Phebe in 1814, Ethelinda in 1817, Eliza in 1819, [[William Henry Vanderbilt|William]] in 1821, Emily in 1823, Sophia in 1825, Maria in 1827, Frances in 1828, [[Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt|Cornelius Jeremiah]] in 1830, George in 1832 (who died in 1836), Mary in 1834, Catherine in 1836, and another son named George in 1839.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Renehan| first=Edward J. Jr. | title=Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt| publisher=Basic Books| year=2009| isbn=978-0-465-01030-1| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISBN9780465010301| via=Google Books| page=39| access-date=June 29, 2020| archive-date=April 14, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414101554/https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN9780465010301| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last=Stiles| first=T. J.| title=The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt| publisher=Vintage Books| year=2010| isbn=978-1-4000-3174-0| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISBN9781400031740| page=73| via=Google Books| access-date=June 29, 2020| archive-date=April 14, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414140615/https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN9781400031740| url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to running his ferry, Vanderbilt bought his brother-in-law John De Forest's [[schooner]] ''Charlotte'' and traded in food and merchandise in partnership with his father and others. But on November 24, 1817, a ferry entrepreneur named [[Thomas Gibbons (politician)|Thomas Gibbons]] asked Vanderbilt to captain his [[steam boat|steamboat]] between [[New Jersey]] and New York. Although Vanderbilt kept his own businesses running, he became Gibbons's business manager.<ref name="Stiles">{{cite book| last=Stiles| first=T. J.| title=The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt| publisher=Knopf| year=2009| isbn=978-0-375-41542-5| location=New York}}</ref>{{rp|9–27; 31–35}}

When Vanderbilt entered his new position, Gibbons was fighting against a steamboat monopoly in New York waters, which had been granted by the [[New York State Legislature]] to the politically influential patrician [[Robert Livingston (1746-1813)|Robert Livingston]] and [[Robert Fulton]], who had designed the steamboat. Though both Livingston and Fulton had died by the time Vanderbilt started working for Gibbons, the monopoly was held by Livingston's heirs. They had granted a license to [[Aaron Ogden]] to run a ferry between New York and New Jersey. Gibbons launched his steamboat venture because of a personal dispute with Ogden, whom he hoped to drive into bankruptcy. To accomplish this, he undercut prices and also brought a landmark legal case—''[[Gibbons v. Ogden]]''—to the [[United States Supreme Court]] to overturn the monopoly.<ref name="Stiles"/>{{rp|37–48}}

Working for Gibbons, Vanderbilt learned to operate a large and complicated business. He moved with his family to [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]], a stop on Gibbons' line between New York and [[Philadelphia]]. There his wife Sophia operated a very profitable inn, using the proceeds to feed, clothe and educate their children. Vanderbilt also proved a quick study in legal matters, representing Gibbons in meetings with lawyers. He also went to Washington, D.C., to hire [[Daniel Webster]] to argue the case before the Supreme Court. Vanderbilt appealed his own case against the monopoly to the Supreme Court, which was next on the docket after ''Gibbons v. Ogden''. The Court never heard Vanderbilt's case, because on March 2, 1824, it ruled in Gibbons' favor, saying that states had no power to interfere with interstate commerce. The case is still considered a landmark ruling. The protection of competitive interstate commerce is considered the basis for much of the prosperity which the United States has generated.<ref name="Stiles"/>{{rp|47–67}}