Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt signs THREE TIMES on a Hudson River Rail Road Co Ledger Sheet - Also signed Twice by Augustus Schell - Dated April 15, 1868

April 15, 1868 dated Ledger Sheet signed THREE TIMES by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and also signed TWO TIMES by Augustus Schell. They are signing as Stockholders of Hudson River Rail Road Company. Also signed by many other shareholders. Wonderful Condition!

Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into leadership positions in the inland water trade and invested in the rapidly growing railroad industry, effectively transforming the geography of the United States. As one of the richest Americans in history and wealthiest figures overall, Vanderbilt was the patriarch of the wealthy and influential Vanderbilt family. He provided the initial gift to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. According to historian H. Roger Grant: "Contemporaries, too, often hated or feared Vanderbilt or at least considered him an unmannered brute. While Vanderbilt could be a rascal, combative and cunning, he was much more a builder than a wrecker [...] being honorable, shrewd, and hard-working." Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_Vanderbilt

Augustus Schell (August 1, 1812 – March 27, 1884) was a New York politician and lawyer. He was Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1872 to 1876. An active Democrat, he joined Tammany Hall in 1852 where, after William M. Tweed's fall, he succeeded August Belmont, Sr. as Grand Sachem in 1870. He was head of the Democratic state committee from 1853 to 1856. In the 1852, he was proposed as the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York, although he lost the nomination to Horatio Seymour, who was elected Governor. During the administration of President James Buchanan, he was collector of the Port of New York. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee that supported John C. Breckinridge for the presidency in 1860 and also from 1872 to 1876, where he managed Horace Greeley's presidential campaign. In 1872, his name was again put forth for the nomination for Democratic candidate for Governor, but he was prevented by the work of Samuel Jones Tilden, who was then the Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee. After the trial of William M. Tweed and his associates, Schell became the Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall and labored for the purification and rehabilitation of the Tammany society. In 1878, he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Schell

Hudson River Railroad - The Troy and Greenbush Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened later that year, connecting Troy south to Greenbush (now Rensselaer) on the east side of the Hudson River. The Hudson River Railroad was chartered on May 12, 1846, to extend this line south to New York City; the full line opened on October 3, 1851. Prior to completion, on June 1, it leased the Troy and Greenbush. Cornelius Vanderbilt obtained control of the Hudson River Railroad in 1864, soon after he bought the parallel New York and Harlem Railroad. Along the line of the Hudson River Railroad, the West Side Line was built in 1934 in the borough of Manhattan as an elevated bypass of then-abandoned street running trackage on Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. The elevated section has since been abandoned, and the tunnel north of 35th Street is used only by Amtrak trains to New York Penn Station (all other trains use the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad to reach the Harlem Line). The surviving sections of the West Side Line south of 34th Street reopened as the High Line, a linear park built between 2009 and 2014. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Central_Railroad

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