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Fulton Chain Railway Co. Issued to Alfred G. Vanderbilt and Signed by F.W. and Reginald Vanderbilt- Stock Certificate

Inv# AG2272   Stock
Fulton Chain Railway Co. Issued to Alfred G. Vanderbilt and Signed by F.W. and Reginald Vanderbilt- Stock Certificate
State(s): New York
Years: 1902

Stock Issued to Alfred G. Vanderbilt and signed by F.W. Vanderbilt and Reginald Vanderbilt. Also signed by Wm. S. Webb as president. Variety of numerous revenue stamps!

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was an extremely wealthy sportsman and a member of the famous Vanderbilt family of philanthropists. He died on the RMS Lusitania.

Born in New York City, the third son of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Claypoole Gwynne, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt was educated at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and at Yale University (Class of 1899), where he was a member of Skull and Bones.

Soon after graduation, Vanderbilt, with a party of friends, started on a tour of the world which was to have lasted two years. When they reached Japan on 12 September 1899, he received news of the sudden death of his father, and hastened home as speedily as possible to find himself, by his father's will, the head of his branch of the family. His siblings included Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt, William Henry Vanderbilt II, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt and Gladys Vanderbilt, Countess Széchenyi. His eldest brother, William, had died in 1892 at the age of 22 and their father had disinherited Cornelius III. Alfred thus received the largest share of his father's estate, though it was also divided among their sisters and youngest son.

Soon after his return to New York, Vanderbilt began working as a clerk in the offices of the New York Central Railroad, as preparation for entering into the councils of the company as one of its principal owners. Subsequently, he was chosen a director in other companies as well, among them the Fulton Chain Railway Company, Fulton Navigation Company, Raquette Lake Railway Company, Raquette Lake Transportation Company, and the Plaza Bank of New York. Vanderbilt was a good judge of real estate values and projected several important enterprises. On the site of the former residence of the Vanderbilt family, and including, also, several adjacent plots, he built the Vanderbilt Hotel at Park Avenue and 34th Street, New York, which he made his city home.

On May 1, 1915, Alfred Vanderbilt boarded the RMS Lusitania bound for Liverpool as a first class passenger. It was a business trip, and he traveled with only his valet, leaving his family at home in New York. On May 7 off the coast of County Cork, Ireland, the German submarine, U-20 torpedoed the ship, triggering a secondary explosion that sank the giant ocean liner within 18 minutes. Vanderbilt and his valet, Ronald Denyer, helped others into lifeboats, and then Vanderbilt gave his lifejacket to save a female passenger. Vanderbilt had promised the young mother of a small baby that he would locate an extra lifevest for her. Failing to do so, he offered her his own life vest, which he proceeded to even tie on to her himself since she was holding her infant child in her arms at the time. Many consider his actions to be very brave and gallant since he could not swim, he knew that there were no other lifevests or lifeboats available, and yet he still gave away his only chance to survive to the young mother and child.

Because of his fame, several people on the Lusitania who survived the tragedy were observing him while events unfolded at the time and so they took note of his brave actions. He and Denyer were among the 1198 passengers who did not survive the incident. His body was never recovered.

 

Frederick W Vanderbilt (1856-1938) The seventh of eight children born to William Henry Vanderbilt and the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the New York Central Railroad. At age 22, he had been installed on the board of directors of the New York Central Railroad, one of several positions he would hold for much of his life.

Frederick attended the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University, graduating in 1878. The same year, he married Louise Anthony Torrance, an act that caused consternation within his family — and society as a whole — because Louise was 12 years older and recently divorced from Frederick’s first cousin.

Against his father’s wishes, the couple eloped. By all accounts, the couple had a happy and successful marriage. Louise eventually won her way into the good graces of the family. The couple had no children.

Little is known of the couple’s personal life, as they were extremely private members of a very public family. Frederick was the only one of his siblings to increase his inherited fortune. Eventually, he participated in the operation of dozens of railroads and was for a time heavily invested in Western Union.

The couple maintained many residences, traveling between New York City townhouses and country estates they either owned or rented. At times, they lived in Paris, Bar Harbor, Maine, the Adirondacks, Newport, R.I., and Hyde Park. Only their home on the Hudson seemed to have any hold. They continued to make improvements and increase their time at the estate each year.

Louise Vanderbilt died in 1926 while in Paris. Frederick lived in Hyde Park until his death in 1938. His fortune of nearly $80 million was dispersed to pay estate taxes, fund charities, remember a favorite niece and leave some money to employees of the Hyde Park estate.

Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (January 14, 1880 – September 4, 1925) was a member of the Vanderbilt family. He was the father of Gloria Vanderbilt and maternal grandfather of Anderson Cooper. An avid equestrian, Vanderbilt was the founder and president of many equestrian organizations. He gambled away most of his inheritance. He was the youngest son of Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899) and Alice Claypoole Gwynne (1845–1934). Among his siblings was Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942), who married Harry Payne Whitney, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915), and Gladys Moore Vanderbilt (1886–1965), who married Count László Széchenyi.

Reginald was a grandson of William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885), and great-grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877).

He attended Yale University, but did not graduate. One elder brother, Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942), married Grace Wilson against his parents' wishes and was disinherited. Another elder brother, Alfred, inherited the bulk of the family fortune, though Reginald and several sisters also received some inheritance.

In 1903, Reginald married Cathleen Neilson (1885–1927) at Parker Cottage in Newport, Rhode Island. She was the daughter of Isabelle Gebhard Neilson, the niece of Frederick Gebhard (c. 1860–1910), and the great-granddaughter of Thomas E. Davis, a prominent New York real estate developer. Before their divorce in 1920, the couple had one daughter: Cathleen Vanderbilt (1904–1944), who married Henry Cooke Cushing III (1895–1960) in 1923. After their divorce in 1932, she married broadcasting executive Lawrence Wise Lowman (1900–1980) in 1932. They divorced that same year and in 1940, she married for the third and final time to Martin Arostegui, a publisher in Havana, Cuba.

On March 6, 1923, he married Gloria Mercedes Morgan (1904–1965). Together, they were the parents of his second daughter: Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (1924–2019), the fashion designer who married Pasquale DiCicco (1909–1978) in 1941. They divorced in 1945 and that same year she married Leopold Anthony Stokowski (1882–1977). They divorced in 1955 and a year later, in 1956, she married Sidney Arthur Lumet (1924–2011). In 1963, they also divorced and, that same year, she married Wyatt Emory Cooper (1927–1978).

Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt died from cirrhosis due to alcoholism on September 4, 1925, at his country home, Sandy Point Farm, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In his will, he left the vast majority of his estate to his daughters with a residue to his widow, which was not to exceed $1,125,000 and his New York townhouse, located at 12 East 77th Street, and Sandy Point Farm. He is buried in the Vanderbilt family plot at the Moravian Cemetery in Staten Island, New York.

William Seward Webb (1851-1926) Dr. W. Seward Webb was a son of Civil War Gen. James Watson Webb (1802–1884). He studied medicine in Vienna, Paris and Berlin. Returning to America, he entered the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and graduated from there in 1875. For several years he practiced medicine, and then forsook the profession for finance at the behest of his wife's family, establishing the Wall Street firm of W. S. Webb & Co. In 1883, he married Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt (Lila Vanderbilt), daughter of William H. Vanderbilt. Eliza's brother George went on to create Biltmore, one of America's grandest country estates.

In 1883, Webster Wagner, the president of the Wagner Palace Car Company, was crushed between two of his own railroad cars. Vanderbilt owned a controlling interest in the company, and asked his new son-in-law to take over the firm. Wm. Seward invited his brother H. Walter Webb to join him, which started them both on careers in the railroad business. The Wagner Palace Car Company was subsequently merged with the Pullman Company. Dr. Webb later became President of the Fulton Chain Railway Company, the Fulton Navigation Company, and the Raquette Lake Transportation Company. He was the builder and President of the Mohawk and Malone Railway. His railroads were instrumental in opening the Adirondacks to the tourism rush of the mid- to late 19th century.

The Webb property at Shelburne, Vermont was created from more than thirty separate farms on the shores of Lake Champlain and is known today as Shelburne Farms. The property is a National Historic Landmark, and one of the main concert sites of the Vermont Mozart Festival. The former Webb estate has stunning views and some of the grandest barns of any Gilded Age property. A great horseman, Dr. Webb had a fine collection of carriages that is on display today at the Shelburne Museum. The Vanderbilt Webb's other country estate was an Adirondack Great Camp named NeHaSane, a game preserve of some 200,000 acres (800 kmÇ), much of which was later donated to the State of New York to become part of the Adirondack Park. The town of Webb, New York in the park is named after him.

Dr. Webb served as Inspector General of the Vermont militia with the rank of Colonel. He served a term in the Vermont Legislature in the 1890s. He was a founder and former President of the Sons of the American Revolution. The Webbs for thirty years lived at 680 Fifth Avenue, New York. This house, a wedding gift from William H. Vanderbilt to his daughter, was sold in 1913 to John D. Rockefeller. Dr. Webb was survived by his wife, Lila Vanderbilt Webb, three sons – J. Watson, William Seward, and Vanderbilt – and one daughter, Frederica.

The Fulton Chain Railway was incorporated as the Fulton Chain Railroad in 1896, and opened that year. After reorganization in 1902, the company, then operated by the New York Central Railroad, was renamed the Fulton Chain Railway. The line, also known as the Old Forge Branch, was 2.204 miles (3.547 km) long, and connected Fulton Chain to Old Forge, where Fulton Navigation Company ships made connections. The New York Central gained control of the company in 1917, and operated its line until July 11, 1932. A short stub at the Fulton Chain end remained the property of the company until January 1, 1937, when the Fulton Chain Railway was merged into the New York Central.

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Condition: Excellent

A stock certificate is issued by businesses, usually companies. A stock is part of the permanent finance of a business. Normally, they are never repaid, and the investor can recover his/her money only by selling to another investor. Most stocks, or also called shares, earn dividends, at the business's discretion, depending on how well it has traded. A stockholder or shareholder is a part-owner of the business that issued the stock certificates.

Item ordered may not be exact piece shown. All original and authentic.
Price: $730.00