Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt was born in Manhattan, New York City, the United States of America, on the 20th October 1877, the son of Cornelius and Alice Claypoole
Vanderbilt (née Gwynne), probably the richest family in America at that time, having made their fortune in shipping and railroads. He was one of seven children in the family.
He was educated at St. Paul’s School, Concord, New Hampshire, and at Yale University. After graduation from Yale in 1899, he embarked upon a ‘grand tour’, which ended abruptly in China with the death of his father. Despite chartering ships and trains to get him home, he still arrived one month after his father’s funeral, to receive the bulk of his $72,000,000 fortune. His generosity was shown by the fact that his brother, Cornelius, had only been left a relatively small amount, as their father had disapproved of his marriage to a Miss Grace Wilson against his wishes, but Alfred insisted on giving him a more equal share.
On January 11th 1901, Alfred Vanderbilt married the heiress Ellen “Elsie” French in Newport, Rhode Island, and they had one son, whom they named William Henry Vanderbilt III, but who was more usually called ‘Billy’. The marriage was not a stable one, however and in 1908, Elsie Vanderbilt divorced her husband on the grounds of his adultery with Mary Ruiz - the wife of a Cuban diplomatic attaché in Washington. In 1914, Vanderbilt’s name was once more to be linked with Mary Ruiz through one of his great friends, Charles Williamson, after his former lover had committed suicide in London - some said, still infatuated with Vanderbilt. Allegations of a ‘cover up’ paid for by Vanderbilt money and probably orchestrated by Williamson did nothing to help Vanderbilt’s standing with British society!
On 17th December 1911, however, he had married Margaret Mary Emerson, in Reigate, Surrey, England. She was another heiress and recently divorced from her English doctor husband, a Dr. McKim. They had two children, Alfred Gwynne II, who was born in Reigate, and George Washington III, who was born at one of the Vanderbilt mansions at Newport, Rhode Island. Vanderbilt also owned a country residence named Oakland Farm, and having pulled down the family home at 34th Street and Park Avenue in New York, he built The Vanderbilt Hotel on the site, in which he made his home with his wife and children. He also kept a sumptuous apartment in Park Lane, London, and a houseboat at Henley on Thames, which itself was virtually a floating mansion.
One of his favourite hobbies was competing with coach and horses and it was this sport that had first brought him to England. After his second marriage, especially, he and Margaret crossed the Atlantic frequently, at least two or three times a year, spending as much time in England as they did in America. He was a popular figure at the International Horse Show at Olympia, in London, where he not only exhibited some fine teams, but also officiated as a judge. In 1901, he was one of a committee of three who drove The Pioneer coach between New York and Ardley, and in 1908, he took a large stud of American bred horses from the United States to England. He was also a familiar sight on the London to Brighton road, where he regularly ran his coach named The Viking. He was on the executive committee of The New York Coaching Club and a member of the exclusive Philadelphia, London and Paris Coaching Club!
After the birth of George at the beginning of the Great War, however, Margaret decided to stay in New York, but Alfred Vanderbilt continued to make regular visits to England, usually taking a suite of rooms on the Lusitania and in the spring of 1915, he decided to travel on her to London for a meeting with his fellow directors of the International Horse Show Association. Consequently, saloon passage was booked for himself and his
valet, Ronald Denyer, through agents C. E. Crocker, of 331, Madison Avenue, New York, on the liner’s May sailing which was scheduled to leave the port on the morning of 1st May 1915.
The night before the sailing, Alfred Vanderbilt had taken his wife to the Empire Theatre on Broadway, to see A Celebrated Case, the first collaboration between theatrical giants Charles Frohman and David Belasco, following a rift of nearly 20 years. Frohman would also sail on the Lusitania the next day, as would Vanderbilt’s friend Charles Williamson!
Once he had boarded the vessel, at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 on the west side of the city, with a return ticket to London numbered 46032, Alfred Vanderbilt was escorted to his accommodation in room B65, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward Walter Wood, who came from Seaforth, on the outskirts of Liverpool. His valet Ronald Denyer was accommodated nearby, in room B62.
Just before the great liner sailed, several telegrams were received for some of the most prominent passengers on board, warning them not to sail. Vanderbilt was one of the recipients, as was Charles Frohman, but like Frohman, he chose to ignore the message!
The voyage across the Atlantic was probably no different for Vanderbilt from any other of his usual voyages and he enjoyed the opulence and splendour of his surroundings, the company of his friends and fellow saloon passengers and the attentive service of the Lusitania’s crew - at all levels. One thing did mar his enjoyment, however. On the afternoon of Wednesday 6th May, he received a message from his wife Margaret via the ship’s Marconi telegraph system which informed him that his closest friend at Yale, Frederick N. Davies had died suddenly in New York!
When she was six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and within fourteen hours steaming time of the safety of her home port.
It would appear that when it was obvious that the liner was doomed, even though he could not swim, Vanderbilt made very little effort to save himself, but instead tried to save the lives of others, especially children, aided by his valet Ronald Denyer.
Fellow saloon passenger and personal friend, M. Thomas Slidell later told his story of the sinking, which was published in The Bradford Daily Times of Monday 10th May 1915. He said: -
I saw Alfred Vanderbilt last, only a few minutes before I left the ship. He was standing with a lifebelt in his hand and I saw him place it round a woman. He had not one of his own, and I know that he could not swim.
It is likely that this woman was second cabin passenger Alice Middleton who came from Birkenhead, in Cheshire, England. The account continued: -
Only the night before we were talking of a day and a dawn some years ago when we went down to the river at New York in his yacht and waited to welcome and dip our flag to the Lusitania on her maiden voyage. We saw the first and last of her.
Vanderbilt, who had given largely to the Red Cross, was returning to England in order to offer a wagon and himself as driver to the Red Cross Society, for he said he felt every day that he was not doing enough.
In his book The Tragedy of the Lusitania, written just after the sinking, Captain Frederick D. Ellis stated that fellow saloon passenger Dr. Owen Kenan had praised the last minutes of the millionaire’s life: -
He saw him at the rescue work. Then when nothing more could be done, Vanderbilt buckled a lifebelt over the heavy overcoat he wore. He was leaning against a gateway when Dr. Kenan last saw him. “They’ve got us now,” said the millionaire as Dr. Kenan passed.
According to an article in The Daily Telegraph, also published after the sinking, second cabin passenger Ethel Lines from Toronto, Canada paid glowing tribute to both Alfred Vanderbilt and his valet, Ronald Denyer. She stated: -
When death was near, Mr. Vanderbilt showed a gallantry which no words of mine could describe. He stood beside the palm saloon on the starboard side, with Ronald Denyer by his side. He looked round on the scene of slaughter and despair with pitying eyes. "Find all the kiddies you can", he said to his valet, and Denyer rushed off immediately, collecting all the children he could and bringing them to the millionaire. Mr. Vanderbilt dashed to the boats with two little ones in his arms each journey. When he could find no more children he went to the assistance of women and placed as many as he could in safety. In his work he was gallantly assisted by Ronald Denyer and the two continued their efforts until the end.
First Electrician George Hutchinson later reported coming across Mr. Vanderbilt in the sea after the liner had gone down, and if he was correct, he must have been the last person to see him alive or dead! Hutchinson’s report, which was published in The Widnes Weekly News in its edition of 14th May stated: -
The first woman I met in the water was struggling desperately to keep herself afloat and I gave her my lifebelt, but what became of her I could not say, although I don't think she was saved because she was nearly dead then. There was a man shouting for help. His lifebelt was not properly adjusted; in fact he had not got his head through it. I went to his assistance and he shouted "I am Vanderbilt". I was treading the water and it was extremely difficult for me to give him help. I did all I could to save him, but I had no lifebelt myself. He went despite my efforts. I was with him for quite a long while.
Alfred Vanderbilt was aged 37 years at the time of his death.
Once it had been accepted that he had not survived, rumours abounded concerning the amount of the reward that his family was prepared to offer for the recovery of his body. Most of these varied from £100-0s-0d., to £500-0s-0d., but The Newcastle Daily Chronicle for 11th May 1915 reported: -
The Vanderbilt family have (sic) offered a reward of 5,000 dollars for the recovery of the body of Mr. Alfred Vanderbilt, who was lost in the Lusitania.
This later proved to be true!
His body never was found and identified, however, and as a result, he has no known grave. Ronald Denyer also perished as a result of the sinking and his body was never recovered and identified either! Charles Frohman suffered a similar fate, although his body was recovered and eventually returned to New York for burial. Walter Wood who had looked after the millionaire in room B65 did survive, however, and eventually made it back to his Seaforth home. Similarly, second cabin passenger Alice Middleton to whom Vanderbilt had given a life jacket survived, and always averred that it was because of the help she had received from the multi-millionaire!
In an article in the Surrey Advertiser of 29th May 1915, it was stated: -
At yesterday's meeting of the Surrey Public House Trust held at Guildford, Lord Farrer said that they proposed to erect some slight memorial at Burford Bridge in memory of Mr. Vanderbilt who so gallantly lost his life in saving others when the Lusitania went down. Mr. Vanderbilt often stayed at Burford Bridge Hotel when he drove his coach from London to Brighton.
This meeting may have resulted in the building of a memorial, although not at Burford Bridge, for today, there is a dressed granite obelisk devoted to Vanderbilt‘s memory, situated on the roadside on the A24, mid-way between South Holmwood and Mid-Holmwood, south of Dorking, Surrey, on the road to Brighton. It is about six feet tall, mounted on two square plinths and surrounded by iron railings. Attached to the top of the memorial is a cast bronze tablet, in the form of an inverted shield on which is embossed: -
In Memory
of
ALFRED GWYNNE VANDERBILT
A GALLANT GENTLEMAN
AND
A FINE SPORTSMAN
WHO PERISHED IN THE LUSITANIA
MAY 7TH 1915.
THIS STONE IS ERECTED ON HIS FAVOURITE ROAD
BY A FEW OF HIS
BRITISH COACHING FRIENDS AND ADMIRERS.
Immediately below the tablet is a horse bit.
On 10th September 1915 administration of his English estate was granted to Walter Webb-Ware, solicitor, (described as the attorney of Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt), Frederick William Vanderbilt, Henry Bursed Anderson and Frederick Lincoln Merriam. His effects amounted to £32,606-08s-00, (£32,606.35p.), which was later re-sworn as £34,625-15s-06 (£34,625.77½p.).
After the sinking, Mr, Webb-Ware was instructed to go to Queenstown to concentrate the search for Vanderbilt or his body. Even a reward of $1,000.00, that he posted, was
not able to help him recover either, however.
The multi-millionaire’s estate in America was later valued at $26,375.000, his eldest son Billy inheriting £5,000,000 and all his father’s effects, his widow Margaret receiving $8,000,000 in properties and his two other sons Alfred and George receiving the rest between them, which amounted to about $10,000,000. His family also submitted a claim to the Mixed Claims Commission; however, as they were already financially secure, no award was made to them.
On 12th June 1918, Alfred’s widow married Raymond T. Baker, who was an American national.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, New York U.S. Index to Birth Certificates 1866 – 1909, 1885 Rhode Island State Census, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1905 New York State Census, 1915 Rhode Island State Census, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 2187, Bradford Daily Times, Buffalo Evening News, Daily Telegraph, Evansville Courier, Surrey Advertiser, Times, Widnes Weekly News, The Last Voyage of the Lusitania, Seven Days to Disaster, Probate Records, UniLiv D92/2/76, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, James Brazier, Susan Brazier, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.