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Commodore Vanderbilt
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 trading, water trade and invested in the rapidly growing railroad industry, effectively transforming the geography of the United States. As one of the List of richest Americans in history, 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. For his monopoly on shipping and the railroads, facilitated by political manipulation, Vanderbilt is often described as a "robber baron (industrialist), robber baron", including in what may be one of first uses of the term, in ''The New York Times'' in 1859. Ancestry Cornelius Vanderbilt's great- ...
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Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the adjacent state of New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated New York City borough but the third largest in land area at ; it is also the least densely populated and most suburban borough in the city. A home to the Lenape Native Americans, the island was settled by Dutch colonists in the 17th century. It was one of the 12 original counties of New York state. Staten Island was City of Greater New York, consolidated with New York City in 1898. It was formerly known as the Borough of Richmond until 1975, when its name was changed to Borough of Staten Island. Staten Island has so ...
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Anthony Janszoon Van Salee
Anthony Janszoon van Salee (1607–1676) was an original settler of and prominent landholder, merchant, and creditor in New Netherland, a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States of America. Van Salee, commonly known as Anthony the Turk, is believed to have been the son of Jan Janszoon, a Dutch pirate captain who led the Salé Rovers after his capture by Barbary corsairs. Van Salee and his first wife Grietse were the subject of considerable scandal and litigation in New Amsterdam, leading to his role in the establishment of Gravesend and New Utrecht, as well as other settlements on Long Island. His father had converted to Islam upon his capture by Barbary pirates. It's unknown if Van Salee was as Muslim himself; if so he may have been the first free Muslim settler in the land that would later become the United States. He was recording as owning a Quran but this may have been an heirloom from his father. He ...
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New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeast megalopolis, it is bordered to the northwest, north, and northeast by New York (state), New York State; on its east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on its west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on its southwest by Delaware Bay and Delaware. At , New Jersey is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, fifth-smallest state in land area. According to a 2024 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimate, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 11th-most populous state, with over 9.5 million residents, its highest estimated count ever. The state capital is Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, and the state's most populous city is Newark, New Jersey, Newark. New Jersey is the only U.S. stat ...
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Steam Boat
A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels working on lakes, rivers, and in short-sea shipping. The development of the steamboat led to the larger steamship, which is a seaworthy and often ocean-going ship. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S (for 'Screw Steamer') or PS (for 'Paddle Steamer'); however, these designations are most often used for steamships. Background Limitations of the Newcomen steam engine The first steamboat designs used Newcomen steam engines. These engines were large, heavy, and produced little power, which resulted in an unfavorable power-to-weight ratio. The heavy weight of the Newcomen engine required a structurally strong boat, and the reciprocating motion of the engine beam required a complicated mechanism to produce propulsion. Rotary motion engines James Watt's design improveme ...
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Thomas Gibbons (politician)
Thomas Gibbons (December 15, 1757 – May 16, 1826) was a planter, politician, lawyer, steamboat owner and the plaintiff in '' Gibbons vs. Ogden''. Early life Gibbons was born at Mulberry Hill, his family's plantation outside of Savannah, Georgia, on December 15, 1757. He was the son of Joseph Gibbons and Hannah (née Martin) Gibbons. Between 1752 and 1762, his father acquired several thousand acres between the Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers where he operated a saw mill, grew rice, and owned over 100 slaves. He was educated at home and in Charleston, South Carolina, where he read law. During the American Revolutionary War, Gibbons, who was just eighteen when it started, was a passive Loyalist. Career Following the Americans' victory over the British, Gibbons and other remaining Tories were convicted of treason and he was considered a prisoner of the Sheriff of Chatham County. His estate was confiscated and only after an executive order was he permitted to remain at his mother's ...
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Schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schooner also has a square topsail on the foremast, to which may be added a Topgallant sail, topgallant. Differing definitions leave uncertain whether the addition of a Course (sail), fore course would make such a vessel a brigantine. Many schooners are Gaff rig, gaff-rigged, but other examples include Bermuda rig and the staysail schooner. Etymology The term "schooner" first appeared in eastern North America in the early 1700s. The term may be related to a Scots language, Scots word meaning to skip over water, or to skip stones. History The exact origins of schooner rigged vessels are obscure, but by early 17th century they appear in paintings by Dutch marine artists. The earliest known il ...
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Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt
Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt (December 29, 1830 – April 2, 1882) was an American socialite and member of the Vanderbilt family. After having a troubled relationship with his father, Cornelius Vanderbilt, he eventually committed suicide at the age of 51. Early life Cornelius "Corneel" Jeremiah Vanderbilt was born on Staten Island on December 29, 1830. He was the second son of thirteen children born to Cornelius Vanderbilt and Sophia Johnson Vanderbilt, who were first cousins. He had 11 siblings who survived to adulthood; Phebe, Ethelinda, Eliza, William ("Billy"), Emily, Sophia, Maria, Frances, Mary, Catherine, and George (who died in 1863 at age 24). Corneel had another brother named George, born in 1832, who died as a child. According to official records, Corneel matriculated at Columbia College with the class of 1850, but did not graduate with the class. When he was 18 years old, Corneel began suffering from epilepsy, which his father saw as weakness and even mental derange ...
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William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman Known as "Billy", he was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbilt became List of richest Americans in history, the richest American after he took over his father's fortune in 1877 until his own death in 1885, passing on a substantial part of the fortune to his wife and children, particularly to his sons Cornelius II and William. He inherited nearly $100 million from his father. The fortune had doubled when he died fewer than nine years later. Early life "Billy" Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on May 8, 1821, to Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and Sophia Johnson. His father Cornelius frequently berated and criticized him, calling his eldest son a "blockhead" and a "blatherskite". Billy longed to show his father that he was not, in fact, a blatherskite, but never dared stand up to the C ...
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Broad Street (Manhattan)
Broad Street is a north–south street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Originally the Broad Canal in New Amsterdam, it stretches from today's South Street to Wall Street. The canal drew its water from the East River, and was infilled in 1676 after numerous fruit and vegetable vendors made it difficult for boats to enter the canal. Early establishments on Broad Street in the 1600s included the Fraunces Tavern and the Royal Exchange. Later on the area became the center of financial activity, and all smaller buildings in turn were replaced with grand banks and stock exchange buildings. Most of the structures that stand today date from the turn of the 20th century, along with more modern buildings constructed after the 1950s. History 1600s: New Amsterdam canal Broad Street, formerly called ''Heere Gracht'' (''canal of the lords'' in Dutch) in old New Amsterdam. Originally an inlet from the East River, the canal was flanked by two solid ranks ...
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Moravian Church
The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original Unity of the Brethren () founded in the Kingdom of Bohemia, sixty years before Martin Luther's Reformation. The church's heritage can be traced to 1457 and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, which included Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and previously the Hussite movement against several practices and doctrines of the Catholic Church. Its name is derived from exiles who fled from Moravia to Saxony in 1722 to escape the Counter-Reformation, establishing the Christian community of Herrnhut. Hence, it is also known in German as the ("Unity of Brethren f Herrnhut). The modern has about one million members worldwide, continuing their tradition of missionary work, such as in the Americas and Africa, which is reflected in their broad g ...
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Episcopal Church (USA)
The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The current presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Sean W. Rowe. In 2023, the Episcopal Church had 1,547,779 members. it was the 14th largest denomination in the United States. Note: The number of members given here is the total number of baptized members in 2012 (cf. Baptized Members by Province and Diocese 2002–2013). In 2025, Pew Research estimated that 1 percent of the adult population in the United States, or 2.6 million people, self-identify as mainline Episcopalians. The church has declined in membership and Sunday attendance since the 1960s, particularly in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. The church was organized after the American Revolution, when it separated from the Church of England, w ...
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Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a fare-free passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the Boroughs of New York City, New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry boats completing the trip in about 25 minutes. The ferry operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with boats leaving every 15 to 20 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes at other times. Apart from NYC Ferry's NYC Ferry#St. George Ferry, St. George route, it is the only direct mass-transit connection between the two boroughs. Historically, the Staten Island Ferry has charged a relatively low fare compared to other modes of transit in the area; and since 1997, the route has been fare-free. The Staten Island Ferry is one of several ferry systems in the New York City area and is operated separately from systems like NYC Ferry and NY Waterway. The Staten Island Ferry route terminates at Whitehall T ...
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