Surprise appearances in Vanderbilt
ISSUE NO. 32 // SURPRISE APPEARANCES
Well, hello there!
I planned to use this space to share a bunch interesting things I learned from Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe, including a mindbogglingly interconnected web of people.
In an unprecedented turn of events I’ve realized that’s Too Much.*
Instead, I’m sharing anecdotes about a few people who unexpectedly popped up in this book.
Presidential Doodler
*It’s frequently Too Much, but that’s never stopped me before. But never fear —I’m still sharing the mindboggling intercconnected web of people. I’m just not cramming it in this post.
Some baseline info (with no spoilers): Anderson Cooper is a CNN anchor; his mom was fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt; they are descendants of robber baron Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Unexpected people who popped up in Vanderbilt
Victoria Woodhull
With her sister and fellow Spiritualist (Tennessee Claflin), charged $25 a visit for their services as “magnetic physicians and clairvoyants.”
As pointed out in the book, “The Commodore wasn’t alone in discovering that being touched in a caring way by a beautiful woman was more pleasant, as treatments go, then being bled or given a powerful emetic by a man, beautiful or not.”*
I’ve seen speculation that the sisters offered Cornelius Vanderbilt spiritual advice and also that perhaps his tips helped them succeed financially.
They hung a giant portrait of Vanderbilt in their office, dropped his name frequently in the press, and were cagey when asked. Whatever the association actually was, the sisters benefited from it.
They opened a brokerage house, relying on the guidance of spiritual visions to help with investment strategies.
She was associated with the Free Love movement and women’s suffrage.
Wanted to make easier (and less stigmatized) for women to get divorced (if she could have seen the 2020s coming, I don’t think she would have been happy).
Ran for president against Ulysses S. Grant and Horace Greeley, despite being too young to actually serve as president.
*Ok, after I doodled this enema syringe, I realized I misread the quote. It’s “emetic”, meaning inducing vomit. I don’t know if emetics were administered via enema. I tried to find out, but gave up because it proved emetic.
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Roberts Livingston and Fulton, along with Daniel Webster
Founding Father Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton’s steamboat monopoly lasted long after their death. Cornelius Vanderbilt wasn’t having it. He hired pun-master / attorney Daniel Webster to bust up the monopoly… Because monopolies are bad, unless they are YOUR monopolies.
(There’s no evidence that Daniel Webster’s puns were a factor in Vanderbilt’s hiring decision.)
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Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Elegant and 82 years old, Alice attended Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball and called it “the most exquisite of spectator sports.”
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Grover Cleveland & Philippa Foot
Grover Cleveland’s daughter employed the same nanny as Anderson Cooper’s grandmother.
Stay with me here.
Before Emma Sullivan Kieslich (Dodo) was Gloria Vanderbilt’s nanny, she was employed by Grover Cleveland’s daughter.
Grover Cleveland had three daughters:
His daughter Ruth died young (you may be familiar with her from the Baby Ruth candy bar myth)
Marion
Esther (born in the White House!) was mother to English philosopher Philippa Ruth Foot, inventor of The Trolley Problem
I don’t know if Marion or Esther hired Kieslich. If it was Esther — then Anderson Cooper’s mom had the same nanny as the inventor of The Trolley Problem! (If you know the answer to this, I beg you to let me know.)
I stumbled on this article about the amazing TV show The Good Place. While discussing The Trolley Problem, the main character references Baby Ruth candy bars.
In the words of Eleanor Shellstrop:
“holy mother forking shirtballs!”
Help! I need to know:
Was the Baby Ruth reference in The Good Place a delightful coincidence or an Easter egg dropped for nerds like me to discover?
Did Philippa Foot have the same nanny as Gloria Vanderbilt?
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In an effort to be self-sufficient, I started reading How to Be Perfec
t
by The Good Place creator Michael Schur. It’s hilarious. And informative, unless the information you seek is whether he intentionally added a Baby Ruth candy bar reference to the episode of The Good Place with Grover Cleveland’s granddaughter. Although, to be fair, I’m not even halfway through it, so fingers crossed! 🤞
If you know the answer either of my questions, pop them in the comments below or send me a message.
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Want more?
Read either of these fascinating books…
… or check out another post inspired by Vanderbilt
I tried to make sense of a dizzying slew of mindboggling connections. It didn’t work.
Follow along on Instagram for more doodles and presidential trivia.
