An Interesting Family Connection
Our Crawford line and the Vanderbilts
From "Old Nick", August, 2008
submitted By Bob Chope
Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt had thirteen children with his first wife and first cousin, Sophia Johnson. Sophia was the daughter of his mother's sister. Cornelius was 19 when he married Sophia, a wedding that both Sophia's and his parents objected to fearing that their children would be idiots. No, there is not a connection between any branch of our family and Cornelius' many children with his first wife. Therefore, why feature the Old Commodore in an article?
Sophia passed away in 1868. At this time, interest in occult practices and mediums was widespread, especially among the wealthy. Cornelius was no exception and spent large sums engaging the services of clairvoyants with the hope of being able to contact family members who had passed to the other side. His favorite mediums were the Chaflin sisters, Victoria and Tennessee. These two ladies were supposed to be able to materialize ectoplasm, the visible energy that is allegedly projected by spirits.
Tennessee seems to have been more than a charlatan taking money from the gullible rich through her performances of mysticism; she was reported to have been a woman of weak morale character. It was said that she stood closer to gentlemen during conversation than any lady should. "Adding to her forwardness were her quick hands, which would emphasize a phrase by patting or caressing a gentleman with most please results." (Doll, pg. 4)
Cornelius became extremely enamored by Tennessee’s' charms. It is even possible that he proposed marriage to her, but she turned him down. For a man who was use to being able to acquire whatever he wanted, if she refused him it must have been quite a low to his ego.
The Commodore's children were worried about their father's affection for Tennessee and decided to do something about it. In 1869 it is believed that William Henry, one of Cornelius' sons, arranged a visit from a distant cousin from Alabama. The cousins were Mrs. Martha Crawford and her daughter, Frank Armstrong Crawford (Yes, daughter). Martha was recently widowed. Her husband was Robert Leighton Crawford. Robert descended from David Crawford and Ann Anderson, as did Elizabeth Crawford of our line who married Nicholas Clayton Davies. The Vanderbilt family connection was on Martha Crawford's side of the family through her Everitt line.
It is believed that Frank Armstrong Crawford was given her peculiar name because of a promise her father made to his law partner and mentor, Frank Armstrong, to name his first born after him regardless of gender. Despite her unfortunate name, Frank was a young woman of culture and education who was well received in Mobile high society.
Within a year following their first meeting Cornelius and Frank eloped to Canada to avoid the publicity their wedding would receive in New York City. Frank was 43 years younger than Cornelius and many wondered why he didn't marry Martha instead. Cornelius once answered this question by stating; "If I had married her (Martha), Frank would have gone off and married someone else. Now I have them both." As time went on, Frank proved to be a tremendous comfort to the Old Commodore. She is even given credit for reducing his legendary cursing.
At Frank's request, Cornelius met the Right Reverend Holland Nimmons McTyeire, a Methodist bishop and a nephew by marriage to Frank. The visit took place in New York City in 1873. The purpose of the meeting was to request financial assistance from the Commodore to start a Methodist university in the deep South. Frank was an enthusiastic supporter of this Holland's dream.
It was no small feat arranging a friendly meeting between the bishop and Cornelius. Cornelius never had much use for men of God and let them know his feelings in no uncertain terms when they came to him with their hands extended for a charitable contribution. At this time, however, Cornelius was searching for a suitable cause to serve as his legacy. After meeting Bishop McTyeire he pledged $500,000 for the founding of a Methodist University in the South. By the time of Cornelius' death on January 4, 1877 the amount he contributed to Vanderbilt University approached one million dollars.
Cornelius did not hold most of his children in high regard. At the time of his death he had 63 descendants who stood to share in his estate. He left $90 million to his son, William Henry, and $7.5 million to be divided among Williams four sons. His other children received small amounts either in cash or trust, depending on how Cornelius evaluated their ability to manage money. In addition, he left several hundred thousand dollars to the Chaflin sisters, Victoria and Tennessee. Frank received nothing from the estate. Frank was often quoted that she didn't need any of the Commodore's money because she had plenty of her own. Based on the little that is known of Robert L. Crawford, this was likely true. Also, Frank's mother's family managed to maintain most of their considerable wealth after the Civil War. Frank was undoubtedly a beneficiary of some of this wealth.
Frank and Cornelius did not have children. Following Cornelius' death, Frank remained in New York City where she was involved in many civic and charitable organizations. She also maintained an active interest in Vanderbilt University, to which her step-son William made significant additional contributions over the remaining years of his life making the University the wealthiest in the United States at that time with the exception of Harvard and Princeton Universities. Frank died in New York City on May 4, 1885.
Frank Armstrong Crawford Vanderbilt
(1839-1885) with her mother
Sources:
Anonymous, World's Richest Man Elopes to London, Ontario, Winfield *Publishing, 970 Queen Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, c. 1999.
Doll, Gaynelle, Tales of the Commodore, Vanderbilt Magazine, V. 77, n3 c. 1994: 6-9, 11.
Yancey Family Genealogical Database, Rootsweb
Editor's Note:
As we explore more of our family, with all its various lines and branches, it is becoming clear that when our forefathers and foremothers were not center stage in the saga of our nation's history, they indisputably performed strong supporting roles in the drama.