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Now on to today's video, Meet The Real Russell Family.
While the Van Rhijn family and the Russell family at the center of The Gilded Age, are
not real historical families known by those names.
But they do mirror the true social divisions drawn between old-money and new-money families
at that time in the history of New York City.
According to several reliable sources, in the HBO TV series,the fictitious Mr. and Mrs.Russell
are based on the real-life power couple, Alva Vanderbilt and her husband, William Kissam
Vanderbilt the first.
Meet The Vanderbilts.
William Kissam Vanderbilt the first, was the son of William Henry Vanderbilt and grandson
of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt.
He was an heir to the Vanderbilt fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family.
He became the richest man in America after he took over his father's fortune in 1885.
This follows the time line of the period of the Gilded Age TV show which begins its story
in 1882.
The Vanderbilts were once the wealthiest family in America the late 19th century.
Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt,
and the family expanded into various other areas of industry to amass even more wealth.
Cornelius Vanderbilt's descendants went on to build grand mansions on Fifth Avenue in
New York City, luxurious summer cottages in Newport Rhode Island, the palatial Biltmore
House in Asheville, North Carolina and various other opulent homes.
The Vanderbilts' prominence lasted until the mid 20th century, when the family's great
Fifth Avenue mansion was torn down and most other Vanderbilt houses were sold or turned
into museums in what has been referred to as the "Fall of the House of Vanderbilt".
Even with all their wealth and opulence, the entire Vanderbilt family was considered nouveau
riche during the Gilded Age and looked down upon by the old money families whose wealth
came from inheritance and aristocratic ties to old Europe.
It is said that the Vanderbilts were not acceptable to the socially elite, old money families
due to their patriarch's robber baron image.
But more on that later.
Right now, let me stop here to go over a few of the other families in the series, which
are based on real-life New York families, including some well-known Gilded Age socialites
as characters.
Here Are The Real The Gilded Age's New York Families From History.
In the first episode, Mrs. Bertha Russell, played by Carrie Coon, mentions a few important
New York families whom she would want to invite to her opulent dinner.
Bertha Russell: "I don''t want my old friends.
I want new friends."
Aside from the Van Rhijns, the other families she listed are true and real old-money families
from the Gilded Age.
The Livingstons, Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts were all real individuals, as were Mamie Fish
and Caroline and Carrie Astor.
One of the most powerful families of the Gilded Age was the Astor family, particularly Caroline.
If you want to know a bit more about Caroline Astor, a.k.a.
Thee Mrs Astor, be sure to check out the video I did on her and the weird social constructs
of the parties of that period of American history.
The Astor family name has impacted the names of some well-known New York neighborhoods,
including Queens' Astoria.
Caroline Astor, played by stage actress Donna Murphy, established the Four Hundred, a list
of important persons she thought the best of high society New York.
She had the most impact in determining who was who when it came to who would be included
in the 400 elites.
Along with Caroline Astor, Theresa Oelrichs known as Tessie and Mamie Fish, were real
historical women identified as members of the Four Hundred.
In the TV production, so far we have seen Mamie Fish, played by character acrtress,
Ashlie Atkinson, as the fun maker who liked to organize wild parties.
The real life Tessie was married to steamship tycoon Hermann Oelrichs as the source of her
wealth and prominence.
Spoiler alert: After the retirement of Mrs Aster from the social scene of the Gilded
Age which won't happen for a few years yet, Tessie ruled American society as one of the
so-called Triumvirate, made up of herself, Mamie Fish and Alva Vanderbilt.
The Real-Life Vanderbilt Family In History
The Russell family is the focus of The Gilded Age as they strive to integrate into New York's
elite society.
The Vanderbilt family followed a similar path in real life.
Because unlike old money families, the Vanderbilts were not a renowned family before the American
Revolution.
Thus, they were classified as new money.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the patriarch, made a substantial fortune
in the shipping and railroad businesses.
He was dubbed a "robber baron," a disparaging word for a businessman who accumulates fortune
through deceptive techniques.
Cornelius is the first American "robber baron," as the phrase was used by the New York Times
in 1859 to describe his business methods.He was considered rough and uncultured by the
upper-class New Yorkers, though he was quickly becoming the richest man in the city.
Skip Ahead To His Grandson
Following his grandfather's death, William Kissam took over the family's railroad investments
and inherited $55 million from the Vanderbilt empire.
His wife Alva was a social climber who aspired to be a part of high society and was determined
to spend all of his money in her efforts.
William and Alva had three children together until William's infidelity brought their marriage
to an end.
Alva later married Oliver Belmont, a another millionaire and a US Representative.
How The Vanderbilts Factor Into The Gilded Age Show
There is some debate as to who is the inspiration behind George Russell with some saying it
was his grandfather Cornelius rather than the actual William Kissam Vanderbilt.
In the series, George, like Cornelius Vanderbilt, is himself a robber baron who is making his
fortune by buying railroads and building new railroads to out-compete other railroad barons
who won’t sell to him.
Others say it was real-life robber baron Jason Jay Gould.
Jason Gould was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally
identified as one of the Robber barons of the Gilded Age.
His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made him one of the wealthiest men
of the late nineteenth century and it does seem that he could also be the inspiration
for George Russell in the HBO series.
As for Bertha, there is no question she is based upon the real life Alva Vanderbilt.
The need for social status by Alva Vanderbilt and her tactics to climbe the Gilded Age social
ladder is well documented in history.
So whether George is based upon his grandfather or Jay Gould, or a combination, we can be
sure who Bertha Russell's character is inspired by in real life history.
And let's not forget Consuelo.
The Russells' daughter Gladys Russell, played by Taissa Farmiga, is also based upon the
Vanderbilts real life daughter Consuelo.
The granddaughter of the richest man in America, Consuelo Vanderbilt was the prize catch of
New York Society.
But her socially ambitious mother Alva was adamant that her daughter should make a grand
marriage.
and the 9th Duke of Marlborough, a cash-poor but pedigree-rich Englishman, was just the
ticket even though poor Consuelo loved someone else.
Consuelo Vanderbilt married The 9th Duke of Marlborough at St. Thomas Episcopal Church
New York City on November 6th, 1895.
They had two sons, John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford who became 10th Duke
of Marlborough and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill.
I will be doing a full video on the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt next, so please watch
for that.
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