Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made | Page 2

with which the perusal
of the biographies of others inspired them at critical periods of their
careers. It is believed that the narrations embraced in these pages afford
ample instruction and entertainment to the young, as well as food for
earnest reflection on the part of those who are safely advanced upon
their pathway to success, and that they will prove interesting to all
classes of intelligent readers.
Some explanation is due to the reader respecting the title that has been
chosen for the work. The term "Great Fortunes" is not used here to
designate pecuniary success exclusively. A few of the men whose lives
are herein recorded never amassed great wealth. Yet they achieved the
highest success in their vocations, and their lives are so full of interest
and instruction that this work must have been incomplete and
unsatisfactory had they been passed over in silence. The aim of the
writer has been to present the histories of those who have won the
highest fame and achieved the greatest good in their respective callings,
whether that success has brought them riches or not, and above all, of
those whose labors have not only opened the way to fortune for
themselves, but also for others, and have thus conferred lasting benefits
upon their country.
In short, I have sought to make this work the story of the Genius of
America, believing as I do that he whose achievements have

contributed to the increase of the national wealth, the development of
the national resources, and the elevation of the national character,
though he himself be poor in purse, has indeed won a great fortune, of
which no reverse can ever deprive him.
J.D. McC., JR.
NEW YORK, 24th October, 1870.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
CONSTERNATION AT SIGHT OF FULTON'S MONSTER
(Frontispiece) GIRARD COLLEGE GIRARD'S HEROISM ASTOR'S
FIRST TRIP FOR FURS "MY MEN SHALL NOT SUFFER"
PORTRAIT OF GEORGE PEABODY PEABODY PAYING FOR A
NIGHT'S LODGING PORTRAIT OF CORNELIUS VANDERBILT
VANDERBILT EARNING HIS FIRST HUNDRED DOLLARS
VANDERBILT CARRYING OFF THE SHERIFF FOUNDING A
GREAT FORTUNE PORTRAIT OF ROBERT FULTON AN
AMAZING REVELATION "THE MADHOUSE IS THE PROPER
PLACE FOR HIM" WHITNEY WATCHING THE FIRST
COTTON-GIN PORTRAIT OF ELIAS HOWE, JR. HOWE'S FIRST
IDEA OF THE SEWING-MACHINE THE BOY COLT INVENTING
THE REVOLVER PORTRAIT OF SAMUEL F.B. MORSE HOW
THE NEW YORK HERALD BEGAN MARSHALL'S DEFENCE OF
CHRISTIANITY PORTRAIT OF JAMES T. BRADY "THEY ARE
GOING TO HANG MY BROTHER; YOU CAN SAVE HIM!" THE
TRUANT'S SECRET DISCOVERED PORTRAIT OF HIRAM
POWERS POWERS' DISTRUST OF THE HUNTERS FILIAL
DEVOTION SHAPES A GREAT CAREER CARTWRIGHT
CALLING UP THE DEVIL PORTRAIT OF NATHANIEL
HAWTHORNE JEFFERSON, AS RIP VAN WINKLE
PRESCRIBING AT THE BREAKFAST-TABLE "PRESIDENT
LINCOLN HAS BEEN MURDERED!"
CONTENTS.
I. MERCHANTS.

CHAPTER I.
STEPHEN GIRARD.
The fog in the Delaware--News of the war--Alarm of the French
skipper--A narrow escape from capture--Arrival of Girard in
Philadelphia--Early history of Stephen Girard--An unhappy
childhood--Goes to sea--Is licensed to command--Becomes a trader in
Philadelphia--Marries Mary Lum--Unfortunate issue of the
marriage--Capture of Philadelphia by the British--Early commercial life
of Stephen Girard--How he earned his first money, and the use he made
of it--Aid from St. Domingo--His rigid attention to
business--Thoroughness of his knowledge--One of his letters of
instructions--His subordinates required to obey orders though they ruin
him--Anecdote of Girard and one of his captains--His promptness and
fidelity in business--He never breaks his word--How he lost five
hundred dollars--Buys the old Bank of the United States and becomes a
banker--Cuts down the salaries of his clerks--Refuses his watchman an
overcoat--Indifference to his employés--Contrast between his personal
and business habits--His liberality in financial operations--He
subscribes for the entire Government loan in 1814, and enables the
United States to carry on the war--His generosity toward the
Government--The suspension of specie payments--Financial
troubles--How Girard saved his own notes--His public spirit--How he
made half a million of dollars on a captured ship--Personal
characteristics--Why he valued money--His ambition--His
infidelity--Causes of the defects of his character--A favorable
view--Heroic conduct of Stephen Girard during the prevalence of the
yellow fever in Philadelphia--The Good Samaritan--He practices
medicine, and congratulates himself that he has killed none of his
patients--His industry--Visit of Mr. Baring to Mr. Girard--A curious
reception--Failing health and death of Stephen Girard--His will--His
noble bequests--Establishment of Girard College.
CHAPTER II.
JOHN JACOB ASTOR.

Legitimate business the field of success--Reasons for claiming Astor as
an American--Birth and early life--Religious training--The village of
Waldorf--Poverty--The jolly butcher--Young Astor's repugnance to his
father's trade--Unhappy at home--Loses his mother--His desire to
emigrate to the "New Land"--Leaves home--His voyage down the
Rhine--Reaches London and enters the service of his brother--His
efforts to prepare for emigration--Learns to speak English--Peace
between the United States and Great Britain--The road to the "New
Land" open--Astor sets out for America--His first ventures in
commerce--The voyage--How he proposed to save his Sunday
clothes--Arrival in