Anderson's Varied Ancestry

History and Wealth Highlights of Anderson Cooper's Ancestry
Oct 8, 2011 | Rosemary E. Bachelor

CNN's Anderson Cooper has Vanderbilt and Morgan family ties reflecting a heritage of historical heavyweights, some of them maliciously maligned.

Cooper comes from a somewhat contentious background of wealth accumulated by railroad baron Cornelius Vanderbilt and from a controversial Revolutionary War figure whose Morgan descendants do not include ultra-rich J. P. Morgan, a contemporary of the Vanderbilt who rode the railroad industry to fame and fortune.

Basic Bio for Anderson Cooper

Anderson was born in 1962 to Gloria Vanderbilt and her fourth husband, author Wyatt E. Cooper (1927-1978), who died during open heart surgery. He is sympathetic to advice given in his father's 1975 book titled Families: A Memoir and a Celebration. TV Guide’s online biography charts Anderson’s career from summer internships with the CIA and his Yale graduation through his media entry level attempts, years at ABC and rise through the ranks at CNN as an Emmy-winning broadcast journalist, then news anchor.

Anderson Cooper’s Vanderbilt Ancestry

Anderson Cooper’s descent from Cornelius Vanderbilt is as follows:

K12 Homeschool Online Give Your Kids An Academic Edge. K12 Online Curriculum. Learn More! www.K12.com

Bombardier We Move People. World's Only Manufacturer of Planes and Trains. Bombardier.com

• Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877)
• William Henry Vanderbilt (1821-1885), said to be the richest man in the world when he died; m. Mary Louisa Kissam (1821–1896), daughter of a Presbyterian minister.
• Cornelius Vanderbilt (1843-1899), railroad executive, m. Alice Claypool Gwynne (1845-1934), daughter of a Cincinnati lawyer and descendant of Rhode Island founder Roger Williams; they met teaching Sunday school at a New York Episcopal Church.
• Reginald Claypool Vanderbilt (1880-1925), millionaire equestrian; m. 2) Mercedes "Gloria" L. Morgan (1904-1965)
• Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (b. 1924) m. Wyatt Emory Cooper
• Anderson Cooper (b. 1967)

In the era of Anderson Cooper’s grandparents and great-grandparents many of the Vanderbilts ventured farther out into society, where their philanthropic activities enlarged their circle of acquaintances. Many of the Vanderbilt daughters hobnobbed with European nobility and some married into titled families. A great-aunt who was the mistress of a future European king became a countess.

Anderson Cooper’s Mother: Gloria Vanderbilt

Gloria Vanderbilt was the subject of a custody fight which made tabloid headlines for years. She was but a toddler when her father died, leaving her with her young mother. Eventually she was taken from her mother and raised amidst wealth and luxury by a paternal aunt, Gertrude (Vanderbilt) Whitney. She studied acting and art and with an Italian designer developed and helped market a brand of jeans which carried her name. She then ventured further, launching items such as shoes, linens and perfume, eventually founding her own company.

In the 1980s, Gloria charged former partners and her lawyer with fraud, only to win the suit, but not recover the money. Unable to pay the back taxes her lawyer had not paid IRS, she had to sell her homes in Southampton and New York City.

Gloria was married to 1) Hollywood agent Pasquale DiCicco (1941-1945), 2) conductor Leopold Stokowski (1945-1955), to whom she had sons Leopold “Stan” and Christopher, 3) director Sidney Lumet, 1956-1963, and 4) Wyatt Cooper, to whom she had sons Carter and Anderson. Vanderbilt has written three memoirs and three novels, and, in the last decade has had successful art shows and a website featuring her art. She was a guest on son Anderson Cooper’s talk show Sept. 19, 2011.

Anderson Cooper’s Grandmother: Gloria (Morgan) Vanderbilt

Mercedes “Gloria” Morgan was the Swiss-born daughter of American diplomat Henry Hayes Morgan and Laura Kilpatrick, descendant of a Civil War general. Her father was the second generation of his family to serve in the diplomatic corps and was U. S. consul general in such locations as Berlin, Amsterdam and Brussels. Gloria was educated in private schools here and abroad and a young socialite still in her teens when she wed Reginald Vanderbilt, who died less than three years later, leaving her as administrator of a $2.5 million trust for their daughter Gloria.

Gloria, the widowed mother, and her twin sister returned to their circle of friends in Europe, taking baby Gloria and her nanny with them.

In a series of legal actions, Gertrude (Vanderbilt) Whitney, her late husband’s sister, charged Gloria with being an irresponsible mother and questioned her ability to administer the trust and raise the child. Some charges around her legal age and her alleged sexual liaisons have since been proven untrue, but headlines were made when titled European witnesses crossed the Atlantic by steamer to testify on her behalf. After Gertrude took little Gloria, the child’s mother was without any of her husband’s fortune, but did visit the child. However, when Gloria became an adult she was estranged from her mother, only reconciled in her mother’s later years, when she offered some financial support.

Anderson Cooper’s Morgan Ancestry

Anderson Cooper’s most famous Morgan ancestor is controversial Revolutionary War figure Col. George Morgan, born in Philadelphia to Evan Morgan, an immigrant from Wales. He was a different sort of diplomat than his descendants. Morgan was tapped to oversee diplomacy with Indians and gain them as allies. In 1777 there were allegations that Morgan had collaborated with others against the American cause, charges he was cleared of in 1778.

In the course of his duties, Morgan worked closely with Lenape chief White Eyes. However, when the chief went with an Army campaign against the British at Detroit he died, supposedly of smallpox. Years later Morgan reported to Congress that an American militia unit had killed White Eyes and officials covered it up. Chief White Eyes had named his son George Morgan White Eyes. After the chief’s death, Morgan looked after him and was able to convince the Continental Congress that in light of the chief’s help to the patriot cause they should pay for the boy’s education at what is now Princeton University.

Morgan, an Indian trader, merchant and land speculator, grew up on the frontier near Fort Pitt and spent his later years near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, home of Perry Como and Bobby Vinton and of the second most spectacular July 4 parade in Pennsylvania. Here he was visited by spy Aaron Burr and it was Morgan who warned President Thomas Jefferson of the plot.

The Anderson Cooper Ancestry

The Anderson Cooper ancestry, unlike that of most Americans, is unique in that it stretches beyond celebrities and headline makers to the colonial founders of the nation, including those from all walks of life. His ancestors have deep colonial roots in both the south and New England. At all levels of society they reflect the accomplishments of those who contributed to the stature of the American nation.

Sources:

• Research of the late William Addams Reitwiesner, genealogist and Library of Congress staff member.
• Vanderbilt-Whitney Suit is Tinged with Pittsburgh’s History: Mother Who Wages Court Fight Custody of Child a Member of Old Washington, Pa., Family,” The Pittsburgh Press, Oct. 4, 1934; retrieved Oct. 8, 2011
• “Mrs. Vanderbilt Is Offered Aid: Titled Friends Rush to Defense of Mother in Child Suit,” Oct. 4, 1934; retrieved Oct. 7, 2011
• “Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt Dies; Railroad Heiress’s Mother, 60; Loses Famous Custody Fight for Daughter to Mrs. Whitney in 1936,” Feb. 14, 1965, New York Times; NYT Archives; accessed O ct. 7, 2011
• Perrsonal notes of the author, who is a professional genealogist