Cornelius and Sophia had thirteen children, of whom twelve survived to adulthood: Phebe Jane (named for his mother), Ethelinda, Eliza Matilda, William Henry (Billy), Emily Almira, Sophia Johnson, Maria Louisa, Frances Lavinia, Cornelius Jeremiah, George Washington (who died at age four, in 1836), Mary Alicia, Catherine Juliette, and the second George Washington. But only three of the children actually mattered to the Commodore: his sons, who would carry the Vanderbilt name. His nine daughters? They would get married and change their names, and, as far as the Commodore was concerned, their
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