Strengthening Ties: The Hidden Individuals behind Vanderbilt’s Founding

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About This Exhibition

On March 17, 1873, railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt moved to “strengthen the ties” between the North and the war-torn South by endowing the Central University of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. While Bishop Holland McTyeire is credited with inspiring Vanderbilt’s gift, a network of hidden individuals helped actualize this dream. Vanderbilt’s second wife, Frank, and her cousin Amelia McTyeire forged “silent but golden” links in Vanderbilt’s ties to influential post-Civil War circles. Additionally, Chancellor Landon Garland procured for the institute the finest scientific instruments available at the turn of the nineteenth century. The work of these individuals enabled Vanderbilt University to become the preeminent center of learning that it is today.

Bishop McTyeire

Date circa 1850s

Source John James Tigert IV Collection, Vanderbilt University Special Collections

This is an original photo of a young Holland McTyeire likely taken in the 1850s. At the time he was working in many southern cities as a pastor. No information is available on the photo, not even the name of the photographer. On the back of this artifact, the name “Bishop McTyeire” is written in pencil.

Curator Jacob Schroeder – University Architect Bishop McTyeire »

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