George Francis Train
Encyclopedia
George Francis Train was an entrepreneurial businessman who organized the clipper ship line that sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco; he organized the Union Pacific Railroad
and the Credit Mobilier
in the United States, and a horse tramway company in England while there during the American Civil War
. In 1870 Train made the first of his three trips around the globe, with the last in 1890.
In 1872 he ran for President of the United States as an independent candidate; that year he was jailed for defending Victoria Woodhull
against obscenity charges for an issue her newspaper had published on an alleged adulterous affair. Despite his many business successes in early life, he was known as an increasingly eccentric
figure in American
and Australian
history.
in 1829. At the age of four, he was orphaned in the yellow fever
epidemic
, which killed his parents when his family were all visiting New Orleans. He was raised by his strict Methodist grandparents in Boston, who hoped he would become a minister.
Throughout his life, Train was engaged in the mercantile business
in Boston and in Australia
. In 1860 he went to England
to found horse tramway companies in Birkenhead
and London
, where he soon met opposition. He was also involved in the construction of a short-lived horse tramway in Cork, Ireland. Although his trams were popular with passengers, his designs had rails that stood above the road surface and obstructed other traffic. In 1861 Train was arrested and tried for "breaking and injuring" a London street.
Train was involved in the formation of the Union Pacific Railroad
during the Civil War
, but left for England in 1864 after having helped others set up the Crédit Mobilier
of America company. (See below) Referring to himself as "Citizen Train", he became a shipping magnate, a prolific writer
, a minor presidential candidate, and a confidant of French and Australian revolutionaries. He claimed to have been offered the presidency of a proposed Australian republic, but declined. During the American Civil War, he gave numerous speeches in England in favor of the Union
and denounced the Confederacy
.
In 1870 Train made a trip around the globe which was covered by many newspapers. It likely inspired Jules Verne
's novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The protagonist Phileas Fogg
is believed to be modeled on Train. In 1890, he managed to accomplish his third circumnavigation of the earth in 67 days. A plaque in Tacoma, Washington
commemorates the point at which the 1890 trip began and ended. Train was accompanied on many of his travels by George Pickering Bemis, his cousin and private secretary, who was later elected as mayor of Omaha, Nebraska
.
While in Europe
after his 1870 trip, Train met with the Grand Duke Constantine. During that period, he also persuaded the Queen of Spain to back the construction of a railway in the backwoods of Pennsylvania
, which was the funding for the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad
. He promoted and built new tramways in Britain after some opposition, which was eventually overcome by offering to run the rails level with the street.
On his return to the U.S., Train's popularity and reputation soared. He began promoting the great Union Pacific Railroad
, with which he had been involved for several years, despite the advice of Vanderbilt
, who told him it would never work. Forming a finance company called Credit Foncier of America
, Train made a fortune from real estate when the great transcontinental railway opened up settlement and development of huge swathes of western America, including large amounts of land in Omaha
, Council Bluffs, Iowa
and Columbus, Nebraska
. He was responsible for building the Cozzens Hotel
and founding Train Town
in pioneer Omaha.
Along with Credit Foncier, Train's most famous creation was Credit Mobilier
, which he started specifically to sell construction supplies for the Union Pacific. That venture was torn asunder by scandals
that rocked the nation.
In 1872 Train ran for President of the United States of America as an independent candidate. He was a staunch supporter of the temperance movement
. That year he was jailed on obscenity
charges while defending Victoria Woodhull
for her newspaper's publishing an issue reporting the alleged affair of Henry Ward Beecher
and Elizabeth Tilton, each married to other people. He was the primary financier of the newspaper The Revolution
, which was dedicated to women's rights
, and published by Susan B. Anthony
and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
.
As he aged, Train became more eccentric. In 1873 he was arrested and threatened with being sent to an insane asylum.
He stood for the position of Dictator of the United States, charged admission fees to his campaign rallies, and drew record crowds. He became a vegetarian and adopted various fad
s in succession. Instead of shaking hands with other people, he shook hands with himself, the manner of greeting he had seen in China
. He spent his final days on park benches in New York City
's Madison Square Park, handing out dimes and refusing to speak to anyone but children and animals.
He became ill with smallpox
while visiting his daughter Susan M. Train Gulager in Stamford, Connecticut
in 1903.
He died in New York and was buried at a small private ceremony at Green-Wood Cemetery
. On his death The Thirteen Club
, of which he was a member, passed a resolution that he was one of the few sane men in "a mad, mad world."
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
and the Credit Mobilier
Credit Mobilier
Credit Mobilier may refer to:* Crédit Mobilier, a large French bank* Crédit Mobilier of America, an American railroad construction company setup by the Union Pacific Railroad to build the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s *...
in the United States, and a horse tramway company in England while there during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In 1870 Train made the first of his three trips around the globe, with the last in 1890.
In 1872 he ran for President of the United States as an independent candidate; that year he was jailed for defending Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Claflin Woodhull was an American leader of the woman's suffrage movement, an advocate of free love; together with her sister, the first women to operate a brokerage in Wall Street; the first women to start a weekly newspaper; an activist for women's rights and labor reforms and, in 1872,...
against obscenity charges for an issue her newspaper had published on an alleged adulterous affair. Despite his many business successes in early life, he was known as an increasingly eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
figure in American
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
and Australian
History of Australia
The History of Australia refers to the history of the area and people of Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians are believed to have first arrived on the Australian mainland by boat from the Indonesian archipelago between 40,000 to...
history.
Biography
Train was born in Boston, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1829. At the age of four, he was orphaned in the yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
, which killed his parents when his family were all visiting New Orleans. He was raised by his strict Methodist grandparents in Boston, who hoped he would become a minister.
Throughout his life, Train was engaged in the mercantile business
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
in Boston and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In 1860 he went to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to found horse tramway companies in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
and London
Trams in London
There have been two separate generations of trams in London, from 1860 to 1952 and from 2000. Between 1952 and 2000, no trams ran at all in London.- Horse trams :...
, where he soon met opposition. He was also involved in the construction of a short-lived horse tramway in Cork, Ireland. Although his trams were popular with passengers, his designs had rails that stood above the road surface and obstructed other traffic. In 1861 Train was arrested and tried for "breaking and injuring" a London street.
Train was involved in the formation of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, but left for England in 1864 after having helped others set up the Crédit Mobilier
Crédit Mobilier
Crédit Mobilier was a French banking company, and one of the most important financial institutions of the world during the 19th century. It had a major role in the financing of numerous railroads and other infrastructure projects in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by mobilizing the savings...
of America company. (See below) Referring to himself as "Citizen Train", he became a shipping magnate, a prolific writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, a minor presidential candidate, and a confidant of French and Australian revolutionaries. He claimed to have been offered the presidency of a proposed Australian republic, but declined. During the American Civil War, he gave numerous speeches in England in favor of the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and denounced the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
In 1870 Train made a trip around the globe which was covered by many newspapers. It likely inspired Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The protagonist Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in eighty days, or less, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club. He takes the wager and leaves with Passepartout,...
is believed to be modeled on Train. In 1890, he managed to accomplish his third circumnavigation of the earth in 67 days. A plaque in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
commemorates the point at which the 1890 trip began and ended. Train was accompanied on many of his travels by George Pickering Bemis, his cousin and private secretary, who was later elected as mayor of Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
.
While in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
after his 1870 trip, Train met with the Grand Duke Constantine. During that period, he also persuaded the Queen of Spain to back the construction of a railway in the backwoods of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, which was the funding for the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad
The Atlantic and Great Western Railroad began as three separate railroads: the Erie and New York City Railroad based in Jamestown, New York; the Meadville Railroad based in Meadville, Pennsylvania ; and the Franklin and Warren Railroad based in Franklin Mills, Ohio...
. He promoted and built new tramways in Britain after some opposition, which was eventually overcome by offering to run the rails level with the street.
On his return to the U.S., Train's popularity and reputation soared. He began promoting the great Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, with which he had been involved for several years, despite the advice of Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
, who told him it would never work. Forming a finance company called Credit Foncier of America
Credit Foncier of America
Credit Foncier of America was a late 19th century financing and real estate company in Omaha, Nebraska. The company existed primarily to promote the townsites along the Union Pacific railroad, and was incorporated by a special act of the Nebraska Legislature in 1866...
, Train made a fortune from real estate when the great transcontinental railway opened up settlement and development of huge swathes of western America, including large amounts of land in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
and Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus is a city in east central Nebraska, United States. Its population was 22,111 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Pre-settlement history:...
. He was responsible for building the Cozzens Hotel
Cozzens House Hotel
The Cozzens House Hotel, later known as the Canfield House, was a pioneer hotel located at 9th & Harney Streets in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Constructed in by Union Pacific promoter George Francis Train, the 120 room hotel cost $60,000 to build in 1867...
and founding Train Town
Train Town
Train Town, today called the Credit Foncier Addition, was a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska owned by noted eccentric Union Pacific promoter George Francis Train's company called Credit Foncier. The area was 20 blocks by 20 blocks, which was approximately the size of Omaha at the time...
in pioneer Omaha.
Along with Credit Foncier, Train's most famous creation was Credit Mobilier
Credit Mobilier
Credit Mobilier may refer to:* Crédit Mobilier, a large French bank* Crédit Mobilier of America, an American railroad construction company setup by the Union Pacific Railroad to build the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s *...
, which he started specifically to sell construction supplies for the Union Pacific. That venture was torn asunder by scandals
Crédit Mobilier of America scandal
The Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1872 involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The distribution of Crédit Mobilier shares of stock by Congressman Oakes Ames along with cash bribes to...
that rocked the nation.
In 1872 Train ran for President of the United States of America as an independent candidate. He was a staunch supporter of the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. That year he was jailed on obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
charges while defending Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Claflin Woodhull was an American leader of the woman's suffrage movement, an advocate of free love; together with her sister, the first women to operate a brokerage in Wall Street; the first women to start a weekly newspaper; an activist for women's rights and labor reforms and, in 1872,...
for her newspaper's publishing an issue reporting the alleged affair of Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
and Elizabeth Tilton, each married to other people. He was the primary financier of the newspaper The Revolution
The Revolution (newspaper)
The Revolution was a weekly women's rights newspaper published between January 8, 1868 and February 1872. It was the official publication of the National Woman Suffrage Association which was formed by feminists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony...
, which was dedicated to women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, and published by Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement...
.
As he aged, Train became more eccentric. In 1873 he was arrested and threatened with being sent to an insane asylum.
He stood for the position of Dictator of the United States, charged admission fees to his campaign rallies, and drew record crowds. He became a vegetarian and adopted various fad
FAD
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...
s in succession. Instead of shaking hands with other people, he shook hands with himself, the manner of greeting he had seen in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He spent his final days on park benches in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Madison Square Park, handing out dimes and refusing to speak to anyone but children and animals.
He became ill with smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
while visiting his daughter Susan M. Train Gulager in Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
in 1903.
He died in New York and was buried at a small private ceremony at Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
. On his death The Thirteen Club
The Thirteen Club
In the 1880s, The Thirteen Club was created to debunk the superstition of "13 at a table" being unlucky. This belief states that when 13 people are seated together at a table, one will die within a year. They met on the 13th of the month for a dinner served to 13 people at each table.By 1887, The...
, of which he was a member, passed a resolution that he was one of the few sane men in "a mad, mad world."
Publications
- An American Merchant in Europe, Asia, and Australia (1851)
- Young America Abroad (1857)
- Young America in Wall Street (1858)
- Irish Independency (1865)
- Championship of Women (1868)
- My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands (1902)