CHAPTER FOURTEEN
FEBRUARY 1870
Beginning a business on Wall Street wasn’t nearly as easy as I had imagined. I couldn’t simply hang a sign on the door and wait for customers to arrive, not if I wished to be successful. Mr. Vanderbilt helped by establishing a line of credit in my and Tennie’s names with his friend, the banker Henry Clews, and introducing us to his many connections. Luckily, all it took to get them to extend their allegiance was Mr. Vanderbilt’s blessing and a witty remark from me or a beguiling glance from Tennie.
One of those leads secured our office space. As the former home of Williams & Grey, the building had been hastily abandoned by its occupants: a forger, bank robber, swindler, and murderer. In their haste to flee, they took only what they could carry, so as a res
