Railroad Tycoon. After working in a brokerage house from the age of 14, he bought his own seat on the new York Stock Exchange in his early twenties. He married, Mary Averell, the daughter of the president of the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain Railroad and began to build his railroad empire. He passed his shares of Union Pacific  to his son, W. Averell Harriman, who was chairman of the Union Pacific’s board from 1932 to 1946.   Family links:  Parents:  Orlando Harriman (1813 – 1881)  Cornelia Nielson Harriman (1814 – 1889)  Spouse:  Mary Williamson Averell Harriman (1851 – 1932)*  Children:  Mary Harriman Rumsey (1881 – 1934)*  Cornelia Averell Harriman Gerry (1884 – 1966)*  W. Averell Harriman (1891 – 1986)*  Siblings:  John Neilson Harriman (1843 – 1898)*  Orlando Harriman (1844 – 1911)*  Edward Henry Harriman (1848 – 1909)  William McCurdy Harriman (1854 – 1903)*  John N Harriman (1868 – 1868)* *Calculated relationship