USA > Connecticut > Connecticut yesterday and today : 1635-1935 : celebrating three hundred years of progress in the Constitution state > Part 14
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As we have remarked earlier it was incumbent upon the Hartford Bank to instill confidence in the minds of the people and to teach them the rules which must abide in the new order of financial struc- ture. The use of bills in place of specie was one of the problems; habits of promptness and punctuality in the meeting of notes, the bank as machinery to add to the aggregate financial resources of the com- munity and as an economizing agency in financial processes and finally the bank as a depository for surplus funds were ideas that must become a part of the community's life if the bank was to prosper. The use of bills, we have noted, was accepted after long experience had shown their convenience and safety; in the same manner the other points in the five-fold program became an integral part of the business-man's equipment. In 1798 the board "voted that in every Instance when a Note remains unpaid (the three days of grace having expired), it shall be the duty of the cashier to give immediate notice to the indorser. In case the note is not paid within twenty-four hours after such notice, that the note
With the accession of Jefferson to the presidency of the United States the surplus revenues were ap- plied to the reduction of the public debt with the result that Connecticut was obliged to provide for the disposition of funds paid back to her. Apparent- ly the State had real confidence in its banks for the monies were used in purchasing bank stock, the op- portunity being allowed by a resolution of the direc- tors-"Resolved that this Bank in conjunction with the other Banks in the State in case they agree, will in proportion to the capitals of each receive from the state all the monies it now has on hand and also all that it may hereafter have, accruing from the re- imbursement of the Capital of its Stock of the United States, as fast as the same comes into the hands of the State, either on loan at 6 per cent. per annum, or in payment of shares to be issued to the State. . The State accepted the proposal through an act of the General Assembly at the May session and during the next six years subscribed $64,400 to the stock of the Hartford Bank.
Starting with a proposed capital of $100,000 the Hartford Bank has increased its capital from time to time until today it has reached $4,000,000. It was but four years after the founding of the in- stitution that the directors deemed it expedient and necessary to enlarge the capital stock to the sum of $160,000, the additional $60,000 to be raised by subscription. This first opportunity was not greeted with any great enthusiasm by the public for in three years only $38,400 had been subscribed. The move- ment was halted for the moment but a second effort in March, 1802 brought an immediate response and $69,200 was added with little difficulty, bringing the
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HARTFORD NATIONAL INITIATES BRANCH BANKING
total to $207,600. Again in 1805 a subscription list was thrown open to the public and $34,400 was sub- scribed during the term. The directors were not entirely satisfied by the amount and extended the term by six months and the end of the year found $151,200 taken in. Still the board was not satisfied and the books were kept open until the following June when the total capital had reached $545,200. In May, 1807 an act was passed authorizing an increase of capital to $1,000,000, the books to be opened on the first of September each year until the necessary funds were raised. By December, 1816, the capital reached $1,212,800, of which $1,000,000 was transferable, and $212,800 non- transferable. In May, 1882, the capital stock was further increased by the addition of six hundred and seventy-two shares of one hundred dollars each. The change from a state chartered bank came in 1865 when the Hartford Bank became The Hartford National Bank under the national bank act of 1864.
CONSOLIDATIONS
The Hartford National Bank absorbed the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank in April,
1910. In April, 1915, the Hartford National Bank consolidated with the Aetna National Bank under the name of The Hartford-Aetna National Bank. In May, 1927, the Hartford-Aetna National Bank con- solidated with the United States Security Trust Co. taking the name of Hartford National Bank and Trust Co. under which it now operates.
In the nineteen-twenties it became apparent to many men identified with the banking and insurance interests in Hartford that banking facilities were needed west of the business center. Consequently The Bankers Trust Co. was founded with a capital of $250,000. Morgan B. Brainard was elected chair- man of the board and Porter B. Chase was chosen as president.
During the year 1933, when it had become ap- parent that the small financial institution in the residential district was a sound venture, the original founders felt that better service and greater security could be given to the clientele by a closer association with a larger institution. Consequently, on Decem- ber 9, 1933 the Bankers Trust Co. became the Farm- ington Avenue Branch of the Hartford National Bank and Trust Co. which was the first branch Bank to be established in Hartford.
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The Farmington Avenue Branch of the Hartford National Bank and Trust Co., located at 70 Farmington .Ivenue, Hartford
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HARTFORD NATIONAL DANA ING TRUST EU
ROBERT B. NEWELL President
JOHN O. ENDERS Chairman, Executive Committee
Alphabetical List of the First Subscribers to the Hartford Bank. 250 Shares at $ 100 each
Benjamin, Everad
2
Bolles, John
?
Bigelow, Benjamin 4
Bull, Caleb
1
Bull, David 1
Bull, George 2
Bull, Hezekiah . 3
Bull, Isaac
1
Bull, James
?
Bull, Joseph
1
Bull, Michael & Thomas
8
Butler, N.
6
Burr, James
Burr, Joseph
1
Burr, Timothy
6
Caldwell, Johu 8
Caldwell, John & Co.
6
Chenevard, John
Colt. Elisha 15
10
Ellsworth. Oliver
10
Goodrich, Channecy
)
Goodwin, David
1
Hall, John
1
Hopkins, Charles
1
Hubbard. Nehemiah
Hudson & Goodwin
1
CHARLES P. COOLEY
ROBERT B. NEWELL
MORGAN B. BRAINARD
CHARLES F. T. SEAVERNS
D. NEWTON BARNEY
SAMUEL P. WILLIAMS
WM, E. A. BULKELEY
HENRY 'F. HOLT
WM. R. C. CORSON
JAMES H. BREWSTER, JR.
FRANCIS PARSONS
GEORGE C. LONG, JR.
1.eddie, Samuel
1
CHARLES WELLES GROSS
RICHARD H. COLE
Lyndes. Joseph
CHARLES G. WOODWARD
ROBERT C. GLAZIER
Merrill, Hezekiah 10
Merrills, George
Morgan, Elias 2
Morgan, John
6
Moseley, William
4
Ogden, Jacob
3
Olcott, Daniel
3
Patten, Nathaniel
1
Perkins, Enoch
3
Phelps, Oliver
15
Phillips, George P'. J
10
Pitlin, Daniel
1
Pratt, Joseph
2
Root, Ephraim
6
Root, Jesse, Jr.
6
Smith, Reuben & Co.
8
Thomas, John
Tisdall, Thomas
2
Wadsworth, Catherine
I
Wadsworth, Daniel
Wadsworth, Decius
1
Wadsworth. Elizabeth
1
Wadsworth. Funice
1
Wadsworth, Jerc
4
Watson, James
10
Wells. Ashbell. Jr.
?
W. B. DANA, Vice-President and Associate Trust Officer
A. M. BUNCE, Associate Trust Officer H. C. BAILEY, Associate Trust Officer
T. L. BESTOR, Associate Trust Officer
P. H. GRAHAM, Associate Trust Officer
A. G. STRONACH, Vice-President and Trust Officer
A. B. Rock, Associate Trust Officer
W. C. MACDONOUGH, Associate Trust Officer and Assistant Secretary
Wells, James Il. 10
Wells. Lucy - 1
Williams, Ezekiel, Jr. 3
Wyles, John
1
5
1
Jones. Daniel
Keyes. Amasa
Kilbourn, Freeman
2
Kilbourn, Sanmel
1
Lawrence, Sammel
3
PHILIP B. GALE
FRANCIS W. COLE
GEORGE H. STOUGHTON
FREDERICK B. RENTSCHLER
SAMUFI. FERGUSON
M. CLARK TERRILL
DANIEL J. GLAZIER
Officers
R. B. NEWELL, President
H. T. Hour, First Vice-President
F. R. ComEs, Assistant Cashier
GEORGE F. KANE, Vice-President
C. F. Monroy, Assistant Cashier
A. G. BRAINERD, Vice-President
D. W. HUBBARD, Assistant Cashier H. SPENCER, Assistant Cashier
F. W. OUTTRIM, Assistant Cashier
C. B. PARKER, Assistant Cashier
F. T. PECK, Avistant Cashier
LOUIS P. MERRIMAN, Vice-President
D). MOSKVEY, Assistant Cashier
WV. S. ANDREWS, Assistant Cashier R. D. CHAPIN, Secretary
A. P. MeDONOUGH, Assistant Secretary H. C. PRETON, Auditor
Trust Department
M. T. HVEN, Vice-President
F. A. HAGARTY, Associate Trust Officer M. HI. GLOVER, Associate brestment Officer
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Dean, Barnabas & Co.
Officers and Directors Directors
JOHN O. ENDERS
JOSEPH R. ENSIGN
W. B. DiMov, Assistant Cashier
F. M. CRAMPTON, Vice-President HERBERT HUBBARD, Vice-President OSTROM ENDERS, Vice-Pres, and Cahier R. J. Uri .. Y, Vice-President
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Sanford. P
Trumbull, John
1
Wadsworth, Harriet
Ingraham, N. G.
The PHOENIX STATE BANK and TRUST CO.
Chartered 1814
Charles Sigourney, author of the famous petition for a charter and second president of the bank. He was born in Boston of Scotch Huge- not ancestry. In 1819 he married Lydia Huntley, who became noted as a poetess under the name Lydia Huntley Sigourney.
First Board of Directors
NORMAN KNOX President
WARD WOODBRIDGE SAMUEL TUDOR CHARLES SIGOURNEY DANIEL BUCK
THOMAS K. BRACE MOSES TRYON, JR. JONATHAN W. EDWARDS JOHN RUSS DAVID WATKINSON JAMES H. WELLS
Michael Olcott and Russell Bunce were chosen at the Septem- ber meeting in the places of Mr. Watkinson and Mr. Wells. George Beach was chosen as cashier.
PHOENIX
ILRANNEY.
THOMAS E DUFFEY
LURAL CONSERVATORY.
AUWERSPLANTS&SECO +
First Marble Building in Hartford
HE first Phoenix Bank building, shown above, was erected on the plot of land which then, as now, lay opposite the Old State House. This plot had been a favorite with the original proprietors. Governor Hopkins had taken the southern por- tion and Governor Haynes the northern portion, near where Asylum Street is now located. Governor Haynes later moved to Front Street. Thomas Olcott in 1639 took the Hopkins property, which included nearly all the present block bounded by Main, Asylum, Trumbull and Pearl Streets and which at his death in 1654 was appraised at about $300. Michael Olcott, an original director of the bank, lived alone at the corner of Main and Belden Streets, far back from the highway. He and his maiden sisters, Mary and Abigail, deeded to the bank the land for the site on March 18, 1815. The directors at once erected the first marble building, shown above, to be seen in Hartford. A figure of the Phoenix bird, carved in wood, surmounted the facade.
A wing was added on each side of the building in 1827 and these wings rented from $200 to $300 a year. The wooden phoenix was re- placed at this time by one of exquisite model, carved out of stone.
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FOR MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS THE PHOENIX
The Second Bank Building
HE Phoenix State Bank and Trust Com- pany today occupies its fourth structure built upon its original site. Its location, opposite the old State House, in the very heart of the city's business, never has been changed. Only three other banks in the United States have stood so long upon a single site.
The petition to the Legislature for a charter, of- fered by Ward Woodbridge, Samuel Tudor, and Charles Sigourney, stalwart Episcopalians, was granted May 27, 1814, after a long, and in some respects, a bitter fight. Born in Congregationalism, colony and state had been under Congregational sway for nearly two centuries. In effect the Con- gregational was the established church of Connecti- cut. There never was an election sermon by aught except a Congregationalist till that by Dr. Doane of Christ Church the year of the new Constitution, 1818.
Repugnance to creed control expressed itself in various ways. In this fashion the one incorporated bank then in Hartford was taken as an exponent of the dominating creed, and the moment that a new bank was spoken of and was opposed by the Hart- The following story of this great Hartford institution is taken from the book entitled "First Century of The Phoenix National Bank." written by Charles W. Burpee and published by the bank on the occasion of its one hundredth anniversary.
INCORPORATEU
PHOENIX BANK BUILDING -- -
4
The Bank As Altered
ford Bank, "Episcopal" became a rallying cry for a fight against the regime. The "Episcopal Bank" won its fight in 1814 and the bill in the Legislature which granted the charter was for some years called the "Toleration Act."
The Act as passed extended permission for the es- tablishment of a branch of the bank in Litchfield. In Litchfield a site was purchased of Samuel . Buell on North Main Street, whereon was erected in 1815 a building which has ever since been the home of the bank, now the First National Bank of Litchfield.
Although the petition for the charter had been vigourously opposed in many quarters, the founders of the Phoenix Bank experienced little difficulty in finding subscribers for their proposed capital of $1,000,000. Between July 6 and July 21 the amount was oversubscribed by six times. Consequently the first stockholder's meeting was held on July 21 at Bennett's Coffee House on Main Street. It is to be remembered that this optimism of the stockholders came after the failure of many banks in the United States in 1814 and during the parlous times of the last war with England.
During this period there was a natural lack of specie and it became incumbent upon the banks to issue bills, not only in the common denominations
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HAS REMAINED ON ITS ORIGINAL SITE
THE PHOENIX NA
SANITAS VINOON CLE
STAT
BANK
=
The Present Bank Structure
but also in those of a fractional character. The remain liquid and to progress to a stronger position, Phoenix Bank was authorized in October to aid in guided as they were by sound, conservative bank- ing principles. The bank paid a first semi-annual dividend in March, 1815 of 80 cents to those who had paid their installments. At the same time Mr. Beach's salary was raised to $1,000 and he was given an additional $200 for "extra arduous" services. alleviating this situation. The officers fixed 6 and 1/4 cents as a minimum for this small currency and issued a great variety of paper within the next two years. Though many financial institutions were em- barrassed by the times, the Phoenix managed to
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Leon P. Broadhurst
On December 15, 1864 the bank was reorganized by vote of the stockholders under the national bank act of 1864 and became known as the Phoenix National Bank. At this same time the Litchfield branch reorganized independently and became the First National Bank of Litchfield.
Throughout the existence of the institution and despite its occupany of four different buildings, oc- casioned by its growth, the bank has always remained upon its original site, though from 1849 until 1926 a part of the plot was occupied by the State Bank and Trust Company which was incorporated at the former date. When the Phoenix Bank and the State Bank and Trust Company consolidated in 1926 the two parcels comprising the original land deeded to the Phoenix in 1815 became united once more and the foresight of the founders was again verified.
Present Board of Directors
GUY E. BEARDSLEY
HAROLD F. LARKIN
CHARLES G. BII.I.
FRANK D. LAYTON
LEON P. BROADHURST
CHARLES A. LILLIE
JOHN IL. BUCK
SIDNEY T. MAXWELL
FRANK CHENEY, Jr.
ALBERT L. POPE
ARTHUR M. COLLENS
CHARLES D. RICE
CHARLES A. GOODWIN
EDGAR J. SLOAN
JAMES 1 .. GOODWIN
SANIUEL M. STONE
WALTER L. GOODWIN
CARL. F. STURIIAIIN
ARTHUR D. JOHNSON
ARCHIBALD A. WELCH
GILBERT KINGAN
STILLAIAN F. WESTBROOK
BOVE the curtain wall on each ell, when the wings were added in 1827 was placed a life-sized marble lion. Antiquarians and lovers of art deeply regret that the name of the sculptor of these lions is unknown. They were destined to win a warm place in the hearts of Hartford citizens and of children in particular, to be a landmark for many years and finally to become literally a part of the city's official history.
When the original building was replaced in 1873- 74 the lions came down to the street level. On each sicle of the stately entrance, which was up an in- terior flight of stone steps to the first floor, they faced the Old State House till 1912. Then the broad sidewalk being considered too narrow for the daily throng at this center of business, the city au- thorities advised the removal of the lions. Making no contest as to rights the bank complied, though loud were the protests from lovers of art and from citizens who as boys had patted, bestraddled and helped polish those lions, even as the street urchins of the twentieth century are wont to do. "Let the Phoenix lions be preserved," said everybody. Ac- cordingly the bank presented them to the city for use at the new Municipal Building, on condition that if at any time the city should neglect to accord the lions the respect they deserved, they should re- vert to the bank. They are now placed on either side of the Circle Street entrance to the Municipal Building within roaring distance, at least, from the site where they faced the Old State House for near- ly one hundred years.
The Original Phoenix Lion
1122%
SOCIETY FOR SAVINGS
Established 1819
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For many years this institution was called the Pratt Street Bank because of its location. Pratt Street was laid out in 1814 by the two Pratt brothers, who owned farms stretching to the West from Main Street. {123]
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SAVINGS BANK
1834
HE Society for Savings, the oldest savings bank in Connecticut, the third oldest in New England; and the fifth oldest in the United States, was organized on June 9, 1819, at a meeting held in the State House on Main Street -- now known as the "Old State House". Its organizers were thirty-six of the leading business men of Hartford. Daniel Wadsworth was the first president; Elisha Colt was treasurer; and James M. Goodwin was secretary. Its first office was in the State House, probably because its treasurer, Elisha Colt, was State Comptroller, and could attend to the business of the Society without interrupting his other duties; this is still Article I of the Bank's By-Laws :
"No business can be done at this office," reads a rule printed in the first pass-books, "but on Wednes- day, from two until five o'clock P. M. This regu- lation is to save expense to those who put in their money, as the treasurer can do the business cheaper, when only three hours per week is required, than he could if three, or even one hour, each day were to be employed."
"The primary objects of this institution", to quote Article I of the original by-laws, "are to aid the industrious, economical, and worthy; to protect them
from the extravagance of the profligate, the snares of the vicious, and to bless them with competency, respectability and happiness."
At the expiration of his term of office as Comp troller of the State, Mr. Colt transferred the business of the Society to his own home at No. 10 Church Street. In 1827, he was succeeded as treasurer by Mr. James M. Goodwin, who, after two years, re- signed to become Secretary of the Aetna Insurance Company. He was succeeded by Reuben Langdon; and the business of the Society was moved to the counting room of Mr. Langdon's dry goods store at 359 (now 871) Main Street. There was a further removal to a small room on Asylum Street near Main.
The growth of the bank lead the trustees in 1832 , "to take measures for the purchase of a lot and to obtain a plan for a building." The trustees in 1833 chose and purchased a lot on Pratt Street. The cost of the land was $1,275. The full appropriation for the building was $2,500. This first building con- structed in 1834, measured twenty-four by forty-six feet. Its front was the design of Daniel Wadsworth, its first president and Hartford's leading citizen.
The location on Pratt Street was natural and convenient. Reuben Langdon, the treasurer, lived just across the street; Barzillai Hudson, a trustee, dwelt a few doors west; Michael Bull's family-he just called the incorporators together under the charter- also lived there; the publishers of the Courant, Goodwin and Company, did business next door on Main Street.
Let us go back for a moment to the Hartford of 1834. The city limits were only about 600 acres; the town limits included West Hartford, and yet there were only about 10,000 people dwelling within those limits.
The banks of deposit were the Hartford, the Connecticut River, the Phoenix, the Exchange and the Farmers & Mechanics. The two latter were chartered in 1833 and 1834, and yet the capital of
The story of this great Hartford institution is taken from a pamphlet written by Arthur 1 .. Shipman and published by the bank in 1927 on the occasion of the opening of its present home.
-AND FIFTH
OLDEST IN THE £ UNITED STATES
the Farmers & Mechanics, viz., $500,000, was over- subscribed, the total amount of subscriptions being $1,600,750. One wonders where all this money came from. It had been made largely in the West Indian trade, but that trade was entirely killed by President Jefferson's embargo proclamations and by the inability of President Madison to escape the War of 1812. Hartford was still, however, a busy mari- time port, and entries to and sailings from the port were noted conspicuously.
The abandonment of the West Indian and foreign trade led Hartford men into wholesaling and dis- tributing dry goods, groceries and heavy hardware. David Watkinson, one of the first . Vice-Presidents of the Society, the founder of the Watkinson library, the Orphan Asylum and other benevolent and charitable institutions of Hartford, and Ward Wood- bridge, president of the Society when its first building was constructed, were perhaps the most successful of those merchants.
The second building of the Society was constructed on the same site in 1860 when the growth of the Society (its assets having reached four million dol- lars) made the need of larger quarters imperative. While the new home was under construction, the business of the society was transacted in an adjoin- ing building owned by Goodwin and Company. Abraham Lincoln was running for President on the Republican ticket and his victory in November, 1860, was hailed with flaring headlines.
The Civil War put to the test the strength of all financial institutions in the country. The Society for Savings, however, stood like a rock. Its pros- perity continued, and by June 1, 1864, its assets had risen to over five million dollars.
In the early '90's the Trustees decided to enlarge the lot on which the building stood by buying additional ground to the West, and to erect a new building which was completed in 1893. This build- ing was widely recognized as the finest savings bank structure in New England. During construction business was conducted in the ground floor rooms of the Aetna (Fire) Building on Main Street.
This structure proved adequate for three decades. In 1925 the Trustees determined to double the size of the building by constructing an addition at the rear. No one can tell how long the present enlarged structure will be adequate but provision for the future has been made by constructing the main banking floor of large dimensions and making the foundation and walls of a strength great enough to allow the addition of four or five more stories.
What the Society has meant to the City and the State in its 115 years of service appears in the fol- lowing figures. Today, July 1, 1934, its regular depositors number more than ninety thousand, while in addition there are thirty-four thousand accounts in the school savings and weekly savings club depart- ments. The resources of the Society exceed seventy million dollars, of which more than seven million is surplus for the protection of the depositors. The divi- dends paid out of earnings each year to depositors exceed two million dollars. The total of dividends since the bank was founded comes to the huge sum of some seventy million dollars.
In looking back over its long history, it is a source of satisfaction to recall that the Society for Savings has maintained a sound policy from the day of its inception, and that many thousands of persons have made their way to independence and success through its activities.
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SOCIETY FOR SAVINGS .
Facabli ned 119
Charles P. Cooley Chairman of the Board
Robert C. Glazier President and Treasurer
Daniel Wadsworth First President ( 1819-1828)
SAVINGS SOCIETY IN THE CITY OF HARTFORY RIVING -
Its Office is established at the State House,- and will be open every Wednesday, from 2 till 5 o'clock, P. M. PRESIDENT,
DANIEL WADSWORTH, Esquire.
VICE-PRESIDENTS,
Ward Woodbridge, Charles Sigourney,
James H. Wells, John Russ,
Michael Olcott, Jeremiah Brown,
John T. Peters
Isaac Perkins,
David PorteY,
Michael Bull,
David Watkinson, William Ely.
TRUSTEES,
Cyprian Nichols, Joseph B. Gilbert.
Mason F. Cogswell, John Butler,
Henry Hudson, Samuel Tudor, jun. , Christopher Colt,
Russell Bunce, Thendare Pease.
James B. Hosmer,
Barzillai Hudson, jun.
Charles Hosmer,
Roderick Terry, Horace Burr,
Thomas Day,
George Goodwin, jun .. George Beach,
Lorenzo Bull,. Normand Smith,
James R. Woodbridge, Thomas K. Brace, v
James M. Goodwin, Jesse Savage.
James M. Goodwin, Secretary.
Elisha Colt, Treasurer.
THE design of this institution is, to afford those who were desirous of saving their money, the means of employ- ing it to advantage, without running the risque'of losing, · by lending it to individuals, who by misfortune or fraud, pay, neither interest nor principal. To promote so de-
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