USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 9
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George Benjamin Redington was born in Charlestown, where his father was established as a merchant. The education of the son was designed to fit him for the same line of business. The father dying when George was sixteen years of age, he was appren- ticed to Josiah Bellows, 3d, of Walpole, a prominent trader in that section of the State, with whom young Redington mastered the rudiments of a mercantile business. Having served his time, he sought a place to begin his career, and was persuaded by Henry A. Bellows, a former Walpole friend, to locate in Littleton. Soon after coming here Mr. Redington purchased the stock of Major George Little, and made his first trial in trade, on his own account, in the Yellow Store. In 1834 he built, and removed his business to the brick store at the westerly corner of Main and Saranac Streets. In 1836 or 1837 his younger brother, Henry Cornelius Redington, was admitted to a partnership in this business. In 1835 he was interested with John Farr and George W. Ely in founding the scythe factory, in which under many discouragements he displayed his pertinacious industry through many years. He was largely interested in the lumber industry, both directly and indirectly, and in the box factory erected on the site of the scythe factory. His interest in and labor in behalf of the construction of the White Mountains Rail- road was second only to those of Ebenezer Eastman among our citizens, and his memorable contest in behalf of the stockholders
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of that road after it passed into the possession of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad has been referred to in another place.1 He was a member of the committee appointed by the town to protect its interests in the charter of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad. That the town was finally defeated in its contention in this matter was in no way the fault of the com- mittee. He was also chosen a member of the finance committee which had in charge the funding of the town debt contracted in the prosecution of the War of the Rebellion, and of many other committees selected either by the town or its citizens in their private capacity to promote the financial and business interests of the community.
His early political opinions were in harmony with those advo- cated first by the Federal and then by the Whig party. He entertained the conservative notions of most of his political as- sociates concerning the institution of slavery, but his views in regard to industrial questions were entirely in accord with those of the Federal, Whig, and Republican parties. He discussed political questions from the standpoint of a business man, and with clearness and precision, but never sought to enforce his opinions save through the agency of the ballot. His standing in the business community made him an available candidate for his party, but he was never named for positions except when the party was in a minority. He was one of that kind of men who would as soon have thought of demanding a man's purse as of asking his vote.
Mr. Redington's religious opinions were those of the Channing Unitarian school. He was one of the small number of persons holding that faith who seventy years ago made an effort to create a living society of that church in this town ; but while they were liberal both in their religious views and with their money in this cause, zeal and strength enabled them to accomplish little in this direction, and eventually Mr. Redington and his associates became regular attendants on the Sunday service of the Congregational denomination.
George B. Redington conferred lasting benefits on the town, and did much all through his life to make it known far beyond its borders as the seat of an important manufacturing industry and the home of honorable and enterprising business men. For more than half a century he was a leader in nearly every enterprise, and his contributions of time, labor, and money given unselfishly to promote the common welfare would make all others, save
1 See Vol. I., chapter on the Railroad.
GEORGE B. REDINGTON.
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those of Ebenezer Eastman, shrink into insignificance by com- parison. His mind was at once broad and acute ; he possessed great patience, tireless industry, and methodical business habits that trusted little to memory, the details of his transactions being committed to writing; he planned with skill and foresight and executed with vigor and judgment, and his projects were with few exceptions carried to a successful issue.
In the spring of 1871 a paper inviting subscriptions to the capital stock of a National Bank which had been fixed at $75,000, were circulated, and that sum was soon over-subscribed. The bank was organized at a meeting held at the office of John Farr & Son, Tuesday evening, July 18, of the same year, when the fol- lowing directors were chosen : John Farr, Henry L. Tilton, Cyrus Eastman, George B. Redington, Charles W. Rand, and Eleazer B. Parker. At a meeting of the directors, hield on the same day, John Farr was elected president, and William B. Dennison, of Irasburg, Vt., chosen cashier. The bank opened its doors for the transaction of business in November following, in the banking rooms formerly occupied by H. L. Tilton.
The volume of business during the few remaining weeks of the year was not large. The loans amounted to $2,000; the deposits were $6,245.94, and tlie surplus and profits, $94.26.
The banking rooms in Tilton's Block had formerly been occupied for two or three years by Henry L. Tilton, who con- ducted a private bank. They were conveniently arranged : the cashier's room was on the right of the entrance, and the directors' room was at the further end, occupying substantially the space now used by Mr. Wallace for his printing business. The safe and other furnishings were the same as those in use by Mr. Tilton when he closed out the affairs of his bank and rented the rooms to the National Bank. In the opinion of Mr. Dennison they were of a character to oppose very slight obstacles to profes- sional bank robbers, and as the business increased and his respon- sibilities became larger he came to feel that he could not under the circumstances continue in his position, and tendered his resignation to the directors in the autumn of 1872, having held the position about a year. His resignation was accepted with regret. During Mr. Dennison's brief occupancy of the position he had met all its requirements to the entire satisfaction of the officers and patrons of the bank. He was a polite and obliging official and a skilful financier. He was born in Burke, Vt., and prior to his engagement here was cashier of the National Bank at Irasburg in that State. On leaving Littleton he was employed in
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a subordinate position in the Atlantic National Bank, of Boston, then controlled by Isaac Pratt, Jr., and John E. Lyon, where his integrity and ability were quickly recognized, and his promotion through the intervening grades was assured ; and he has for some years been president of that substantial financial institution.
In December, 1872, the retiring cashier was succeeded by Oscar Cutler Hatch, formerly of Wells River, Vt., where he was for four years employed as general clerk in the National Bank of New- bury, and had for two years been cashier of the Orange County Bank at Chelsea, Vt., which position he resigned to accept a similar position in this town. When he assumed charge of the bank its capital was $100,000 ; deposits, $16,523.68 ; surplus and undivided profits, $1,622.90 ; and its loans, $45,683.62. The next year, 1873, the capital of the bank was increased to $150,000; its deposits had more than doubled, and were $37,960.01; the surplus and undivided profits, $10,660.77 ; and the loans, $122,275.77. In this year the first dividend was declared, the previous profits having been carried to the surplus. This dividend was not large, only three per cent, the only one of that amount the stockholders have received, all others having been larger. The capital has remained $150,000 since 1873. In 1880 the deposits were $70,056.26; sur- plus and undivided profits, $30,459.67; and the dividend of the year was seven per cent, as was that of 1874. Other dividends of the decade were eight per cent in 1875, 1877, 1878, and 1879; in 1876 it was nine per cent. In 1890 the deposits reached $160,635.67 ; the surplus and undivided profits, $84,928.09; the loans were $372,820.89; and the dividend was ten per cent. In 1895 an extra dividend was declared from the surplus earnings, the total of the year being thirty per cent, and the surplus was reduced from $90,080.69 in that year to $47,025.30 in 1896. The deposits in 1900 were $201,629.25; the surplus and undivided profits, $62,882.93; the loans, $186,368.32; and its aggregate resources, $495,510.18. Its present standing (1903) is as follows : deposits, $191,557.99; surplus and undivided profits, $75,098.34 ; loans, $203,790.91, and aggregate resources, $506,568.52. The bank has been in operation, not including the brief period in 1871, thirty-two years, and has divided among its stockholders $409,500 in thirty-one dividends, an annual average of eight and eight- tenths per cent.
The first change in the board of directors was occasioned by the death of Charles W. Rand in 1874, and the election of Nelson C. Farr as his successor at the annual meeting in 1875. Five years later Oscar C. Hatch succeeded Nelson C. Farr, who retired in
OSCAR C. HATCH.
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1880. Eleazer B. Parker, of Franconia, died in 1884, and his son, Osman Parker, was elected to the vacancy thus created. The year 1888 was one of change in the bank's organization. John Farr, who had been president from the time of its institution, resigned that office, and the cashier, Oscar C. Hatch, was chosen his successor, Mr. Farr continuing to serve as a director; Ruel W. Poor, teller of the bank, was elected to fill the vacancy occa- sioned by the promotion of Mr. Hatch; Charles F. Eastman succeeded George B. Redington, and Charles H. Greenleaf, of Franconia, was chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the retire- ment of Osman Parker from the board of directors. The fortunes of two of the young men connected with the bank were materially affected by the changes in 1889. The cashier, Ruel W. Poor, accepted a position in the Garfield National Bank of New York City, and Herbert K. Hallett was promoted to fill the vacant posi- tion. Both young men were from Maine; each entered upon his business career as clerk in this bank ; here each became active in Masonry, and was Master and filled minor positions in Burns Lodge, and each became cashier of the bank. Since that time Mr. Poor has advanced to the presidency of the Garfield National Bank, one of the strong financial institutions of New York; and Mr. Hallett is president of the Atlantic National Bank of Boston, of which a former cashier of our bank, Mr. Dennison, until recently held a high position.
The position of vice-president was created by the directors in 1877, and Henry L. Tilton was its first incumbent. He held the office by successive re-elections down to January, 1890, when Col. Cyrus Eastman was chosen his successor on the retirement of Colonel Tilton from the board, who was at the time conducting an extensive banking and real estate business at Spokane, Wash., and for several years, while retaining a legal residence in this town, was practically a citizen of the far western city.
The six years from 1890 to 1895 inclusive witnessed many changes in the board of directors. Ira Parker in 1890 succeeded Henry L. Tilton ; in 1892 George T. Cruft, of Bethlehem, came into the board as the successor of John Farr, and in 1895 be- came vice-president in place of Colonel Eastman, resigned; the next year William H. Bellows and James H. Bailey respectively succeeded George A. Bingham and Cyrus Eastman, who were the last members of the original board, elected in 1871, to retire from the service of the bank. That board was made up of strong men. All had been leaders in their several professions or in their business pursuits and prominent in public affairs. Judge
VOL. II. - 6
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History of Littleton.
Bingham passed away in a few days after his successor had been installed in the board, and Colonel Eastman died in March, 1896. Col. Henry L. Tilton is the sole survivor of the group who were instrumental in establishing the bank thirty-two years ago. A new generation, in accordance with the inexorable law of nature, now occupy the places they once filled to the satisfaction of the stockholders and that of the business community. Since the elec- tion of William H. Bellows and James H. Bailey, but one change has taken place in the board, that of the resignation of Ira Parker and the election of Henry F. Green as his successor. Henry E. Richardson was elected cashier in 1898 to succeed Herbert K. Hallett, resigned. The present officers 1 and directors are : Oscar Cutler Hatch, president; Henry Ellsworth Richardson, cashier ; George Theodore Cruft, vice-president; Charles Franklin East- man, Charles Henry Greenleaf, William Henry Bellows, James Henry Bailey, and Henry Francis Green.2
The Littleton Savings Bank was chartered three years before the formation of the National Bank, but no effort was made to put it in operation until the last-named institution was estab- lished. The act of incorporation was passed by the Legislature at the June session in 1868 with these charter members : Cyrus Eastman, John Farr, Harry Bingham, George B. Redington, James J. Barrett, Edward O. Kenney, William Bailey, Henry L. Thayer, Alonzo Weeks, Charles Hartshorn, George Farr, Charles M. Tuttle, John G. Sinclair of Bethlehem, Eleazer B. Parker of Franconia, Charles W. Rand, George Abbott, George A. Bingham, William J. Bellows, Luther T. Dow, Nelson C. Farr, Cephas Brackett, Philip P. Mason of Monroe, John Sargent, Otis G. Hale, and Joseph L. Whittaker.
The bank was organized in 1871 by the election of the following officers : John Farr, president ; Cyrus Eastman, vice-president ; William B. Dennison, secretary and treasurer. Trustees : Cyrus Eastman, John Farr, George B. Redington, George A. Bingham, Eleazer B. Parker, Henry L. Tilton, Charles W. Rand, Joseph L. Whittaker, Luther T. Dow, and Nelson C. Farr. It will be seen that all but the three last named were officers of the National Bank. This bank began business October 14, 1871, and its his tory has run parallel with that of the National Bank; the officers of one have been connected in a governing capacity with the other. The directors of the National have constituted a majority
1 1903.
2 In January, 1904, Fred H. English entered the board as the successor of Charles H. Greenleaf, resigned.
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Banks and Bankers.
of the board of trustees of the Savings Bank since their founda- tion. The first change in the officers of the Savings Bank was necessitated by the change of cashiers of the National Bank when William B. Dennison was succeeded by Oscar C. Hatch as treasurer in 1873. In 1874 Otis G. Hale and Oscar C. Hatch were added to the board of trustees ; in 1877 Joseph L. Whittaker, having removed from town, was succeeded by Hartwell H. Southworth. No other change in the official board occurred until 1880, when John Farr, wishing to be relieved of some of his financial responsibilities, resigned the presidency, but remained on the board of trustees. George A. Bingham was Mr. Farr's successor in the presidency. The following year, for the same reason that actuated Mr. Farr, Cyrus Eastman relinquished the vice-presidency to Henry L. Tilton. Colonel Eastman at the same time withdrew from the board of trustees, and his place was taken by Augustus A. Woolson, of Lisbon. Charles F. Eastman, in 1884, succeeded Otis G. Hale in the board, and the death of Nelson C. Farr created a vacancy that was filled by the election of Ira Parker in 1885. At the same time the vacancy caused by the death of E. B. Parker was filled by Osmon Parker. George Farr became a member of the board in 1889, succeeding George B. Redington ; and in 1890, upon the retirement of Henry L. Tilton, Charles F. Eastman became vice-president and George T. Cruft entered the board ; at the same time John L. Foster, of Lisbon, succeeded Mr. Woolson as trustee. Mr. Foster died in 1891, and in January, 1892, the vacancy in the board was filled by the election of Seth F. Hoskins, and William H. Bellows took the place vacated by Jolin Farr, whose declining health compelled his retirement from financial cares. The official roster remained unchanged until 1895, when George A. Bingham, Hartwell H. Southworth, and George Farr retired; Charles F. Eastman suc- ceeded to the vacant presidency, Ira Parker became vice-president, and Henry F. Green and James H. Bailey joined the board of trus- tees. Ira Parker resigned in 1898, and the vacancies thus created were filled by Oscar C. Hatch as vice-president and Frank P. Bond as trustee. The following year the duties of secretary and treasurer were divided, William H. Bellows succeeding to the former, and Mr. Hatch retaining that of treasurer of the bank. The official board of the institution has remained without change and, as constituted in 1903, is as follows : Charles F. Eastman, president ; Oscar C. Hatch, vice-president and treas- urer; William H. Bellows, secretary; George T. Cruft, James H. Bailey, Henry F. Green, and Frank P. Bond, with the officers,
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History of Littleton.
make up the board of trustees. Henry O. Hatch is clerk and teller. The first deposit was made, as has been stated, October 14, 1871, and at the close of business on the last day of the year, the receipts on this account had reached the sum of $6, 245.94; in 1872, the first full year, they were $57,970.61. In 1880 the value of the assets of the bank on its books was $311, 294. 96 ; due depositors, $303,238.95; the guarantee fund was $4,600 and its surplus $3,456.01. In 1890 the value of the assets on its books was $1,020,369.54 and their market value $1,038,712.87 ; the guarantee fund $40,000, and the surplus $43,864.17. In 1900 the cost of the assets as shown by the books was $1,269,703.60, their market value $1,310,948.60, the guarantee fund $56,700, and the surplus $50,612.95. At the present time (1903) the financial standing of the bank is given as follows : book value of assets $1,526,403.24, market value $1,572,728.24, the guarantee fund $75,000, and the surplus $65,487.34. The alternating in- crease and decrease in assets, as a rule, indicate the periods of general prosperity and adversity. The largest increase in de- posits in any year was in 1889, when it was $73,297.30 ; the most considerable decrease was in 1896, when it reached the sum of $63,255.21. The bank passed the million mark in 1891, and at no time since have its resources fallen below that sum.
The stockholders and depositors in these banks have been fortunate in the selection of the executive officers chosen to ad- minister their affairs. The first president of the bank, John Farr, was particularly well qualified, both by character, ability, and experience, for the position. His legal practice had been largely connected with the settlement of estates and collections, and his knowledge of credits was unequalled by any person in this valley; his familiarity with the details of banking had been acquired through his experience as a director in the Bank of Newbury, and as receiver of the White Mountain Bank at Lan- caster, when it went into liquidation in 1865. As receiver he be- came familiar with every branch of the banking business and the law relating thereto, as the adjustment of the affairs of the bank was fruitful in litigation. Mr. Farr was by nature a cautious man, who counted the cost and hazard as well as the profits of every venture, and this conservative tendency had been increased in the school of experience. Yet, as he was a wise man of affairs, he seldom applied the brake to the wheels of progress, and in so far as his influence guided the affairs of these institutions their course was in the direction of a sound and healthy system that inured alike to their financial prosperity and to the benefit of the commercial interests of the community.
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LITTLETON NATIONAL BANK AND SAVINGS BANK BUILDING. United States Courts, Coashauke Club.
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Banks and Bankers.
The brief connection of William B. Dennison with the manage- ment of the banks has been referred to. His successor as cashier of the National and treasurer of the Savings Banks, Oscar C. Hatch, came to their service with an education in the banking business acquired under the tuition of O. C. Hale and George Leslie in the Bank of Newbury, and two years' experience as cashier of the Orange County National Bank at Chelsea, Vt., and after a laborious life extending over the years of a generation, he is a young man in feeling, a sage in experience, still at his post. Mr. Hatch was born in the village of Wells River in 1848. His scholastic education was acquired in the common schools and a private school taught by Rev. William S. Palmer. When but a few months past his sixteenth year, he entered the employment of Deming & Baldwin, where two years were past, when he became a clerk in the village bank, and there acquired the rudi- ments of the business which was to become his life work. When he went to Chelsea to assume charge of the bank, he found it with a capital of $200,000; some of this was unused for want of a local demand, with the result that the stockholders had for some years received small dividends. This idle fund he invested in commercial paper in Boston, and at the close of his first year had the entire capital invested. Dividends were increased, and in the two years he was cashier the policy of the bank was changed, and from a small, it became a large, money-earning institution.
Mr. Hatch assumed charge of the Littleton National and Sav- ings Banks December 9, 1872. It is said that confidence is a plant of slow growth; it was not in this instance. Mr. Hatchi was trusted without reserve by the banks with which he had pre- viously been connected, and he came to the institutions here hav- ing the entire confidence of their governing boards. There were among their patrons some who regarded him as too young and inexperienced for such weighty responsibilities. These doubts were soon dispelled, and his capacity, like his integrity, was firmly established, and neither has since been questioned. As a banker he is cautious, striving to keep well within the limits of safety, having more regard for the security of the investment than the amount of the income, and adhering with unvarying steadfast- ness to the strict letter of the law. These traits render his work entirely impersonal, and guard him from the perils of favoritism, that fatal maelstrom which has engulfed so many reputations in the banking world.
At the start the selection of banking rooms was determined by the law of necessity. They were several times remodelled, yet
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History of Littleton.
always inadequate and outgrown prior to 1882, when a lot on the north side of Main Street was purchased of the heirs of the late Major Aaron Brackett, and a substantial brick block, with ample accommodations for the business of the banks, was built thereon. The banks occupied the entire first floor, while the second was rented by the law firm of Bingham & Aldrich for offices. The block was located on a level and in line with other buildings in its immediate vicinity, and was approached from the street by a long flight of granite steps. The structure was severe and substantial in its architectural form, and filled with all the conveniences that the despatch of business and the requirements of safety could suggest, and it was thought by its projectors well calculated to meet the wants of the institutions for several generations, but within a score of years extension was required. This was effected by excavating to the street level, and adding a front of three stories of Indiana limestone and brick of a corresponding color. With heavy cornices and other trimmings, the new structure presents an imposing outward appearance, while the interior is richly furnished and conveniently arranged with counters around a circular lobby. The building is regarded as the finest in the State devoted to the banking business. In the erection of both structures Mr. Hatch was the guiding spirit, and in each success- fully accomplished his purpose of providing adequate and secure accommodations for the institutions over which he presides, and at the same time adding to the architectural adornment of the village.
To his duties as a citizen Mr. Hatch has brought the solid judgment and sane business sense that have characterized his conduct as a banker. His services have been in demand by the town as a member of important committees raised to execute public enterprises, notably those of building the Town House in 1894 and the Library building now in process of erection. He can hardly be termed a politician, though he has taken consider- able interest in public affairs and in Republican party politics, and is regarded as a sound, practical adviser in such matters by his party associates. Living in a town and district where political honors are much sought, it is probable that he has felt the prevail- ing contagion, but such success as he has attained in the political field has been bestowed more for the purpose of satisfying a reasonable public feeling than to reward a skilful political ma- nipulator for party services. In the spirited political contest of 1892 he was the only successful candidate of his party in the local field, when he was elected Representative, and in the Legis-
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