USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York, from the earliest historic times to the beginning of 1907 > Part 26
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CHAPTER XV
FINANCIAL.
Banking in the Old World-The Bank of Roch- ester-The Bank of Monroo The Rochester City Bank-The First National Bank-The Bank of Western New York-The Commercial Bank -- The Farmers and Mechanics Bank-The Exchange Bank-The Rochester Bank-The Powers Bank-The Eagle Bank-The Union Bank-The Manufacturers Bank-The Traders Bank-The Flour City Bank-The Monroe County Bank-The Second Bank of Monroe -The Second Bank of Rochester-The Second Commercial Bank-The Merchants . Bank-The German-American Bank -- The Na- tional Bank of Rochester-The Central Bank ---. The Alliance Bank-The National Bank of Com- merre-Private Banking Houses -- The Roch- rster Savings Bank-The Monroe County Sar- ings Bank-The Mechanics Savings Bank- The East Side Surings Bank-The Roch- ter Trust & Safe Deposit Company -- The Security Trust-The Union-The Fidelity- Gencsee Valley - The Clearing-House - The Stock Exchange-Insurance Companies.
Banking institutions are by no means of mod- ern contrivance. The ancients had them, the Egyptians being particularly noted in that regard, and the Romans after them, the oldest one in the imperial city, of which we have any distinct record, being in the reign of the Emperor Deeius in 250 A. D. Through the middle ages they sank into general desuetude, though before that period had passed away the Bank of Venice was established.
in 1121, based on a forced loan of the republic. That was the first banking institution in Europe in modern times and was long the only one, mnon- etary transactions otherwise being carried on by private money-lenders, generally the Jews, 88 Christians were forbidden to engage in the prac- tice. With the Renaissance the system sprang into new life and Genoa became the principal banking center, which was shifted afterward to Amster- dam. Great Britain followed slowly, for, although there were small establishments for purposes of exchange before that, the Bank of England did not receive its charter of incorporation till 1694, the Bank of Scotland following in the next year. Strange as it may seem, the American settlements appear to have got the start of the mother coun- try in this regard, for the Bank of the Massachu- setts Colonies was formed in 1686, That was the first chartered bank organized on this side of the Atlantic, and it had a monopoly of the business for nearly a century, for the next one, the Bank of New York, was not founded till 1784; it has occupied its present location at the corner of Wall and William streets since 1798. It is interest- ing to note that Alexander Hamilton was the counsel for this bank and was connected with it when he was appointed secretary of the treasury in President Washington's first cabinet.
OUR BANKS OF DISCOUNT."
All this is preparatory to the consideration of the banks of Rochester. For seven years after the
'In preparing this chapter the writer has had occasion to refer continually. for that portion relating to the early banks of Rochester, to an article in the history published in 1884, which was then furnished to him by the late George E. Mumford.
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ROCHESTER CITY BANK, 1838.
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incorporation of the village its inhabitants had to get along with what facilities they might secure from institutions in neighboring places, from the Bank of Geneva, the Ontario bank at Canan- laigua and the Bank of Genesee at Batavia. The Ontario bank was represented here by Ebenezer Ely, whose office was located on the west side of Exchange street and who acted as agent for both parties in receiving and forwarding commercial paper and the money to take it up. When the village was formed a document was circulated, stating that the subscribers and their associates would make application to the legislature at its next session, to be incorporated as a banking company under the name of - - bank, with a capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars. This was dated December 2d, 1812, and was signed by Harvey Montgomery, Josiah Bissell, Elisha Johnson, Azel Ensworth, Hervey Ely, D. D. Hatch, James G. Bond, Elisha Ely, Ira West, A. Hamlin and Silas O. Sinith. Nothing came of this, and when a similar attempt was made six years later the same malign influences that so long delayed the formation of Monroe county pro- cured the rejection of this application also. It required the peculiar genius of Thurlow Weed, who was sent to Albany for that purpose, to se- cure the desired result, and on the 19th of Feb- ruary, 1824, a charter was granted to the Bank of Rochester, the capital being $250,000, with Matthew Brown, Nathaniel Rochester, Elisha B. Strong, Samuel Works, Enos Pomeroy and Levi Ward, jr., as incorporators. Soon after that the bank was organized by the election of the follow- ing-named as the board of directors: Nathaniel Rochester, Elisha B. Strong, Levi Ward, jr., Mat- thew Brown, Abelard Reynolds, Jaines Seymour, Jonathan Child, Ira West, Charles H. Carroll, William Pitkin, Frederick Bushnell and William W. Mumford. Colonel Rochester was unanimously elected president, but a few months later he re- signed on account of impaired health and Judge Strong was chosen in his place. A. M. Schermer- horn was the cashier and John T. Talman the teller. Levi Ward, jr., became president in 1830, with James Seymour as cashier, and in 1838 Mr. Seymour was elected president, David Scoville be- coming the cashier. The location of the bank was on Exchange street, in the building afterward occupied by the second Bank of Monroe, and now.
with much alteration, by the Genesee Valley trust company. The banking hours were from ten to two, quite long enough for the increasing business of the institution, which declared its first dividend of two dollars a share in September, 1825. The bank wound up its affairs and went out of existence by the expiration of its charter, in 1846.
The Bank of Monroe was the second one estab- lished here, being organized in 1829, under a spe- cial charter, with a capital of $300,000. Henry Dwight, John Greig, Henry B. Gibson, James K. Livingston, Jacob Gould, Elisha Johnson, Elijah F. Smith, Charles J. Hill, Ebenezer Ely, Alexan- der Duncan, James K. Guernsey, A. M. Schermer- horn and Edmund Lyon constituted the first board of directors, Mr. Schermerhorn being the first president, the others being Mr. Duncan, Moses Chapin and Mr. Livingston; John T. Tal- man, the first cashier, was succeeded by Ralph Lester. The bank was located on the corner of West Main and State streets, where the Powers bank afterward stood, and was very successful during the twenty years of its life, which ended in 1849 by the expiration of its charter.
After the incorporation of the city the demand for additional banking facilities became so great that when the legislature, in May, 1836, passed the act creating the Rochester City bank and appoint- ing commissioners to receive subscriptions, the capital stock of 8400,000 was taken six times over, and there was much dissatisfaction over the allot- ment of the shares, which was entirely at the dis- cretion of the commissioners. The original di- rectors were H. B. Williams, Joseph Field, Henry Martin, Nathaniel T. Rochester, P. G. Tobey, E. F. Smith, Fletcher M. Haight, Ezra M. Parsons, Derick Sibley, Philip Garbutt, A. Baldwin and Robert Haight. The first president was Mr. Wil- liams, who was succeeded by Thomas H. Rochester and he by Mr. Field. F. M. Haight was for some time the cashier, then came Christopher T. Ams- den and then Benjamin F. Young, upon whose resignation, after twenty-three years of service, Charles E. Upton was appointed. When the af- fairs of the bank were wound up, in October, 1864. after having paid the shareholders an average of about nine per cent. per annum, the stock and a small surpins were returned to the owners.
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As the First National bank was the imniedi- ate anceessor of the City bank, being organized at the very time when the latter ended, with very largely the same board of directors and with E. M. Parsons as president and C. E. Upton as cashier, and as it stepped at once into the quarters of the other bank and occupied thein throughout' its existence, it may as well be considered in this order, even though several others sprang up before it. Within three months its original capital of $100,000 was increased to $200,000, and to 8400,- 000 in August, 1871, when it purchased the assets of the Clarke national bank. For several years after the Civil war the bank conducted a very profitable business, dividing an average of eleven per eent. per annum on its stock, but in 1872 it changed its character from a national to a state institution ; it went through the form of voluntary liquidation and transferred its assets to a new corporation, styled the City bank of Rochester, but it was practically the same concern, for its officers remained nnchanged. A little later Thomas Leighton became president, but he soon resigned and Mr. Upton took the place, holding it until December, 1882, when the bank got into trouble, failed and passed into the hands of a receiver.
The Bank of Western New York, established in 1839, the first one to be organized under the gen- eral banking law of 1838, with a nominal capital of $300,000, actually $180,000, was located in the old Rochester House building, south of the canal on Exchange street. Its directorate was small, consisting of James K. Guernsey, Henry Hawkins, Frederick Whittlesey, Ezra M. Parsons and Gus- tavua Clark, the first being the president, the last. the cashier. . It existed for only two years, becom- ing involved in the transactions of a lumber com- pany to such an extent that when the latter failed the former went with it and passed into the hands of a receiver.
The Commercial bank of Rochester, also, was organized in 1839, with a strong board of directors, consisting of Hervey Ely, Everard Peek, Thomas HI. Rochester. Asa Sprague, Selah Mathews. Thomas Emerson, Henry S. Potter, Henry P. Culver, Isaac Moore, Harvey Montgomery, Oliver Culver, Seth C. Jones, Silas Ball, Charles Church, William Kidd, Erasmus D. Smith, A. M. Scher- merhorn, Jonathan Child, Frederick Whittlesey,
Rufus Keeler, John Mclean, Isaac Lacey, Preston Smith. John MeNaughton, Thomas Kempshall, Nehemiah Osburn, H. Hutchinson, Roswell Lock- wood and Alexander Kelsey. The first officers were Hervey Ely, president; Everard Peck, vice-presi- dent (continuing as such and as practically the manager until his death in 1854), and T. H. Rochester, cashier. Within a year Mr. Sprague was elected president, and in 1843 George R. Clark became the cashier, becoming the vice-presi- dent in 1854, when Hobart F. Atkinson succeeded him in his former office; all three remained in those positions till the dissolution of the bank in 1866, which, after a career of great prosperity, was ren- dered advisable by the heavy taxes imposed on shareholders. It was located at first in the second story of the building on Exchange street occupied then by the Bank of Rochester; in 1841 it erected a stone banking-house of its own on the south side of West Main street, on a part of the site now covered by the Wilder block ; on the destrue- tion of its habitation by fire in 1856 it built an- other on Exchange street, now occupied by the Mechanics savings bank, using in the meantime n portion of the Rochester Savings bank building.
The Farmers & Mechanics bank was another that began in 1839, with a capital of $100,000, A. G. Smith being the president and Elon Hunting- ton the cashier, with Frederick Starr and Charles J. Hill as the other directors. It was located at first in the Gould block (now the Butts block) on State street, at the corner of Corinthian, and afterward moved directly across the street into the Powers. Jacob Gould became the president in 1857, E. Darwin Smith some years later and Al- fred Ely after that. After struggling against ad- versity for some time it went into the hands of a receiver in 1874.
Still another one, the Exchange bank, started up in 1839, with G. W. Pratt as president, James H. Pratt as cashier, but no further record of it can be found.
Freeman Clarke, who had been previously con- nected with the Bank of Albion, opened a banking office in the Irving hall block and two years later organized the Rochester bank, the capital being $100,000, with himself as president and P. W. Handy as cashier, and the location in the old Bank of Rochester building. Mr. Clarke retired in 1853, Wing sneceeded by Harrison S. Fairchild, and a
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little later the bank went into liquidation: it was subsequently revived and continued for some years with HI. G. Warner as president and afterward J. Douglass Brown.
In 1850 Daniel W. Powers, who had before that the been a clerk in a hardware store, opened a private banking office on the spot that has ever since then been inseparably connected with his name. Thriving from the very start, the institu- tion reaped a harvest by the early and continuons purchase of government bonds during the Civil war. It was incorporated as the Powers bank in June, 1890, Mr. Powers being the president and continuing so till his death in 1892. Edward H. Vredenburgh was the vice-president, William ('. Powers the first cashier.
The Eagle bank of Rochester was formed in August, 1850, with a capital of $100,000, in- creased afterward to $200.000. Gideou W. Bur- banks was the first president, with Charles P'. Bis- sell as cashier: (It was located at the ontset on the corner of East Main and South Water streets, but in 1857. when William H. Cheney became president and John B. Robertson cashier, it was removed to the Masonic hall block.
On January 20th, 1853, the Union bank was or- ganized, with the directorate of Aaron Erickson, George HI. Mumford, Ezra M. Parsons, Azariah Boody, Edward Roggen, John M. French, Ephraim Moore, Rufus Keeler, Lewis Brooks, William Gar- butt, William Churchill, Melancton Lewis, Nehe- miah B. Northrop. James W. Sawyer, Asa Sprague, Elisha Harmon, William Alling and Samuel Rand. The first president was Mr. Erick- son, who held that position while the bank existed ; the first cashier was Oliver I .. Terry. Its location was in its own building on State street, opposite Corinthian. It continued as a state bank till 1865, when it passed into the national category and re- mained so till 1872, when, on going into voluntary liquidation, it returned their stock to the share- holders with twelve per cent. additional. It was succeeded by the firm of Erickson, Jennings & Mumford, that by Erickson. Jennings & Co. and that by the Union bank of Rochester, in 1885. with Gilman H. Perkins as president and Erickson Perkins as cashier.
The Manufacturers bank was organized in 1856, with G. W. Burbank as president. R. S. Docy as cashier; location on East Main street. It did
not succeed very well and its capital of $200,000 became impaired, so the legislature passed an act in 1859 permitting its consolidation with the Eagle bank, mentioned above, and the formation of a new institution called the Traders bank of Rochester, with a capital of $250,000. The first board of directors comprised the names of George HI. Mumford, John Crombie, John Haywood, Arannah Moseley, Ralph Lester, George C. Buell, Henry S. Potter, Melancton Lewis, Roswell Hart. David R. Barton, Owen Gaffney, Horatio N. Perk. John H. Brewster, Joseph Hall and James W. Russell ; Mr. Mumford was the president, Mr. Crombie vice-president and Mr. Russell cashier. On the resignation of Mr. Mminford he was suc- ceeded by Mr. Russell ( Elon C. Galusha becoming the cashier) and he by Simon L. Brewster, who ·held the office at the time of his death. For sev- eral years the institution remained in the rooms of the old Eagle bank, then it moved to State street, then to the first floor of the Powers block. then back to State street in greatly enlarged quar- ters. It was reorganized as a national bank in 1865, with the same officers and directors. The present officers are Henry C. Brewster, president ; Charles H. Palmer and Darrell D. Sully, vics- presidents ; Henry F. Marks, cashier; William J. Trimble, assistant cashier. On January Ist, 1907, (the time used with all these statements of bank- now existing), its capital was $500,000, surplus $500.000, undivided profits $:5,671.05.
The Flour City bank was organized in February, 1856. Starting in a very modest way in a back room on the second floor of the old Corinthian hall, it soon moved over to the ground floor of the Union bank building. staying there till it was burned out in 1868, after which it removed to rooms in the Powers block and remained there till November, 1883, when it occupied a new build- ing which it had erected on the site of the old City bank; there it dwelt until it was merged in the National bank of Rochester at the beginning of 1906. The original directors were Francis Gorton, Ezra M. Parsons, Samuel Rand, Patrick Barry, Oliver H. Palmer, Mortimer F. Reynolds, Romanta Ilart, Lewis Brooks and Samuel Wilder. Mr. Gorton was the president from the beginning until his death in May, 1882; he was succeeded by Mr. Barry, after whom were Henry B. Hatha- way. Chauncey C. Woodworth and Walter B.
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Duffy. It became a national bank in June, 1865: its original capital was $200,000, afterward $300,- 000.
Freeman Clarke organized another bank in 1857, called the Monroe County, with himself as presi- dent, I .. Ward Clarke as cashier; capital $100,000, location always in the old Rochester Savings bank building. In 1866 it became the Clarke National, with Freeman Clarke as president and 'T. Weed Whittlesey as cashier, and in 1871 it was wound up, the First National taking over its assets.
The second Bank of Monroe was organized in 1867, located in the old bank building on Ex- change street, eapital $100,000, with Jarvis Lord as president and William R. Seward as cashier. In 1878 it passed into the control of Hiramn Sib- ley, who became president, Mr. Seward continuing as cashier, W. Gaylord Mitchell afterward filling the latter position ; it was absorbed by the Alliance bank in 1900.
The second Bank of Rochester was formed in 1875, capital $100,000, increased to $200,000, lo- cated in the old savings bank building; the suc- cessor of the banking firm of Kidd & Chapin, Charles H. Chapin, being president and remain- ing so till his death in 1882. Subsequent change will be mentioned below.
Then came the second Commercial bank of Rochester, organized in 1875, with Hobart F. At- kinson as president and Henry F. Huntington de cashier. The first directors were II. F. Atkinsou, Edmund Lyon, M. F. Reynolds, HI. Austin Brew- ster. Charles F. Pond. Lewis II. Morgan, Edmund l'. Willis, Theodore Bacon, H. F. Huntington Samuel B. Raymond, C. G. Starkweather and Jonas P. Varnum. It was made a national bank in 1878 and its original capital of $100,000 was raised to $200,000. It was always located, until its merger in the National bank of Rochester, on West Main street, at the head of Front.
The Merchants bank of Rochester was estab- lished in the latter part of 1883, with a capital of $100.000 and the following board of directors: Charles J. Burke, George W. Archer. George E. Mumford, James W. Whitney, William J. Ashley. Patrick Cox. Rufus K. Dryer, Nathan Levi, Val- entine F. Whitmore. Mr. Mumford was the presi- dent till the time of his death, then Mr. Dryer. then until his death Mr. Ashley, who had been the first cashier. The location of the bank has al-
ways been on the corner of East Main street and South avenue. The present officers are Percy R McPhail, president ; Thomas J. Devine and George Weldon, vice-presidents ; John C. Rodenbeck, caslı- ier. Its capital is $100,000, surplus $100,000. undivided profits $36,566.61.
The German-American bank came into exist. ence in 1884, with a capital of $200,000, as the successor of the second Bank of Rochester, the assets of which were taken over by the new con- cern. The first directors were George W. Archer. Frederick Cook, Louis Ernst, Frederick Goetz- mann, Matthias Kondolf, Henry Bartholomay, II H. Craig, H. M. Ellsworth, Henry Hebing, George Weldon and 'T. W. Whittlesey. Mr. Cook was the president from the beginning until his death. when he was succeeded by Eugene Satterlee; Mr. Whittlesey was the first cashier, being followed ? little later by Frederic P. Allen, who filled the place till he died. After remaining on State street for four years the bank was removed to the new ten-story building of the Rochester German iu- surance company, on the corner of West Main street and Irving place, and when that was en- larged two years ago the bank spread over the first and second floors, that additional space being rendered necessary by its merger with the Flour City national bank on the 1st of January, 1906. and by its absorption of the Commercial national bank on the 1st of May following. At the time of the first merger mentioned its name was changed to the National bank of Rochester. The present officers are Eugene Satterlee, president ; Walter B. Duffy and Granger A. Hollister, vice- presidents; Peter A. Vay, cashier, William B. Farnham. first assistant. The capital is $1,000,- 000, surplus $1,000,000, undivided profits $64,- 469.45.
In 1888 the Central bank of Rochester was or- ganized, with a capital of $100,000, the following- named making up the board of directors: Samuel Wilder, Arthur Luetchford, William B. Morse, Benjamin E. Chase, Frank S. Upton. Samuel Sloan, S. V. McDowell, Charles M. Everest, John- son I. Robins, Brackett H. Clark, Charles S. Hast- ings, Charles E. Hoyt and Henry R. East. The first named was the president, Mr. Luetchford the vice-president and George Wilder the cashier. The bank has been from the beginning in the Wilder block, but its increasing business has compelled it
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to enlarge its quarters twice, so that now it wceu- pies all of the first floor on the Main street front. Its present officers are Benjamin E. Chase, presi- deut; George Wilder, vice-president; John H. Gregory, cashier, and H. H. Clapp, assistant. Its capital stock is $200,000, surplus $175,000, un. divided profits $50,000.
The Alliance bank came into the field in 1893, being organized on March 10th of that year, with a capital of $150,000 and a board of directors con sisting of Ilenry C. Brewster, George W. Thayer, David Hays, Charles II. Palmer, George C. Buell, jr., Edmund Ocumpaugh, George Eastman, Charles E. Angle, Abram J. Katz, James G. Cut- fer, Fernando E. Rogers, Louis Griesheimer, By- ron D. MeAlpine and Eli M. Upton, Mr. Thayer being the president, Messrs. Brewster and MeAl- pine vice-presidente, and Albert O. Fenn cashier. The Bank of Monroe was merged with this one November 15th, when the capital was increased to its present amount. The bank has always been located on East Main street, being for the first few years on the west corner of Stone street, after which it moved across Stone to the east corner, purchasing the building and opening a ladies' de partinent, the first of the kind in the city so far as known, which example has been followed by most of the other banks; in common with almost all the others it doubled its quarters about a year ago. The present officers are Hobart F. Atkin- son, president ; J. G. Cutler and A. O. Fenn, vice- presidents, the latter being also the cashier ; John P. Paliner, first assistant cashier. The capital stock is 8275,000, surplus $275,000, undivided profits $16,224.35.
Last to come into the field was the National bank of Commerce, In view of the diminution in the number of banks in the city this was organized on the 1st of March, 1906, and immediately es- tablished itself in the Flour City bank building, which it had purchased. The capital was $500,000 and the directors were William Deininger, William H. Dunn. Frank A. Maselli, Max Lowenthal, Charles F. Garfield, Robert M. Myers, James D. Casey, Joseph W. Pressy. Thomas J. Swanton. Frank A. Brownell, Albert J. Bolton, William E. Dugan. Henry B. Hathaway, William S. Hale, Loren D. Eldredge, Frank X. Kelly. M. F. Van Buskirk, Martin E. Wollf, Griff D. Palmer, Erick- son Perkins. The president was Mr. Myers, the
vice-presidents Messrs. Dunn, Deininger and Swanton, the last named being also the cashier, with Edwin W. Burton as assistant cashier. All of them fill those positions at this time. The pres- ent capital is $500,000, surplus $100,000, undi- vided profits $11,413.05.
In the foregoing list no mention has been made, except incidentally, of the many private banking houses and banking firms that there have been here, the most prominent of which, perhaps, was the Perrin bank, established in 1857, the others being those of Ebenezer Ely, George W. Pratt. John T. Talman, Bissell & Amsden, H. A. Brew- ster & Co., Abram Karnes, Ward & Brother, Allis, Waters & Co., Fairchild & Smith, Green Brothers & Co., T. B. & W. Corning, Stettheimer, Tone & Co .. F. J. Amsden and Raymond & Huntington.
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