USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume II > Part 12
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CHAPTER XXVI.
THE CITY OF ROCHESTER : BANKS.
For seven years after its incorporation as a village, Rochester had no bank of its own; the banks most available were located at Batavia, Geneva and Canandaigua. Financial transactions with these institutions were usually conducted through agents. How- ever, the lack of a home bank was not altogether the fault of the citizens. In 1817 a petition signed by James G. Bond, Josiah Bis- sell, Azel Ensworth, Elisha Ely, Hervey Ely, A. Hamlin, D. D. Hatch, Harvey Montgomery, Elisha Johnson, Silas O. Smith, Ira West and many others for the passage of an act incorporating a bank in the newly created village with a capital of $500,000 was rejected, and there the matter rested for over six years. This was one instance of Rochester's difficulties during its early years in securing favorable action from the state governing body.
On February 19, 1824, the Legislature granted a charter to the Bank of Rochester, with an authorized capital of $250,000. In securing this the village was greatly aided by Thurlow Weed, who went to Albany and made such an impressive presentation of the case that the Legislature could find no reasonable excuse for further delaying the grant. The first board of directors of the bank was composed of Matthew Brown, Frederick Bushnell, Charles H. Carroll, Jonathan Child, William W. Mumford, Wil- liam Pitkin, Abelard Reynolds, Nathaniel Rochester, James Sey- mour, Elisha B. Strong, Levi Ward, Jr., and Ira West. Colonel Rochester was chosen president, but resigned after a few months on account of his health and was succeeded by Judge Strong. The institution was located on Exchange Street, a few doors south of Main, and continued in existence until the expiration of its char- ter in 1846. During its career the Bank of Rochester had four presidents, namely: Colonel Rochester, Judge Strong; Levi Ward, Jr., who became president in 1830, and James Seymour, who served from 1838 until the bank wound up its affairs.
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The second bank in the city was the Bank of Monroe, which was organized in 1829 with a capital of $300,000. A special charter was obtained and the following constituted the first board of directors: Alexander Duncan, Henry Dwight, Ebenezer Ely, Henry B. Gibson, Jacob Gould, John Greig, James K. Guernsey, Charles J. Hill, Elisha Johnson, James K. Livingston, Edmund Lyon, A. M. Schermerhorn and Elijah F. Smith. Mr. Schermer- horn, who had been the first cashier of the Bank of Rochester, was chosen president, and the bank opened on the corner of Main and State streets, where it continued during the twenty years of its existence. The presidents after Mr. Schermerhorn were Alex- ander Duncan, Moses Chapin and James K. Livingston. The charter expired in 1849.
With the incorporation of Rochester as a city, the demand for increased banking facilities became urgent. The Rochester City Bank was created by legislative enactment in May, 1836, and the authorized capital of $400,000 was subscribed many times over, with the result that the commissioners were compelled to allot the shares according to their judgment. It is said that their pro- cedure caused much dissatisfaction among those who failed to obtain the stock they desired. The first board consisted of H. B. Williams, Joseph Field, Henry Martin, Nathaniel Rochester, P. G. Tobey, E. F. Smith, Fletcher M. Haight, Ezra M. Parsons, Der- rick Sibley, Philip Garbutt, A. Baldwin and Robert Haight. Mr. Williams was the first president of the institution and was suc- ceeded in turn by Thomas H. Rochester and Joseph Field. The bank closed its business in October, 1864.
The First National Bank came into existence immediately upon the heels of the departing Rochester City Bank, and had practically the same governing board, with E. M. Parsons as president. The institution was housed in the quarters of its pre- decessor and began business with a capital of $100,000, which was increased to $400,000 by 1871, when the assets of the Clarke National were bought. In 1872 the bank changed from a national to a state bank and shortly afterwards voluntarily liquidated, then being transformed into the City Bank of Rochester, virtually the same organization, with Thomas Leighton as president; he was succeeded by C. E. Upton. In December, 1882, the bank became involved and finished in the hands of a receiver.
ROCHESTER CITY BANK, 1838
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The Bank of Western New York, started in 1839, the first under the general banking law of 1838, was another short-lived institution. James K. Guernsey was president during the two years of its existence.
The year 1839 also witnessed the organization of the Commer- cial Bank of Rochester, with a board of directors consisting of Hervey Ely, Everard Peck, Thomas H. 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. Schermerhorn, Jonathan Child, Frederick Whittle- sey, Rufus Keeler, John McVean, Isaac Lacey, Preston Smith, John McNaughton, Thomas Kempshall, Nehemiah Osburn, H. Hutchinson, Roswell Lockwood and Alexander Kelsey. The fore- going list indicates a few, at least, of the real men of affairs of those times, men whose activities were directed toward building up a financial and commercial Rochester. Everard Peck was the first president, followed within a year by Mr. Sprague; its quar- ters were at first on Exchange Street, but in 1841 a stone building was erected for it on the south side of West Main Street, a part of the site of the Wilder Building. Fire destroyed this building in 1856, whereupon another structure was erected on Exchange Street. This bank came to an end in 1866, after a prosperous existence.
A third bank established in the year 1839 was the Farmers & Mechanics Bank, capitalized for $100,000. A. G. Smith was the first president and the offices were at the corner of State and Corinthian streets, afterwards in the Powers Building. Presi- dents of this bank, which closed its doors in 1874, were, after Smith, Jacob Gould, E. Darwin Smith and Alfred Ely.
The Exchange Bank, under the presidency of G. W. Pratt, and the Rochester Bank, the latter the successor of a banking business established by Freeman Clarke, were other institutions of this period which did not survive. The Rochester Bank passed out of existence in the early '50s. In 1850 Daniel W. Powers opened a private banking business on the site of the property now known as the Powers Block, and in June, 1890, after a career of extraordi- nary success, it was incorporated as the Powers Bank. Mr. Powers was president until his death in 1897.
12-Vol. 2
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The Eagle Bank was organized in 1852, and the Manufac- turers' Bank in 1856. In the year 1859 they were consolidated under the name of the Traders' Bank of Rochester, with a capital of $250,000. In 1865 a national charter was obtained and the name then became the Traders' National Bank. This bank ex- isted until its assets were purchased by the new National Bank of Rochester in 1924. During its career it had three presidents- Simon L. Brewster, until 1898; Henry C. Brewster, 1898 to 1917, and Henry F. Marks.
The Flour City Bank, which was merged into the old National Bank of Rochester in 1906, was organized in February, 1856, and the original directors were Francis Gorton, Ezra M. Parsons, Samuel Rand, Patrick Barry, Oliver H. Palmer, Mortimer F. Reynolds, Romanta Hart, Lewis Brooks and Samuel Wilder. Mr. Gorton was the first president, and was succeeded in turn by Mr. Barry, Henry B. Hathaway, Chauncey C. Woodworth and Walter B. Duffy. The institution occupied a number of locations-old Corinthian Hall, Union Bank Building, Powers Block, and finally, in 1883, its own building on the site of the old City Bank.
The second Bank of Monroe, absorbed by the Alliance Bank in 1900, had its beginning in 1867, with Jarvis Lord as president. In 1878 it passed into the hands of Hiram Sibley, who became its president.
The second Bank of Rochester was established in 1875 and was the successor of the old banking firm of Kidd & Chapin.
The Commercial Bank of Rochester, the second of the name, was organized in 1875, Hobart F. Atkinson, president, and be- came a national bank in 1878. Until its merger with the old National Bank of Rochester in 1906, it was always located on West Main and Front streets.
The year 1884 witnessed the formation of the German- American Bank, as the immediate successor of the second Bank of Rochester, and under the first directorship of George W. Archer, Frederick Cook, Louis Ernst, Frederick Goetzmann, Matthias Kondolf, Henry Bartholomay, H. H. Craig, H. M. Ells- worth, Henry Hebing, George Weldon and T. W. Whittlesey. Mr. Cook was the first president and was succeeded by Eugene Satter- lee. This bank merged with the Flour City in 1906, and a few months later the Commercial was absorbed, the name changing
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at the time of the first merger, as mentioned elsewhere, to the National Bank of Rochester, the predecessor of the Lincoln Bank, and part of the "family tree" of the present Lincoln-Alliance Bank.
In March, 1906, the National Bank of Commerce was opened in the building formerly occupied by the Flour City Bank. The original capital was $500,000. Robert M. Myers was the first president. In 1924 the assets of this bank were purchased by the newly formed National Bank of Rochester.
At this writing there are twelve regularly chartered banks and trust companies in the city of Rochester. The oldest of these. institutions is the Rochester Savings Bank, which was organized May 10, 1831, with Levi A. Ward the first president. It is said that Vincent Mathews and Isaac Hills prepared the original charter of this bank some years previously, but that difficulties were encountered in getting the bill through the Legislature. The incorporators were Levi A. Ward, Jacob Graves, Everard Peck, William S. Whittlesey, David Scoville, Edward R. Everest, Willis Kempshall, Jonathan Child, Ezra M. Parsons, Ashbel W. Riley, Albemarle H. Washburn, Joseph Medberry, Lyman B. Lang- worthy, Elihu F. Marshall and Harvey Frink. David Scoville was the first secretary, and Harvey Frink the first treasurer. Until the year 1841 the offices of the Rochester Savings Bank were in part of the old Bank of Rochester Building, on Exchange Street. A stone building was erected during the year last named on State Street, and here the bank remained until 1853, when it was moved to its present home on the corner of West Main and Fitzhugh streets. After Levi A. Ward, the following persons filled the executive chair of this institution: William Pitkin, 1842-49; Jacob Gould, 1849-50; Elijah F. Smith, 1850-58; John Haywood, 1858-59; Elijah F. Smith, 1859-60; William Kidd, 1860-65; George H. Mumford, 1865 (February 6th to October 2d) ; Wil- liam A. Reynolds, 1865-72; Elijah F. Smith, 1872-80; Isaac Hills, 1880-81; Mortimer F. Reynolds, 1882-92; James Brackett, 1892- 1904; Hobart F. Atkinson, 1904-08 ;- Harold P. Brewster, 1909- 23; Henry S. Hanford, since 1923.
The Monroe County Savings Bank, the second oldest banking house now in the city of Rochester, was opened for business June 3, 1850, having been incorporated April 8th preceding. Quarters
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
were first occupied in the office of the Rochester Bank, on Ex- change Street. Everard Peck was the first president of the insti- tution, and Freeman Clarke the first secretary. The incorpora- tors of the Monroe County Savings Bank were Levi A. Ward, Everard Peck, Freeman Clarke, Nehemiah Osburn, Ephraim Moore, David R. Barton, George W. Parsons, William W. Ely, William N. Sage, Alvah Strong, Martin Briggs, Thomas Hanvey, Lewis Selye, Moses Chapin, Ebenezer Ely, Daniel E. Lewis, Amon Bronson, Joel P. Milliner, Charles W. Dundas, George Ellwanger, and Theodore B. Hamilton. In 1854 the bank was removed to what was then known as the City Hall Building, on West Main Street (then Buffalo), and again in 1858 it was moved to the Hall Building, which occupied part of the site of the present Wilder Building. In 1862 the bank occupied its own structure on State Street; in 1924 it found temporary offices during the erection of the magnificent new bank home upon the same site, and which will be occupied late in 1925. Following Mr. Peck in the presidency of this institution were Charles W. Dundas, 1851-58; William N. Sage, 1858-60; E. T. Smith, 1860-63; William Churchill, 1863-72; George G. Clarkson, 1872-77; Martin Briggs, 1877-1880; Joseph Curtis, 1880-84; Louis Chapin, 1884-85; William N. Sage, 1885; Louis Chapin, 1886; William N. Sage, 1887-91; James E. Booth, 1891-1919; Rufus K. Dryer, 1919 --. Only five secretaries have served this bank, namely: Freeman Clarke, 1850-58; J. E. Pierpont, 1858-83; David Hoyt, 1883-1916; William Carson, 1916-22; George D. Whedon, since 1922.
On June 1, 1867, the Mechanics Savings Bank opened its doors, with George R. Clark president, and John H. Rochester secretary. The first trustees were George R. Clark, Patrick Barry, Lewis Selye, Thomas Parsons, George J. Whitney, George G. Cooper, Jarvis Lord, Samuel Wilder, Martin Reed, David Upton, Charles H. Chapin, Gilman H. Perkins, Hamlet D. Scrantom, Oliver Allen, Edward M. Smith, Abram S. Mann, Charles J. Burke, Chauncey B. Woodworth, A. Carter Wilder, James M. Whitney, and Ed- ward E. Sill. The bank purchased the building of the old Com- mercial Bank, on West Main Street, and later acquired the prop- erty where it is now located on Exchange Street. Succeeding Mr. Clark as president of this institution were Patrick Barry, 1869- 84; Samuel Wilder, 1884-86; Samuel Sloan, 1886-1903; Charles
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HISTORY OF GENESEE COUNTRY
M. Everest, 1903-06; John J. Bausch, 1906-18; A. P. Little, 1918- 21; William B. Hale, since 1921.
The forerunner of trust companies in Rochester was the Roch- ester Safe Deposit Company, established in 1868 with a capital of $100,000. The first president was William N. Sage, the vice president J. E. Pierpont, and the secretary William J. Ashley. In 1883 a charter was secured for the transacting of a trust busi- ness, the operations hitherto having been, as indicated by the title, of "safe deposit" character, but not until 1888 did the company undertake the trust business authorized by the charter. A reorganization took place at this time, the capital increased to $200,000, and the name changed to the Rochester Trust and Safe Deposit Company. J. Moreau Smith was chosen president at this time, H. C. Brewster and C. B. Woodworth vice presidents, and Haywood Hawks secretary. The first home of the company was in the Monroe County Savings Bank Building, on State Street; in 1888 its offices were moved to a new building on Exchange, near West Main Street. In 1906 the present building at the corner of Exchange and West Main streets was occupied. Only three presi- dents have served since Mr. Smith. These were V. Moreau Smith, William C. Berry and the present incumbent, R. C. Watson.
In November, 1869, the East Side Savings Bank began busi- ness at the corner of Main and Clinton streets, with Pliny M. Bromley president, William N. Emerson and Henry S. Hebard vice presidents, and Platt B. Viele secretary and treasurer. The first board of trustees was composed of Isaac F. Quinby, Horatio G. Warner, Henry S. Hebard, Hiram Davis, Michael Filon, Wil- liam N. Emerson, Hector McLean, Edward Ocumpaugh, James Vick, Elias Wollf, Truman A. Newton, Abner Green, David R. Barton, J. Moreau Smith, Pliny M. Bromley, William A. Hub- bard, Araunah Moseley, Erastus Darrow, Henry Lampert, Louis Ernest and Lucius L. May. Mr. Bromley served as president until 1874, and succeeding him in the chief executive position have been William N. Emerson, 1875-76; Henry S. Hebard, 1876-90; Michael Filon, 1890-93; Jirah B. Moseley, 1893-1902; Benjamin E. Chase, 1902-15; and W. Henry Mathews, since 1915. The original quarters of the bank were in the old Washington Hall Block, corner of Main and Clinton streets; in 1884 they were re-
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
moved to buildings on the opposite corner. A magnificent new home for the institution was completed on this site in 1924.
Late in the year 1883 the Merchants Bank was organized, but it did not begin business until the opening of 1884. George E. Mumford was the first president; the capital was $100,000; and the bank started on the corner of Main Street and South Avenue, where it is still located. The first board of directors consisted of Charles J. Burke, George W. Archer, George E. Mumford, James W. Whitney, William J. Ashley, Patrick Cox, Rufus K. Dryer, Nathan Levi, and Valentine F. Whitmore. Succeeding Mr. Mum- ford as the executive head of this institution were Rufus K. Dryer, William J. Ashley, Percy R. McPhail, Frank A. Ward, and John C. Rodenbeck, the latter the incumbent at this writing.
The Central Bank of Rochester came into existence in 1888, with offices in the Wilder Building, and with a capital of $100,000. Samuel Wilder was the first president, Arthur Luetchford vice president, and George Wilder cashier. Mr. Wilder served as president until 1894, when Benjamin E. Chase assumed the office and remained until 1915, at which time John H. Gregory became the directing head. The trustees on the first board were Samuel Wilder, Arthur Luetchford, William B. Morse, Benjamin E. Chase, Frank S. Upton, Samuel Sloan, S. V. McDowell, Charles M. Everest, Johnson I. Robins, Brackett H. Clark, Charles S. Hastings, Charles E. Hoyt and Henry R. East.
The Flour City Bank, organized in 1856; the second Bank of Rochester, in 1875; the Commercial National Bank, in 1878, and the German-American Bank, in 1884, which have been mentioned more in detail, all went into the making in 1906 of the National Bank of Rochester, which was subsequently renamed the Lincoln National Bank. The Alliance Bank was organized March 10, 1892, with a capital of $150,000; George W. Thayer, president; H. C. Brewster and Byron D. McAlpine, vice presidents; Albert 0. Fenn, cashier. On November 13, 1900, the Alliance Bank absorbed the second Bank of Monroe, which had been organized in 1867, and the capital was then increased to $275,000. On Decem- ber 1, 1920, the Lincoln National was merged with this bank, when the name Lincoln-Alliance Bank was adopted. Thomas E. Lannin was the first and present executive head of this new organization. In addition to the main office of this institution,
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five branches are maintained in Rochester. It is the intention of the bank to erect, in 1925, a fourteen-story building on the site of the present main office, which will be the highest office building in Rochester.
The Security Trust Company began business November 1, 1892, with a capital of $200,000; Hiram W. Sibley, president; Gilman H. Perkins, William S. Kimball and Granger A. Hollister, vice presidents; and William L. Mercer, secretary. The first trustees were William S. Kimball, Granger A. Hollister, Arthur Luetchford, Arthur G. Yates, Erickson Perkins, Benjamin E. Chase, J. Lee Judson, Julius M. Wile, James S. Watson, Frank S. Upton, C. Walter Smith, George C. Buell Jr., George Wilder, Frederick A. Whittlesey, J. Alexander Hayden, Hiram W. Sibley, Gilman H. Perkins, Thomas W. Finucane, George C. Hollister, Donald McNaughton, William L. Mercer and Albert H. Harris. The first location of the institution was the Osburn home, on the corner of East Avenue and Elm Street; in 1894 the bank moved to the Granite Building; in 1897 it occupied its own building at the corner of East Main and South Water streets, where it re- mains; an addition to this building is now (1925) in the course of construction.
The Union Trust Company of Rochester was organized De- cember 1, 1897, capitalized for $200,000, and officered by Erick- son Perkins, president; B. E. Chase and Frank H. Clement, vice presidents, and Frederick W. Zoller, secretary. The following were directors: G. N. Perkins, George C. Seager, W. W. Dake, Irving Rouse, J. E. McKelvey, Abram E. Wollf, Frank Taylor, Thomas Brown, Charles B. Hudson and E. S. Ettenheimer. Mr. Perkins served as president of this institution until 1899, when he was succeeded by George F. Yeomans. In 1901 Frank Taylor became the chief executive and served until 1914, when Frederick W. Zoller assumed the presidency. The company maintains two branches in Rochester in addition to the main office. Shortly after its organization the Union Trust took over the business of the Union Bank, established in 1853, and later absorbed the Fidelity Trust Company, which had been organized in 1898. The first quarters of the company were in the building formerly occu- pied by the Union Bank.
The Genesee Valley Trust Company opened its doors to the
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public September 3, 1901, in its own building on Exchange Street, a historic structure formerly associated with the history of other banks and here the institution remains at the present writing. The first officers of this bank were Henry C. Brewster, president; Frank H. Hamlin and Charles H. Palmer, vice presidents; Mr. Palmer also secretary. The directors were John F. Alden, Leo Bloch, Carroll E. Bowen, George C. Buell, R. Titus Coan, W. Deininger, T. B. Dunn, Charles P. Ford, J. S. Graham, W. B. Hale, A. B. Lamberton, F. C. Loeb, W. S. Morse, Clinton Rogers, M. S. Sandford, John S. Sheppard, F. A. Stecher, D. D. Sully, V. F. Whitmore, J. C. Winters, and W. E. Woodbury. Frank H. Hamlin followed Mr. Brewster in the presidency and he, in turn, was succeeded by Darrell D. Sully and William J. Simpson, the latter the incumbent at this date. C. H. Palmer has been vice president of the company since its organization.
The youngest banking institution in the city of Rochester is The National Bank of Rochester, which opened for business on May 19, 1924, with a capital and surplus of $1,500,000. This new organization purchased the assets of the old National Bank of Commerce and the Traders' National Bank. The first officers of the new institution were: Libanus M. Todd, chairman of the board; Benjamin D. Haight, president; W. T. McCaffrey and Henry F. Marks, vice presidents; and George C. Lennox, cashier. Upon the death of Mr. Haight in January, 1925, W. T. McCaffrey became president.
The Rochester Clearing House Association was formed May 1, 1890. In the annual report of this association for the year 1924 figures are given which show the splendid condition of bank- ing interests in Rochester, and the soundness of commercial and financial affairs in the city. According to this table, the combined bank capital is $7,500,000; surplus, $22,426,072.74; deposits, $312,985,838.49; loans, $222,740,949.45; investments, $80,432,- 807.99. Bank clearances during the year amounted to the stu- pendous sum of $598,939,497.21, while the balances were $98,438,518.65.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE CITY OF ROCHESTER: THE PRESS.
Scarcely 300 people lived in the village of Rochester when the first newspaper was launched there. This was in 1816. Augus- tine G. Dauby was the name of the optimistic editor, and he called his newspaper the Gazette. Dauby was not without experience in the journalistic profession, for he had served his apprenticeship upon the Patriot at Utica, whence he came, and in later years he returned there. During the first year the Gazette was printed in the second story of a frame building on the south side of West Main Street, near Front; the next year it was moved to Abner Wakelee's building, just east of the Reynolds Arcade, where it remained until the structure was burned in 1819. This disaster forced the Gazette to suspend publication for about three months, after which it was revived at an Exchange Street location. How- ever, the sheet, despite the heroic efforts of the talented editor, failed to make expenses, and in March, 1821, Dauby sold out to Derrick and Levi W. Sibley. These latter gentlemen promptly changed the title of the sheet to the Monroe Republican and con- ducted it as such until November, 1825, when the firm of Whit- tlesey & Mumford became the owners, with Edwin Scrantom as editor. Scrantom had been associated with the paper back in the days before the fire. The new management persisted in the en- deavor to make the Gazette a paying proposition, but the publica- tion evidently was doomed. It passed out completely in 1827.
The second newspaper in Rochester was the Telegraph, which was established July 7, 1818, by Everard Peck. Peck, who had learned the art of bookbinding in his native state of Connecticut, came here in 1816 and first engaged in the book business, both binding and selling. Apparently the income from this source was slender, for at the time mentioned above he augmented his busi- ness with the newspaper. For four years he acted as owner,
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