Benjamin Franklin Edwards (Saint Louis, MO)
Benjamin Franklin Edwards (December 31, 1859 – January 2, 1945)
Biography
- Name: Benjamin Franklin Edwards
- Birth: Dec. 31, 1859, Saint Louis, Missouri
- Death: Jan. 2, 1945
Early life and family
Benjamin Franklin Edwards was born in St. Louis on December 31, 1859, the son of Albert Gallatin and Louise (Cabanne) Edwards. His father, Albert Gallatin Edwards (October 15, 1812 – April 19, 1892) was an Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln and founder of the brokerage firm A.G. Edwards. A.G. Edwards was born in Kentucky in 1812 and named after Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. His father was Illinois Governor and U.S. Senator, Ninian Edwards. He graduated from West Point in 1832 and was stationed with the U.S. Army's first permanent cavalry unit, based south of St. Louis, Missouri. Brevet 3d lieutenant Albert G. Edwards of the mounted rangers was promoted to brevet 2d lieut. on July 1st 1832. In St. Louis, he met Louise Cabanne, the daughter of a prominent St. Louis family, whom he married in 1835. Following his marriage, Edwards resigned from the military and entered the wholesaling firm of William L. Ewing.
In August 1835, Lieut. A.G. Edwards, along with Captain Jesse Bean and Lieut. Jefferson Davis, resigned their respective offices in the dragoons. Missouri Republican
A.G. Edwards fought for the Union during the Civil War, serving as Brigadier General with a command in the First Military District, E.M.M. With his political connections through his father and older brother, he was rewarded for his effort by President Lincoln who named him United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in April, 1865. In 1887, at the age of 75, he founded the brokerage firm with his son, B.F. Edwards, that bore his name, A.G. Edwards & Son.
His mother was the daughter of Jean Pierre and Julia (Gratiot) Cabanne. Mr. Cabanne was a merchant, fur and sugar trader who became a commissioner for the Bank of St. Louis and founded the Bank of Missouri.
His brothers were Albert N. Edwards, vice president of the Commonwealth Trust Co., and George Lane Edwards, president of the A.G. Edwards & Sons Brokerage Co., of which all three were directors.
Benjamin F. Edwards married Isabel Woods, daughter of Archibald Woods & Mary Matthews Woods, and they had three sons, Benjamin F., Archibald W., and Albert Gallatin Edwards. Only Albert lived into adulthood. Isabel passed on May 2, 1897, and on January 8, 1901, B.F. Edwards married Flora Woods, Isabel's younger sister. They had three children, Presley William, Mary Rebecca, and Nancy (Edwards) Barker. Presley W. Edwards became managing partner of A.G. Edwards in 1935 and his son, Benjamin Franklin Edwards, III, would take over leadership of A.G. Edwards in 1965.
Banking career
B.F. Edwards graduated from the Kirkwood High School. He started out on his 16th birthday, December 31, 1875, as the tail-end office boy in the St. Louis National Bank as he needed the money. His mother helped him with clothes and when he left 5 years later in 1880, he was earning $60 a month. He entered the old Bank of Commerce as exchange clerk. In 1887, he and his father organized the brokerage firm of A.G. Edwards & Son until January 13, 1892, when Mr. William H. Thompson asked him to return to the National Bank of Commerce as an assistant cashier. On January 12, 1899, he was elected cashier and then on January 13, 1904, he became vice president. On September 9, 1908, he was elected by the Board of Directors as president of the bank, succeeding J.C. Van Blarcom, late president of the bank who died on August 25. At the time he was described as more than 6 feet tall, weighing a solid 200 pounds, having played baseball, golf and ridden horses to develop a muscular build. He was an ardent fan of baseball, but didn't let it interfere with business.
In 1912, the National Bank of Commerce wrote off ~$5.7 million of uncollectible loans, many made before the panic of 1907. Losses effectively divided the board with some that believed the losses reflected incompetent management. On Tuesday, April 29, 1913, Tom Randolph was unanimously elected president of the National Bank of Commerce. Factions within the board had driven Mr. Edwards' resignation and the division also deterred several candidates. W. Frank Carter, vice president of the Mercantile Trust Co., had been most frequently mentioned for the position. Also, A.N. McMillan, president of the St. Louis Union Trust Co., was a candidate. Within the past few days many customers of the bank wrote to ask that Tom Randolph be elected president.
In January 1916, the Clayton Act was ignored by most St. Louis banks which meant that directors serving more than one National institution would have to resign from all but one by October 15. B.F. Edwards was elected a director of the Central National Bank, located at 307 North Seventh Street, along with Jacob Berger, J.A. Berninghause, J.R. Curlee, J.J. Frey, W.E. Hadley, S.B. Jeffries, R.R. Hammond, J.E. Hitt, L.F. Lumaghi, T.E. Newcomer, J.T. Pedigo, Charles P. Stanley, A.C. Stuever, M.R. Sturtevant, R.E.L. Winter, and George W. Ziebold. On Thursday, September 7, 1916, the US Court of Appeals dismissed the suit of Charles G. Heinz, a stockholder of the National Bank of Commerce, who sued to compel B.F. Edwards to return $50,000 given to him by his old bank when he retired as president. The bank maintained the sum was paid to prevent him re-entering the banking business for a year while Heinz contended the money was a gift.
In March 1920, the Third National Bank building, an 18-story banking and office structure at the southwest corner of Broadway and Olive Streets, was purchased for $1,965,000 by a syndicate composed of officers and stockholders of the Central National Bank, headed by B.F. Edwards, president. The first floor and half of the second floor would be leased to the bank with the remainder of the second floor occupied by J.J. Frey Stock and Bond Co. and Paul Jones Realty Co. The building was completed in 1908 at a cost of approximately $900,000 with Eames & Young as architects. The Third National was consolidated with the First National Bank and moved to the Mechanics' American Bank location one block north. The Central National bank was organized in 1915 and was capitalized at $1,000,000. The officers in 1920 were B.F. Edwards, president; J.R. Curlee, M.R. Sturtevant, J.J. Frey, and Jacob Berger, vice presidents; and T.E. Newcomer, cashier. In 1915, deposits at the bank totaled $6,932,321.90 versus the 1920 figure of $19,529,666.94, showing a gain of $12,597,345.04. Total resources for 1920 showed a gain of $18,526,078.69, the 1915 figures being 9,030,551.47 as against $27,592,630.16 for 1920.
In November 1920, stockholders of the Central National Bank and the Liberty Bank met to ratify plans to merge the two institutions. John L. Johnston, president of the Liberty Bank would become president of the new institution. J.J. Frey, vice president, purchased 2,000 shares of Central National stock for $200 a share which added to the 1,000 shares he already owned giving him 30% of the $1,000,000 of capital stock. J.E. Hitt and E.L. Taylor of Chicago threw their fortunes in with Frey along with R.R. Hammond, president of the St. Louis Cattle Loan Company, giving 45% of control to this group. B.F. Edwards was among those who sold their stock to Frey and resigned from the board. Edwards said "It is not my intention to leave the banking business, which has been my lifelong vocation, but I expect to continue my endeavors in my home city and hope to make the institution with which I shall be connected as prosperous and successful as the Central National Bank has been during the last few years." He took a desk in the office of his brother, head of A.G. Edwards & Co., with an office at 412 Olive Street.
In 1920, Mr. Edwards invited Ed Mays, an accomplished Arkansas banker with an extensive resume including the American Exchange Bank of Leslie, to help organize the National City Bank of Saint Louis at 390 N. Seventh Street and then serve as the vice president. On July 12, 1921, The National City Bank of St. Louis invited the public to the opening of their new institution. B.F. Edwards was president and the bank was located at Seventh Street, between Locust and Olive.
On February 19, 1930, merger of the Franklin-American Trust Company and the National City Bank was approved by directors of the two institutions. The assets of the Franklin-American were $31,861,684 and National City $19,777,614 which would result in an undisputed ranking of fourth largest bank in St. Louis for the consolidated institution. The office of the Franklin-American on the southwest corner of Seventh and Olive Streets became the new headquarters. President B.F. Edwards of the National City Bank would become chairman of the new executive committee.
On May 4, 1932, it was announced that B.F. Edwards, formerly chairman of the executive committee of the Franklin-American Trust Co. would become associated with A.G. Edwards & Sons at its offices at 409 North Eighth Street.
Other career highlights
In 1917, B.F. Edwards was appointed to the Finance Committee of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Red Cross. In politics, he was a Republican and was a member of the following clubs: Bank Clerks' Association, St. Louis Amateur Athletic Association, and the St. Louis Noonday, Field, Glen Echo, Mercantile, and Country clubs. He retired from A.G. Edwards and Sons in 1942.
Later life and death
Benjamin Franklin Edwards, 86, former banker and one of the founders of the stock and bond brokerage firm, A.G. Edwards Sons, died on January 2, 1945, of infirmities at his home, 5851 Nina place after a year’s illness. Mr. Edwards, who went to work for the old St. Louis National Bank on his sixteenth birthday, was at various times president of the National City Bank, the National Bank of Commerce, and Central National Bank. He also was chairman of the executive committee of the Franklin-American Trust Company. With his father, General Albert Gallatin Edwards, who was for 20 years United States assistant treasurer at St. Louis, he organized the brokerage firm in 1887 and remained an active partner until failing health necessitated his retirement three years earlier. Mr. Edwards whose family was one of the pioneer residents of what was Kirkwood, was graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1875, going to work shortly afterwards. Surviving were two sons, Presley W. Edwards, 100 North Hanley Road, Clayton, and the Rev. Albert G. Edwards, a Presbyterian missionary in Brazil; and two daughters, Miss Mary R. Edwards, with whom he had made his home for several years, and Mrs. Theodore R. Barker, 7603 Maryland Avenue, Clayton. His brother, Albert N. Edwards, lived in Pasadena, California.
The funeral was on January 3rd at the Bible Presbyterian Church, 800 Union Boulevard with burial in Bellefontaine Cemetery.
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, B. F. Edwards was involved with the following banks:
- St. Louis National Bank, Saint Louis, MO (Charter 1112): Office boy 1875-1880
- National Bank of Commerce/Mercantile-Commerce NB, Saint Louis, MO (Charter 4178): President 1908-1912; Cashier 1899-1903
- Yates Center National Bank, Yates Center, KS (Charter 6326): Director 1903...1907
- First National Bank of Pittsburg, KS (Charter 3463): Director 1907-1911
- Central National Bank, Saint Louis, MO (Charter 8455): President 1916-1920
- National City Bank, Saint Louis, MO (Charter 11989): President 1921-1927,1929
- Franklin-American Trust Company, Saint Louis, MO: Chairman of the Executive Committee 1930-1932"
Sources
- Benjamin Franklin Edwards on Findagrave.com
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935)
- A.G. Edwards, Inc. accessed Dec. 25, 2022.
- The Bankers Magazine, Vol. 77, July 1908-Dec. 1908, p. 671.
- Niles National Register, St. Louis, MO, Sat., Nov. 16, 1833.
- Niles National Register, St. Louis, MO, Sat., Aug. 29, 1835.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Thu., Sep. 10, 1908.
- Amerika, St. Louis, MO, Thu., Sep. 10, 1908.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Tue., Apr. 29, 1913.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Wed., Jan. 12, 1916.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Fri., Sep. 8, 1916.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Sun., June 10, 1917.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Mon. Mar. 22, 1920.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Wed., Mar. 24, 1920.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Sat., Nov. 13, 1920.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Wed. Nov. 17, 1920.
- The Modern View, St. Louis, MO, Fri., July 8, 1921.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Wed., Jan. 16, 1929.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Thu., Feb. 20, 1930.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Thu., May 5, 1932.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Tue., Jan. 2, 1945.