Caldwell National Bank, Caldwell, NJ (Charter 7131)
Caldwell National Bank, Caldwell, NJ (Chartered 1904 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Caldwell is a borough located in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about 16 miles west of New York City and 6 miles northwest of Newark, the state's most populous city. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,027. In 1900 the population was 1,367, growing to 2,236 by 1910.
In 1702, settlers purchased a 14,000 acres Horseneck Tract from the Lenape Native American tribe for goods equal to $325. This purchase encompassed much of western Essex County, from the First Mountain to the Passaic River at Pine Brook. Caldwell is located in the center of the Horseneck Tract. Settlement began about 1740 by Thomas Gould and Saunders Sanders. The Horseneck Tract consisted of present-day Caldwell, West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Fairfield, Verona, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Roseland, and portions of Livingston and West Orange. This land was part of the larger purchase and had been referred to as the Horse Neck Tract until February 17, 1787, when the town congregation voted to change the name to Caldwell, in honor of the Reverend James Caldwell who pushed for their organization's creation.
Caldwell was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 10, 1892, from portions of Caldwell Township (now Fairfield Township), based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day. Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, was born in Caldwell on March 18, 1837. His father, Rev. Richard Falley Cleveland, was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. The Grover Cleveland birthplace—the church's former manse—is now a museum and is open to the public.
Caldwell had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the Caldwell National Bank (Charter 7131) and the Citizens National Bank (Charter 9612), and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized February 8, 1904
- Chartered February 11, 1904
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Acquired by National Newark & Essex Banking Company (Charter 1316) in December 1950
In January 1904, the comptroller of the currency approved the application for the organization of the Caldwell National Bank with capital of $25,000. The organizers were Walter P. Lindsley, John J. Van Order, George E. DeCamp, Michael T. Bartlett, and G.F. Van Wagenen.[2]
On Saturday, February 13, 1904, the Caldwell National Bank capitalized at $25,000 with a surplus of $6,250 was formally opened for business.[3]
In March 1906, the comptroller of the currency reported the following change at the Caldwell National Bank: George E. De Camp, president, in place of W.P. Lindsley.[4]
In October 1907, James L. Throckmorton, Jr., cashier of the Caldwell National Bank, made public a peculiar transaction of Walter P. Lindsley, the Newark lawyer who disappeared suddenly while president of the bank. A mortgage assigned to the bank on the eve of his disappearance to cover shortages due the bank was claimed by the Ernest H. Bennett Land and Improvement Co. and others. Throckmorton testified before Vice Chancellor Stevens that Mr. Lindsley was not a defaulter, but that when he disappeared the bank held about $8,000 on notes which Lindsley had caused the bank to discount and that the mortgage was assigned by Lindsley to partly cover his indebtedness.[5]
On Tuesday, January 14, 1908, a meeting of the stockholders at the Hasler building resulted in the election of the following directors: George E. De Camp, John J. Van Order, John W. DeBaun, Harry F. Backus, E.A. Williams, Albert Brugler, J. Henry Harrison, Daniel Bailey and George F. Van Wagenen. The following officers were chosen: G.E. De Camp, president; J.J. Van order, vice president; James S. Throckmorton, Jr., cashier; and J. Henry Harrison, secretary. A dividend of 10% was declared, the first since the bank was organized in February 1904.[6]
In August 1909, James T. Throckmorton resigned as cashier of the Caldwell National Bank.[7]
On Tuesday, January 11, 1910, the stockholders elected the following directors: C.H. Hoffman, H.F. Backus, J.W. De Baun, Albert Brugler, Daniel Bailey, G.F. Van Wagenen, J.H. Harrison, J.J. Van Order, and George E. De Camp. The officers chosen were George E. De Camp, president, J.J. Van Order, vice president; and J.H. Coddington, cashier.[8]
On Monday, December 18, 1950, the Caldwell National Bank consolidated with the National Newark & Essex Banking Company. Assets of the Caldwell bank would increase to over $150,000,000 those of National Newark & Essex, the oldest bank in the State of New Jersey established in 1804. The main office was located at 744 Broad Street, Newark with the Caldwell office at 307 Bloomfield Avenue; Montclair Office at 491 Bloomfield Avenue; Ironbound Office at 185 Ferry Street, Newark; and the Haynes Office at 550 Frelinghuysen Avenue, Newark.[9] The announcement was issued jointly by Robert G. Cowan, president of the National Newark & Essex Banking Company and Roscoe De Baun, president of the Caldwell National Bank. Stockholders of the Caldwell bank met on December 12 and approved the plan of consolidation. The 5,000 outstanding shares of Caldwell National Bank were reportedly purchased in excess of $95 per share while the book value per share was about $70. Assets of Caldwell National were in excess of $7.5 million.[10]
As of June 30, 1953, the National Newark and Essex Banking Co. was the 91st largest bank in the country according to the American Banker. Robert G. Cowan, president of the bank, noting the gain of more than fifty places since 1943, said that the increase in size was aided by mergers in recent years with Bank of Montclair, Caldwell National Bank, Bloomfield Bank and Trust Company and Savings Investment and Trust Company. National Newark operated 13 offices in Essex County.[11]
On Thursday, July 17, 1969, New Jersey's new liberalized banking law became effective. The law established three banking districts, permitting banks to set up branch offices across county lines for the first time. The law applied to commercial and savings banks as well as saving and loan institutions. It also permitted the creation of statewide holding companies to allow banks to establish controlling interest in other banks through stock purchases. Among the national bank branch locations approved was the National Newark & Essex Bank, West Caldwell.[12]
Official Bank Title
1: The Caldwell National Bank, Caldwell, NJ
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $764,080 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1904 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 61,709 notes (35,664 large size and 26,045 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 846 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1540 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1541 - 8070 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 2622 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 718 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 4530 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1475
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1904 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Walter P. Lindsley, 1904-1905
- George E. De Camp, 1906-1925
- Isaac Lane Evans, 1926-1927
- John J. Van Order, 1928-1935
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Caldwell, NJ, on Wikipedia
- Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
- Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, Fri., Dec. 15, 1950. , December 15, 1950.
- ↑ Courier Post, Camden, NJ, Tue., Jan. 5, 1904.
- ↑ The Morris County Chronicle, Morristown, NJ, Fri., Feb. 19, 1904.
- ↑ Evening Courier, Camden, NJ, Mon., Mar. 5, 1906.
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, Wed., Oct. 9, 1907.
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, Wed., Jan. 15, 1908.
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, Wed., Aug. 25, 1909.
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, Wd., Jan 12, 1910.
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, Fri., Dec. 15, 1950.
- ↑ The Montclair Times, Montclair, NJ, Thu., Dec. 14, 1950.
- ↑ Verona-Cedar Grove Times, Verona, NJ, Thu., Aug. 6, 1953.
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, Sun., July 20, 1969.