First National Bank, Litchfield, CT (Charter 709)
First National Bank, Litchfield, CT (Chartered 1865 - Closed (Merger) 2010)
Town History
Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporated villages: East Litchfield, Milton, and Northfield. Northfield, located in the southeastern corner of Litchfield, is home to a high percentage of the Litchfield population.
Originally called Bantam township, Litchfield incorporated in 1719. The town derives its name from Lichfield in England. In 1751 it became the county-seat of Litchfield County, and at the same time the borough of Litchfield (incorporated in 1879) was laid out. From 1776 to 1780 two depots for military stores and a workshop for the Continental army were maintained, and the leaden statue of George III., erected in Bowling Green (New York City), in 1770, and torn down by citizens on the 9th of July 1776, was cut up and taken to Litchfield, where, in the house of Oliver Wolcott it was melted into bullets for the American army by Wolcott's daughter and sister. During the American Revolutionary War several prominent Loyalists were held prisoner in the town, including William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, and David Mathews, Mayor of New York City.
In 1784, the first law school in the United States, the so-named Litchfield Law School was established by judge and legal scholar Tapping Reeve. Prior to its establishment Reeve had accepted several legal apprentices since he had settled there in 1773, but saw such demand for his expertise that he formally opened the one-room school within a decade. During the school's fifty year history it would accept more than 1,100 students, including Aaron Burr, Jr., Horace Mann, and Levi Woodbury, the first justice of the US Supreme Court to attend law school. Litchfield was also home to a pioneering institution of young women's education, the Litchfield Female Academy, founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce.
Litchfield has a very rich history. The Litchfield Historical Society, located in the center of town, contains a wide variety of items with historical importance to the town.
Litchfield had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes. Litchfield also had three Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).
Bank History
- Organized December 8, 1864
- Chartered January 12, 1865
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Union Savings Bank in Danbury, CT, April 7, 2010
For more history of the Phoenix Bank, see The Phoenix National Bank of Hartford, Connecticut.
The FNB of Litchfield traces its origins to the bank established on Litchfield Hill as a branch of the Phoenix Bank, operating as such from 1814-1864. In December 1815, the president and directors of the Phoenix Bank bought the lot on which they built the present building and in 1864 when the Phoenix bank became The Phoenix National Bank, it was not authorized to maintain branches and the First National Bank of Litchfield was incorporated and owned and occupied the building ever since. Its capital stock was originally $200,000 but in 1900, it was determined that it was too large to be profitably employed and $100,000 was returned to stockholders at par.
On Wednesday, September 6, 1820, stockholders of the Phoenix Bank chose the following directors for the bank at Hartford: Normand Knox, Samuel Tudor, Jr., Charles Sigourney, John Russ, Charles Seymour, David Porter, Ward Woodbridge, Thomas Day, Sylvester Well, William Ely, and Cyprian Nichols; and Benjamin Tallmadge, James Gould, David Foot, Erastus Hodges, Samuel Buell, Charles L. Webb, and Seth P. Beers, of the Branch at Litchfield. Normand Knox, Esq., was re-elected president and George Beach, Esq., cashier of the bank at Hartford. Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge II was the first president of the Phoenix Branch Bank in Litchfield. He graduated from Yale College in 1773. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a Colonel in command of the 2nd Light Dragoons, Continental Army, and was part of the Culper spy ring. After the war, he was appointed postmaster of Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1792 and in 1801, he was elected as a Federalist to the Seventh Congress and to the next seven succeeding Congresses, serving until 1817.
The branch of the Phoenix Bank located at Litchfield, Connecticut, was serving that well-to-do farming country and, like the main Phoenix Bank at Hartford, was as sound as a rock financially. Among the interesting stories of the early days of this bank is one of an attempt made to drain the branch bank of its coined money. Gustavus Davis, Jr., cashier, upon coming to the bank one morning found a crowd of people with a large number of bills which had been gathered together and were being presented with a demand that they be immediately redeemed. As only enough specie was kept at the branch bank to meet the ordinary requirements this sudden demand might have drained the limited supply, so Mr. Davis ordered a post-rider to the main bank at Hartford and with instructions not to spare horse flesh. The following morning, with several bags of coin from Hartford spread out in full view of all comers, Mr. Davis again offered to redeem all bills but by this time the people had become convinced that the bank was able to meet all demands. But it was not alone the ability to supply specie to meet a sudden demand that proved the soundness of the "Phoenix." It was a well-balanced combination of sound management and a realization of the financial uncertainty of the time that brought the bank safely through the many storms that arose during and long after the War of 1812.
In 1925, the officers were Geo. M. Woodruff, president; Charles H. Coit, vice president and Philip P. Hubbard, cashier. It was noted in 1925 that the Phoenix Branch bank had five presidents and seven cashiers during the 50 years of its existence and the First National Had 6 presidents and five cashiers.
In January 1929, The directors were Albert W. Clock, Weston G. Granniss, Frank H. Turkington, Lester R. Denegar, William T. Marsh, George M. Woodruff, James P. Woodruff. The officers were George M. Woodruff, president; James P. Woodruff, vice president; Philip P. Hubbard, cashier; Albert W. Clock, assistant cashier; and Everett Osborne, teller.
In May 1930, First National Bank of Litchfield promoted members of its executive personnel in filling the vacancy caused by the death of George M. Woodruff, who was president for thirty-one years, thereby conforming to the policy of the management. James P. Woodruff was elected president. Philip P. Hubbard, who was cashier and connected with the bank for more than 22 years, was elected vice president. Assistant Cashier Albert W. Clock, who had been with the bank 17 years, was elected cashier. Everett C. Osborn was elected assistant cashier. Mr. Osborn had been employed at the bank for thirteen years. John H. Brooks, treasurer of Brooks Bank & Trust Company and a trustee of the Torrington Savings Bank, was elected a director to fill the vacancy. The directorate was now as follows: John H. Brooks, Albert W. Clock, Lester R. Denegar, W.G. Granniss, Ernest Howe, Frank H. Turkington, and James P. Woodruff.
Official Bank Title
1: The First National Bank of Litchfield, CT
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $3,301,730 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 2010. This consisted of a total of 354,753 notes (328,676 large size and 26,077 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 3700 Original Series 4x5 1 - 7600 Original Series 4x10 1 - 3100 Original Series 3x20-50 1 - 1144 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 6692 Series 1875 4x10 1 - 3938 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 17371 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 9146 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 4400 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 8100 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 8101 - 25078 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 2882 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 686 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 3721 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 948
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 2010):
Presidents:
- Edwin McNeill, 1865-1874
- Henry R. Coit, 1875-1886
- Dr. Henry Wadhams Buel, 1887-1892
- George Eaton Jones, 1893-1895
- Charles Bartlett Andrews, 1896-1898
- George Morris Woodruff, 1899-1929
- James Parsons Woodruff, 1930-1930
- Ernest Howe, 1931-1931
- Philip Parley Hubbard, 1933-1935
Cashiers:
- Henry R. Coit, 1865-1874
- George Eaton Jones, 1875-1892
- Charles E. Wilson, 1893-1899
- Frank W. Humphrey, 1900-1909
- Philip Parley Hubbard, 1910-1929
- Albert William Clock, 1930-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Connecticut Bank Note History
- General information on Litchfield (Wikipedia)
- General information on Litchfield County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Connecticut (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Litchfield, CT, 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
- Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT, Sun., Jan. 4, 1925.
- Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT, Wed. Jan. 9, 1929.
- Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT, Thu., May 15, 1930.