First National Bank, New Bedford, MA (Charter 261)
First National Bank, New Bedford, MA (Chartered 1864 - Closed (Merger) 1989)
Town History
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts,. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American people. English colonists bought the land on which New Bedford would later be built from the Wampanoag in 1652, and the original colonial settlement that would later become the city was founded by English Quakers in the late 17th century. The town of New Bedford itself was officially incorporated in 1787.
The New Bedford Iron Foundry, located at the corner of Water and Coffin Streets, was founded by F.&I.C. Taber & Co., who were then located at the corner of Fourth and Bedford Streets. The firm of Taber & Grinnell succeeded to the business in 1847 and in 1859, Joseph G. Grinnell became the sole proprietor. Edmund Grinnell assumed control from his father in 1873. In 1889, the capacity of the works was 20 tons of castings per day with 90 men employed. The specialty of the works was light and heavy machinery and building castings.
During the first half of the 19th century, New Bedford was one of the world's most important whaling ports. At its economic height during this period, New Bedford was the wealthiest city in North America per capita. New Bedford was also a center of abolitionism at this time. The city attracted many freed or escaped African-American slaves, including Frederick Douglass, who lived there from 1838 until 1841. The city also served as a setting in Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick. From 1876 to 1900, New Bedford served as the initial home port for the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction, the precursor of the United States Coast Guard Academy.
New Bedford had six National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all six of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Chartered February 18, 1864
- Succeeded Marine Bank
- Assumed 743 by consolidation February 24, 1919 (Mechanics National Bank, New Bedford, MA)
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Shawmut Bank, N.A. in Boston, MA, May 12, 1989
The New Bedford Institution for Savings occupied a neat and convenient building at the northeast corner of William and Second Streets. The institution was incorporated in 1825 by the following gentlemen: William Rotch, Jr., Gilbert Russell, Cornelius Grinnell, Andrew Robeson, Haydon Coggeshall, Benjamin Rodman, John Avery Parker, Eli Haskell, Richard Williams, George Howland, Joseph Bourne, Abraham Shearman, Jr., William W. Swain, Thomas Rotch, Thomas A. Greene, Charles W. Morgan, Samuel Rodman, Jr., John B. Smith, William C. Nye, Thomas S. Swain, William H. Allen, Lemuel Williams, Jr., John Howland, Jr., Charles H. Warren, William P. Grinnell, Joseph Ricketson, Charles Grinnell, Nathan Bates, John Coggeshall, Jr., James Howland, 2d, and Gideon Howland. The first officers were William Rotch, Jr., president; Abraham Shearman, Jr., treasurer; John B. Smith, secretary; William Rotch Jr., Gilbert Russell, Cornelius Grinnell, Haydon Coggeshall, John A. Parker, Eli Haskel, Joseph Bourne, Abraham Shearman, Jr., Thomas Rotch, Thomas A. Green, Charles W. Morgan, Samuel Rodman, Jr., William C. Nye, Thomas S. Swain, John Howland, Jr., William P. Grinnell, Nathaniel Bates, John Coggeshall, Jr., and Gideon Howland, trustees.[2]
The First National Bank was formerly the Marine Bank, which was organized April 3, 1832, with a capital of $200,000. The first board of directors comprised Joseph Grinnell, Nathaniel Hathaway, Kimball Perry, Joseph S. Tillinghast, Alexander H. Campbell, Ephraim Kempton, Benjamin Russell, Joseph R. Anthony, and William W. Swain. In 1833 the capital was increased to $300,000, in 1851 to $500,000, and in 1855 to $600,000. Joseph Grinnell was its first and only president, and John E. Williams, William M. Sisson, and John P. Barker were the cashiers. On February 18, 1864, the bank received a national charter and the name was changed to the First National Bank of New Bedford. The directors were Joseph Grinnell, Ward M. Parker, William Gifford, Edward W. Rowland, Edward C. Jones, Lemuel Kollock, George F. Barker, Otis Seabury, and Ivory H. Bartlett, Jr. Mr. Grinnell continued to act as president of the bank until January 1878, when he was succeeded by Edward W. Rowland, and finally by William Watkins. In 1860 the capital was increased to $1,000,000 at which amount it now stands, and the surplus aggregates $200,000. In 1874, Walter P. Winsor succeeded Mr. Barker as cashier, and George B. Hathaway was the teller.[3]
The directors since the organization as the Marine Bank, with the years in which their terms of service started and ended, are shown in the Table.[4]
| Director | Start | End | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grinnell, Joseph | 1832 | 1885 | US Congress, 1844-1852 |
| Swain, William W. | 1832 | 1845 | |
| Hathaway, Nathaniel | 1832 | 1836 | Merchant. d. 1836 |
| Tillinghast, Joseph S. | 1832 | 1835 | |
| Anthony, Joseph R. | 1832 | 1840 | |
| Perry, Kimball | 1832 | 1832 | 6 months |
| Campbell, Alexander H. | 1832 | 1834 | |
| Russell, Benjamin | 1832 | 1833 | |
| Kempton, Ephraim | 1832 | 1863 | |
| Merrihew, Stephen | 1832 | 1837 | |
| Taber, William C. | 1833 | 1857 | |
| Howland, 2d, James | 1834 | 1861 | |
| Adams, Atkins | 1835 | 1850 | |
| Seabury, Alexander H. | 1837 | 1840 | Served two different periods |
| Seabury, Alexander H. | 1867 | 1887 | Served two different periods |
| Jones, Edward C. | 1837 | 1880 | |
| Parker, Ward M. | 1840 | 1881 | |
| Kollock, Lemuel | 1840 | 1888 | |
| Howland, Edward W. | 1845 | 1879 | President, 1878. d. 1879 |
| Delano, Joseph C. | 1865 | 1886 | |
| Gifford, Charles U. | 1866 | 1881 | |
| Knowles, 2d, John P. | 1867 | 1886 | |
| Burt, Samuel P. | 1871 | 1875 | |
| Eddy, Abram T. | 1876 | past 1888 | |
| Winsor, Walter P. | 1879 | past 1888 | President 1899-1911; Cashier 1874-1898. d. 1911 |
| Watkins, William | 1879 | past 1888 | President 1879-1889. d. 1900 |
| Stetson, Thomas M. | 1880 | past 1888 | |
| Taber, Edward S. | 1881 | past 1888 | |
| Grinnell, Edmund | 1882 | 1888 | New Bedford Iron Foundry |
| Baylies, William | 1885 | past 1888 | |
| Pierce, Edward T. | 1886 | past 1888 | |
| Seabury, Humphrey W. | 1887 | past 1888 | |
| Hathaway, Savory C. | 1887 | past 1888 | d. 1898 |
| Luce, Matthew | 1888 | past 1888 | |
| Knowles, Sidney W. | 1888 | past 1888 | Agent, Pacific Steam Whaling Co.; d. 1892 |
| Gifford, William | 1851 | 1866 | |
| Barker, George F. | 1857 | 1865 | d. 1865 |
| Seabury, Otis | 1860 | 1875 | |
| Bartlett, Jr., Ivory H. | 1862 | 1865 | |
| Howland, James Henry | 1865 | 1884 | d. 1884 |
In July 1874, Walter P. Winsor succeeded Mr. Barker as cashier. Irregularities discovered by the national bank examiner forced the removal of Mr. Barker.[5]
On Sunday, January 19, 1879, Edward W. Howland, for many years a prominent citizen of New Bedford died, aged 74. Mr. Howland acquired a fortune in the whale fishery and about 10 years ago retired from business. He filled various positions of trust including alderman, director of the First National Bank and director in the Wamsutta and Potumska companies. He was an influential member of the Society of Friends and active in the management of its affairs.[6] His great aunt was married to Hon. Joseph Grinnell.
In 1888, the officers were as follows: President, William Watkins; cashier, Walter P. Winsor; directors, Abram T. Eddy, Walter P. Winsor, William Watkins, Thomas M. Stetson, Edward S. Taber, William Baylies, Humphrey W. Seabury, Savory C. Hathaway, Edward T. Pierce, Matthew Luce, and Sidney W. Knowles. Wm. A. Mackie was bookkeeper; Frank B. Chase, discount clerk; Chas. T. Smith, collection clerk; and W.S. Hunt, messenger. The bank was located at the southeast corner of Union and Second streets.
In January 1919, the presidents of the First National Bank and the Mechanics National Bank of New Bedford announced the consolidation of the banks to stockholders, calling a special meeting for February 4th to ratify the plans. If approved, the new bank would be called the First National Bank and would be located at the southwest corner of Pleasant and Union Streets in the quarters occupied by the Mechanics National. The consolidated institution would have capital of $500,000 and undivided profits of $200,000. According to statements issued by the two banks, the combined capital, surplus and undivided profits totaled slightly over $3,500,000, so the balance of about $2,300,000 would be distributed.[7][8] On February 4th, shareholders of both banks unanimously voted to accept the recommendation of the directors to consolidate the two institutions under the charter and name of the First National bank. The directors of both institutions together with Thomas F. Glennon and William F. Potter were designated as the board of directors of the consolidated bank. The board selected as president Irving W. Cook, president of the Hyannis Trust Company of Hyannis as the active head of the new bank. The new bank had capital stock of $500,000, a surplus of $500,000 and undivided profits of $200,000 contributed equally by the two banks. The directors of the consolidated institution were as follows: Edward S. Brown, William W. Crapo, Henry H. Crapo, Herbert E. Cushman, Henry C. Denison, Thomas F. Glennon, John F. Hatch, Jr., Thomas S. Hathaway, E. Williams Hervey, Clark W. Holcomb, Charles M. Holmes, Joseph T. Kenney, William A. Mackie, Clarence R. O'Brion, Andrew G. Pierce Jr., Edward T. Pierce, Oliver Prescott, William F. Potter, Frederick D. Stetson, Thomas A. Tripp, and William R. West.[9]
On April 14, 1941, Thomas M. Greene, formerly of Everett and Boston, was elected president of the First National Bank of New Bedford. He was with the Shawmut National Bank from 1912 to 1917 and after the war was associated with the National Bank examiner's office. Before coming to New Bedford in 1937, he was vice president of the Everett National Bank, becoming vice president of the First National on July 1, 1937. He succeeded Irving W. Cook, president of the bank for 22 years, who retired to become chairman of the board of directors, a newly created post. Mr. Cook, a native of Provincetown came to New Bedford from the First National Bank of Hyannis and later with the Hyannis Trust Co.[10]
On September 7, 1958, services for Irving W. Cook, 82, chairman of the board of the First Safe Deposit National Bank of New Bedford were held in Hyannis. He died at the Cape Cod Hospital on the 4th. Mr. Cook Summered at Wequaquet Lake and maintained his Winter risidence in New Bedford. He was president of the Hyannis Trust Co. until 1919 when he resigned to take a similar post with the old First National Bank of New Bedford which 10 years earlier merged with the Safe Deposit National Bank. Mr. Cook then retired as president and became chairman of the board.[11]
In January 1961, Thomas M. Greene was elected chairman of the board and chief executive officer and Frank Simpson was elected president and trust officer of the First Safe Deposit National Bank of New Bedford. Other promotions announced were William L. Croker, senior vice president; Thomas H. Billington, vice president; Calvin Hayward, assistant cashier and Edward J. Angelo, assistant trust officer. Simpson started with the bank in 1930. He obtained his law degree from Northeastern University School of Law and since 1951, he had been senior vice president and trust officer of the bank.[12]
On February 20, 1981, Shawmut Corp. announced it reached a merger agreement with First Melville Bancorp, Inc. of New Bedford and would acquire the company's only subsidiary, First National Bank of New Bedford. The agreement took three month's of negotiations between Shawmut with assets of $3.5 billion and first Melville with assets of $119 million. Under the agreement, each share of First Melville common stock would be exchanged for two shares of Shawmut common. John P. LaWare, chairman of Shawmut, said First National Bank of New Bedford was "a base for our expansion in Bristol County once we get in there." First National had seven banking offices in Bristol County.[13] In August 1981, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors approved the merger between First Melville Bancorp Inc. and Shawmut Corp. of Boston.[14]
Official Bank Title
1: The First National Bank of New Bedford, MA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $16,462,930 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 2,125,276 notes (1,935,052 large size and 190,224 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 - 20000 Original Series 4x5 1 - 17500 Original Series 4x10 1 - 11300 Original Series 2x20-50-100 1 - 2300 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 10700 Series 1875 4x10 1 - 5000 Series 1875 4x20 1 - 4421 Series 1875 2x20-50-100 1 - 500 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 92355 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 39359 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 31808 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 22676 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 49830 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 34668 1902 Plain Back 4x5 49831 - 137065 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 34669 - 88779 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 16886 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 9380 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 2428 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 11982 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 4622 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1456
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Hon. Joseph Grinnell, 1864-1877 NOTE: a featured biography is available
- Edward W. Howland, 1878-1878
- William Watkins, 1879-1889
- Edward Smith Taber, 1890-1898
- Walter Pennington Winsor, 1899-1911
- Thomas Bush Tripp, 1912-1913
- Gideon Allen, Jr., 1914-1918
- Irving Winthrop Cook, 1919-1935
Cashiers:
- John P. Barker, 1864-1873
- Walter Pennington Winsor, 1874-1898
- William A. Mackie, 1899-1918
- Frank B. Chase, 1919-1933
- Roger Walcott Dyer, 1934-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- New Bedford, MA, 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
- ↑ New Bedford, MA, Its History, Industries, Institutions and Attractions, The Board of Trade, publisher, New Bedford, 1889, p. 259.
- ↑ New Bedford, MA, Its History, Industries, Institutions and Attractions, The Board of Trade, publisher, New Bedford, 1889, pp 245-6.
- ↑ New Bedford, MA, Its History, Industries, Institutions and Attractions, The Board of Trade, publisher, New Bedford, 1889, pp 233-4.
- ↑ New Bedford, MA, Its History, Industries, Institutions and Attractions, The Board of Trade, publisher, New Bedford, 1889, pp 233-4.
- ↑ Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, Wed., July 8, 1874.
- ↑ Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, Tue., Jan. 21, 1879.
- ↑ The Evening Herald, Fall River, MA, Tue., Jan., 21, 1919.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Sat., Mar. 1, 1919.
- ↑ The Evening Herald, Fall River, MA, Wed., Feb. 5, 1919.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Tue., Apr. 15, 1941.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Sat., Sep. 6, 1958.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Mon., Jan. 23, 1961.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Sat., Feb. 21, 1981.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Thu., Aug. 13, 1981.