Great Falls National Bank/First NB, Somersworth, NH (Charter 1180)
Great Falls National Bank/First NB, Somersworth, NH (Chartered 1865 - Closed (Merger) 1991)
Town History
Somersworth is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire. Somersworth has the smallest area and third-lowest population of New Hampshire's 13 cities. The population was 11,855 at the 2020 census. In 1860 the population was 4,787 growing to 7,023 by 1900.
Somersworth, originally called "Sligo" after Sligo in Ireland, was settled before 1700 as a part of Dover. It was organized in 1729 as the parish of "Summersworth", meaning "summer town", because during that season the ministers would preach here. It was set off and incorporated in 1754 by colonial governor Benning Wentworth, and until 1849 included Rollinsford. A clerical error at incorporation contracted the name to "Somersworth". It would be incorporated as a city in 1893, before which it was also known as "Great Falls".
Somersworth had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized May 1, 1865
- Chartered May 22, 1865
- Succeeded Great Falls Bank (Conversion)
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Changed name to Granite State National Bank February 18, 1970
- Merged into First NH Bank in Concord, NH, January 1, 1991
The Great Falls Bank was organized in 1846.
On December 29, 1882, Hon. David H. Buffum, aged 62, died at Great Falls, New Hampshire after a long illness. He was born in Brunswick, Maine, in 1820 and went to Great Falls in 1839, where he resided. He served in both branches of the legislature and had been president of the State Senate and delegate to the last Republican national convention. He was also treasurer of several manufacturing companies and president of the Great Falls National Bank. He was married to Miss Charlotte Stickney, a sister of cashier Joseph A. Stickney.
The evening of December 13, 1889, a bold attempt was made to rob the Great Falls National Bank. About 6 o’clock Assistant Cashier Buffum started the time lock on the vault door and went home. Cashier Stickney remained talking with a man about a business matter and after the man went out Stickney closed the vault door, backed the grating door and went out. In the entry he was seized by two men. One put a pistol to his head and threatened to kill him if he made any outcry. They then bound and gagged him and took him inside and laid him on the floor of the private office. He was then commanded to open the vault. They were informed that it could not be done as the time lock was on. The robbers asked Stickney when it would run out and he told them at 8 in the morning. They said they would keep him there until that time. Stickney said his wife would be looking for him long before that time. The robbers then searched him taking a $300 watch and $3 in money. They got not a dollar of the bank’s money and nothing belonging to it. They asked him if he would lie still for 10 minutes if they would release him. He said he would and they unbound him. The cashier then heard a team drive up and the men disappeared. The men were not disguised, and Stickney thought he would know them if he saw them again. The bank was one of the strongest in New England and every precaution was taken against robbery. This was the second unsuccessful attempt made to rob it. There was no clue to the identity of the burglars.
On February 13, 1891, the Great Falls National Bank building was damaged by fire that started around 2 o'clock in the morning. The fire was thought to start from a steam boiler in the basement occupied by F.K. Gowan, harness maker and musical instruments. The stock was a total loss, but was insured. The building sustained about $1000 in damage, no insurance.
Robbery of 1897
On April 16, 1897, while resisting the entry of two desperate and determined robbers and during a heroic, but futile struggle to protect $150,000 or more in money and securities which lay in the compartments of the open vault of the Great Falls National Bank of Somersworth, Cashier Joseph A. Stickney was brutally murdered. After killing Stickney the marauders ransacked the vault at will and fled with nearly all the cash, estimated at $6,000. The robbers after knocking Stickney down with a blackjack cut his throat. United States bonds to the value of $100,000 were not taken. Neither was any of the negotiable paper and securities of the bank. No one was aware that anything was wrong at the bank until 2 o’clock or nearly an hour after the murder. The perpetrators had ample time to escape and that evening scores of deputy sheriffs, marshals, police and citizens scoured New Hampshire and the adjoining state of Maine just across the Salmon Falls River. The bank was situated in the center of the business portion of the city and hundreds of people passed by at that time of the day. The two-story brick building stood on the corner of Market and Prospect Streets, the rear of the structure abutting the side of a steep hill. The banking rooms were on the ground floor of the building on the front side but the rear of the bank was on a level with the hill by which there was a second entrance. The bank was entered evidently between 1 and 1:15 o’clock as two suspicious looking strangers were seen going up the hill not very far from the bank at 1:20 o’clock, one of whom carried a bag. City Marshal Eaton said it appeared only one man entered the bank, but was confident a confederate was at hand with a team to make an escape. Joseph E. Kelley hired a team from Whitten's Stable, saying he was going fishing. This team matched the description of the one seen in Somersworth and was found the next day at the Phoenix stables. A man answering the description of the one who left the team had walked to North Conway where he purchased a ticket to Quebec. Kelley was 24 years of age, a native of Amesbury, and was previously arrested in Somersworth in 1892 for breaking and entering, on which he was found guilty and sentenced to the reformatory at Concord.
On April 29, 1897, the boarding house in Berwick, Maine, where Joseph E. Kelley lived was searched by Deputy Sheriff James S. McDaniel and William H. Rich. They found the keys of the Great Falls National Bank, which were taken from Cashier Stickney's pocket by Kelley at the time of the murder. The keys were on a ring, together with a brass tag, on each side of which was engraved the name of J.A. Stickney. A Roman coin was also attached to the ring. Among other things, the officers found a box containing a dark mustache and goatee which the murderer wore as a disguise. These articles were discovered in the chimney where Kelley dropped them through a funnel hole. In a corner the officers discovered a white shirt, on the sleeve of which were small blood spots. Kelley was arrested in Montreal. Over $3,000 of the bank's money was found upon him and in a culvert where he left the silver. A question as to who would receive the reward of $2,000 offered for the capture and conviction remained.
In November 1897, Joseph Kelley who made a desperate effort to escape to Canada, was tried at Dover, New Hampshire. James A. Edgerly of Somersworth defended Kelley. He at first entered a plea of not guilty and a jury was impaneled to try him. After the case of the state was partly made, he withdrew his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of guilty; the jury was discharged and the degree of guilt left to Chief Justice Carpenter and Associate Justice Mason. After hearing the expert testimony as to Kelley's mental condition, the judges found that Kelley had only a limited responsibility, that his mind was diseased on account of injuries received in his youth, and limited his guilt to murder in the second degree, giving him a sentence of thirty years in state's prison.
In March 1898, the state library at Concord received from the heirs of J.A. Stickney the New Hampshire collection made by Mr. Stickney. This collection was deposited for 10 years with the library. It consisted of many valuable series of New Hampshire books, among others being a complete set of New Hampshire registers and nearly a complete set of New Hampshire laws. The set of registers contained one of only three original New Hampshire registers of 1772 that were known to be in existence.
On March 24, 1899, Judge Parsons of the Supreme Court in Dover, New Hampshire, announced his finding in the dispute over the disposition of the rewards offered for the capture of Joseph E. Kelley. The claimants of the rewards were unable to agree and after a lengthy controversy, the case was referred to the Supreme Court for arbitration. Judge Parsons found that Robert F. Hurd of Berwick, Maine, George G. Thomas of Portland, Maine, Dudley N. Cheney and Arthur D. Cheney of Somersworth were not entitled to any part of the money. To Silas H. Carpenter, chief of the Montreal detective bureau, James O'Keefe, Oliver Campeau and Aggie Ashton, all of Montreal, he awarded 40%, and the remaining 60% was to be divided equally among William H. Rich of Berwick, Edward R. Bartlett and James S. McDaniel of Somersworth and George W. Parker of Dover. The total amount of the reward was $2,510, but as not all of the stolen money was recovered, this sum was cut down to about $1,810.
1908 Defalcation of Cashier Varney
On December 16, 1908, a defalcation of $85,000 was discovered in the First National Bank of Somersworth. The cashier of the bank, Fred M. Varney was arrested and the directors asked the bank examiner to take possession of the institution with a view towards voluntary liquidation. The examiner, N.S. Bean, said the bank had an undivided profit account of $25,000 and considered the institution solvent. Varney was about 40 years old and moved to the Somersworth bank form the Dover National Bank which went under as a result of a defalcation by its cashier, Isaac E. Abbott, in February 1895.
In February 1909, directors announced that the impairment had been made good. Melvin L. Stevens, previously employed in the office of the treasurer of the Boston and Main railroad in Boston, was selected as the new cashier. The
On March 18, 1909, Fred M. Varney was sentenced by Judge Edgar Aldrich in the United States District Court to five years in the federal prison at Atlanta for embezzling $85,000 of the bank's funds. Varney was accompanied by his counsel, John Kivel of Dover, and his uncle and father-in-law. Counsel entered a plea of nolo contendere and asked for as light a sentence as the court would deem consistent with justice.
Merger with the Salmon Falls Bank in Rollinsford
On Tuesday, May 5, 1964, the stockholders of the First National Bank of Somersworth and the Salmon Falls Bank in Rollinsford New Hampshire at separate special meetings overwhelmingly voted to approve the proposal for merger of the two banks. By law a vote of two thirds of the stockholders of each bank was required and this was far exceeded in both instances. An application for the approval of the merger had been pending for some time in the office of the Comptroller of the Currency and it was expected that within the next thirty days some indication of his decision would be received. Upon approval the combined bank would be known as the First Somersworth-Rollinsford National Bank. Scores of South Berwick residents were customers of the Salmon Falls Bank and this merger would directly affects many local citizens of Maine.
On Sunday, March 16, 1969, George Edward Varney, insurance executive and civic leader died in a Rochester hospital following a brief illness. Born in Lebanon, Maine, December 8, 1875, he was the son of David and Sarah Tibbetts Varney. He had lived in Somersworth since 1916. He was a graduate of Bryant Stratton College, Boston and became associated with Bartlett and Varney, a Boston wholesale produce firm in 1895. In 1909 he became manager. After moving to Somersworth, he entered the real estate and insurance business as president of the Crawford Tolles Agency. In 1925 Mr. Varney became a trustee of the Somersworth Savings Bank and in 1935 was elected president. He served in that office until 1964 when the Somersworth - Rollinsford Savings Bank was formed as the result of a merger. Mr. Varney was named chairman of the board of the combined banks He was also a director of the First Somersworth-Rollinsford National Bank and formerly served the First National Bank of Somersworth as a director for 39 years. He retired as president and treasurer of the Crawford Tolles Agency in October of 1959. He was a member of the Committee for Industrial Development and of the former Somersworth Chamber of Commerce. He was instrumental in bringing the Somersworth Shoe Company and the Dover Shoe Company to Somersworth and the Prime Canning Co. to Berwick. He was a past president of the South Berwick Rotary Club a 32nd degree Mason and the holder of 50 year pins from several Masonic bodies.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Great Falls National Bank, Great Falls, NH
2: The First National Bank of Somersworth, NH (9/16/1902)
The New Hampshire state legislature granted Somersworth city status on February 24, 1893, rendering the name Great Falls an historic artifact. Nine years later, The Great Falls National Bank (Charter 1180) applied for a formal title change to become The First National Bank of Somersworth. This title was approved by the Comptroller of the Currency on September 16, 1902.
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,934,700 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 409,246 notes (367,416 large size and 41,830 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 4600 1: Original Series 4x5 1 - 7500 1: Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 1800 1: Original Series 50-100 1 - 100 1: Series 1875 4x5 1 - 11250 1: 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 8868 1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 3334 2: 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 2955 2: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 1940 2: 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 3500 2: 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2700 2: 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 7500 2: 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5580 2: 1902 Plain Back 4x5 7501 - 25789 2: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 5581 - 17568 2: 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 3236 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1884 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 500 2: 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 4906 2: 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 2637 2: 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 567
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Nathaniel Wells, 1865-1877
- David Hanson Buffum, 1878-1882
- Albert Alonzo Perkins, 1883-1897
- Samuel Augustus Seavey, 1898-1904
- William Bartlett Sewall Tibbets, 1905-1912
- Christopher Henry Wells, 1913-1929
- Phil Orin Wentworth, 1930-1932
- Frederick Smith Ricker, 1933-1935
Cashiers:
- Joseph Augustus Stickney, 1865-1896
- Fred Moulton Varney, 1897-1908
- Frederick Smith Ricker, 1909-1932
- Phil Orin Wentworth, 1933-1934
- Harold B. Thompson, 1935-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Great Falls National Bank/First NB, Somersworth, NH History (NB Lookup)
- New Hampshire Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Somersworth, NH, 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 Meriden Daily Republican, Meriden, CT, Sat., Dec. 30, 1882.
- Fall River Daily Evening News, Fall River, MA, Sat., Dec. 14, 1889.
- The Portland Daily Press, Portland, ME, Sat., Feb. 14, 1891.
- The Lewiston Daily Sun, Lewiston, ME, Sat., Apr. 17, 1897.
- Biddeford-Saco Journal, Biddeford, ME, Sat., Apr. 17, 1897.
- Groton Times, Groton, VT, Sat., May 1, 1897.
- Kennebec Journal, Kennebec, ME, Sat., Nov. 13, 1897.
- Woodbury Herald, Woodbury, VT, Fri., Nov. 19, 1897.
- Vermont Journal, Windsor, VT, Sat., Mar. 5, 1898.
- The Portsmouth Herald, Portsmouth, NH, Fri., June 10, 1898.
- The Portland Daily Press, Portland, ME, Sat., Mar. 25, 1899.
- Sun-Journal, Lewiston, ME, Wed., Dec., 16, 1908.
- Portsmouth Herald, Portsmouth, NH, Fri., Feb. 5, 1909.
- Burlington Weekly Free Press, Burlington, VT, Thu., Mar. 25, 1909.
- Journal Tribune, Biddeford, ME, Thu., May 14, 1964.
- Portland Press Herald, Portland, ME, Tue., Mar. 18, 1969.