Mercantile National Bank, Cleveland, OH (Charter 3272)
Mercantile National Bank, Cleveland, OH (Chartered 1884 - Liquidated 1904)
Town History
Cleveland is a city in Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in Northeast Ohio along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the U.S. maritime border with Canada and lies approximately 60 miles west of Pennsylvania.
The largest city on Lake Erie and one of the major cities of the Great Lakes region, Cleveland ranks as the second-most populous city in Ohio and 54th-most populous city in the U.S. with a 2020 population of 372,624. The city anchors the Cleveland metropolitan area, the 33rd-largest in the U.S. at 2.18 million residents, as well as the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton combined statistical area, the most populous in Ohio and the 17th-largest in the country with a population of 3.63 million in 2020.
Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River by General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city was named. Its location on both the river and the lake shore allowed it to grow into a major commercial and industrial center, attracting large numbers of immigrants and migrants. Cleveland is a port city, connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Its economy relies on diverse sectors that include higher education, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedicals. The GDP for the Greater Cleveland MSA was $135 billion in 2019.
The Civil War vaulted Cleveland into the first rank of American manufacturing cities and fueled unprecedented growth. Its prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes played an important role in its development as an industrial and commercial center. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland, and in 1885, he moved its headquarters to New York City, which had become a center of finance and business. In 1860 the population was 43,417, growing to 381,768 by 1900.
Cleveland had 29 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 28 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized November 15, 1884
- Chartered December 13, 1884
- Succeeded 773 (Merchants National Bank, Cleveland, OH)
- Liquidated December 1, 1904
- Succeeded by 7487 (National Commercial Bank, Cleveland, OH)
On Saturday, December 27, 1884, the Merchants National Bank went out of existence and The Mercantile National Bank of Cleveland took its place. The new bank was organized with capital, $1,000,000, and T.P. Handy, president, and E.P. Perkins, vice president.[1]
On January 17, 1898, Mr. Truman P. Handy of Cleveland, probably the oldest banker in the United States actively engaged in business, celebrated his 91st birthday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Newberry, in Detroit. He was a director of the Mercantile National Bank. Reportedly, Mr. Handy made a loan of $2,500 to John D. Rockefeller enabling him to gain his start in business.[2] Mr. Handy would pass away two months later on March 25th.
On October 27, 1904, announcement was made of the merger of the Commercial National and the Mercantile National banks of Cleveland. The new national bank would be called the National Commercial Bank with capital stock of $1,500,000. The directors of both old banks would be included in the directorate of the new one.[3] On November 23, 1904, a charter was issued to the National Commercial Bank of Cleveland, capital $1,500,000, with J. Colwell, president; C.L. Murfey and W.P. Johnson, vice presidents; and L.A. Murfey, cashier.[4]
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Mercantile National Bank of Cleveland, OH
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,411,000 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1884 and 1904. This consisted of a total of 112,880 notes (112,880 large size and No small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 28220
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1884 - 1904):
Presidents:
- Truman Parmalee Handy, 1885-1890
- Edwin Ruthven Perkins (Sr.), 1891-1901
- Charles Latham Murfey, 1902-1904
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Cleveland, OH, 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