Merchants National Bank, Cleveland, OH (Charter 773)

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Merchants' Branch, Cleveland, of the State Bank of Ohio obsolete $1, dated Nov. 22, 1858, and signed by W.L. Cutter, Cashier and J.R. Finn, vice president of the State Bank of Ohio tasked with signing every note from every branch for denominations below $5. Portrait of the Hon. Gustavus Swan, president of the State Bank of Ohio from 1845-1860, at lower left.
Merchants' Branch, Cleveland, of the State Bank of Ohio obsolete $1, dated Nov. 22, 1858, and signed by W.L. Cutter, Cashier and J.R. Finn, vice president of the State Bank of Ohio tasked with signing every note from every branch for denominations below $5. Portrait of the Hon. Gustavus Swan, president of the State Bank of Ohio from 1845-1860, at lower left. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

Merchants National Bank, Cleveland, OH (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1884)

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 December 27, 1864
  • Chartered January 31, 1865
  • Succeeded Merchants' Branch, Cleveland, of the State Bank of Ohio
  • Assumed Chamberlain, Gorham & Perkins in 1880
  • Liquidated December 27, 1884
  • Succeeded by 3272 (Mercantile National Bank, Cleveland, OH)

The Merchants Branch of the State Bank of Ohio opened on June 24, 1845, on Water Street (W. 9th St. and Superior) with capital of $112,500. It was one of two state branch banks allotted to Cleveland under the new state banking law enacted that year. A succession of presidents, beginning with Peter Wedell, successfully guided Merchants Bank through its early years, including the Panic of 1857. By 1860 the bank had relocated to the corner of Superior and Bank (E. 6th) streets. In 1862, Truman P. Handy was elected president and he led the bank for the next two decades, until its charter expired in 1884, and it was reorganized as the Mercantile National Bank with capital of $1 million.

In February 1865, there were five national banks in Cleveland. The Merchants National bank, capital $500,000, with T.P. Handy, Melancton Barnett, T.M. Kelley, Wm. Collins, James F. Clark, S.L. Mather, Wm. Bigham, directors; T.P. Handy, president; Wm. L. Cutter, cashier; S.L. Severance and W.H. Kelley, tellers; T.C. Johnson, bookkeeper; H.L. Cutter, clerk.[1]

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Merchants National Bank of Cleveland, OH

Bank Note Types Issued

Original Series $2 bank note with pen signatures of T.C. Johnson, Assistant Cashier and T.P. Handy, President
Original Series $2 bank note with pen signatures of T.C. Johnson, Assistant Cashier and T.P. Handy, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
Original Series $20 bank note with pen signatures of William L. Cutter, Cashier and James F. Clark, Vice President
Original Series $20 bank note with pen signatures of William L. Cutter, Cashier and James F. Clark, Vice President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
Series of 1875 $100 bank note with pen signatures of E.R. Perkins, Cashier and T.P. Handy, President.
Series of 1875 $100 bank note with pen signatures of E.R. Perkins, Cashier and T.P. Handy, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $1,539,680 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1884. This consisted of a total of 124,160 notes (124,160 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
Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 5000 MERCHANTS' on $2s only
Original Series 4x5 1 - 7750
Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 10500
Original Series 50-100 1 - 1400
Series 1875 4x5 1 - 1344
Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 4504
Series 1875 50-100 1 - 2484

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1884):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

  • No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  1. ↑ Cleveland Daily Leader, Cleveland, OH, Thu., Feb. 2, 1865.
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