NB of Wilmington and Brandywine, Wilmington, DE (Charter 1190)

Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine Obsolete $10, Haxby DE-85, dated Sep. 6, 1856 with pen signatures of W.S. Hagany, Cashier and George Bush, President. Printed by Underwood, Bald, Spencer & Hufty, the top center vignette features a seated Pythagoras teaching his famous theorem proof to a youth. The right end shows Washington seated in classical dress.

NB of Wilmington and Brandywine, Wilmington, DE (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1912)

Town History

Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

Wilmington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister during the reign of George II of Great Britain. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 70,898.

The greatest growth in the city occurred during the Civil War. Delaware, though officially remaining a member of the Union, was a border state and divided in its support of both the Confederate and the Union causes. The war created enormous demand for goods and materials supplied by Wilmington including ships, railroad cars, gunpowder, shoes, and other war-related goods. By 1868, Wilmington was producing more iron ships than the rest of the country combined and it rated first in the production of gunpowder and second in carriages and leather. Due to the prosperity Wilmington enjoyed during the war, city merchants and manufacturers expanded Wilmington's residential boundaries westward in the form of large homes along tree-lined streets. This movement was spurred by the first horsecar line, which was initiated in 1864 along Delaware Avenue.

Both World Wars stimulated the city's industries. Industries vital to the war effort included shipyards, steel foundries, machinery, and chemical producers which operated around the clock. Other industries produced such goods as automobiles, leather products, and clothing.

Wilmington had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all five of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine, Haxby DE-85, $1-$1-$1-$2 Uncut Proof Sheet. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions www.ha.com

Organized May 5, 1865
Chartered May 29, 1865
Succeeded Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine
Liquidated November 16, 1912
Absorbed by Wilmington Trust Company

In December 1928, a window display arranged by the Wilmington Trust Company in The Tenth Street corridor, du Pont Building, showed many relics of banking in its earliest days in Wilmington. The original Stock Transfer Book of the Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine, which institution was absorbed in 1912 by the Wilmington Trust Company, showed entries dated April 1810, running through November 1816. It covered certificates Nos. 1 to 705 inclusive. Likewise, the first Customers' Ledger, showing individual accounts in 1812, was featured. There was also on display the agreement of sale of the property known as 201 Market St. This agreement was dated March 25, 1812. Accompanying this sales agreement was the deed dated March 1813, covering a plot 23 feet on Market Street running through to Shipley Street. Until this land was purchased, the bank occupied a rented store two doors above the corner.

In 1835, George W. Sparks was elected cashier of the Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine.

In September 1858, George Bush, president, and W.S. Hagany, cashier of the Wilmington and Brandywine Bank were given as references for the Stock, Loan, Bill and Exchange Brokers of John McLear & Son. Hagany succeeded Geo. W. Sparks and would resign in 1862 to accept a more lucrative position in the establishment of Samuel White of Philadelphia, manufacturer of dental implements. To fill the vacancy, the directors in 1862 elected Evan Rice, Esq., a young gentleman who, for several years held the position of first teller in the bank.

In April 1863, the following gentlemen were elected directors of the Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine: George Bush, John A. Duncan, Jacob Pusey, Washington Jones, Leonard E. Wales, Edward Betts, Wm. S. Craige, Edward Darlington, and George W. Sparks.

On April 4, 1864, the following named gentlemen were elected directors for the ensuing year: John A. Duncan, Jacob Pusey, Washington Jones, Leonard E. Wales, Edward Betts, George W. Sparks, H.F. Dure, Edward B. McClees, and Wm. Richards.

On May 29, 1865, Freeman Clarke, Comptroller of the Currency, authorized The National Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine, in the city of Wilmington, county of New Castle, and state of Delaware, to commence the business of banking.

On Tuesday, January 8, 1867, the following named gentlemen were elected directors: John A. Duncan, Jacob Pusey, James Morrow, George W. Sparks, Washington Jones, William Richards, Thomas W. Bowers, Jesse Lane, and Joseph T. Baily.

On Tuesday, January 13, 1880, the following were elected directors: Washington Jones, Holstein Harvey, Wm. G. Pennypacker, Edward Pusey, John P. Wales, George S. Capelle, Stephen S. Southard, Allen Gawthrop, James Morrow. Messrs. Harvey, Pennypacker and Gawthrop were new directors.

On Tuesday, January 10, 1900, the following were elected directors: George S. Capelle, William T. Porter, Alfred D. Warner, C. Wesley Weldin, J. Newlin Gawthrop, Thomas Jackson, Charles E. Jones, James C. Morrow, and William T. Lynam.

On Tuesday, January 9, 1912, the following were elected directors: George S. Capelle, C. Wesley Weldin, Alfred D. Warner, William T. Lynam, Frank H. Thomas, Alfred D. Poole, Edmund Mitchell, Caleb M. Sheward, Henry M. Taylor, Samuel K. Smith, Charles S. Gawthrop, James T. Eliason, and Martin Lane.

On July 11, 1912, an announcement was made that more than two-thirds of the stockholders of the National Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine and of the First National Bank accepted the offer of the Wilmington Trust Company to buy their stock outright or exchange it for cash and Trust Company stock. The consolidation of the two national banks with the Wilmington Trust Company had become effective. Stockholders of the First National Bank and the National Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine who had not accepted the Wilmington Trust Company's offer had until Monday next to do so, as the proposition by the Trust Company expired that day. Those who did not accept the offer of the Trust Company would receive an amount for their stock that the liquidation of each of the national banks under the plan provided for by the National Banking Law, yielded them. The consolidated bank would be known as The Wilmington Trust Company, but the First National Bank and the National Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine would continue to do business at their current banking institutions and with the same personnel. Sometime in the future, a big banking house was planned for somewhere downtown to accommodate the additional patrons of the two banks.

On July 25, 1912, the stockholders of the Wilmington Trust Company, the First National Bank and the Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine elected George S. Capelle, of the National Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine as chairman of the board of directors, and elected James P. Winchester, of First National Bank, as president to succeed General T. Coleman duPont, who resigned. Caleb M. Sheward, of Wilmington and Brandywine, was elected a vice president, and Henry Bush of the First National, was chosen secretary to succeed Harlan G. Scott, resigned. The following were elected directors in addition to the directors existing: George S. Capelle, James P. Winchester, Caleb M. Sheward, Henry Bush, Frank H. Thomas, E.T. Betts, S.N. Trump, W. Harold Smith, Rodney Thayor, Tilghman Johnston, J.C. McComb, William F. Sellers, H.H. Ward, H.T. Wallace, Robert H. Richards, Edmund Mitchell, A.D. Poole, S.K. Smith, H.M. Taylor, A.D. Warner, C.W. Weldin, T.W. Miller, J.T. Eliason, Martin Lane, and W.T. Lynam. The members of the old Board who continued as directors in addition to those elected were: T.C. duPont, Henry P. Soott, Pierre S. duPont, William S. Hilles, Harlan G. Scott, Samuel Bancroft, Jr., Charles C. Kurtz, John Biggs, S.D. Townsend, Andrew C. Gray, Thomas F. Bayard. John J. Raskob, Charles S. Gawthrop, William Winder Laird, Joseph Bancroft, H.M. Barksdale, T. Allen Hilles and Wilmer Palmer. At the meeting announcement was made of an increase in the capital stock to $1,000,000. The increase in capital stock meant Wilmington would have a bank with capitalization sufficient to handle the biggest financial transactions. The First National was renamed the Wilmington Trust Co., Fifth Street office and the Wilmington and Brandywine became the Wilmington Trust Co., Second Street office.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The National Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine, Wilmington, DE

Bank Note Types Issued

Original Series $1 bank note with pen signatures of E. Rice, Cashier and J.A. Duncan, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of Caleb M. Sheward, Cashier and George S. Capelle, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

1902 Red Seal $5 bank note with printed signatures of Caleb M. Sheward, Cashier and George S. Capelle, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $1,910,550 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1912. This consisted of a total of 234,110 notes (234,110 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
Original Series	4x5	1 - 7150
Original Series	3x10-20	1 - 2400
Original Series	50-100	1 - 485
Series 1875	4x5	1 - 7125
Series 1875	3x10-20	1 - 2429
Series 1875	50-100	1 - 434
1882 Brown Back	4x5	1 - 7855
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 3744
1882 Brown Back	50-100	1 - 983
1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 6000
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 2600
1902 Red Seal	50-100	1 - 300
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 7710
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 5377
1902 Date Back	50-100	1 - 73

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1912):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

Wilmington, DE, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington,_Delaware
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
Smyrna Times, Smyrna, DE, Thu., Sep. 2, 1858.
Delaware State Journal, Wilmington, DE, Tue., Dec. 30, 1862.
Delaware State Journal, Wilmington, DE, Tue., Apr. 7, 1863.
Delaware State Journal, Wilmington, DE, Tue., Apr. 12, 1864.
Delaware State Journal, Wilmington, DE, Thu., June 1, 1865.
Delaware State Journal, Wilmington, DE, Fri., Jan. 11, 1867.
Daily Republican, Wilmington, DE, Wed., Jan. 14, 1880.
Delaware Gazette and State Journal, Wilmington, DE, Thu., Mar. 4, 1886.
Delaware Gazette and State Journal, Wilmington, DE, Thu., Jan. 11, 1900.
The Evening Journal, Wilmington, DE, Tue., Jan. 9, 1912.
The Evening Journal, Wilmington, DE, Thu., July 11, 1912.
The Morning News, Wilmington, DE, Fri., July 26, 1912.
The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, Sat., Nov. 16, 1912.
The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, Wed., Dec. 12, 1928.