National Bank, Baltimore, MD (Charter 1432)
National Bank, Baltimore, MD (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1930)
Town History
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, the fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was designated an independent city by the Constitution of Maryland in 1851, and today it is the most populous independent city in the nation. As of 2021, the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was estimated to be 2,838,327, making it the nation's 20th largest metropolitan area. Baltimore is located about 40 miles north northeast of Washington, D.C., making it a principal city in the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA), the third-largest CSA in the nation, with a 2021 estimated population of 9,946,526.
The Battle of Baltimore (September 12–15, 1814) was a pivotal engagement during the War of 1812, culminating in the failed British bombardment of Fort McHenry, during which Francis Scott Key wrote a poem that would become "The Star-Spangled Banner", which was eventually designated as the American national anthem in 1931. During the Pratt Street Riot of 1861, the city was the site of some of the earliest violence associated with the American Civil War.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the oldest railroad in the United States, was built in 1830 and cemented Baltimore's status as a major transportation hub, giving producers in the Midwest and Appalachia access to the city's port. Baltimore's Inner Harbor was once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States. In addition, Baltimore was a major manufacturing center.
On February 7, 1904, the Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours, leaving more than 70 blocks of the downtown area burned to the ground. Damages were estimated at $150 million in 1904 dollars. As the city rebuilt during the next two years, lessons learned from the fire led to improvements in firefighting equipment standards.
Baltimore had 28 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 28 of those banks issued National Bank Notes
Bank History
- Organized June 20, 1865
- Chartered July 13, 1865
- Succeeded Bank of Baltimore
- Assumed 814 by consolidation January 31, 1911 (Third National Bank, Baltimore, MD)
- Absorbed 1303 April 6, 1911 (Commercial and Farmers NB, Baltimore, MD)
- Liquidated March 31, 1930
- Absorbed by Union Trust Co. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
The Bank of Baltimore
The Bank of Baltimore was chartered by an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland on December 24, 1795. At that time there were only two other banks in the city: The Bank of Maryland, chartered in 1790, and a branch of the Bank of the United States, established in 1791. In the entire country, there were only The Bank of North America in Philadelphia, the Massachusetts Bank in Boston, the Bank of Delaware in Wilmington, and the Bank of New York in New York City, with an aggregate capital of $1,950,000. The organization of the Bank of Baltimore was completed October 19, 1796, with a capital of $1,200,000 divided into 4,000 shares of $300 each. Stockholders elected the following directors: David Stewart, Wm. Wilson, Wm. Winchester, George Salmon, James West, Elias Ellicott, John Stump, William Lorman, John Stricker, Chas. Ghequire, Christ. Johnson, Solomon Etting, Louis Pascault, and Charles Ridgely. At the first meeting of the board, Mr. George Salmon was elected president and Mr. James Cox, cashier. The Bank of Baltimore opened on January 2, 1797.
In 1807, President Salmon died and Col. John Stricker was appointed president. Three days later Mr. William Wilson was elected president. In April 1812, the bank subscribed $50,000 of a loan of $7,000,000 floated by the Government and in July, the bank loaned the Government $200,000 redeemable in one or two years if the convenience of the bank should require it. On Marcy 6, 1813, the directors resolved that $100,000 be taken of the Federal loan of $16,000,000 and that $100,000 of Treasury notes be obtained from the Secretary of the Treasury. On May 8, the board resolved to lend a sum not exceeding $100,000 for the defense of Baltimore. Col. Stricker was elected president in 1824, followed by Wm. Lorman in 1825 who was succeeded by Dr. Jas. H. McCulloh in 1841.
| Quantity | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| 12,000 Impressions | 50 Cents | $6,000 |
| 12,000 Impressions | 25 Cents | $3,000 |
| 18,000 Impressions | 12 1/2 Cents | $2,250 |
| 8,000 Impressions | 10 Cents | $800 |
| 18,000 Impressions | 6 1/4 Cents | $1,125 |
Mr. James Cox who had served as cashier since the organization of the bank resigned April 24, 1841, and was succeeded by Caecilius C. Jamison. On December 6, 1853, President McCulloh resigned and was succeeded by Cashier Jamison, Mr. Patrick Gibson being appointed cashier. Dr. McCulloh had succeeded Mr. Lorman and had held the office of deputy collector at the Port of Baltimore under his father for many years. During the second war with the British, he was surgeon in Captain Gordon's fleet which was fitted out in Baltimore to check the operations of the British in the Chesapeake. He was also a surgeon in the regular army and had charge of the wounded at North Point and was afterwards ordered to the northern frontier. The Doctor had a contemptible opinion of the value of deposits, saying that they were of little use, for just when the bank needed them the most, they were withdrawn. He was the author of "Antiquities of America" and another on the "Evidences of Christianity."
In October 1863, President Jamison died and was succeeded by Gen. Henry A. Thompson. On March 1, 1868, Mr. J. Thomas Smith became cashier; he had been connected with the bank in various capacities for 56 years.
Prior to the establishment of the clearing-house system for the settlement of bank balances, the Bank of Baltimore was the dividing line between the banks. Those east would send their messengers for a week west to make the exchanges, to be reversed the following week. The creditor banks frequently caused quite a commotion by drawing their balances late in the day, compelling other banks in turn to draw upon their debtors. No little stir would take place in transferring the gold coin, the usual medium of settlement between banks, using drays or other vehicles. The clearing house was established in 1858 under the management of the officers of the Union Bank.
On December 6, 1853, James H. McCulloh, Esq., resigned as president and was succeeded by C.C. Jamison, Esq., the late cashier. Patrick Gibson, Esq., takes the place of the cashier. Mr. Gibson had been for many years the chief teller in the Farmers' and Commercial Bank.
On January 14, 1861, stockholders elected the following directors: Wm. Kennedy, David S. Wilson, Thos. M. Smith, Henry A. Thompson, Alexander Turnbull, Wm. H. Hoffman, and C. Morton Stewart. The director on the part of the state was R.H. Mitchell. The board on the 15th re-elected C.C. Jamison, president. P. Gibson was cashier.
The Banking House. By deed dated May 4, 1796, the property at the site of the present bank building on the Northeast corner of Baltimore Street and St. Paul's Lane was conveyed in trust for the bank to Messrs. Thoroughgood Smith, Wm. Wilson and Elias Ellicott for the sum of £6,750, equivalent to $18,000 (in 1896 dollars). The first floor of the original dwelling after undergoing some changes was used for banking purposes with the remainder of the house occupied as a dwelling by Mr. Cox, the cashier. the building was demolished in 1855 in order to rebuild. The new banking house was completed in 1856 and occupied until 1888 when it was vacated for remodeling. It was an imposing brown stone edifice, seven stories high with a spacious office in the basement leased to Messrs. McKim & Co., bankers.
The National Bank of Baltimore
In July 1865, The Bank of Baltimore availed itself of the Act of Congress in reference to National Banks and would thereafter be known as The National Bank of Baltimore. Its capital was $1,210,700 with Henry A. Thompson, Esq., president and Patrick Gibson, Esq., cashier.
In January 1896, the directors were C. Morton Stewart, elected 1860; Christian Devries, elected 1873; Oliver A. Parker, elected 1877; Richard Cromwell, elected 1879; Alexander Shaw, elected 1887; James L. McLane, elected 1890; and George Poole, elected 1891.
On Sunday morning, February 7, 1904, fire broke out in the dry good house of the John E. Hurst Co. situated in the heart of the business district of Baltimore. It took until 5 o'clock Monday Evening before an official announcement was made that the flames were under control. The loss, estimated from $100-$150 million included the National Bank of Baltimore. On Sunday, February 28th, mud and threatened rain failed to keep people out of the burned district, although most were satisfied to view the ruins from the street and not venture into the debirs. Work in the ruins was interrupted except on the Pratt Street power house and on the National Bank of Baltimore building, Baltimore and St. Paul Streets. The latter building was considered so dangerous that building inspector Preston issued an order to continue the pulling down of the walls regardless of Sunday. The structure proved a tough proposition. It required numerous pulls and renewals of broken ropes and cables to bring portions of the brick and stone work to the ground. When the men stopped work, only parts of the front and west walls were standing. On the 3rd of March, the final west wall was down. Four cables were attached and 80 men and an engine pulled together. At the first pull the wall shook, but a cable parted. On the second attempt the top of the wall tottered. Then the men hauled their best and the engine puffed in concert and the mass crashed to the ground. It took one more pull to raze the corner section. The structure was so solidly built that a piece of brick masonry fell without breking. It was 4 1/2 by 7 feet and was estimated to weigh five tons. Morrow Bros. and T. Bresnen were in charge of throwing the building.
On Tuesday, January 12, 1909, at the annual meeting of the stockholders, the following were elected directors to serve for the ensuing year: James L. McLane, Joshua Levering, Wilton Snowden, Thomas H. Bowles, Decatur H. Miller, Jr., C. Morton Stewart, Jr., and John K. Shaw. On the 15th, the directors unanimously re-elected James L. McLane, president. H.C. James was the cashier.
In October 1910, there were preliminary discussions among Middendorf, Williams & Co., President T. Rowland Thomas and some of his directors in the Third National Bank of a plan whereby the Third and the Commercial and Farmers might be liquidated in preparation to take over the National Bank of Baltimore. After a price had been fixed for the shares of stock of the National Bank of Baltimore, the plan was laid before the Comptroller of the Currency. An underwriting syndicate was formed, consisting of the directorate of the Third National and of Middendorf, Williams & Co. An offer of $150 a share was made to the directors of the old National of Baltimore and they agreed, subject to ratification by stockholders, which was received. The day set for the transfer was December 27, 1910 at the National Bank of Baltimore. The directors of the latter resigned and in turn were replaced by men selected by the Third National. Transfers of stock and payments were rapidly made with upwards of 6,000 shares paid for and transferred on that day; thus, the Third National Bank interests assumed management of the National Bank of Baltimore.
The personnel of the syndicated included W. Bernard Duke, William J. Donnelly, H.G. Evans, John W. Hall, J. Albert Hughes, John J. Kelly, J. William Middendorf, John Schoenewolf, Robert H. Smith, T. Rowland Thomas, Peter E. Tome, Murry Vandiver, Louis F. Young, Howard E. Young, and R.M. Spedden. This syndicate then offered stockholders of the Third National $150 per share for their stock and gave them the privilege of exchanging for stock of the National of Baltimore share for share. More than 90% of stockholders did not sell, but became stockholders of the National Bank of Baltimore. On New Year's Day, 1911, The Third National started to move from Baltimore and North Streets to St. Paul and Baltimore Streets. Money, securities, books and necessary furniture were all transported by 2PM and the officers and clerks then left to enjoy the rest of the holiday. The consolidation was effective on January 31, 1911.
About the beginning of March 1911, negotiations resumed for the absorption of the Commercial and Farmers National Bank to complete the plan. On April 6, 1911, the Commercial and Farmers was absorbed by the National Bank of Baltimore.
The Third National bank was organized December 15, 1864 and chartered February 17, 1865 with a capital of $600,000. The first board of directors consisted of William Whitelock, Thomas Y. Canby, Gerard T. Hopkins, Gerard H. Reese, Jeremiah Wheelwright, Philip S. Chappell, William H. Crawford, J Franklin Dix, James Carey Coale, and E.L. Parker. Mr. Whitelock was the first president. The bank opened for business May 23, 1865. In 1872, it was robbed of $65,000 in cash and $100,000 in securities by thieves who bored through a wall into its vault.
The Commercial and Farmers occupied a quaint old building at the southwest corner of German and Howard Streets. On March 10, 1810, at the Isett Inn, a number of good old Baltimoreans met to start a bank in what was then West Baltimore. On April 5, 1810, the following directors were chosen: Talbot Jones, W.W. Taylor, Isaac Burnestun, Charles Bohn, George Decker, A.J. Schwartze, Andrew Clapper, Benjamin Ricand, James Hutton, Nathaniel F. Williams, Henry Stouffer, Edward Harris, Jacob Adams and William Ross. Joseph H. Nicholson was elected president and George T. Dunbar, cashier. Its building was erected in 1812.
In July 1911, the directors were James C. Bishop of New York, Thomas H. Bowles, Adam Deupert, Charles H. Dickey, William J. Donnelly, W.B. Duke, H.G. Evans, Dr. N.R. Gorter, John W. Hall, John Hinkley, J. Monroe Holland, J. Albert Hughes, William P. Jackson, Salisbury, Maryland; John J. Kelly, William Lanahan, J. William Middendorf, John Schoenewolf, Robert H. Smith, T. Rowland Thomas, Peter E. Tome, Murray Vandiver, R. Lancaster Williams, Louis F. Young, and Howard E. Young. The officers were T. Rowland Thomas, president; Robert H. Smith, J. Albert Hughes, vice presidents; William J. Delcher, cashier; Snowden Hoff and Edwin W. Adams, assistant cashiers. Rowland Thomas went to Charlotte Hall Military Academy, finishing at the age of 15. The morning he stepped off the steamboat in Baltimore, he got a place in the bank of Stein Bros. and thus began his banking career. Six months later he became a runner for the National Howard Bank and later a junior runner at the National Mechanics Bank. After 16 years holding various positions, he finally became receiving teller. In 1907, he went to the Mercantile Bank as cashier and in the later part of that same year he went to the Third National as assistant cashier. He was soon made the cashier of the Third and in January 1910 when President Wm. R. Hammond died, Mr. Thomas was made president. Mr. William J. Delcher began his banking career with D. Fahnestock & Co., bankers and brokers. After three years he went to the National Exchange Bank where he worked for 25 year, becoming assistant cashier in 1904. In 1910 he was made cashier of the Third National Bank of Baltimore.
On Tuesday, January 14, 1930, stockholders added two new directors to the board. They were John M. Dennis, president of the Union Trust Company, and William O. Pierson, vice president of the Union Trust Company. The final steps for the merger with the Union Trust Co. would occur later in the month followed by voluntary liquidation. About January 15th, the National Bank of Baltimore with 15,000 shares of stock outstanding, was acquired by the Union Trust Company of Maryland. Shareholders had deposited more than 10,000 shares of stock under the offer of the Union Trust Co., thus ratifying the merger. Stockholders of the trust company had already approved the acquisition on December 27, 1929. The offer was for the exchange on the basis of one share of the National Bank of Baltimore stock for five and one-quarter shares of Union Trust Company of Maryland stock.
The Union Trust Company had acquired in the course of its existence the following institutions:
- Citizens State Bank, Govans, 1919
- First National Bank of Catonsville, 1921.
- American Exchange and Savings Bank 1924
- Westport Bank, 1924
- Liberty Bank, 1925
- Commerce Trust Company, 1927
- Overlea Bank, Overlea, 1928
- Overlea Bank, Essex, 1928
- West Baltimore Bank, 1928
- Commercial Bank of Maryland, Arlington, 1928
- Commercial Bank of Maryland, Pimlico, 1928
- National Bank of Baltimore, 1930
- Monumental City Bank, 1930
- Farmers and Merchants National Bank, 1930
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The National Bank of Baltimore, MD
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $12,564,950 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1930. This consisted of a total of 1,249,016 notes (1,221,380 large size and 27,636 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Original Series 4x5 1 - 19475 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 12999 Original Series 50-100 1 - 6010 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 4400 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 5731 Series 1875 50-100 1 - 5548 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 5250 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 6270 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 2170 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 4750 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 3400 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 110250 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 85707 1902 Date Back 3x50-100 1 - 2000 1902 Plain Back 4x5 110251 - 133684 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 85708 - 100522 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 2581 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1866 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 159
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1930):
Presidents:
- Henry Anthony Thompson, 1865-1879
- Christian Devries, 1880-1899
- Charles Morton Stewart, 1899-1899
- James Latimer McLane, 1900-1910
- Thomas Rowland Thomas, 1911-1923
- John D. Schoenewolf, 1923-1929
Cashiers:
- Patrick Gibson Jr., 1865-1867
- John Thomas Smith, 1868-1899
- Henry Clay James, 1900-1910
- William Jackson Delcher, (Jr.), 1911-1929
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Maryland Bank Note History
- General information on Baltimore (Wikipedia)
- General information on Baltimore County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Maryland (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Baltimore, MD, 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
- The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 52, Jan. 1896-June 1896, p. 620.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Wed., Dec. 7, 1853.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Thu., Jan. 17, 1861.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Tue., July 18, 1865.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Tue., Dec. 28, 1869.
- The Aegis, Bel Air, MD, Fri., Feb. 12, 1904.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Mon., Feb. 29, 1904.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Thu., Mar. 3, 1904.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Sat., Jan. 16, 1909.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Thu., Jan. 20, 1910.
- The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Sun., July 9, 1911.
- The Evening Sun, Baltimore, MD, Tue., Jan. 14, 1930.
- The Evening Sun, Baltimore, MD, Fri., Jan. 10, 1930.