National Bank, Newark, DE (Charter 1536)
National Bank, Newark, DE (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1913)
Town History
Newark (/ˈnuːɑːrk/ NEW-ark) is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware. It is located 12 miles west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the University of Delaware.
Newark was founded by Scots-Irish and Welsh settlers in 1694. The town was officially established when it received a charter from George II of Great Britain in 1758.
During the American Revolutionary War, British and American forces clashed outside Newark at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge. Tradition holds that the Battle of Cooch's Bridge was the first instance of the Stars and Stripes being flown in battle.
The state granted a charter to a new school in 1833, which was called Newark College. Newark Academy and Newark College joined together in the following year, becoming Delaware College. The school was forced to close in 1859, but was resuscitated eleven years later under the Morrill Act when it became a joint venture between the State of Delaware and the school's Board of Trustees. In 1913, pursuant to legislative Act, Delaware College came into sole ownership of the State of Delaware. The school would be renamed the University of Delaware in 1921.
The Deer Park Tavern has been a Landmark in Newark since 1851. Originally, the St. Patrick's Inn had stood in its place since 1747. Among the many travelers that used the Inn as a resting place were Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. With their team of surveyors, the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland was established and became famous as a line of demarcation between free and slave states. During the American Revolution, soldiers stayed at the St. Patrick's Inn and it is stated that George Washington spent a night. On December 23, 1843, Edgar Allan Poe lectured at the Newark Academy. As he was attempting to descend from a carriage at the Inn, he was reputed to have fallen in the mud and was so upset that he put a curse on the building. "A curse upon this place! All who enter shall have to return!" Patrons found this so amusing that they carried Poe into the tavern with a hero's welcome. When the Inn, a three-story log cabin, burned to the ground, the present brick building, known as The Deer Park, was erected in 1851 using materials found locally in the Newark area. By 1874, the owner had developed the business into one of the finest hotels on the East Coast. Over the next century and a half, the building was also used as a woman's seminary, a place for fraternity and political meetings, a polling location, housed a barbershop and a ballroom. There are stories that it may have been a stop in the Underground Railroad for slaves seeking freedom.
Newark had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized July 18, 1865
- Chartered August 24, 1865
- Succeeded Bank of Newark
- Liquidated June 24, 1913
- Succeeded by Farmers Trust Company of Newark
Bank of Newark Building is a historic bank building located at Newark in New Castle County, Delaware. It was built about 1845.
On Wednesday, January 15, 1890, the election of directors of the National Bank of Newark took place at the bank. The folloiwng were elected directors: Nathan M. Motherall, Joel Thompson, John Pilling, S.M. Curtis, Aaron Baker, S.M. Donnell, and James H. Hossinger. Following the election the board met for organization and elected the following officers: Joel Thompson, president; S.M. Curtis, vice president; George W.Lindsay, cashier; George W. Williams, teller.
On Friday, January 14, 1898, the following were chosen as officers: John Pilling, Sr., president; S.M. Curtis, vice president; Joel Thompson, Aaron Baker, S.M. Donnell, James Hossinger, N.M. Motherall, directors; George W. Lindsay, cashier; George W. Williams, assistant cashier; and George G. Henry, clerk.
In November 1900, the officers of the bank were as follows: president John Pilling (deceased), who was for years prominently identified with the industrial and political affairs of the state; vice president, S.M. Curtis, a retired manufacturer; directors, S.M. Donnall, a largeo real estate operator; James Hossinger, mayor of Newark and lumber dealer; J Wilkins Cooch and Joel Thompson, farmer and land holders; and N.M. Motherall, a leading merchant. The cashier, George W. Lindsay, was a gentleman of long experience in banking. The bank building was one of the structures in Newark, and was designed and built in 1895 as a banking house.
On January 16, 1903, the following were elected directors: S.M. Curtis, Joel Thompson, James Hossinger, S.M. Donnell, N.M. Motherall, Crawford Rankin and J. Wilkins Cooch. Officers elected were: President, S.M. Curtis; Vice President, S.M. Donnell; Cashier, George W. Lindsay; Teller, George W. Williams; Clerk, Joseph H. Hossinger.
On Tuesday, January 10, 1905, at the annual election, the following directors were selected: James Hossinger, J. Wilkin Cooch, Joel Thompson, S.M. Donnell, N.M. Motherall, Crawford Rankin and George W. Williams. The board organized by electing James Hossinger president. George W. Lindsay, the cashier, and George W. Williams, the assistant cashier, after a continuous service of about 40 years, retired from their respective positions, although Mr. Williams remained on duty at the bank for about a month. The board elected Joseph H. Hossinger, cashier; J.D. Jacquot, assistant cashier, and J.C. McLaughlin, teller.
In January 1911, the directors elected were J. Wilkins Cooch, A.A. Curtis. S.M. Donnell, Ernest Frazer, Crawford Rankin, N.M. Motherall, J.P. Wilson, J.H. Hossinger. The board organized by electing J. Wilkins Cooch, president; A.A. Curtis, vice president; J.H. Hossinger, secretary; H.E. Vinsinger, cashier; J. David Jaquette, assistant cashier; and George W. Murray, clerk.
In February 1913, one Bill introduced by Representative Harvey Hoffecker was for the purpose of incorporating the Farmers' Trust Company of Newark. The National Bank of Newark was behind this bill which provided for the directors of that institution to be the incorporators of the proposed new trust company. The bank desired to do a general trust company business and while it would be separate from the bank, the business of both institutions would be conducted by the same persons. A representative of the bank stated that the general corporation laws would give them the right to enter the new field, but that it was necessary to go to the legislature to secure banking powers.
A special meeting of the shareholders was held on Tuesday, June 24, 1913, to vote on the question of surrendering the National Charter and placing the bank in voluntary liquidation and to the taking over of the business and assets of the bank by the Farmers' Trust Company of Newark, a corporation of the State of Delaware. On June 25, 1913, the Farmers' Trust Company of Newark owned all the property and assets of the National Bank of Newark. It had capital of $50,000, surplus and profits of $58,000, and deposits of $375,000. The officers of the Trust Co. were J. Wilkins Cooch, president; Alfred A. Curtis, vice president; Joseph H. Hossinger, secretary; and Henry Edwin Vinsinger, treasurer. The directors were J. Wilkins Cooch, Alfred A. Curtis, Samuel M. Donnell, Nathan M. Motherall, Crawford Rankin, Ernest Frazer, Joseph H. Hossinger, Eben B. Frazer, and Daniel Thompson.
On April 17, 1952, the two boards of directors of the Farmers' Trust Co. of Newark and the Wilmington Trust Co. adopted a plan to merge the two corporations.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The National Bank of Newark, DE
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $532,750 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1913. This consisted of a total of 73,412 notes (73,412 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 4x5 1 - 5125 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 5610 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2989 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 1350 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 2095 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1184
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1913):
Presidents:
- Charles W. Blandy, 1865-1866
- John Miller, 1867-1869
- Joseph Hossinger, 1870-1870
- Joel Thompson, Jr. , 1871-1890
- John Pilling Sr., 1891-1900
- Solomon Minot Curtis, 1901-1903
- James Hossinger, 1905-1906
- Joseph Wilkins Cooch, 1907-1912
Cashiers:
- John Miller, 1865-1866
- Charles W. Blandy, 1867-1870
- George W Lindsey, 1871-1904
- Joseph Humphrey Hossinger, 1905-1907
- Henry Edwin Vinsinger, 1908-1912
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Newark, DE, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newark,_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
- Deer Park Tavern accessed Nov. 30, 2022.
- The Morning News, Wilmington, DE, Fri., Jan. 17, 1890.
- The Morning News, Wilmington, DE, Sat., Jan. 15, 1898.
- The Evening Journal, Wilmington, DE, Thu., Nov. 15, 1900.
- The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, Tue., Jan. 10, 1905.
- The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, Fri., Jan. 16, 1903.
- The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, Sat., Jan. 14, 1911.
- Newark Post, Newark, DE, Wed., Feb. 12, 1913.
- Newark Post, Newark, DE, Wed., June 4, 1913.
- Newark Post, Newark, DE, Wed., June 25, 1913.
- Newark Post, Newark, DE, Wed., July 16, 1913.
- The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, Fri., Apr. 18, 1952.