National Bank of Commerce, New Bedford, MA (Charter 690)
National Bank of Commerce, New Bedford, MA (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1898)
Town History
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts,. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American people. English colonists bought the land on which New Bedford would later be built from the Wampanoag in 1652, and the original colonial settlement that would later become the city was founded by English Quakers in the late 17th century. The town of New Bedford itself was officially incorporated in 1787.
During the first half of the 19th century, New Bedford was one of the world's most important whaling ports. At its economic height during this period, New Bedford was the wealthiest city in North America per capita. New Bedford was also a center of abolitionism at this time. The city attracted many freed or escaped African-American slaves, including Frederick Douglass, who lived there from 1838 until 1841. The city also served as a setting in Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick. From 1876 to 1900, New Bedford served as the initial home port for the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction, the precursor of the United States Coast Guard Academy.
New Bedford had six National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all six of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized December 19, 1864
- Chartered January 9, 1865
- Succeeded Bedford Commercial Bank
- Liquidated April 1, 1898
The history of the National Bank of Commerce begins in 1803 when the town had increased sufficiently to warrant the establishment of a bank. The Bedford Bank was incorporated with a capital of $60,000. At the outset it was thought this amount would be more than could be loaned, but in 1804 it became necessary to increase the capital to the enormous sum of $150,000. In 1812, the old charter expired and as the country was then at war with England, business was deemed so precarious that the affairs of the institution were concluded. Thomas Hazard was the first president and John Pickens was the cashier. Among the first directors were John Howland, Cornelius Grinnell, William Rotch, Jr., and Thomas Nye.
There was no bank in New Bedford for another four years. In 1816, the Bedford Commercial Bank was established with a capital of $100,000, which was increased to $150,000 in 1821; $250,000 in 1825; $400,000 in 1831; and to $600,000 in 1851. Joseph Ricketson was elected cashier at a salary of $500 per annum and John Avery Parker, Cornelius Grinnell, Gideon Howland, George Howland, Seth Russell, Jr., James Arnold, Joseph Ricketson, Thomas Nye and Samuel Rodman, Jr., were chosen directors with George Howland as president. The old bank building was a quaint affair. George Howland was president until his death in 1851 when Edward Mott Robinson was elected to the position. He filled the position until 1860 when Thomas Nye, Jr. succeeded him. Thomas S. Hathaway held the office from 1869 until 1878 and Francis Hathaway was elected in 1878.
The Bedford Commercial Bank was organized as the National Bank of Commerce, December 19, 1864, and Thomas Nye, Jr., William J. Rotch, Thomas S. Hathaway, George Hussey, Matthew Howland, Charles L. Wood, William Hathaway, Jr., Thomas Knowles, Henry Taber and William C.N. Swift were elected directors.[2]
On Sunday, July 14, 1878, Thomas S. Hathaway, one of the oldest merchants and most respectable citizens of New Bedford died at the age of 82 years. During his mercantile career, he was engaged in the whaling business, the South American trade and the East India trade. For many years he was president of the Union Mutual Marine Insurance Co., and for some 10 years was president of the National Bank of Commerce.[3]
On August 28, 1888, the organization of the New Bedford Clearing House was effected by the national banks with J.W. Hervey, president; Edward S. Brown, secretary. All the clearings would be made at the National Bank of Commerce under the management of Mr. James H. Tallman.[4]
Francis Hathaway, son of Nathaniel Hathaway and Anna Shoemaker, was born in 1829 in New Bedford, and died at the old Hathaway homestead on the corner of Purchase and Elm streets, January 21, 1895. He was prepared for college in the Friends' Academy at New Bedford, and entered Harvard, graduating with the class of 1849. After this event he went to New York, where for several years he remained largely interested in the China trade. Returning to his native city in 1878, he soon became identified with many of New Bedford's enterprises. At the death of his uncle, Thomas S. Hathaway, Mr. Hathaway became his successor, and was president of the bank up to the time of his death. He was a director of the Hathaway, Potomska, Wamsutta, and Acushnet Mills and of the Rotch Spinning Company; was vice president of the New Bedford Institution for Savings and vice president of the Board of Trade. He had been president of the Wamsutta Club from the time of its incorporation, and was also a member of the executive committee of the South Massachusetts Fish and Game League.
In January 1898, New Bedford was resigned to an impending contest between the mills and labor. Through the directorates the mills were practically divided in two family groups, the treasurer of one was the president of another and director in still others. These men also were directors in the local national banks where the mill loans were all negotiated. The mill stock also was held largely in the city. Otis N. Pierce, treasurer of the Grinnell Mills was a brother of Andrew G. Pierce, Sr., and was for a number of years chief clerk at the Wamsutta where his brother was connected for nearly 50 years. When the Grinnell Mills were built in 1882, he was elected treasure and his management resulted in regular, fair dividends. Mr. Pierce was also a director of the City Manufacturing Corporation and the Dartmouth Mills which manufactured a specially high grade of fancy cloths. He was president of the National Bank of Commerce, one of the oldest institutions in the city.[5]
On Tuesday, March 8, 1898, at a special meeting of the stockholders an almost unanimous decision was reached to place the institution in voluntary liquidation. The following were the directors chosen for the ensuing year: Otis N. Pierce, Walter Clifford, Francis H. Stone, Oliver Prescott, Jr., Clarence A. Cook, Charles F. Wing. The liquidation would go into effect April 1st. Two resolutions were adopted. The first was that the directors should offer the assets of the bank for sale to the banks of New Bedford and that if no offer satisfactory to the directors was obtained that the directors should ascertain whether some advantageous arrangement could be made with some other national bank of the city to undertake the liquidation of the assets of the bank. Also, all matters relating to the liquidation of the bank were left to the board of directors.[6]
Official Bank Title
1: The National Bank of Commerce of New Bedford, MA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $3,211,070 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1898. This consisted of a total of 384,954 notes (384,954 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 - 7550 Original Series 4x5 1 - 16300 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 5100 Original Series 3x10-20 7101 - 15106 Original Series 20 5101 - 7100 Original Series 50-100 1 - 1250 Original Series 500-1000 1 - 30 Series 1875 3x1-2 1 - 5000 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 10000 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 19419 Series 1875 50-100 1 - 200 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 16941 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 6600 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 165
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1898):
Presidents:
- Thomas Nye, Jr., 1865-1868
- Thomas Schuyler Hathaway, 1869-1877
- Francis Hathaway, 1878-1894
- Charles Warren Clifford, 1895-1896
- Otis Norton Pierce, Jr., 1897-1897
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- National Bank of Commerce, New Bedford, MA History (NB Lookup)
- Massachusetts Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- New Bedford, MA, 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
- ↑ New Bedford, MA, Its History, Industries, Institutions and Attractions, The Board of Trade, publisher, New Bedford, 1889, p. 235.
- ↑ New Bedford, MA, Its History, Industries, Institutions and Attractions, The Board of Trade, publisher, New Bedford, 1889, p. 234.
- ↑ Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, Mon., July 15, 1878.
- ↑ Fall River Daily Evening News, Fall River, MA, Thu., Sep. 13, 1888.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Sun., Jan. 16, 1898.
- ↑ Fall River Daily Evening News, Fall River, MA, Wed., Mar. 9, 1898.