National Exchange Bank, Providence, RI (Charter 1339)
National Exchange Bank, Providence, RI (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1926)
Town History
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, it is one of the oldest cities in New England, founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city developed as a busy port, as it is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.
Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its textile manufacturing and subsequent machine tool, jewelry, and silverware industries. Today, the city of Providence is home to eight hospitals and eight institutions of higher learning which have shifted the city's economy into service industries, though it still retains some manufacturing activity.
Providence had 29 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 29 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 5, 1865
- Chartered June 24, 1865
- Succeeded Exchange Bank
- Org. Report: Conversion exception #7
- Liquidated June 4, 1926
- Absorbed by Industrial Trust Company, Providence
The Exchange Bank of Providence was incorporated in 1801. The petition of the incorporators was met by protest from the Providence Bank whose directors claimed that there was not room in the town for another banking institution. Despite the objections, the charter was granted and the bank began its career. One of the first actions of the directors was to purchase a site for the building at the corner of Westminster and Exchange Streets where a modest building was immediately erected. The same site would be used in 1887 to erect a modern banking house. The original capital was $200,000.[1]
In January 1827, the officers of the Exchange Bank of Providence were Geo. Jackson, president; George Curtis, Cashier; and Charles Lippitt, Richard Jackson, Abner Daggett, Benjamin Aborn, William Valentine, Thomas Thompson, Samuel Nightingale, George Jackson, Daniel Arnold, William Jenkins, Richard Waterman, Stephen Waterman, Edward Carrington, directors.[2]
In 1855, H.G. Gladding was Cashier and John Barstow, President.
In September 1869, reports of the resignation of Cashier William H. Corey were said to be due to a shortage of nearly $25,000, but it was possible that other checks of the cashier might come in and swell the total of the deficiency. Mr. Corey was arrested by United States authorities on Saturday, the 25th and held on bail of $25,000. Profuse personal expenditures were alleged to have been the cause of the defalcations. Bank Examiner Mygett's diligence was applauded and it was hoped the same would be stirred amongst the directors of Rhode Island banks.[3]
On January 8, 1877, Rev. Alexis Caswell, a Taunton, Massachusetts native, died in Providence. He graduated first in his class from Brown in 1822. He then taught and studied theology at Columbia College in Washington, DC, and was ordained and installed as a Baptist minister in Halifax in 1827. A year later Caswell was called to the First Baptist Church in Providence and he began teaching at Brown. He served as professor of mathematics and natural philosophy from 1828 to 1850, and added astronomy to his repertoire until 1863. Caswell made regular meteorological observations in Providence beginning in 1831, which were published in Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge . Caswell served as president pro tempore for a year while President Francis Wayland traveled in Europe, but did not succeed Wayland as president in 1855 as the Corporation preferred to have an outsider in this position. In 1863, Caswell retired, becoming president of National Exchange Bank and American Screw Company in Providence. In 1868, after declining offers for the Brown presidency on two occasions, Caswell was persuaded to take up the position. He was 69 years old and served steadfastly for four years.[4]
On June 28, 1906, one of the greatest financial transactions ever made in Rhode Island took place when the Union and Manufacturers Trust Companies merged, making the strongest banking institution in the state with deposits of over $25 million. Edward Studley was elected president of the new trust company.[5]
In April 1908, Michael F. Dooley was elected president, succeeding Augustus R. Peirce who succeeded Nicholas Sheldon in 1906. Mr. Dooley achieved prominence in banking circles as a national bank examiner. During his tenure as an examiner, he was appointed receiver of the First National Bank of Willimantic, Connecticut. After three years, he resigned to take the vice presidency of the Union Trust Company of Providence. During the panic of 1907, Mr. Dooley resigned his position and later accepted the presidency of the National Exchange Bank. The vice president, Mr. Peirce, began his banking career with the exchange Bank in 1879 when there were only three persons employed in the bank. He was elected cashier May 26, 1902 and president on January 1, 1906, resigned in January 1907 to take the vice presidency. Mr. George G. Wood succeeded Mr. Pierce on January 1, 1906. He was formerly a clerk in the Commercial National Bank which was taken over by the Union Trust Company whereupon he clerked for the Exchange Bank, rising to become its cashier. The directors of the National Exchange Bank were Theodore Francis Green, lawyer; Newton D. Arnold of the Rumford Chemical Works; Walter Callender of Callender, McAuslan & Troop; J. Herbert Foster, cotton broker; James Richardson of Richardson & Clark, bankers; John Carter Brown Wood, lawyer and capitalist; Rathbone Gardner, president, Union Trust Co.; Charles B. Humphrey, wholesale grocer; and Michael F. Dooley, president.[6] On December 24 1908, Mr. Dooley bought 3883 shares of the capital stock at $255 a share from the Union Trust Company, securing its independence from any outside interests. A policy of broad, but safe expansion was expected.[7]
In November 1916, the officers were Michael F. Dooley, president; Frederick S. Peck and Augusts R. Peirce, vice presidents; Charles H.W. Mandeville, vice president and cashier; George G. Wood and Francis E. Bates, assistant cashiers. The directors were Walter Callender, George H. Cahoone, Earle P. Charlton, Edmund D. Chesebro, MD, Frank P. Comstock, Arthur W. Dennis, Michael F. Dooley, Samuel M. Einstein, Charles Fletcher, Theodore W. Foster, Gerald T. Hanley, Arthur Henius, Sidney D. Humphrey, Charles H.W. Mandeville, John McManus, Frederick S. Peck, Frank N. Phillips, B. Thomas Potter, Joseph L. Sweet, William L. Sweet, and Clarence L. Watson.[8]
In January 1926, Michael F. Dooley was made chairman of the board in accordance with this expressed desire. A short time ago Mr. Dooley suffered a bad fall while recovering from the grip.[9]
In April 1926, the Industrial Trust Company and the National Exchange Bank, leading institutions of Providence, well-known in banking circles, signed papers for a merger of the two banks. Michael F. Dooley, chairman of the board of the National Exchange Bank arranged the terms under which its interests were taken over by the Industrial Trust Company. Under the merger, the National Exchange would become the Exchange Branch of the Industrial Trust Company, retaining its present organization and occupying its present banking quarters. Mr. Dooley was made a director and vice president of the Industrial Trust Company. When Mr. Dooley became president, the National Exchange Bank was one of the small, inactive banks. But since then it had grown strong and prosperous and one of the leaders among banks of Providence. During this time it paid stock dividends of 150% amounting to over $1,400,000.[10]
The Industrial Trust Company was founded in 1886 by Samuel P. Colt, and began business on August 1st at No. 9 Custom House Street, moving in 1887 to the Exchange Bank Building. In 1891 work was begun on the building of the company on the site bounded by Westminster and Exchange Streets and Exchange Place. The company had branches in all the principal towns of the state.[11] The Industrial Trust Building would be constructed in 1928 at 111 Westminster Street, Providence. At 428 feet and 26 floors, it is the tallest building in Rhode Island and the 28th tallest in New England. It was renamed the Fleet Bank Tower when Industrial Trust changed its name to Fleet Financial Group in 1982. It remained Fleet's headquarters until Fleet merged with Shawmut National Corporation in 1995 and moved to Boston.
Detailed views of the Industrial Trust Building, commonly referred to as the Superman Building, are available from the Library of Congress.
Official Bank Title
1: The National Exchange Bank of Providence, RI
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $12,895,210 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1926. This consisted of a total of 1,928,016 notes (1,928,016 large size and No small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
For more information on reentered plates, see Huntoon and Walcutt, "Starred Plate Letters on Reentered Series of 1875 and 1882 National Bank Notes," Chapter N3, Encyclopedia of US National Bank Notes.Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 2000 Original Series 4x5 1 - 8000 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 2130 Original Series 50-100 1 - 170 Series 1875 3x1-2 1 - 12164 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 47961 Plate reentered Nov. 12, 1879 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 700 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 136932 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 16674 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 18000 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 12000 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 45250 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 29800 1902 Plain Back 4x5 45251 - 142069 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 29801 - 83289
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1926):
Presidents:
- Elisha Dyer, 1865-1865 25th Governor of Rhode Island, 1857-1859
- Rev Alexis Seaver Caswell, 1867-1868
- Rufus Waterman, 1869-1875
- Henry L. Kendall, 1876-1882
- Nicholas Sheldon, 1883-1905
- Augustus Richmond Peirce, 1906-1907
- Michael F. Dooley, 1908-1924
- Charles H. W. Mandeville, 1925-1925
Cashiers:
- William H. Corey, 1865-1868
- Charles Henry Sheldon, 1869-1901
- Augustus Richmond Peirce, 1902-1905
- George Granville Wood, 1906-1909
- Charles H. W. Mandeville, 1910-1923
- Jonathan Francis Kilbourn Sr., 1924-1925
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- National Exchange Bank, Providence, RI History (NB Lookup)
- Rhode Island Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Providence, RI, 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. 76, Jan. 1908-June 1908, pp 957-959.
- ↑ Literary Cadet and Rhode-Island Statesman, Providence, RI, Sat., Jan. 6, 1827.
- ↑ New York Daily Herald, New York, NY, Tue., Sep. 28, 1869.
- ↑ Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, Tue., Jan. 9, 1877.
- ↑ The Journal, Meriden, CT, Thu., June 28, 1906.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 76, Jan. 1908-June 1908, pp 957-959.
- ↑ The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Fri., Dec. 25, 1908.
- ↑ The Olneyville Times, Providence, RI, Fri., Nov. 3, 1916.
- ↑ Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT, Fri., Jan. 16, 1925.
- ↑ Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT, Wed. Apr. 28, 1926.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 76, Jan. 1908-June 1908, pp 926, 930.