National Union Bank, Dover, NJ (Charter 2076)

A 1930s postcard of the National Union Bank of Dover, New Jersey.

National Union Bank, Dover, NJ (Chartered 1873 - Closed (Merger) 1973)

Town History

The old National Union Bank of Dover, New Jersey on the corner of Blackwell and Warren Streets. The obverse and reverse of a Standing Liberty Quarter decorate the front of the bank. Courtesy of Google Maps, ca October 2021

Dover is a town in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about 31 miles west of New York City and about 23 miles west of Newark, New Jersey. Sources attribute the town's name to Dover, England or Dover, New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 18,460. In 1880 the population was 2,958 growing to 10,031 by 1930.

Dover was incorporated as a town on April 1, 1869, within Randolph Township and became fully independent as of March 5, 1896. The town charter was amended in 1875. On May 7, 1896, Dover was reincorporated as a city and regained its status as a town on March 21, 1899, after the referendum that approved the change was invalidated by a court ruling.

In its past, Dover has had extensive iron and mill works, machine shops, stove, furnace, and range works, boiler and bridge works, rolling mills, drill works, knitting and silk mills, and a large hosiery factory (MacGregors). During this period, Dover was a port on the Morris Canal while it was operational; the boat basin was located at what is today the JFK Commons Park.

Dover had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, The National Union Bank (Charter 2076) and The Peoples National Bank (Charter 5136), and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

First Memorial Presbyterian Church at 51 W. Blackwell Street, Dover, ca2023. At left is the bronze plaque commemorating the 1899 construction by Hudson Hoagland as a memorial to his wife, Martha D. Bigelow. Courtesy of Google Maps

• Organized December 19, 1872
• Chartered January 25, 1873
• Absorbed 13047 Feb 17, 1932 (First National Bank, Wharton, NJ)
• Bank was Open past 1935
• For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
• Merged into National Community Bank of Rutherford, NJ, April 1, 1973

On Sunday, September 17, 1899, the cornerstone of the Hoagland Memorial Church was laid at Dover in the presence of over 2,000 people. The church was a gift of Hudson Hoagland of New York to the congregation of the Dover First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Hoagland spread the mortar under the corner stone with a silver trowel. The new church, a memorial to Mr. Hoagland's wife, was built of Indiana limestone at a cost of $125,000. Mr. Hoagland was a vice president of the Broadway Bank in New York City and also vice president of the National Union Bank of Dover. He was born and grew to early manhood in Dover.

Hon. George Richards of Dover was in Hot Springs, Arkansas for his health. On his return trip he decided to stop a few days in New Orleans and while there was taken suddenly ill. His family doctor, Dr. Britton D. Evans, medical director at the Morris Plains Hospital was sent for and hurried to the South.  On April 3, 1900, Mr. Richards expired, death due to a complication of diseases.  Out of respect the flags on all business places in Dover were at half mast and the stores of George Richards' Company were draped in mourning. The flag at Washington's Headquarters where the deceased was a member was also at half mast.  He began in the Hurdtown mines where his father had been employed for years. The Glendon Iron Company placed him in the position of shift-boss and in 1853 he was promoted to superintendent.  After serving for some time, Mr. Richard's services became so valuable that the company made him manager of its extensive interests in New Jersey, a position he would fill for nearly forty years.  Mr. Richards organized a company for the manufacture of mining machinery. The Morris County Machine and Iron Co. of which he was president was located in Dover. He also organized and was president of the Dover Lumber Company. He was president of the Ogden Mine Railroad Co., the Hibernia Underground Railroad Co., the National Union Bank and Dover Printing Co., and the George Richards department stores. He was a director of the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad Co., the East Tennessee and Western, North Carolina railroad Co., the Cranbury Iron and Coal Co., the Chester Iron Co., the Ross & Baker Silk Mill at Port Oram, the American sheet Iron Co., and the Lincoln Lithia Water Co. of North Carolina. In 1860, Mr. Richards married Miss Elizabeth Ann McCarthy of Rockaway who died about a year earlier.

In January 1901, the stockholders elected following directors for the year: Frederick H. Beach, Leopold C. Bierwirth, James W. Brotherton, Peter C. Buck, Hudson Hoagland, Cadwallader R. Mulligan, Russell S. Penniman, Isaac W. Searing, and Thomas H. Hoagland.

In January 1903, stockholders elected the following directors for the ensuing year: Frederick H. Beach, James W. Brotherton, Peter C. Buck, Hudson Hoagland, Thomas H. Hoagland, Cadwallader R. Mulligan, Russell S. Penniman, Robert Killgore, and Elbert H. Baldwin.

On December 30, 1931, announcement was made of the merging of the First National Bank of Wharton with the National Union Bank of Dover. The Wharton bank would become a branch of the Dover bank.

On March 15, 1933, the National Union Bank of Dover was licensed to reopen for unlimited business.

In January 1958, Alvan B. Fehn was elected president of the National Union Bank of Dover. He was a former vice president and executive vice president of the Somerset Hills National Bank in Bernardsville., elected to these positions in 1955 and 1956, respectively. He was also a past president of the Queens County Bankers' Association and an instructor at the Elizabeth chapter of the American Institute of Banking (AIB). He was on the management committee of the New Jersey Bankers' Association, a member of the Morris County Bankers' Association and the Essex County chapter of the AIB. Mr. Fehn was born in 1910 in West Orange. The bank at its annual meeting re-elected the following directors: Laurence E. Carpenter, Richard J. Dearborn, Ralph W. Earl, Guy G. Gabrielson, Charles A. Heiss, Leonor F. Loree, 2d, Michael J. Nervine, A.A. Palmer, Jr., and Trueman H. Spencer.

In 1972, its centennial year, the National Union Bank served Morris, Essex and Passaic Counties with resources of $95,077,725.22. A year after it was founded it faced the financial panic of 1873 which ruined many older financial institutions. National Union was not the first bank in Dover. That was the Phelps Dover Union Bank founded in 1830. However, in 1866 stockholders decided that their money could be invested more profitably elsewhere and liquidated the institution. The organizers wanted to call the bank the First National Bank of Dover, but the comptroller of the currency vetoed the name because of the existence of the First National Bank of Dover, Delaware. The bank opened its doors on February 17, 1873 and welcomed seven customers that entire day. Despite the panic, the bank installed gas lighting in its building and new hitching posts outside and still reported a net gain of $12,642.43 for its first year.

Official Bank Title

1: The National Union Bank of Dover, NJ

Bank Note Types Issued

Series of 1875 $2 bank note with blue-stained security paper and pen signatures of J.S. Treat, Cashier and C. Beach, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1882 Date Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of Charles Applegate, Cashier and T.H. Hoagland, President. All series of 1882 $10s have the abnormal border variety. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

1902 Plain Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of William Otto, Cashier and T.H. Hoagland, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Charles H. Hart, Cashier and Chester Baylis, President. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing prepared the overprinting plate used to produce this note. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,865,300 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1873 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 276,921 notes (272,896 large size and 4,025 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 - 2200
Original Series	4x5	1 - 1475
Original Series	3x10-20	1 - 540
Series 1875	3x1-2	1 - 3880
Series 1875	4x5	1 - 9300
Series 1875	3x10-20	1 - 3089
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 13380	$10s with abnormal border variety
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 7900	$10s with abnormal border variety
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 5550
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	5551 - 26460
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 2955	BEP overprinting plate
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 1070	BEP overprinting plate

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1873 - 1935):

Presidents:

• Dr. Columbus Beach, 1873-1878
• Hudson Hoagland, 1879-1879
• George Richards, 1880-1899
• Hudson Hoagland, 1900-1903
• Cadwallader R. Mulligan, 1904-1909
• Thomas H. Hoagland, 1910-1927
• William H. Otto, 1928-1933
• Chester Baylis Sr., 1934-1935

Cashiers:

• Jay S. Treat, 1873-1881
• George Dedman Meeker, 1882-1892
• Elbert Harris Baldwin, 1893-1903
• Charles Applegate, 1904-1916
• William H. Otto, 1917-1927
• Charles H. Hart, 1928-1935

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• National Union Bank, Dover, NJ History (NB Lookup)
• New Jersey Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Dover, NJ, 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