Passaic National Bank & Trust, Passaic, NJ (Charter 12205)
Passaic National Bank & Trust Company, Passaic, NJ (Chartered 1922 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Passaic (/pəˈseɪ.ɪk/ pə-SAY-ik or locally /pəˈseɪk/ pə-SAYK) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located north of Newark on the Passaic River, it was first settled in 1678 by Dutch traders, as Acquackanonk Township. The city and river get their name from the Lenape word "pahsayèk" which has been variously attributed to mean "valley" or "place where the land splits." As of the 2020 US census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality, with a population of 70,537. In 1920 the population was 63,841, declining to 61,394 by 1940.
The 1926 Passaic Textile Strike led by union organizer Albert Weisbord saw 36,000 mill workers leave their jobs to oppose wage cuts demanded by the textile industry. The workers successfully fought to keep their wages unchanged but did not receive recognition of their union by the mill owners.
Passaic had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized May 15, 1922
- Chartered May 19, 1922
- Assumed 3572 by consolidation June 22, 1922 (Passaic National Bank, Passaic, NJ)
- Assumed its circulation
- Bank was Open past 1935
In March 1922, directors of the Passaic Trust and Safe Deposit Company and of the Passaic National Bank reached agreement for consolidation as a national bank to be known as the Passaic Trust National Bank. Stockholders of the Passaic National would meet on April 5th to vote on the merger plan. The consolidation of the two banks was first taken up by the directors early in 1919 when Dr. Charles M. Howe invited the directors of the trust company to meet with the directors of the National to consider a merger. The combined banks would have assets of over $17,000,000. A new, 5-story structure costing about $500,000 on the property owned by the Passaic National Bank at Main Avenue, Bloomfield Avenue and Prospect Street was planned. While the present building was razed, business would be conducted on the ground floor of the Lawyers' Building formerly occupied by M.&K. Kelley. The basis of values was determined by Price, Waterhouse & Company of New York, based on the values as of the close of business on December 31, 1921. This company reported the valuation of the trust company at 57.3% and the national bank at 42.7% of the aggregate value. Capital stock of each bank was $500,000, so it was decided that the trust company declare a 30% stock dividend. For the Passaic Trust and Safe Deposit Company, the agreement was signed by Richard J. Scoles, G.W. Blanchard, Arthur S. Corbin, James B. Ackerson, Irving D. Kip, Edward A. Greene, William F. Gaston, Francis W. Soule, Paul W. Muller, and Isaac W. England. For the Passaic National Bank, the agreement was signed by Richard J. Scoles, G.W. Blanchard, James B. Ackerson, W.F. Gaston, A.F. Townsend, Ferdinand Wilckes, Samuel Hird, Julius Forstmann, Benjamin I. Ward, and William Abbott.[1] On March 13, 1922, stockholders of the Passaic Trust and Safe Deposit Company approved the merger plan. The name of the merged bank was changed from Passaic Trust National Bank as first proposed to Passaic National Bank and Trust Company.[2]
On April 21, 1922, the application of the Passaic Trust and Safe Deposit Company of Passaic, to convert into the Passaic National Bank and Trust Company with $650,000 capital was approved by the comptroller of the currency.[3]
On July 7, 1949, directors of the Passaic National Bank and Trust Company and the Clifton National Bank voted to recommend the consolidation of the two banks to the stockholders. The consolidated bank would have $100,000,000 in resources with capital, surplus and undivided profits of nearly $7,000,000. George Young, Jr., president of Passaic National was slated to become president of the Passaic-Clifton National. Former judge John C. Barbour, president of Clifton National was to be named senior vice president of the Passaic-Clifton National. Judge Barbour was president of the Clifton National since its founding in 1925. The directors of the Clifton National were Judge Barbour, Randolph Doherty, Dr. Albert G. Jahn, Dr. Maxwell J. Lentz, City Manager William A. Miller, John E. McHenry, Henry Possenriede, J. Mort Towers, and Jere L. Wentz. The officers were Judge Barbour, president; Mr. Miller and Mr. McHenry, vice presidents; E.B. Toppin, cashier; Leonard T. Tremblay and Erwin O. Kraft, assistant cashiers; and Frank G. Yingling, Jr., auditor. Directors of the Passaic National were Dr. John H. Carlisle, Arthur S. Corbin, R. Ellsworth Doremus, Julius G. Forstmann, Frederick W. Gaston, Carl R. Griffen, S. Ainsworth Hird, Otto E. Kuhn, Thomas Matchett, Albert F. Metz, William A. O'Brien, Charles E. Prescott, Paul L. Troast, and Mr. Young. The officers in addition to Mr. Young were Mr. Griffen, executive vice president; Paul M. Canada, assistant to the president; S.E. Lindstamer, vice president and trust officer; E. Beardsley Shutt, vice president and cashier; Mr. Corbin, George Hossenlopp, C.A. Lohmann, Joseph F. Rean, Edward H. Roden, and John Ryan, vice presidents; Thomas W. Hare, Thomas Rigg, Matthew H. Scheel, and Henry D. Wright assistant vice presidents; G.H. Bjorklund, Herbert R. Decker, Milton A. Dotterweich, Walter V. Grudzinski, Robert C. Palmer, Verne A. Pitman and Matthew DeRouville, assistant cashiers; C. Walter Rice, assistant trust officer; C.W.F. Kroll, auditor; and Robert Y. Johnson, credit manager.[4]
On April 12, 1958, John C. Barbour, president of the Passaic-Clifton National Bank & Trust Company said the stockholders' vote on the consolidation with the County Bank & Trust Company would probably take place in late May with the formal merger, if approved, effective early in June. The name of the new merged institution had not yet been decided upon. The Passaic buildings of the two banks were on opposite corners of Main Avenue with Broadway running between them. The County Bank's building of 11 stories was the tallest in Passaic. The predecessor of the Passaic-Clifton National, the Passaic National Bank, was founded in 1886. The Clifton National Bank was founded in 1925 and it merged with the Passaic National to form the Passaic-Clifton National in 1949. The County Bank's history goes back to the founding of the Paterson Savings Institution in 1868. The Paterson Savings continued as a savings bank until 1948 when it added a trust department and changed the name to Paterson Savings Institution and Trust Company. In 1951 it merged with the Peoples Bank and Trust Company of Passaic to form the County Bank. The bank acquired the Little Falls National in 1954, the Citizens Trust Company of Paterson in 1955, and the Haledon National Bank in 1957.[5] The merger took place officially at the close of business on Friday, June 20, 1958 and the New Jersey Bank & Trust Company opened for business on the following Monday. C. Kenneth Fuller was chairman of the board and John C. Barbour, president. Over the weekend, the bronze name plates on the new bank's 16 Passaic County offices would be changed, the work expected to be completed by opening day on Monday.[6]
In January 1962, the New Jersey Bank and Trust Company had the following officers: John C. Barbour, chairman of the board; Joseph F. Hammond, vice chairman of the board; Cowles Andrus, president; Carl R. Griffen, senior vice president; Norman Brassler, and Edward H. Roden, executive vice presidents; George J. Hossenlopp, vice president; Russell I. Yawger, vice president & treasurer; and Clifford W. George, vice president & secretary. The bank had neighborhood offices throughout Passaic County at Clifton, Haledon, Little Falls, North Haledon, Passaic, Paterson, and West Paterson. The bank had total assets of $304,408,562.80.[7]
Official Bank Title
1: Passaic National Bank and Trust Company, Passaic, NJ
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $14,769,080 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1922 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 1,189,705 notes (685,488 large size and 504,217 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 171372 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 55064 54398 Not issued 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 16442 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 58008 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 17179
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1922 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- George T. Kenter, 1922-1929
- George Young, Jr., 1930-1930
- Charles Adams Faircloth, 1931-1932
- Carl Robert Griffen, 1933-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Passaic, 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
- ↑ Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Mon., Mar. 6, 1922.
- ↑ Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Mon., Mar. 13, 1922.
- ↑ Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Fri., Apr. 21, 1922.
- ↑ The Herald-News, Passaic, NJ, Fri., July 8, 1949.
- ↑ The Herald-News, Passaic, NJ, Sat., Apr. 12, 1958.
- ↑ The Herald-News, Passaic, NJ, Fri., June 20, 1958.
- ↑ The News, Paterson, NJ, Mon., Jan. 8, 1962.