Prescott National Bank, Lowell, MA (Charter 960)
Prescott National Bank, Lowell, MA (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1908)
Town History
Lowell is a city in Massachusetts, and alongside Cambridge, it is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of the last census, and the third most populous in the Boston metropolitan statistical area. The city also is part of a smaller Massachusetts statistical area, called Greater Lowell, and of New England's Merrimack Valley region.
Incorporated in 1826 to serve as a mill town, Lowell was named after Francis Cabot Lowell, a local figure in the Industrial Revolution. The city became known as the cradle of the American Industrial Revolution because of its textile mills and factories. Many of Lowell's historic manufacturing sites were later preserved by the National Park Service to create Lowell National Historical Park.
Lowell had 10 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 10 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized March 21, 1865
- Chartered March 31, 1865
- Succeeded Prescott Bank
- Liquidated March 18, 1908
- Absorbed by 6077 (Union NB/Union Old Lowell NB, Lowell, MA)
In January 1850, Joel Adams, Esq., and other good people of Lowell petitioned the Legislature for a new bank in that city to be called the Prescott Bank with a capital of $100,000, of which sum, $83,500 had already been subscribed. In April, the House passed bills to incorporate the Tradesmens' Bank in Chelsea; the Rockport Bank, the John Hancock Bank in Springfield; the Prescott Bank in Boston [sic].
In January 1851, application was made to the Legislature to increase the capital of the Prescott Bank of Lowell to $750,000.
On October 12, 1854, Mr. A.S. Tyler, cashier of the Prescott Bank married Miss Angie, daughter of Stephen Cushing, Esq., all of Lowell.
On Saturday evening, August 13, 1859, the golden wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Adams, Esq., was held at the Lowell Island House. Mr. Adams was president of the Prescott Bank and nearly 76 years of age. Mrs. Adams wore the same white satin skirt in which she appeared at the original wedding.
On November 12, 1864, Joel Adams of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, president of the Prescott Bank since its organization in 1850, died in that town.
In April 1890, due to the death of Hon. D.L. Richardson, Hapgood Wright was elected president; A.A. Coburn, vice president; and Fred Blanchard, cashier.
In February 1908, the merger of the Prescott National Bank with the Union National Bank was carried out with the Prescott National absorbed by the Union National.
On Friday, March 22, 1912, Hon. George F. Richardson, ex-Mayor of Lowell and one of the oldest members of the Massachusetts bar died at his home on Nesmith Street. Born in Tyngsboro in 1829, he graduated from Harvard College in 1850 and was admitted to the bar the same year. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he raised the first company of three-year men from Massachusetts, the organization was continued after the war as the Richardson Light Infantry. In 1871 and 1872, he was in the state senate and he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1868. He was president of the Prescott National Bank, the Lowell Bleachery Co., the Stonybrook Railroad and the Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad Mechanics' Association, and a directors of the Traders & Mechanics Insurance Company.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Prescott National Bank of Lowell, MA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,250,040 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1908. This consisted of a total of 165,414 notes (165,414 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 - 7600 Original Series 4x5 1 - 6250 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 3000 Original Series 50-100 1 - 400 Original Series 50-100 851 - 1190 Series 1875 3x1-2 1 - 3660 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 6485 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 2929 Series 1875 50-100 1 - 657 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 5277 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 3080 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 728 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 1315 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 682 1902 Red Seal 50-100 1 - 26
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1908):
Presidents:
- Daniel S. Richardson, 1874-1889
- Hapgood Wright, 1890-1895
- Charles Henry Coburn, 1896-1898
- Daniel Gage, 1899-1900
- George Francis Richardson, 1901-1907
- Charles Butterfield Coburn, 1865-1873
Cashiers:
- Artemas S. Tyler, 1865-1870
- Alonzo A. Coburn, 1871-1889
- Frederick Blanchard, 1890-1899
- Edward Everett Sawyer, 1900-1907
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Lowell, 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
- Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, Sat., Jan. 19, 1950.
- Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, Sat., Apr. 6, 1850.
- Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, Sat., Jan. 18, 1851.
- Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, Fri., Oct. 13, 1854.
- Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, Tue., Aug. 16, 1859.
- Evening Star, Washington, DC, Wed., Nov. 30, 1864.
- The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Sat., Apr. 5, 1890.
- The Berkshire County Eagle, Pittsfield, MA, Wed., Feb. 12, 1908.
- The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Fri., Mar. 22, 1912.