Tradesmens NB/Tradesmens NB & TC, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 570)
Tradesmens National Bank/Tradesmens NB & TC, Philadelphia, PA (Chartered 1864 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Philadelphia is located in Philadelphia County, in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania. It is currently the sixth-most-populous city in the United States and the most populous city in the state of Pennsylvania. It is also the second-most populous city in the Northeastern United States, behind New York City.
Philadelphia is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States. William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city in 1682 to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. It grew on the steep banks of the Delaware River into a hub of international trade and monetary influence. The royal post-office was established in this city by Franklin. Mail would pass uninterrupted from Crown to Republic, the one royal department which did so. The Colonies used the old expresses and mail routes leading up to and through the revolution. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in Carpenters' Hall, and the Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in Independence Hall.
Philadelphia was the second Capitol after New York City during George Washington's presidency. On April 2, 1792, the United States Mint opened its doors here with David Rittenhouse, former treasurer of Pennsylvania, the first director. The American Philosophical Society was the first scientific society in the land and still meets in the hall Franklin secured for it. Former townships and boroughs of Bristol, Richmond, Kensington, Germantown, Manayunk, Northern Liberties, Southwark, to name a few, were consolidated into Philadelphia in 1854 which then occupied all of Philadelphia County.
During the National Bank Note Era (1863-1935), the population of Philadelphia was 674,022 in 1870, growing to 1,950,961 in 1930. Its highest population was 2,071,605 in 1950, and the current population is estimated at 1,584,064 (2019).
Philadelphia had 70 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 62 of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Philadelphia also had 27 Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).
Bank History
- Organized November 9, 1864
- Chartered November 14, 1864
- Succeeded Tradesmens Bank
- 1: Consolidated with the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company and the Chelten Trust Company September 17, 1928, with title change to Tradesmens National Bank and Trust Company, Philadelphia, PA
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Merged with Market Street National Bank, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 3684) in 1955
In August 1845, the Southern Insurance and Trust Company made application to the Pennsylvania Legislature for banking privileges under the name of the Tradesmen's Bank of Philadelphia with a capital of $150,000. In April 1846, after the presentation of several petitions, the bill to change the corporate powers and name of the Southern Insurance and Trust Company to that of the Tradesmen's Bank of Philadelphia, passed Committee of the Whole.
On June 29th and 30th, 1847, the commissioners appointed by the charter of the Tradesmen's Bank received subscriptions for 1835 shares of stock at a par value of $50. The banking house was on the southwest corner of Second and Spruce Streets. Jonathan Leedom was chairman and John W. Ryan, secretary. Jno. C. Wood was cashier in 1855.
On April 26, 1861, a magnificent American flag was raised on the Tradesmen's Bank, corner of Second and Spruce Streets.
On Tuesday, January 13, 1880, at the annual election for directors, the following persons were elected to serve for the ensuing year: Charles H. Rogers, George C. Thomas, James McCann, Charles R. Rogers, John Carrow, John F. Weightman. On the following day, the directors elected C.H. Rogers, president; and Charles R. Rogers, vice president. John Castner was cashier.
In September 1887, the directors were Charles R. Rogers, George C. Thomas, J. Albert Caldwell, Harry Rogers, Frank G. Rogers, Jos. G. Darlington, and Samuel Castner, Jr. The officers were Charles R. Rogers, president; Harry Rogers, vice president; John Castner, cashier; and Frank G. Rogers, assistant cashier. The bank had capital of $400,000 and surplus $550,000.
In January 1899, a merger of the Tradesmens National and the Market Street nation was thought to be a certainty. The plan for readjustment as outlined by George H. Earle, Jr., the newly elected president of the Market Street National, had little or no opposition. The announcement that many doubtful assets were found caused a number of depositors to withdraw their accounts; however, on intimation that a consolidation with Tradesmen's was imminent resulted in many new deposits being received, so the balance at the close of business was greater than at any time in history. By September, the Market Street National had increased its deposits to $3,746,140 and its surplus and undivided profits to $102,513. The capital stock was $500,000 and the merger was off.
On Tuesday, January 14, 1902, the following directors were elected: Henry C. Butcher, Richard Y. Cook, George H. Earle, Jr., Bayard Henry, Herbert M. Howe, Russell S. Hubbard, Jerome Keeley, August B. Loeb, Walter S. Massey, and Lewis A. Riley. The officers elected were George H. Earle, Jr., president; August B. Loeb, vice president; R.S. Hubbard, cashier; H.D. McCarthy, assistant cashier.
On July 25, 1928, at meetings of the boards of directors of the Tradesmens National Bank, the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company, and the Chelten Trust Company it was unanimously decided to propose to the stockholders a merger of these institutions. The merged institution would be known as the Tradesmens National Bank and Trust Company. The consolidated institution would have capital, surplus and undivided profits of $8,800,000, deposits of approximately 40,000,000, resources in excess of $55,000,000, trust funds of approximately $30,000,000 and corporate trusts of approximately $65,000,000. Howard A. Loeb, president of the Tradesmens National would be chairman of the consolidated institution, and Herbert W. Goodall, president of the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Co., would become president. The official staff and directors would remain practically unchanged. Colonel Sheldon Potter was president of the Chelten Trust Co. The main office would be at 316-320 Chestnut Street, present home of the Guarantee Trust, while a large central city office would be maintained at 1420 Walnut street, then undergoing extensive alterations. The Chelten Trust Company's office at Germantown and Chelten Avenues, as well as their Logan office, and the Fifty-second Street branch of the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company would also be maintained and their facilities increased. A new company to be known as the Chelten Title Company would be organized to take over the title business of the institution. All the stock of the title company would be owned by the Tradesmen's Corporation, a new corporation which would be organized simultaneously, with a capital of $2,450,000; the stock of which would be owned by the stockholders of the Tradesmens National Bank and Trust Company.
On September 17, 1928, the Tradesmen National Bank and Trust Company opened its doors with total resources of over $55,000,000. All-inclusive service was the main purpose which broght about the consolidation. In addition, the Tradesmens Corporation was chartered for the purposes of dealing in securities in connection with the bank.
On Friday, September 23, 1955, the boards of Tradesmens Bank & Trust Co. and Market Street National Bank met to approve the merger of the two institutions. Interestingly, the merger was first initiated on January 19, 1899, in a letter from the late George H. Earle, Jr., then president of Tradesmens, to the late Samuel W. Heebner, then president of Market Street National. Earle wrote "If this proposition is accepted, I am willing as requested by you and the committee to at once accept the presidency of the company, and Messrs. Cook, Loeb and Sullivan, as may be desired, have signified their willingness to become members of your board. I think it proper to state to you that it would be my ultimate purpose to consolidate this bank with the Tradesmens Bank and so make one of the strongest, if not the strongest, national bank in Philadelphia." Howard A. Loeb, present Tradesmens board chairman was the son of the Loeb mentioned, and the Sullivan, the father of R. Livingston Sullivan, present president of Market Street. Earle's grandson, George H. Earle, 4th, was vice president of Tradesmens.
On January 3, 1956, the Tradesmens Bank & Trust Co. opened for business, the merger having been completed over the year's end. R. Livingston Sullivan, president of Market Street National was the board chairman of the combined bank; Percy C. Madeira, Jr., chairman of the executive committee; James M. Large, president; and Warren H. Woodring, executive vice president. The directors were Boyd T. Barnard, Edward C. Bostock, Francis P. Burns, David Burpee, J. Hamilton Cheston, Joel Claster, Philip H. Cooney, John Curtin, Jr., Edwin K. Daly, Ralph Earle, L.A. Estes, W.R. Gerstnecker, Birkett Howarth, George H. Johnson, James M. Large, Harry S. Louchheim, Percy C. Madeira, Jr., C.F. Norberg, Thomas L. Prendergast, John J. Sullivan, R. Livingston Sullivan, Charles I. Thompson, Thomas Raeburn White, George D. Widener, and Howard A. Wolf. The main office of the bank would continue at Broad and Chestnut Streets with seven other offices: Market and Juniper Streets, 320 Chestnut Street; Fifth and Chestnut Streets; 19 S. 52d Street; 5614 Germantown Avenue; Broad and Louden Streets; and Erie Avenue and I Street.
In 1957, the Provident Trust Company and the Tradesmens Bank & Trust Company merged to form Provident Tradesmens Bank & Trust Company, the the city's third largest bank with assets of $527,189,000, deposits of $465,018,000 and capital of $53,571,000. The combined institution had 18 offices in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties. James M. Large was chairman of the board; William R.K. Mitchell, vice chairman of the board and chairman of the executive committee; Benjamin F. Sawin, president; and Warren H. Woodring, executive vice president.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Tradesmens National Bank, Philadelphia, PA
2: Tradesmens National Bank and Trust Company, Philadelphia, PA (9/17/1928)
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $12,878,740 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 1,387,352 notes (1,167,584 large size and 219,768 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: Original Series 4x5 1 - 12000 1: Original Series 4x10 1 - 1500 1: Original Series 50-100 1 - 350 1: Series 1875 4x5 1 - 13998 1: Series 1875 4x10 1 - 500 1: Series 1875 50-100 1 - 266 1: 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 24762 1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 14101 1: 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 5000 1: 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 19200 1: 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 9320 1: 1902 Red Seal 50-100 1 - 1500 1: 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 50165 1: 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 40134 1: 1902 Date Back 50-100 1 - 800 1: 1902 Date Back 3x50-100 1 - 3456 1: 1902 Plain Back 4x5 50166 - 106647 1: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 40135 - 75257 1: 1902 Plain Back 3x50-100 3457 - 4104 2: 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 3998 2: 1902 Plain Back 4x10 1 - 1500 2: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 908 2: 1902 Plain Back 3x50-100 1 - 143 2: 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 23143 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 9833 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 2986 2: 1929 Type 1 6x50 1 - 480 2: 1929 Type 1 6x100 1 - 186
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Charles H. Rogers, 1864-1884
- Charles R. Rogers, 1885-1893
- Frank G. Rogers, 1894-1895
- George Howard Earle, Jr. , 1896-1909
- August Benjamin Loeb, 1910-1914
- Howard Arthur Loeb, 1915-1927
- Herbert Whitaker Goodall, 1928-1935
Cashiers:
- John Castner, 1864-1888
- Frank G. Rogers, 1889-1893
- Josiah Atkinson McKee, 1894-1895
- Russell Sturgis Hubbard, 1896-1902
- Henry D. McCarthy, 1903-1918
- Edmund Williams, 1919-1927
- Howard Elmer Deily, 1928-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Tradesmens National Bank, Philadelphia, PA History (NB Lookup)
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Philadelphia, PA, 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
- Free Library of Philadelphia, Digital Collections, Tradesmens National Bank.
- German Reformed Messenger, Chambersburg, PA, Wed., Aug. 6, 1845.
- The Jeffersonian, Stroudsburg, PA, Thu., Apr. 2, 1846.
- Public Ledger, Philadelphia, PA, Mon., June 28, 1847.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Sat., Apr. 27, 1861.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Jan. 15, 1880.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Sep. 15, 1887.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Jan. 25, 1899.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Times, Fri., Sep. 15, 1899.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Jan. 15, 1902.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., July 26, 1928.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Mon., Sep. 17, 1928.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Mon., Sep. 26, 1955.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Jan. 4, 1956.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Mar. 13, 1957.