Worcester County, Massachusetts - Chapter 187, 1889

Bankino And Insurance

The National ^Eijis of December 21, 1803, contained an editorial article, three columns in length setting forth in full the a<lvantages which would inure to a community from the establishment of a bank. A number of gentlemen had met at Barker's tavern,' on the evening of the 18th, Isaiah Thomas presiding, and had voted that it would be advan- tageous to the county to have a bank established at Worcester; that as soon as one thousand shares should be subscribed for, at one hundred dollars a share, an application should be made to the Legislature for an act of incorporation ; and that the subscription paper should be opened at Barker's tavern on the first Tuesday of January following. Benjamin Heywood, Francis Blake, Isaiah Thomas, William Paine and Daniel Waldo, Jr., were chosen a committee to secure the subscriptions and call a meeting of the subscribers for organization. An advertisement in the Jigh and the Masai ichuselts Spy, headed " A Country Bank," set forth that " an association of gentlemen belonging to the town of Worcester, having contemplated the advantages which would accrue to the agricultural, commercial and mechanical interests of the county from the establishment of a bank in the town of Worcester," had appointed a committee to invite subscriptions from the citizens of the county, and gave notice of the place and manner in which subscriptions might be made. The response to this call was so liberal, that it was found that one hundred and eighty-three subscribers had applied for a total of twenty-six hundred and twelve shares. These subscriptions were graded down to fifteen hundred by a committee, and application was made for a charter with a capital of $150,000, instead of the sum first proposed. The charter was granted March 7, 1804: - "An act to incorporate Daniel Waldo and others by the name and st/le of the President, Directors & Company of the WOKCESTEE BANK."

The corporators, besides the above-named committee, were Daniel Waldo, Sr., Stephen Salisbury, Nathan Patch, William Henshaw, Nathaniel Paine and Elijah Burbank. The charter, which was to run for eight years from October 1, 1804, provided that the whole amount of capital should be paid in before March 1, ISC'!; that the bank might hold real estate for banking juirposes to the amount of $20,000 ; that neither their circulation nor their loans should at any time exceed twice their capital stock actually paid in and existing in gold and silver in their vaults. No bills could be issued of a less value than five dollars, and none between five and ten dollars ; and the Commonwealth reserved the right to become an owner in the stock to an amount not exceeding $50,000 of additional stock to be created.

As there were no savings banks then in existence, it was also provided that one-eighth part of the whole funds of the bank should always be appropriated to loans to the " agricultural interest," of not less than one hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars each, and for a term not less than one year; and the bank was bound to loan to the State, whenever required by the Legislature, any sum not exceeding $15,000, reimbursable in five annual instalments and at a rate of interest not exceeding five per cent. The charter was accepted at a meeting of subscribers to the stock, held Ai>ril 10, 18(14. At the same meeting

Daniel Waldo, Benjamin Heywood, Samuel Flagg, Isaiah Thomas, Daniel Waldo, Jr., Theophilus Wheeler and Samuel Chandler were elected directors. William Paine, Samuel Brazer, Ephraim Mower, Oliver Fisk and John Farrar were charged with the duty of looking up a site for a banking-house and of preparing a suitable plan. On the 20th of the same month, on recommendation of the committee, it was voted to purchase the lot of land belonging to Capt. Daniel Heywood, opposite to land owned by Nathaniel Paine, Esq., " situate on the Main Street, in Worcester, stated to contain one hundred and twentysix rods," and "to build a house of brick that will accommodate a family and answer for banking purposes." This site, now occupied by the Central Exchange, was purchased, and a brick building, having two belts of marble on the front, was erected. It contained, besides the banking-rooms, a hall for the meetings of the stockholders and a tenement which was occupied by Hon. Daniel Waldo (second of that name) for several years, until he built his mansion just south of the bank, on the site of Mechanics' Hall. The north part of the first fioor was afterward used as the post-office. The bank continued to occupy ils rooms until the building was destroyed by fire in 1842. It kept the rooms (now occupied by the Mechanics' National Bank) in the New Central Exchange until 1851, when, in connection with the Boston and Worcester Railroad Company, the Worcester Bank block was erected, the bank securing full ownership in the following year.

As the time approached for the expiration of the original charter, a renewal was asked for from the Legislature. " Conflicting interests " - doubtless the exertions of the Boston banks - secured a rejection of the first petition, and of a second memorial. But at the June session in 1812 a new charter wiis granted, the capital being increased to two hundred thousand dollars.

The directors of the original bank in May, 1804, elected Levi Thaxter as cashier and Robert B. Brigham accountant, with the understanding that they should " enter themselves at some bank in the town of Boston, to be instructed, at their own expense, in the duties of their respective offices." A seal, having on it for device a buck, was adopted. Daniel Waldo, Jr., was authorized "to contract with Peter Marsh and Tarrant King, of Sutton, and David Hearsey, of Worcester, bricklayers, to work at $1.5SJ per day, board and liquor included." The banking-rooms were first used October G, 1804, for a directors' meeting, at which Daniel Waldo, Jr., was elected president in his father's place. By-laws were adopted on the day following. It was decided that no discount should be made for a longer time than sixty days; that every note presented for discount should have one or more endorsers, unless stock was pledged as collateral security ; that every person other than the promissor offering a note for discount should endorse it ; that every note should be attested by one or more witnesses ; that no person should have his note renewed for more than four-fifths of the original sum ; and at every renewal one-fifth of the original sura shall be paid. The first semi-annual report to the State, January 7, 1805, showed : Capital stock, :$150,- 000; debts due (i.e., loans), $185,645; monies deposited, $161) [!] ; notes in circulation, $146,030 ; note of other banks, $10,090; coined metals on hand, $121,488.46.

The directors of the Worcester Bank had been justly indignant at the course of some of the Boston banks in opposing a renewal, in 1811-12, of the original charter of the bank here. When, therefore, the Suffolk Bank of Boston, in 1825, established the system, which in the end proved most beneficial, of a compulsory redemption of the bills of country banks, it was resisted by the Worcester Bank. A contest ensued, in which the Worcester Bank was sustained by the court. It afterwards fell in with the systems voluntarily and "not upon compulsion."

The managers of the bank have ever been judiciously conservative, and this trait, together with the patriotism of the directors, made the bank an effective ally of the government at the outbreak of the (!ivil War, in 1861. The bank made heavy loans to the government, and its own reputation and virtual endorsement induced the people of the city and its neighborhood to make heavy investments in the public funds, the bank acting as agent for the government in the matter. On the establishment of the national banking system, the propriety of organizing under that system commended itself to the judgment of the directors, but they did not like to surrender their old name and be thereafter known only by a number. In compliance with a general demand from the old banks of the country, the original National Banking Act was so modified as to allow them to retain their former names, prefixing or affixing the word " national." Having secured this privilege, at a special meeting of the stockholders. May 9, 1864, it was voted unanimously, on recommendation of the directors, to organize as the Worcester National Bank, with a capital of three hundred thousand dollars. The patriotic remarks of the Hon. Levi Lincoln, senior director, and the Hon. Stephen Salisbury, president, on the occasion, are spread upon the records of the bank. The Worcester Bank was, therefore, the first of the State banks here to adopt tlie national system. That its next younger sister, the Central Bank, should be the first to follow its example, ten weeks later, was eminently appropriate. The capital of the Worcester Bank had been increased to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in 1851 and to three hundred thousand dollars in 1853. It is now five hundred thousand dollars.

The presidents of the Worcester Bank have been : Daniel Waldo, April 12 to October 6, 1804 ; Daniel Waldo, .Ir., October, 1804, until his death, July 9,

1845 ; Stephen Salisbury, July, 1845, until his death, August 25, 1884; Stephen Salisbury, son of the latter, to the present time. Cashiers : Robert B. Brigham, 1804-12; Samuel Jennison, 1812-46; Levi Lincoln Newton, 1846-47 ; William Cross, 1847-64 (and vicepresident, 1864-80); Charles B. Whiting, 1864-68; James P. Hamilton, 1869. Edward O. Parker, who had been connected with the bank for twenty-three years, and assistant cashier for nine years, resigned his position March 1, 1889.

The success of the Worcester Bank and the benefit which it conferred upon the whole central portion of the State prompted the leaders of thought and of business attaira, in due time, to establish a savings bank, to receive and carefully invest the surplus earnings of the people, and while thus encouraging good habits and promoting the prosperity of their depositors, to still further benefit the community by loaning out the m6ney thus collected, in loans upon mortgages or other good security. At that time, as now, every town in this county had one ©r more citizens who were the natural trustees of the people. It was they who were consulted on business matters, who were most frequently appointed as executors of wills or as adminstrators of estates. These men, as well as the lawyers, used to visit Worcester often, and especially at court times, and they co-operated in the movement to establish a savings bank. The National A<:gu of December 5, 1827, aided the movement by an able editorial article of a column's length.

The first report of the proceedings which we find, states that at an adjourned meeting, held at Thomas's Coffee-House,' December 6, 1827, a committee previously appointed (whose names are not given) reported a petition for an act of incorporation, which was signed by the gentlemen present, and another committee was appointed to present it to the Legislature. The petition was granted, and the charter of the Worcester County Institution for Savinus was issued P'ebruary 8, 1828. It provided that the annual meeting should be held " some time during the regular term of the sitting of the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Worcester, in the spring of each year," - a time especially convenient for the trustees and corporators, who represented nearly every town in the county. On April 9, 1828, Isaac Goodwin, as secretary of the petitioners, published the charter, and called the corporators to meet at Thomas's Coffee-House on the 17th. The charter members were: - Daniel Waldo, Solomon Strong, Frederic W. Paine, Samuel B. Thomas, Pliny Merrick, Benjamin Butman, Andrew H. Ward, Stephen Salisbury, Jr., Seth Hastings, Samuel Jennison, Silas Brooks, David Brigham, William Steadman, Stephen Goddard, Calvin Willard, Simeon Sanderson, Oliver Fiske, Jesse Bliss, Benjamin Adams, Charles Allen,

William S. Hastings, George Wall, James Draper, John W. Lincoln, Isaac Goodwin, John M. Earle and Emory Washburn. At the first meeting one hundred and seventy-two new members of the corporation were elected, and fifty-six were added at an adjourned meeting held two weeks later. These represented nearly every town in the county. Daniel Waldo was elected president, with twelve vice-presidents, and a board of twenty-four trustees. Isaac Goodwin was chosen secretary, and Samuel Jennison, cashier of the Worcester Bank, was the first treasurer. Of all the gentlemen named the last to survive was the Hon. Stephen Salisbury, who died August 24, 1884. The olde.st living corporator is Henry W. Miller, Esq., of Worcester, who was elected May 1, 1828.

Mr. Waldo continued president until his death, in 1845, and was succeeded by Stephen Salisbury, who served until 1871, Alexander H. Bullock serving for the next thirteen years, until his death, in January, 1884. Stephen Salisbury, son of the second president, was elected president in April, 1884. The secretaries have been : Isaac Goodwin, elected 1828 ; William Lincoln, 1833 ; Thomas Kinnicutt, 18-13; John C. B. Davis, 1848; Jo.seph Mason, 1850 ; Joseph Trumbull, 18.">3 ; J. Henry Hill, 1854. Mr. Jennison served as treasurer for twenty-five years, resigning in October, 1853, when the deposits amounted to $1,473,312.' He was followed by Charles A. Hamilton, who held the office until his death, October 30, 1879. Charles A. Chase was elected treasurer November 10, 1879.

The original by-laws provided that the bank should be open every Wednesday from 2 until 5 o'clock r..M. The pass-books explained that this was " to save expense to those who put in their money, who would otherwise be obliged to pay more for the time of the clerks, if they were to attend every day." All money received was to be either specie or bills current at the Worcester Bank, and all payments were to be made in the same manner. The first deposit, fifteen dollars, was made by Hon. Abijah Bigelow, in the name of his daughter, Miss Hannah Bigelow, .Tune 4, 1828. The account wa.s closed in August, 1874. after her death. The whole amount of deposits credited to the account was $4150, and the payments amounted to $1758.36. At the close of the second year the total deposits in the institution amounted to $13.(545. In contrast with this accumulation of two years it is interesting to observe that on the 31st day of December, 1888, the teller received from 469 depositors the sum of $41,178.65 during the seven working hours of that single day. The whole amount of deposits on January 1, 1889, was $10,480,487.47, and the assets, at their par value, amounted to $11,084,307.12.

- A full and admirable biographical sketch of Mr. Jennison, from the pen of Rev. George Allen, appeared in the daily Spy and daily Tratiiwript of March 17, 18Hn. .Tustice to the merits of his silccesBur was alstt given by the newspapers and by the bank trustees.

the second deposit, fifty dollars, for Mrs. Sarah Thayer, of Sterling. Among the well-known names which follow early in the list are : (4) Aaron Bancroft, for Nancy J. Young, " domestic ; '' (7) Samuel Swan, for his son, Reuben Swan ; (8) Benjamin Chapin, for .lohn K. L. Pickford ; (11) George Allen, for Lydia K. Adams ; (13) John Brazer, by Samuel Brazer; (14) William Lincoln ; (23-26) Samuel Jennison, for his children ; (27-29) Levi Lincoln, for his two daughters and for Hannah Cook, a domestic. The oldest account now open is No. 77. This deposit, and No. 78, also now open, were made by Rebecca Foster, wife of the Hon. Dwight Foster, of Brookfield, for a granddaughter and grand.'ion respectively. No. 77 still stands in the name of the original beneficiary, and No. 78 has been ass'gned to the great-grandson of Mrs. Foster. The next open account. No. 113, was made by Henry K. Newcomb, for Elizabeth Chandler Blake. The next. No. 140, was made by John B. Shaw. Over 90,000 accounts have been opened with depositors, and the number now outstanding is upwards of 23,300.

The promise by the founders of the institution of handsome returns to depositors has been more than kept. Here is a striking instance of the accumulation of a small sum of money to which its earnings have been added semi-annually. On March 6, 1841, Mr. Samuel R. Jackson, of Providence, who had previously been a merchant in Worcester, deposited the sum of $15 for one of his daughters. Other sums, making in all a total of $80, were deposited to her credit during the eight years following, and for this $8<l received by the institution, the depositor now has a credit of $1,106.83. This fact speaks whole volumes in behalf of the policy set forth in the first article of the original by-laws, "of enabling the industrious and economical to invest such part of their property and earnings as they can conveniently spare, in a manner which will atiord them both profit and security."

As the pioneer banking institutions of the county it has seemed pro|)er to give the historie.s of the Worcester Bank and the Worcester County Institution for Savings somewhat in detail. With the growth nf the city, stimulated by the growth of the Blackstone Canal to Providence in 1828, and the granting of a charter for a railroad to Boston in 1831, other institutions of the same kind were established, at first in Worcester and afterwards in many other towns of the county.

The Central Bank, with a capital of $100,000, was chartered March 12, 1829, the corporators being William Eaton, Leonard W. Stowell, Isaac Davis, Thornton A. Merrick, David Stowell, Pliny Merrick, William Jennison, Daniel Heywood, Gardiner Paine, Samuel Allen, Jr., Levi A. Dowley, Benjamin Butman, Asahel Bellows, Daniel Goddard, Isaac Goodwin, Artemas Ward and Anthony Chase. Benjamin Butman was president until his resignation, in

August, 1836, and has been succeeded by Thomas Kinnicutt until his death, February 17, 1883, and the present incumbeut, Joseph Mason. Otis Corbett was first cashier from May 16 to November 30, 1829, being succeeded by George A. Trumbull, who retired with the president in 1836. William Dickinson served from 1836-50; George F. HarLshorn, 1850-56 and 1859-62; George O. Bigelow, 1856-59 ; and the present incument, Henry A. Marsh, was elected in 1862, after serving the bank for nine years in other positions. The bank was reorganized under the national system May 18, 1864, and in 1865 increased its capital from $25(1,000 to 1300,000. The banking office until 1853 was in the rooms now occupied by the Five Cents Savings Bank ; then for sixteen years in the second story at " Harrington Corner" (corner of ]\[ain and Front Streets), and since 1869 on the first Hoor of the People's Savings Bank building.

The Qi^iNSRiAMONi) Bank, with a ca])ital of one hundred thousand dollars, was incorporated March 25, 1833, the corporators being Nathaniel Paine, Samuel M. Burnside, John Coe, Otis Corbett, Ichabod Washburn, Stephen Salisbury, Frederic William Paine, Thomas Kinnicutt, George T. Rice and Levi A. Dowley. Samuel D. Spurr, Frederic William Paine, Isaac Davis, Alfred D. Foster, Levi A. Dowley, Emory Washburn and Samuel Damon constituted the first Board of Directors. The bank was opened in Dr. Green's block, now owned by the Mercliants' and Farmers' Insurance Company, but soon removed to the south end of Flagg's building, at the north corner of Sudbury Street, and afterwards, September, 1854, to its present site, nearly opposite the original location. This bank and the Worcester National own the buildings which they occupy in part. The Qiiinsigamond Bank went into the national system in 1865. Its capital was increased to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars May 22, 1851, and to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars March 28, 1854. Its first president was Alfred D. Foster, who was succeeded by Isaac Davis, 1836- 42; William Jennison, 1842-53; William Dickinson, to 1854; Isaac Davis, 1854-78; Edward L. Davis, 1878-84 ; and by Elijah B. Stoddard in 1884. Charles A. Hamilton was the first cashier, serving for twenty years, until 1853, when he resigned to become treasurer of the Worcester County Institution for Savings. His successors were: Joseph S. Earn um, from 1853 to 1873 ; Alden A. Howe, 1873-81 ; and John L. Chamberlin, 1881.

On April 9,1836, Calvin Willard, Stephen Salisbury and Harvey Bhishfield, received a charter as the Citizens' Bank, with a capital of five hundred thousand dollars, an amount considerably larger than the combined capital of the other two banks. The first Board of Directors consisted of Harvey Blashfield, Benjamin Butman, Pliny Merrick, William Lincoln, Ebenezer Aldrich, Edward Lamb, Nymphas Pratt, Frederic W. Paine and Calvin Willard. That Mr. Butman, the first president, and George A. Trumbull, the first cashier, came directly from the same offices in the Central Bank is a fact which excites our attention, but at this time it is impossible to discover the reasons. No Darwinian process had developed the "interviewer " in 1836. Mr. Butman was building a block of two stores, with offices overhead, on the noitheast corner of Main and Maple Streets, which he called " Maccarty Block," because it was upon the site of the Nathaniel Maccarty homestead ; but although Mr. Butman retained the ownership for many years, it was known to the people, with the block joining it on the north, as " Brinley Row." The north store was occupied by Mr. Butman as the leading grocery of the town ; the corner store was fitted up for the Citizens' Bank, which remained there until March, 1881, when it was removed to its present quarters, at the corner of Main and Front Streets.

In fixing their capital at half a million dollars the projectors had not foreseen - for they were but human - the great depression in business and the financial revulsion which were impending. Prudence and even necessity compelled them to reduce the capital from time to time until the present limit of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars was reached. From the time when it had settled down to " bed-rock,'' its management has been wise and conservative, and it has returned a generous income to its stockholders.

The presidents since Mr. Butman have been : Nymphas Pratt, chosen October, 1838 ; Pliny Merrick, October, 1839; Francis T. Merrick, October, 1842; Francis H. Kinnicutt, November, 1860 ; Benjamin W. Childs, September, 1885 ; and Samuel Winslow, January, 1889. Mr. Trumbull served as cashier until his death, in October, 1858. John C. Ripley, who had been clerk and assistant cashier for nineteen years, was cashier for eleven years until his death, October 10, 1869, and was succeeded by Lewis W. Hammond, the present incumbent.

The Mechanics' (National) Bank is contemporary with the city itself, having been incorporated .June 15, 1848, four mouths after the city received its charter. Tlie corporators were Fred. Wm. Paine, Henry Goulding and Wm.T.Merrifield, and the capital was $200,000, increased to $300,000 in 1851, and to $350,000, the present amount, in 1853.

The first Board of Directors included Wm. H. Goulding, Wm. T. Merrifield, Francis H. Dewey, Wm. M. Bickford, Charles Washburn, Harrison Bliss, Ebenezer H. Bowen and Alexander De Witt. Mr. De Witt was president from 1848 to 1855, from October, 1857, to October, 1858, and from October, 1859, to October, 1860; Francis H. Dewey, October, 1855, to October, 1857; Henry Goulding, 1858-59; Harri.son Bliss, 1860 to July, 1882; Charles W. Smith, to March, 1883; David S. Messinger, to April, 1888, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Francis H. Dewey, eldest son of the second president. The cashiers have been Parley Hammond,

The bank began business in a new brick block, built by Gen. George Hobba, on the south corner of Main and George Streets, but in October, 1851, removed to its present quarters, previously occupied by the Worcester Bank, in the Central Exchange. The bank entered the national system March 14, 1865.

On March 28, 1854, a charter was given to the City Bank, with a capital of $200,000, the corporators being William B. Fox, Henry Chapin and Frederic William Paine. The petitioners had asked for a capital of $300,000 ; but the number of applications for bank charters in that year was unusually large, and the committee of the Legislature, disposed to be conservative, at first took the ground that no new bank was needed in Worcester. But Mr. Calvin Foster, who was interested in the new enterprise, employed Mr. Putman W. Taft to canvass the city and obtain statistics of the volume of business yearly carried on at that time. The result of Mr. Taft's work showed an amount so large as to carry conviction to the minds of the committee. The charter was granted, and the bank began business in the second story of " Harrington Corner " (corner ol Main and Front Streets), a favorite site for banking. About the beginning of the year 1855, however, it removed to the rooms which had been especially fitted for its use in the new building erected by Mr. Foster, on the southwest corner of Main and Pearl Streets, where it has since remained. George W. Richardson was the first president, and was succeeded by Calvin Foster in 1878. Parley Hammond was the first cashier, and his successor, Nathaniel Paine, has held the office since 1857. It organized as a national bank in 1864. Its capital is now $400,-

The First National Bank, organized June 5, 1863, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars was, as its name implies, the first one of the kind in Worcester. It was also the second in the State (the First, of Springfield, being its elder), and the seventyninth in the whole country. The first board of directors consisted of Parley Hammond, Ichabod Washburn, Nathan Washburn, Timothy W. Wellington, George Draper (of Milford), Edward A. Goodnow, Hartley Williams, Charles B. Pratt and Alexander Thayer. Mr. Hammond was the first president, and Mr. Goodnow has been president since January 8, 1867. Lewis W. Hammond was the first cashier, and was succeeded by Arthur A. Goodell July 18, 1864 ; George F. Wood, September 1, 1869 ; Arthur M. Stone, April 6, 1874, and Albert H. Waite, ftlarch 7, 1879. The bank was on the second fioor at Harrington Corner until it moved into its present quarters in 1869. The original charter expired in June, 1882, but .as Congress had not perfected the necessary legislation which, a month later, gave existing banks the privilege of so amending their original articles of association as to extend their " period of succession " by an additional term of twenty years, another "First National Bank of Worcester " was, therefore, organized June 4, 1882, which succeeded the former without any interruption or friction. Its capital is now three hundred thousand dollars, and surplus two hundred thousand dollars.

The Secukity National Bank was authorized June 7, 1875, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and did business at the north corner of Main and Pleasant Streets. The directors were : Wm. H. Morse (president), John W. Wetherell, Edward H. Stark, Harlan P. Duncan, Gilbert J. Rugg, Frederick W. Ward and Benjamin W. Childs. Albert H. Waite was cashier. The bank gave up business in 1878.

The Worcester Mechanics' Savinc^s Bank was the second .savings bank in Worcester in order of incorporation. It was chartered May 15, 1851. The presidents have been : Isaac Davis until 1855 ; Alexander De Witt to 1859 ; John S. C. Knowlton to 1862 ; Harrison Bliss until his death, in 1882; Francis H. Dewey until his death, in 1888; and J. Edwin Smith. Parley Hammond was treasurer for three years, and that olBce has been since filled, for nearly thirty-five years, by Henry Woodward. Except for the first three years, its rooms have been in the Central Exchange. Its deposits amount to $4,255,975, and its assets to $4,452,872.

The Worcester Five Cents Savings Bank was incorporated April 1, 1854, at the time when the new idea of receiving deposits of less than one dollar was coming in vogue, and has now a large number of such accounts upon its books. Its first president was Charles L. Putnam, who was succeeded by George W. Richardson in 1877, Clarendon Harris in 1878, and Elijah B. Stoddard in 1884. Clarendon Harris, who was at tbe same time secretary of the State Mutual Life Insurance Company, was treasurer of this bank for the first eighteen years, being succeeded by George W. Wheeler (who had been city treasurer for many years previous) and by J. Stewart Brown in 1884. Its banking-rooms have always been in some part of the building it now occupies. Present amount of deposits, $3,548,961 ; assets, $4,309,825. On May 13, 1864, was incorporated the People's Savings Bank. The great impulse to business caused by the war, and the high wages paid on account of the cheapness of an over-inflated currency, made the time seem opportune for establisbing a fourth savings bank in the city. This bank also promised a departure from the system which had been in vogue with the older banks throughout the Commonwealth. The practice had been to pay a fixed rate, generally two per cent., as a semi-annual dividend, and to make a division of the surplus earnings once in five years. But aljout this time a number of new banks were started, which promised to divide all their prof- its once in six months. The older banks in the State were compelled, nolmles volentes, to fall into line, until, in 1876, the Legislature stepped in and made the old system compulsory upon all.

The People's Saving Bank began business in the second story at the south corner of Main and Pleasant Streets. Its business rapidly increased, and in 1869 it moved into its own marble-front building on Main street, opposite the Common. Its first president was John C. Mason, who resigned January 27. 1877, and was succeeded by William Cross, who resigned in 1879. Lucius J. Ivnowles filled the offict until his death, February 20, 1884, and was succeeded by Samuel R. Heywood.

The vast issue of bonds by the national government during the great Rebellion, accomjianied and followed by the i.ssues by States, municipalities and railroads, created a demand for depositories where the people could safely store their securities and other personal property of value. The Worcestee Safe Deposit and Trust Compaxy received it.'. first charter from the State as the Worcester Safe Deposit Company in March, 1868, and its second in May, 1869. It receives deposits subject to check at .sight, paying intere.st of two per cent, per annum on daily balances of one hundred dollars or over, but does not issue bills. It is also authorized to act as trustee in probate matters and the like. It assume.'^ the direct custody of valuables, and lets small safe.'- in its strong vaults, to which the renter alone has. access. Its capital is $200,000. George JI. Rice habeen president from the start. Samuel T. Bigelo\^ was the first secretary, and was succeeded by Edward F. Bisco, July 1, 1872. It occupies the fir,t floor o! its own building, o|)posite the City Hall, and th( basement of the People's Savings Bank building, which joins it on the south.

The State Safe Depcsit Company was organized in 1887 solely for the purpose indicated by itsname. Its vaults are in an extension, to the west, ol the granite building owned by the State Mutual Lift Assurance Company, and its vaults, doors, locks and safes are marvels of construction. It rents its safes at rates from five dollars upwards per annum, anC. has a special vault for the storage of silver, jewelr\ and other articles of value. A. George Bullock i.- president, Henry M. Witter secretary and Hallecls Bartlett manager.

Co-operative banks, patterned after the buildinf associations which had been so successful in Philadelphia and elsewhere, were introduced here in 1877. The Worcester Co-operative Savings Fund and Loan Association was incorporated October 19th in thai year. Its name was changed later to Worcestei; Co-operative Bank. At the end of eleven years it had issued its seventeenth " series " of shares, had

The Home Co-operative Savings Fund and Loan Association was incorporated June 10, 1882; name changed to Home Co-operative Bank in 1883. In November, 1888, it had issued its thirteenth series of shares, had $173,300 loaned on real estate, and $5055 on shares, with a surplus of $5706 and a guaranty fund of $229; 5712 shares in force.

The Equity Cooperative Bank began business in March, 1887. November 1, 1888, there were 3041 shares in force, in four series, with $36,850 loaned on real estate and .$725 on shares, a surplus of $580 and a guaranty fund of $19.

Stephen C. Earle is president of the Worcester Co-operative Bank, Enoch H. Towne of the Home, and Iver Johnson of the Equity. Thomas J. Hastings is secretary and treasurer of them all, and Edward B. Glasgow is their solicitor. The continued prosperity of the city has been favorable to their success. They have not yet been put to the strain of the great financial depres,sions which at intervals sweep over the country. The loans are bid off at auction by shareholders at a rate of interest varying from six to eight per cent.

The advantage and convenience of a Clearinghouse, to banks and business people alike, is so great that it is difficult for the lay mind to conceive of the comparatively infinite labor and trouble which would be caused if, as in anti-secession times, a check could be deposited or cashed only at the bank on which it was drawn. The Worcester banks, free, in great measure, from a petty jealousy which would be incompatible with harmony of action, joined in e.stablishing a Clearing-House in 1861, being only eight years behind New York City, where the first Clearing- House in the country was established in 1853, followed by one in Boston in 1866. The main feature of this system may be thus described: At a given hour of each day (say twelve o'clock) the messenger of each bank appears at the Clearing-House, bringing all the checks upon other banks in the city which his bank has received on deposit from its regular customers. These checks he has assorted and listed on slips, which show how much the other banks are severally indebted to his bank. We will suppose that the total amount of checks thus brought in, say from the " Sagabastock '' Bank, is .$50,000. Now, if the clerk at the Clearing-House finds that the aggregate amount of the checks upon the Sagabastock is but -$48,000, the latter is creditor to the amount of $2,000, and receives from the manager of the Clearing-House a draft on Boston for $2,000, which he takes back to his bank with the $48,000 worth of checks, which are charged up to the various depositors by whom they were drawn ; and as far as this part of the day's business is concerned, the Sagabastock teller and book-keeper will find no trouble in balancing their books at the close of the day. If, on the other hand, the other banks have brought in S52,000 worth of checks on our messenger's bank, agaiust the ii!50,000 whicli he brought, he is informed that he is debtor to the Clearing-House by $2000. He reports this fact to his own bank, and before the close of business carries to the manager of the Clearing-House the check of his own bank on Boston for $2000. The manager mails to his correspondent bank in Boston the check> which he has received from the debtor banks, which (iffset the checks which he has given to the creditor banks, and the balance of the Clearing-House at its Boston bank is undisturbed.

The daily balances at the Clearing-House average about thirty per cent, of the whole volume of checks presented, or '' clearings." The association includes the seven national banks of the city and the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company. The annual clear ings rose from $6,051,763 in 1861 to i<\ 0,314,804 in 1864 Dropping to $9,046,438 in 1865, they rose, year by year, to $28,931,349 in 1875. They fell to $25,169,157 in 1876. In 1881 they mounted to $49,224,751, but had dropped to $38,551,145 in 1885. The total for 1886 was $44,362,020 ; 1887, $44,298,632 ; 1888, $52, 070,112, which was "high-water mark." The clearings for the week ending December 22, 1888, th( heaviest in the history of the association, amounte' to $1,409,122, and the balances to $337,344. The clearings were made for several years in the rooms oi the Central Bank, but have latterly been made at the Citizens' Bank. Henry A. Marsh is president of th( association, and Lewis W. Hammond is secretary and manager.

Insurance

The prudent householders of the county early appreciated the benefits of fire insurance, and secured the passage of an act, February 11, 1823, incorporating the Worcester Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Of the eighteen corporators, Levi Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln were of Worcester, and the rest from other towns in the couniy. The charter provided that no policy should be issued until subscriptions for at least two hundred thousand dollars been received ; that the operations of the company had should be confined to this county, and that property should not be insured for more than three-fourths ol its value. The first meeting of the corporators was held June 19, 1823, at the Court-House. The first jiolicy, signed by Rejoice Newton, president, and William 1). Wheeler, secretary, was issued May 14, 1824. It insured Luther and Daniel Goddard - fifteen hundred dollars on their dwelling-house, occupied by themselves and their families, and the wood-house and barn attached thereto, and eleven hundred dollars on their brick store. The rate was one and three-quarters per cent, for the house and barn, and one and three-eighths per cent, on the store, the policy running for seven years. The house was situated on the east side of Main street, midway between

Thomas and School streets, and the store was a little to the south. Policy No. 2 insured Rejoice Newton three thousand dollars on his house and barn and four hundred dollars on his furniture. The Iniildings were on Front Street, on the site of the Chase Building. The rate was one and one-quarter per cent, for seven years. Nos. 3 and 4 were issued to Abijah Bigelow, and No. 7 to Daniel Waldo. Isaac Goodwin was secretary of the company from December, 1828, to 1832; Anthony Chase, to 1853; Charles M. Miles, to 1879. Frederic W. Paine was president from 1831 to 1853 ; Anthony Chase from 1853 until his death, in 1879, and Ebenezer Torrey until his death, in 1888. Charles M. Miles was vice-president and manager from 1879 until his death, in 1887. John A. Fayerweather, of Westborough, is president; Roger F. Upham, secretary and treasurer, and Frank P. Kendall, assistant secretary. Prudent management has brought continued prosperity and has secured the undiminished confidence of the people.

To meet the wants of merchants whose stocks in trade could not be insured in the older company, the Merchants' and Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company was organized in 1846. Isaac Davis was president until 1884, and was succeeded by John D. Washburn; Charles L. Putnam was secretary for several years, succeeded by John D. Washburn and by Elijah B. Stoddard, the present incumbent. The officers are men of large experience in insurance matters, and the company, having safely weathered the great Boston fire of 1873, occupies a prominent position in the Commonwealth.

The First National Fire Insurance Company was organized in 1869, with Edward A. Goodnow president and Edward P. Howland secretary. Its capital is two hundred thousand dollars. Charles B. Pratt is president and R. James Tatman secretary.

The People's Mutual Fire Insurance Company was organized in 1847, and in 1865 was converted into a stock company. The "Boston fire" compelled it to wind up its business, paying its i>olicy-holders a dividend of 73.6 per cent. E. H. Hemenway was the fli'st president and Oliver Harrington secretary, who were succeeded by Henry Chapin and Augustus N. Currier.

The Bay State Fire Insurance Company, organized January 1, 1861, and having a capital of two hundred thousand dollars, and the Central Mutual Fire Insurance Company, organized a few years later, were al.so compelled to suspend business on account of the Boston fire. At that time William S. Davis was president of the former, and W. C. Crosby secretary. Of the latter William T. Merrifield was president; li. C. Parks, vice-president; Henry K. Merrifield, secretary, and Albert Tolman, treasurer.

The Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company was chartered in 1834, for the special purpose of insuring manufacturing property. Its rooms were over the Citizens' Bank ; after a temporary suspension it was re-organized, and in 1861 was merged with tlie Mechanics' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, under the name of the Worcester Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Hon. George M. Rice is president and Samuel R. Barton secretary.

The State Mutual Life Assurance Company was organized in 1845 with a perpetual charter. The project was liitterly opposed in the Legislature by existing organizations, but it was carried through by the determined stand taken by John Milton Earle,' who was a Representative in that year. Mr. Earle was a director and vice-president of the company until his death. For twenty years the company carried a guaranty capital of fine hundred thousand dollars, but since that time, the capital having been retired, it has been purely mutual. The management has been prudent from the start, and at present, while conservatively safe, is '' in touch '' with the great wealth and business enterprise of the American people. The interest received on tlie invested funds has more than i)aid all the death claims to the present time. The presidents have been : John Davis,- until his death, in 1853 ; Isaac Davis, wlio resigned January 4, 1882 ; Alexander H. Bullock,' who died suddenly January 17, 1882; Philip L. Moen, 1882-83; and Augustus George Bullock. Secretaries : Clarendon Harris, 1845-83 (resigned) ; and Henry M. Witter. Treasurers: William Dickinson, 1845-83 (resigned); and A. George Bullock.

The assets of tlie company December 31, 1888, were $5,066,985, with 9,826 policies in force and a reserve, by the Massachusetts standard, of $793,040.