interest further than an increase from year to year of
banking facilities, as the increasing wants of trade
demanded, by the chartering of new National banks
and the increase of the capital and circulation of those
already doing business.
At the time of the fire there were seventeen Natii mal
banks and ten private banking institutions. The Na-
tional Bank capital was §6,800,000, with an undivided
surplus of capital amounting to $2,715,000. 'The total
bank capital of the city was $12,250,000.
6.'6
HISTORY OF CHICAGO.
The individual history of some of the bankers and
the banks which were in business existence during the
period embraced in this volume are given in the follow-
ing pages.
The banks and banking institutions in operation in
1S60-61. as found in city and banking directories,
annual reviews, and elsewhere, were as follows :
Bank of America. — South Wells, between Lake and South
Water streets. This is the last appearance of this bank. It was
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
AND RUINS.
Willard
chartered July IO, i">52, by George Smith and Elisha
(George Smith iV Co.), with $1,000,000 capital.
Chicago Bank of I. II. Burch & Co. — Lake, corner of La-
Sallc Street. Incorporated July, 1852, the firm being I. H. Burch
and Samuel Howe.
MARINE BANK —Lake, corner of LaSalle Street. Chartered
January 13, 1852. President, J. Young Scammon ; cashier, Ed-
ward I. Tinkham. Original capital $50,000 ; increased in May,
1852, to (500,000. Officers in 1859 — President, J. Young Scam-
mon ; cashier and secretary, B. F. Carver. 1S60- President, J.
Young Scammon; cashier and secretary, Hamilton B. Uox. 1863 —
President, |. Voting Scammon ; cashier, J, W. Underwood ; assist-
imuel S. Rogers. Re-organized in 1863 as Marine
Company of Chicago,
Marc. 1. COMPANY "i Chicago. — Re-organization, in 1863, of
Marine Hank. Capital $500,000, President, J. Young Scammon ;
tary, Samuel S. Rogers; assistant treasurer, E. C.
Long. 1866-69 — President, J. Young Scammon; manager,
Rol>crt Reid. 1870-71 — President, J. Young Scammon ; man-
ager. Robert Reid ; secretary, Samuel S. Rogers; treasurer, Eu-
Long.
I . '. â– â– Gl 1 A.DAMS organized his bank in 1852.
Ban 1 weal. — No. 40 LaSalle; E. W. Willard,
agent. In Director] of 1866 67 appears as Branch Hank of Mon-
treal, Canada, No. 48 LaSalle. G. C. Smith and Pro., agents ; J.
R. Dickinson, cashier. Capital $250,000. In Special Directory of
December 12, 1871, after the great fire, William Richardson appears
as manager ; office Madison Street, northwest corner Market.
The Bank of Montreal, with headquarters in Montreal, Cana-
da, is one of the oldest and the largest banking institutions on this
continent. It has ever had a prosperous career, having paid aver-
age dividends of over nine per cent, since its organization. In
1S60, a branch office was opened in this city, under management of
E. \V. Willard, in the old Metropolitan Block, where it remained
until 1867, it being under the management of E. W. Willard and
others. In 1S67, the bank closed its Chicago office, withdrawing
from the business here until in the
fall of 1871, immediately after the
great fire, when a branch was again
opened, taking temporary quarters
in the old Union Block, on Madi-
son Street, near the bridge. In
1S72, a removal was made to the
location so long occupied in the
building at the southeast corner of
LaSalle Street and Madison. In
May, 1885, it removed to its pres-
ent quarters, at No. 226 LaSalle
Street, near the new Board of Trade
building. William Munro, the
present manager of the bank here,
has been in Chicago since 1876,
at which time he succeeded William
Richardson. He first entered the
employ of the home bank when
but eighteen years of age, and
went through, step by step, the
various grades of promotion until
he reached the position he now
holds. Mr. Munro is a native of
Canada, born in 1836. He first
came to Chicago in 1865, as an
accountant in the branch office of the bank here, but six months
l".ter was recalled to the home office, where he remained until ten
years later, when he returned to this city, which has since been his
home.
Western Fire & Insurance Company. — No. 57 Dearborn
Street. President. J. H. Woodworth ; Secretary, W. H. Waite.
Western Marine and Fire Insurance Bank. — Corner
State and Randolph. Last noticed in 1862.
Western World Insurance and Trust Company Bank.
— No. 144 South Water Street. Chartered in 1S53. Last appears
in Directory of 18
Illinois Saving Institution. — No. 104-106 Washington
Street. Organized in 1S55-56. First President, John H. Kinzie.
Last appears in 1862.
Merchants' Loan and Trust Company. — In 1856, the
views of Chicago's financiers on the question of banking might
have been grouped under two categories. It is not too much to
add, that the men who assumed to be financiers might also have
been divided into two classes — those who had money to lend, and
those who saw in the " wild-cat " banking system a method of bor-
rowing money from the general public. Meetings of capitalists
who failed to cherish the prevalent confidence in the wisdom and
ultimate success of the theory on which most of the Illinois banks
were founded and conducted, were frequently held. Among those
who attended such meetings, and wdiose names afterward became
identified with the city's financial prosperity, were Walter L.
Newberry, John High, Jr., Henry Farnham, H. H. Magie, John
H. Dunham, George Steele, John H. Foster, Jonathan Burr,
Isaac N. Arnold, William B. Ogden, John Wentworth, A. II. Bur-
ley, Luther Haven, D. R. Holt, Mahlon D. Ogden, George Ar-
mour, F. B. Cooley, Grant Goodrich, William E. Doggett, E. K.
Rogers, Edwin Blackman, Cyrus H. McCormick, Amzi Benedict,
Asher Carter and Solomon A. Smith. These men deplored the re-
turn to his native land (Scotland) of the great capitalist and con-
servative banker, George Smith. They early foresaw the conse-
quences which ultimately followed the almost unlimited expansion
of the currency resulting from the "wildcat" and "stump-tail"
heresies
Strong efforts were put forth to secure a legislative delegation
in favor of a uniform standard of value, and of protection for the
business men and the laboring classes from the schemes of men
who desired to become bankers without capital of their own. John
II. Dunham (afterward the first president of the institution) and
Isaac N. Arnold (one of its earliest trustees) were elected represen-
tatives. Through their efforts, a charter for the bank was obtained,
although the friends of unlimited, worthless, paper money were
said to have opposed the granting of a franchise, and to have em-
ployed a large and influential lobby to defeat it. The charier was
approved on January 28, 1857, and has remained unchanged until
BANKING HISTORY.
627
the present day. In the following March the institution was or-
ganized.
The following gentlemen constituted the first Board of Trus-
tees : John H. Dunham, John H. Foster, William E. Uoggett,
Augustus H. Burley, Jonathan Burr, Henry Farnham, William B.
Ogden, Walter L. Newberry, Isaac N. Arnold, F. B. Cooley, fohn
High, Jr., George Steele and D. R. Holt. John H. Dunham was
elected the first president, and so continued until compelled,
by failing health, to seek relief in travel. He was succeeded by the
late Henry Farnham, who served but a short time, when he removed
to New Haven, Conn. Solomon A. Smith followed Mr. Farnham,
and continued to fill the office until his death, November 25, 1879.
Mr. Smith, by his long continued service, his fidelity, his foresight,
and his uncompromising hostility to every scheme of dishonest
banking, won a National reputation. There is no name associated
with the history of Chicago banking more honored than his. To
him the character and reputation of his institution was as sacred as
his own, and he had no respect for the man who
could draw a distinction between corporate and
individual honor and honesty. John Tyrrell suc-
ceeded Mr. Smith, and served until 1884. He was
unwilling to give up his private business, and would
only consent to accept the office upon the condition
that he might retire as soon as a satisfactory suc-
cessor could be found. Such a successor was found in Tohn W.
Doane, the present incumbent, who is the fifth president in a pe-
riod of twentv-eight years
John High, Jr., was the first vice-president. He lost his
life in a fire on Lake Street, in 1857, and Walter L. Newberry then
succeeded him. He declined a re-election, and Jonathan Burr was
C >&*.*£*. fa °juij
chosen in his place, and served until his death. He was followed
by H. H. Magie.
The first cashier was A. J. Hammond. Being about to re-
turn to Hartford, Conn., he resigned the office, and was succeeded,
temporarily, by M. B. Bartlett. D. R. Holt was elected his suc-
cessor, and continued to serve until 1862, when he was followed
by Lyman J. Gage.
There have been but few changes in the board of trustees,
Mahlon D. Ogden succeeded his brother, William, in 1S58. In
1859, Solomon A. Smith succeeded Isaac N. Arnold, on the
latter's election to Congress. George Steele succeeded H. H.
Magie.
The utmost harmony in policy has characterized the manage-
ment of this institution from the beginning, there having been no
changes of officers, except those resulting from death, voluntary
resignation, or removal from city.
The charter fixed the amount of capital stock at $500,000,
with liberty to increase it to $2,000,000, and fixed the par value of
the shares at $100 each. Subscriptions to the stock came in rapidly,
and the shares soon appreciated in value. The first increase in
the amount of stock was made in 1867, after which it was raised to
$1,000,000. In 1S73 it was raised to $1,500,000, and in 1882 to
$2,000,000, the limit named in its charter.
The institution was first opened in Dickey's Building, where
it remained until the fire. It is now in the Portland Block, at the
corner of Washington and Dearborn streets.
John H. Dunham, one of the prominent early settlers of Chi-
cago, was born in Junius, Seneca Co., N. Y., in 1817. Until he
was seventeen years of age he lived with his father on a farm, when
he started out to make his own way in the world — and, it is needless
to say, that he made it. Going to Waterloo, N. Y., he learned the
hardware trade, and commenced business for himself in 1S39. He
thus continued until 1843, when he sold out, and in the spring of
1844 removed to Chicago. Here Mr. Dunham engaged in the
wholesale grocery business, and in the spring of 1S4S, when the
impurity of the water supply made it imperative that the old hy-
draulic works should " go," he was the power behind the throne
which inspired the Press of the city — especially John L. Scripps —
to cry aloud for new Water Works. He also was instrumental in
framng the bill for the appointment of a board of water commis-
sioners and the establishment of the new system. In 1S56, he
served a term in the State Legislature, and all his efforts as a legis-
lator, supplemented by his labors as a merchant and a banker, were
directed toward the expulsion of the foreign and local irredeemable
paper currency then flooding tin- channels of trade. In 1857, he
assisted in the organization of the Merchants' Saving Loan and
Trust Company of Chicago, and was elected its first president, re-
taining this position until 1S62, when he resigned, and resumed
mercantile pursuits. Luring Mr. McCulIoch's administration as
secretary of the treasury, he was appointed bank-examiner of
this State, and served some time. .Mr Dunham has also been
identified with the Chicago Historical Society from the first, being
one of its most trusted and prominent members. Although recog-
nised as one of the city's most substantial residents, he has never
sought public offices, and the positions of trust which have come
to him have been unsolicited, and a tribute to his inherent worth.
Edward H. Hadduck, one of Chicago's earliest and among
its wealthiest settlers, was born in Franklin, New Hampshire, on
April 2, 181 1. His father was William Hadduck, a farmer, a mer-
chant and a tanner of Franklin, who early in life married as his first
wife, Daniel Webster's sister. His second wife was Lucretia Kim-
ball, and the mother of Edward H. Hadduck. For many years
after leaving school Mr. Hadduck worked upon his father's farm, a
portion of which had been sold to Daniel Webster, and there was
intimately associated with the great statesman. Mr. Hadduck came
to Chicago in 1S33, and as the United States Government was at
that time supplying the Indians with provisions, he took the con-
tract of supplying bread, and, after procuring apractical baker from
Buffalo, established a bakery at this point. At the end of one year
he sold his interest, and a short time afterward built a warehouse
for the storage of grain at the corner of Wabash Avenue and South
Water Street. During President Harrison's administration, Daniel
Webster procured for him the appointment of Internal Revenue
Collector for this district, which position he most acceptably filled.
In 1S35, he purchased a lot on Lake Street, between Dearborn and
State streets, and erected thereon a dwelling house. About the
same time, he bought the old Mansion House from Dexter Graves,
but how long he continued in the possession of that hotel property
can not be ascertained. He was one of Chicago's first aldermen,
serving the city in that capacity when William B. Ogden was
mayor. He was for many years connected with the Marine Bank
as a stockholder, and also with the Loan and Trust Company, re-
signing his position a short time before his death, which occurred
May 30, 1S81. Mr. Hadduck was a man of exemplary habits, and
was always known as a strong advocate of total abstinence and tem-
perance in all things. The record of his life is one of honesty and
integrity, and his death was a public loss. He was married in
Chicago, in 1834, to Miss Louisa Graves. They had one daughter,
Helen, now the Wife of John DeKoven.
The Prairie State Loan and Trust Company. — Chartered
in 1S59. No. 95 West Randolph Street. Capital $100,000. Presi-
dent, B. Wheeler; vice-president, M. D. Buchanan; secretary, H.
P. Churchill ; cashier, C. B. Meyer ; trustees, B. Wheeler, J. W.
Scoville, O. Cronkhite. H. P. Churchill, P. W. Gates, S. W. Raw-
son, T. Buchanan, C. B. Meyer, M. D. Buchanan. 1S71 — Presi-
dent, J. W. Scoville ; cashier, C. B. Meyer.
The Prairie State Loan and Trust Company was organized
and chartered, with banking privileges, under charter granted by
special act of the Legislature on February 22, 1S69. The place of
business was then at No. 95 West Randolph Street, and the first
officers were Bacon Wheeler, president ; M. D. Buchanan, vice-
president ; and C. B. Meyer, cashier. In 1872, the company
erected their present building at No. no West Washington Street,
which was completed and occupied during that year. In 1S71,
Mr. Wheeler retired from the presidency, being succeeded by
James W. Scoville, who was elected his successor on July 15 â– >f
that year. The present officers of the company are — James W.
Scoville, president ; Charles Burton Scoville, vice-president,
elected in November, 1879 ; George Van Zandt, cashier, elected
in September, 1876, vice Mr. Meyer, resigned ; and George Wood-
land, assistant cashier, since January. 1S81. In addition to a gen-
eral banking business, the company have safety-deposit vaults, and
a savings department. The capital of the company is $100,000,
with a surplus fund of $45,000. It is a matter of justice to say
that the affairs of this company have been, from the first, so man-
aged as to gain the confidence of the business public, and that,
owing to this safe and conservative policy, it has won the position
it now holds as one of Chicago's soundest financial institutions.
James W. SCOVILLE, president of the Prairie State Loan and
Trust Company, was born in Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y , on
October 14. 1S25. There he was reared and educated, and, on
attaining his majority, entered a business life. In 1856, he came
6 2 8
HISTORY OF CHICAGO.
West, and located in this city, which has since been his home, and
where he took the position of cashier for the old firm of Gate,
Warren. Chalmers Cv. Fraser, and was later the assignee of that
company, and subsequently, on winding up their affairs, helped to
organize the Eagie Works Manufacturing Company, of which he
was both secretary and treasurer for a number of years. In 1S62,
he severed his connection with that company, and engaged in the
real-estate business until 1S71, with the exception of three years,
when he was appointed to the position of assistant county treas-
urer, during which time he was acting county treasurer. In
1S69, he became one of the founders of the company with which
he is still connected, and of which he has been the executive officer
for the past fifteen years. Mr. Scoville is a man of acknowledged
ability, and. as a financier, he ranks with the leading bankers of
the West. He is cautious and conservative in his business policy,
and prefers to make money slowly but surely, rather than enter
into brilliant schemes, that, while they promise much, can not
be depended upon to always yield fair returns It is this charac-
teristic of Mr. Scoville that has marked his success as a banker,
and which has doubtless done so much to advance the institution,
of which he is the head, to the position it now holds among the
financial institutions, not only of Chicago, but of the West. Mr.
Scoville married, in 1S53, Miss Mary A. Huggins, daughter of
Spencer C. Huggins, of Orleans County, N. Y. They have one
son. Charles Burton, who is vice-president of the bank. Mr. Sco-
viile is a resident of Oak Park, where his liberality and good judg-
ment are visible in all its enterprises, his influence being felt in
every interest of the village. His donations to church, school and
library have exceeded, perhaps, those of any other citizen. Among
his recent gifts may be mentioned that of $75.°°° to the Oak Park
Public Library Association, for the erection of a new library build-
ing, which will be one of the finest in the West. In addition to
this munificent bequest, Mr. Scoville has also provided this insti-
tution with an endowment, amply sufficient for its maintenance,
stipulating only that, when completed, the library shall be open to
the public free of charge.
Chicago Savings Institution and Trust Company. —
Chartered in 1S57. Officers in 1871 : President, B. W. Phillips ;
cashier, C. F. \V. Junge.
Union Insurance and Trust Company. — Chartered in 1857.
Officers in 1S71 : President, S. W. Rawson, cashier, William B.
Hoswell. Location, prior to the fire, at No. 133 Dearborn Street ;
branch. No. 336 Milwaukee Avenue. After the fire, No. 37 Mad-
ison Street.
Rutter, Endicott & Co. — Corner Lake and Clark streets.
Joseph O. Rutter and William F. Endicott. Organized in i860.
Subsequently merged into the Traders' Bank and Trader's National
Bank.
Real Estate Loan and Trust Company. — Chartered in
1861. President, Benjamin Lombard. Location, Nos. 105-107
Monroe. Officers in 1871 : President Benjamin Lombard ; vice-
president, S. A. Briggs.
Merchants', Farmers' and Mechanics' Savings Bank. —
No. 52 Clark Street. Incorporated in 1861. President, S. H.
Fleetwood; vice-presidents, Francis C. Sherman and P. R. Westfall;
cashier, Sidney Myers 1866-70 — No. 13 Clark Street. Officers
same as before. Special Directory of December 12, 1871 : No. 64
South Halsted. President, P. R. Westfall; cashier. Sidney Myers.
The State Savings Insti-
tution of the City of Chi-
cago. — Incorporated February.
1 861. No. 104-106 Washington
Street. President, John C. Haines;
vice-president, George Schneider ;
cashier, N. B. Kidder; assistant
cashier, C. D. Bickford. 1866-
67: No. 82 I.aSalle Street. Same
officers as above. 1868-69: No.
80-82 I.aSalle Street. President,
George Schneider; vice-president,
I.. B. Siihvay ; cashier. N. B.
Kidder; assistant cashier, C. D.
Bickford. 1S70: President. John
C. I lore ; cashier, N. li. Kidder.
Special Directory of December
12,1871; South side of Madison,
near Market Street. President,
|. C, Haines; cashier, C. D.
Bickford.
1863.
First National Ba r '.1 I hicago. — First location, south-
nerof Lake and (lark Streels. Capital, $690,000, OrH-
â– sideiit, E. Aiken ; cashier E. E. liraisted ; directors, E.
Aiken, s. W. Ailcrton. 5. ' .. D. Howard, B. P. Hutchinson, Sara-
" BEE m\ I.
uel M. Nickerson, Tracy J. Bronson, John B. Sherman, Bvron
Rice, E. G. Hall.
The First National Bank was organised May 1, 1S63, with
a capital of $100,000. Its location was then on the southwest cor-
ner of Lake and Clark streets, and its officers as follows : Presi-
dent, E. Aiken ; vice-president, Samuel M. Nickerson ; cashier, E.
E. Braisted ; directors. E. Aiken, S. W. Allerton, S. C. D. How-
ard, B. P Hutchinson, Samuel M. Nickerson, Tracy J. Bronson.
John B. Sherman, Byron Rice and E. G. Hall. Mr Aiken died
in January, 1S67, and Mr. Nickerson, the present incumbent, was
elected to succeed him. In August, 1S6S, Lyman J. Gage was ap-
pointed cashier. The great fire partially destroyed the bank build-
ing, and after a temporary removal, on January 1, 1S72. the man-
agement occupied their re-built structure, corner of Washington and
State streets. The safes and vaults of the building had been quite
unharmed ; not a security or valuable was lost, and the business
has proceeded uninterruptedly after the week of the fire. The
First National Bank passed successfully through the trials brought
on by the fire of 1871 and the panic of 1S73. From 1868 to 1882,
its capital was Si, 000, 000. and upon the expiration of its charter,
during the latter year, its reserve, or surplus fund over dividends,
was found to be $1,800,000. In May, 1882, a new organization
was effected, under the same designation, with a cash capital of
$3,000,000. Lyman J. Gage then became vice-president and gen-
eral managing, or executive, officer. At this time, also, the mag-
nificent new building, at the northwest corner of Dearborn and
Monroe streets, was erected. From the last report of the bank,
made March 10. 18S5, it is seen that its capital is $3,000,000 ; sur-
plus $500,000, and undivided profits $262,000. Its officers areas
follows : President, Samuel M. Nickerson ; vice-president, L. J.
Gage ; cashier. H. R. Symonds ; assistant cashier, H. M. King-
man ; second assistant cashier, R. J. Street.
Samuel M. Nickerson, president of the First National Bank
of Chicago, is a man whose name is justly a synonym for financial
stability and enterprise. He comes of old Puritan stock, being
born in Chatham, Mass., June 14, 1S30. In 1837, his parents re-
moved to Boston, but, four years thereafter, returned to Chatham.
It was in these two localities, therefore, that the son obtained his
first and last schooling, spending a portion of his early years, also,
on his father's farm near the latter town. In 1847, he removed to
Apalachicola. Florida, where, for a number of years, he acted as a
clerk in his brother's store. In 1851, he commenced business him-
self as a dealer in general merchandise and lumber, but, in the
spring of 1857, all his property was destroyed. But Mr. Nicker-
son was far from being a ruined man. Although, for a time, he
compromised with his creditors, within five years he paid them
in full, although not legally bound so to do. Removing to Chicago
in 1858, with a small sum of money which was loaned to him by his
friends, he bravely launched out again into the business world. As
a distiller of alcohol and high-wines, he rapidly accumulated a for-
tune, and, in 1864, was able to retire from active business During
that year he became president and the controlling spirit in the
Chicago City Horse Railroad Company, and brought it into the
most prosperous condition. For seven years he remained at the
head of affairs, and resigned in 1S71 his banking interests having
grown to such proportions as to require his entire attention. In
1863, he was elected first vice-president of the First National
Bank, and continued this until 1S6S. when he became president.
He erected the magnificent fire-proof bank building, at the corner
of State and Washington streets, in 1S67-6S — one of the very few
structures in the business district of the burned district whose walls
withstood the fierce onslaught of the hurricane of flames on the