Marine National Bank, Bath, ME (Charter 782)

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Marine National Bank on Front Street
An 1894 photo showing the Marine National Bank on Front Street next to the J.L. Douglas clothing store in the Sagadahock House.[1]

Marine National Bank, Bath, ME (Chartered 1865 - Liquidated 1910)

Town History

The Sagadahock House
The Sagadahock House just before the Bath City fire of January 28, 1894.

Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine. It is also the county seat of Sagadahoc County. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its 19th-century architecture. It is home to the Bath Iron Works and Heritage Days Festival, held annually on the Fourth of July weekend. It is commonly known as "The City of Ships" because of all the sailing ships that were built in the Bath shipyards. Bath is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan statistical area. Bath has a 2020 population of 8,766. In 1860 the population was 8,076, peaking in 1920 at 14,731.

Abenaki Indians called the area Sagadahoc, meaning "mouth of big river". It was a reference to the Kennebec River, which Samuel de Champlain explored in 1605. Popham Colony was established in 1607 downstream, together with Fort St George. The settlement failed due to harsh weather and lack of leadership, but the colonists built the New World's first oceangoing vessel constructed by English shipwrights, the Virginia of Sagadahoc. It provided passage back to England. Most of Bath, Maine, was settled by travelers from Bath, England.

The next settlement at Sagadahoc was about 1660, when the land was taken from an Indian sagamore known as Robinhood. Incorporated as part of Georgetown in 1753, Bath was set off and incorporated as a town on February 17, 1781. It was named by the postmaster, Dummer Sewall, after Bath in Somerset, England. In 1844, a portion of the town was set off to create West Bath. On June 14, 1847, Bath was incorporated as a city, and in 1854 designated county seat. Land was annexed from West Bath in 1855.

Several industries developed in Bath, including lumber, iron, and brass, with trade in ice and coal. The city and surrounding area is renowned for its shipbuilding and, at one point, was home to more than 200 shipbuilding firms. The industry began in 1743, when Jonathan Philbrook and his sons built two vessels. Since that time, roughly 5,000 vessels have been launched from Bath, which became the nation's fifth largest seaport by the mid-19th century. The clipper ships built in Bath sailed to ports around the world. The last commercial enterprise to build wooden ships in the city was the Percy & Small Shipyard, whose schooner Wyoming is considered the largest wooden ship in world history, and which was acquired for preservation in 1975 by the Maine Maritime Museum. The most well-known shipyard is the Bath Iron Works, which was founded in 1884 by Thomas W. Hyde. Hyde became the firm's general manager in 1888. It has built hundreds of wooden and steel vessels, mostly warships for the U.S. Navy. During World War II, Bath Iron Works launched one new ship approximately every 17 days. The shipyard today is a major regional employer, and currently operates as a division of the General Dynamics Corporation.

Bath had six National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all six of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Obsolete Title State

Charter

National Bank

Title

Federal

Charter

Charter # Fate
The Lincoln Bank 1813 The Lincoln NB 1865 761 1910 merged with First NB
The Sagadahock Bank 1836 The Sagadahock NB 1865 1041 1894 merged with Lincoln NB
The City Bank, Bath 1853 The First NB‡ 1863 61 1882 Charter expired, became Charter 2743
N/A N/A The First NB‡ 1882 2743 1960 merged with First NB of Portland
The Bath Bank 1855 The Bath NB 1864 494 1965 merged with Canal NB of Portland
N/A N/A The Marine NB 1865 782 1910 absorbed by Lincoln NB

‡Bank histories of Charter 61 and 2743 combined on one page.

Bank History

In February 1865, the Marine National Bank, recently organized, engaged the office under the Sagadahock House occupied by C.W. Holmes which they were fitting up the room for banking purposes. The bank expected to be ready to do business next month. The officers were B.C. Bailey, president, and Horatio A. Duncan, cashier. The directors were B.C. Bailey, William Drummond, S.D. Bailey, A.D. Fisher, and Edward C. Hyde.[2] The statement of condition as of Monday morning, July 3, 1865, showed total assets of $198,908.05 with capital stock paid in $100,000, profits $2,125.21, circulation $85,000, and individual deposits $11.782.84.[3] 

On Tuesday, March 10, 1868, the People's Twenty-Five Cent Savings Institution was organized by the election of the proper officers and would in short time be ready to receive deposits. The officers were as follows:  B.C. Bailey, president; A.D. Fisher, S.D. Bailey, E.K. Harding, A.G. Page, Alfred Lemont, and Guy C. Goss, vice presidents; H.A. Duncan, Secretary; S.D. Bailey, Franklin Reed, A.D. Fisher, C.W. Larrabee, E.K. Harding, A.G. Page, Alfred Lemont, S.J. Watson, E.C. Hyde, Benj. Riggs, Alex'r Robinson, G.W. Duncan, H. W. Field, T.G. Stockbridge, H.A. Duncan, Wm. Rogers, Geo. Fisher, E.B. Drummond, B.C. Bailey, S.T. Woodward, Wm. Riee, G.S. Preble, and G.C. Goss. The banking room would be at the Marine National Bank.[4]

On Thursday, January 10, 1867, at the annual meeting of the Marine National Bank, the following elections were made: B.O. Bailey, William Drummond, A.D. Fisher, E.C. Hyde, S.D. Bailey, directors. B.C. Bailey was elected president and H.A. Duncan, cashier.[5]

In January 1870, the directors were B.C. Bailey, A.D. Fisher, E.C. Hyde, S.D. Bailey, and E.P. Mallett. The directors elected B.C. Bailey, president with H.A. Duncan, cashier.[6]

On Tuesday, January 13, 1880, the following officers were chosen: S.D. Bailey, president; H.A. Duncan, cashier; S.D. Bailey, E.C. Hyde, H.W. Field, G.C. Goss, and P.M. Whitmore, directors.[7]

On January 28, 1894, Bath's fine hotel, the Sagadahock House, was destroyed in Bath's biggest fire. Details may be found on the Lincoln National Bank's page (link above). The large four story Sagadahock House became a mass of flames. Burned out on that side of the street were the Lincoln National Bank, Hallet's drug store, John O. Shaw's book store, J.L. Douglas' clothing store, the Marine National Bank and D.T. Percy's dry goods store and second floor offices. The valuables in the vaults of the Lincoln, Marine and Peoples Savings banks came out uninjured.[8]

Col. Samuel Donnell Bailey died at his residence in Bath on the morning of December 23, 1894. He was born in July 1825, the son of Hon. B.C. Bailey, a former mayor of Bath. Col. Bailey for many years conducted a large ship chandlery business. He succeeded his father as president of the Marine National Bank and was mayor of the city in 1870. Col. Bailey through inheritance from his loyal ancestors was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the United States. He became a member of the Bath City Grays upon its organization and continued his connection with the company until promoted Colonel and inspector general on the staff of Major General Littlefield of the State Militia.[9]

In April 1895, ex-city treasurer Edwin C. Hyde was elected president of the Marine National Bank of Bath to fill the vacancy caused by the death of S.D. Bailey. Charles C. Crosby of Arrowsic was elected a director.[10]

On Tuesday, January 14, 1896, the stockholders elected the following directors: E.C. Hyde, J.M. Hayes, H.A. Duncan, R.D. Bibber, and C.C. Crosby. The president was E.C. Hyde, J.M. Hayes, vice president; H.A. Duncan, cashier and S.H. Duncan, assistant cashier.[11]

On Tuesday, January 11, 1910, the number of directors of the Marine National was changed from six to five. Dr. R.D. Bibber and J.M. Hayes were dropped from the list and Harry R. Tarbox of Brooklyn, New York was the new director. The board was now made up by C.C. Crosby, E.W. Hyde, Joseph Torrey, H.A. Duncan, and Harry R. Tarbox. the directors organized as follows: C.C. Crosby, president; Edward W. hyde, vice president; H.A. Duncan, cashier. Chairman E.R. Leonard of the Board of Aldermen voted the 427 shares owned by the City of Bath.[12]

On Saturday, April 30, 1910, the surprise announcement of another change in banking in the city of Bath whereby the First National and Lincoln National banks would consolidate. On Wednesday, the directors of the Marine National Bank upon the advice of Oscar L. Telling, chief of the division of reports of the comptroller's office at Washington, decided to consolidate with the Lincoln National Bank and was going through the process of liquidation. A meeting of the directors of the First National was held Friday afternoon and after considerable discussions, the directors were in favor of consolidation. The city of Bath had been supporting four national banks, a trust company and two savings institutions. The capitalization of the Marine was $100,000 and that of the First and the Lincoln, $200,000 each. Inspector Telling favored the consolidation of these banks owing to a lack of shipbuilding in the city which had been one of the principal industries to which the banks had loaned their money.[13] The consolidation of the First National and Lincoln National was made for the purpose of creating a large, strong bank with capital of $400,000. The new bank would occupy the quarters owned and occupied by the Lincoln National Bank.[14] The names of the officers and directors of the First National Bank after the consolidation with the Lincoln National were released on May 2d. J.R. Andrews would be president; Oliver Moses and F.H. Low, vice presidents; and W.S. Shorey, cashier. The 10 directors would include five from each institution.[15]

On June 10, 1910, stockholders of the Lincoln National Bank voted to confirm the action taken by their directors to combine with the First national Bank on a basis of share for share. The stockholders of the First National Bank voted unanimously in favor of the consolidation, with 1,732 of the 2,000 shares represented.[16] On July 26, 1910, the Lincoln National Bank sign was removed and the First National installed. That corner had been occupied by a bank for many years. The old Sagadahock Bank was once located on that site, moving across under the Sagadahock House, but winding up its affairs on the old site. The Lincoln Bank moved there after the Sagadahock House fire and now the First National, Marine National and Lincoln National were all in the same place.[17]

Official Bank Title

1: The Marine National Bank of Bath, ME

Bank Note Types Issued

Original Series $2 bank note
Original Series $2 bank note with pen signatures of H.A. Duncan, Cashier and B.C. Bailey, President Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
Original Series $10 bank note
Original Series $10 bank note with pen signatures of H.A. Duncan, Cashier and B.C. Bailey, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1882 Brown Back $5 bank note
1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of H.A. Duncan, Cashier and S.D. Bailey, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Red Seal $5 bank note
1902 Red Seal $5 bank note with pen signatures of S.H. Duncan, Cashier and H.A. Duncan, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,242,800 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1910. This consisted of a total of 162,456 notes (162,456 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 - 2200
Original Series 4x5 1 - 3750
Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 1780
Original Series 50-100 1 - 200
Series 1875 3x1-2 1 - 380
Series 1875 4x5 1 - 1875
Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 1454
Series 1875 50-100 1 - 140
1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 12775
1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 6923
1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 4000
1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2800
1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 1410
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1097

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1910):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

  • No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Bath, ME, 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
  1. ↑ Patten Free Library. Sagadahock House, Bath, 1894. Item 27924. Maine Historical Society, Portland, Maine. www.mainememory.net/artifact/27924
  2. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Wed., Feb. 15, 1865.
  3. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Tue., July 4, 1865.
  4. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Wed., Mar. 11, 1868.
  5. ↑ Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, Bangor, ME, Fri., Jan. 11, 1867.
  6. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Wed., Jan. 12, 1910.
  7. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Wed., Jan. 14, 1880.
  8. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Fri., Jan. 28, 1944.
  9. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Fri., Dec. 28, 1894.
  10. ↑ Sun-Journal, Lewiston, ME, Tue., Apr. 23, 1895.
  11. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Tue., Jan. 14, 1896.
  12. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Wed., Jan. 12, 1910.
  13. ↑ Sun-Journal, Lewiston, ME, Sat., Apr. 30, 1910.
  14. ↑ The Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME, Tue., May 3, 1910.
  15. ↑ The Lewiston Daily Sun., Lewiston, ME, Tue., May 3, 1910.
  16. ↑ The Lewiston Daily Sun., Lewiston, ME, Sat., June 11, 1910.
  17. ↑ The Times Record, Brunswick, ME, Tue., July 26, 1910.
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