Mount Vernon National Bank, Mount Vernon, NY (Charter 8516)
Mount Vernon National Bank, Mount Vernon, NY (Chartered 1907 - Receivership 1911)
Town History
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the borough of the Bronx. The Mount Vernon area was first settled in 1664 by families from Connecticut as part of the Town of Eastchester. Mount Vernon became a village in 1853, and a city in 1892. Early development was driven by the New York Industrial Home Association No. 1, a home building cooperative organized to build homes for "tradesmen, employees, and other persons of small means".
Mount Vernon takes its name from George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia, much as neighboring Wakefield (in the Bronx) was named for the Virginia plantation where Washington was born.
The Mount Vernon Trust Company opened in 1903. It was the largest bank in Westchester County, with branches in the east and west sections of the city. On July 18, 1930, the American National Bank and Trust Company (Charter 11747) (No Issue) merged with the Mount Vernon Trust Company.
Mount Vernon had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and three of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Notably, the East Chester NB of Mount Vernon, NY (Charter 1772) moved to Evansville, Indiana in 1873.
Bank History
- Organized December 11, 1906
- Chartered January 18, 1907
- Opened for business January 21, 1907
- Receivership April 19, 1911
In October 1906, among the applications to organize a national bank was one for the Mount Vernon National Bank. The applicants were Herbert T. Jennings, 206 Broadway, New York; Samuel G. Bayne, T. Wister Brown, S.G. Wilson, C.C. Thompson and Horace Loomis.[2] The new bank would be located on the southwest corner of Second Avenue and First Street and work was expected to begin in a few weeks. The site overlooking the New Haven Railroad station was recently purchased which included a frontage of fifty feet on First Street and 84 on Second Avenue. Directly adjoining in the rear was a plot 100 X 100 fronting on Second Avenue so that the entire frontage on that thoroughfare was 184 feet.[3] On Monday, December 10th, stockholders elected the following directors: Horace Loomis, Herbert T. Jennings, Daniel M. Hopping, Frederick H. Denman, Theodore Taylor, Dr. Walter S. Fleming and Charles V.D. Peek, all of Mount Vernon; Howard Bayne of New York; and James H. Moran of White Plains. The Mount Vernon Trust Company lost its treasurer and secretary, Daniel Hopping.[4] The bank set up a temporary office in the Anderson Building, First Street and Third Avenue.[5]
Note: Samuel G. Bayne was president of the Seaboard National Bank of New York City (Charter 3415) and T. Wister Brown and C.C. Thompson were also connected with the Seaboard National.
On Monday, January 21, 1907, the new Mount Vernon National Bank opened in temporary headquarters in the old Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) building at No. 59 South Fourth Avenue. The officers of the bank were Horace Loomis, president; Herbert T. Jennings and Daniel M. Hopping, vice presidents; Samuel K. Raymond, cashier; William Z. Heinsohn, teller; and Miss Agnes A. McLean, stenographer.[6]
On Friday, March 24, 1911, the Mount Vernon National Bank suspended business, closing its doors shortly after 11 o'clock. The directors stated that the bank was absolutely solvent, but that the action was forced by what was beginning to become a run by the depositors due to the report in New York papers the previous night of the closing of the First National Bank at Oneonta, New York, with which Herbert T. Jennings was identified. Directors hoped there would be no trouble, but by 10 o'clock withdrawals began increasing rapidly. Officials from other banks in the city were called in and asked for advice and while offers were made to purchase securities, this step had already been taken and the inevitable had to be faced. A telegram was sent to the banking department at Washington and the directors were assembled to await word as to the arrival of an official who would take charge.[7] The next morning, some apprehension was felt in the business section of Mount Vernon when it became known that the bank had closed, and although several of the merchants and businessmen sought further information, they were prohibited from entering the bank by policemen on guard. At the other Mount Vernon banks, it was reported that everything was quiet, the deposits being as heavy as usual. Officials of the closed bank were: President, Herbert T. Jennings; vice president, John L. Fee; cashier, S.K. Raymond; directors--E.M. Benford, J.L. Fee, Herbert T. Jennings, A.H. Jones, James H. Moran, Jacob Norden, and S.K. Raymond.[8]
On Thursday, March 23, 1911, the First National Bank of Oneonta (Charter 420) closed its doors shortly before noon and Benjamin Marcus, national bank examiner was placed in charge. Dr. Arthur W. Cutler had been elected president three month earlier. Herbert D. Jennings of Mount Vernon was vice president. Mr. Jennings and interests said to be represented by him purchased a controlling interest over a year ago from M.L. Keyes. Besides his interests in the Mount Vernon National Bank, Jennings was said to control the Otsego and Herkimer Railroad. Since Mr. Jennings and the out-of-town interests gained control the out-of-town loans increased and withdrawals of local Oneonta funds correspondingly increased. The First National was renamed in 1871, having started as the Worthington National Bank of Cooperstown.[9]
On Thursday, January 4, 1912, more than 150 depositors of the defunct Mount Vernon National Bank assembled in Elk's Hall to listen to the report of the Depositors' Committee. There had been several offers to buy the assets of the bank but an offer of $115,000 made by Alexander J. Cobe of New York was the best. Cobe was willing to give $148,000 for the assets and the building. It was voted by the depositors to accept $115,000 for the assets without the building. This amount was estimated to pay depositors 50 or 60 cents on the dollar.[10] On Monday, January 29th, demurrers in the indictments of Herbert T. Jennings and Samuel K. Raymond were argued in the United States district court before Judge Hough and were denied in all but one of the 26 counts of the two indictments charging misappropriation and embezzlement of the funds of the Mount Vernon National Bank. H.C. Henderson of White Plains was acting as counsel for Jennings and Charles W. Bacon of Mount Vernon was counsel for Raymond while George Gordon Battle of New York had been retained as pleading counsel for both of the defendants. The date for the trial would be set for February. Meanwhile, Mayor Fiske asked Congressman John E. Andrus to consider using the Mount Vernon National Bank as a postoffice. The land the Government owned for the proposed postoffice as not well-located; the bank's location was a most desirable site.[11] Late on June 7, 1912, Herbert T. Jennings and Samuel C. Raymond were found guilty of willful misapplication of the bank's funds. The jury which when out at 3 o'clock brought in the verdict at 10 minutes before midnight declaring Jennings guilty on all 22 counts and Raymond guilty on all but two counts. The jury strongly recommended clemency for Cashier Raymond. Judge Mayer sentenced Jennings to six years in the Atlanta Penitentiary. Raymond was called to the bar and Judge Mayer suspended sentence explaining that his action was influenced largely by the recommendation of the jury.
Herbert Theodore Jennings, president of the Mount Vernon National Bank, lawyer, promoter of electric railways, of National and State banks and Broadway skyscrapers was arrested on December 10th, 1911. Risky speculation in Broadway real estate led to the financial straits of those enterprises launched by Jennings. The first great real estate scheme was the Broadway and Forty-third Street Building Company which erected the Fitzgerald Building. It included the theatre known as the Cohan-Harris Theatre which was opened with a performance of "Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford." Like the most daring scheme of this fictitious genius of easy finance, the enterprise of Jennings was started without the advance of a single cent by him or the risk of a penny of his own fortune. But trouble came while the building was half finished and to raise the funds needed, Jennings began to discount notes made by dummies and the only place he could discount them was the Mount Vernon Bank. John H. Behan, janitor in the Fitzgerald Building and M.F. Killen, an office boy earning $5 a week, drew notes at the request of Jennings for thousands of dollars. Philip Tillinghurst was appointed receiver for the Mont Vernon National Bank and assessed its stockholders $100 a share to meet the deficit caused by Jennings.[12]
On March 31, 1943, James H. Moran, 99, White Plains attorney who campaigned for Abraham Lincoln but missed voting for him in 1864 by an age margin of three months, died of pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. He often attributed his longevity to "staying up late nights, associating with beautiful women, and voting the straight Republican ticket." He never smoked after becoming ill on his first cigar at the age of 16.[13] He was known as the Dean of the Board of Supervisors as oldest public official in Westchester County, "Uncle Jimmie" scorned retirement and was in his law offices at 185 Main Street, White Plains, daily.[14]
Official Bank Title
1: The Mount Vernon National Bank, Mount Vernon, NY
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $560,260 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1907 and 1911. This consisted of a total of 75,448 notes (75,448 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 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 1450 1902 Red Seal 4x10 1 - 1400 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 8261 1902 Date Back 4x10 1 - 7751
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1907 - 1911):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Mount Vernon National Bank, Mount Vernon, NY History (NB Lookup)
- New York Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Mount Vernon, NY, 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
- ↑ Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, NY, Sat., Mar. 4, 1911.
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, Wed., Oct. 24, 1906.
- ↑ Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, NY, Fri., Oct. 26, 1906.
- ↑ Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, NY, Tue., Dec. 11, 1906.
- ↑ Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, NY, Sat., Dec. 29, 1906.
- ↑ Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, NY, Mon., Jan. 21, 1907.
- ↑ Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, NY, Fri., Mar. 24, 1911.
- ↑ The Herald Statesman, Yonkers, NY, Sat., Mar. 25, 1911.
- ↑ New York Herald, New York, NY, Fri., Mar. 24, 1911.
- ↑ Yonkers Statesman, Yonkers, NY, Fri., Jan. 5, 1912.
- ↑ Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, NY, Mon., Jan. 29, 1912.
- ↑ New-York Tribune, Sat., June 8, 1912.
- ↑ Daily News, New York, NY, Thu., Apr. 1, 1943.
- ↑ The Herald Statesman, Yonkers, NY, Wed., Jan. 11, 1933.