- 1825 New Jersey Protection & Lombard Bank, Jersey City, NJ. Rare Signature

Description

Title: 1825 New Jersey Protection & Lombard Bank, Jersey City, NJ; Rare Signature
In the last session of the 1824 New Jersey legislature on 27 December 1824 “The New Jersey Protection and Lombard Bank” was chartered for 0,000, after paying a “bonus” to the state of ,000, which was allotted to the school fund.
The next month the National Gazette in Philadelphia reported on 19 January 1825:
New York 18 Jan 1825; We understand the amount subscribed yesterday to the Stock of the New Jersey Protection and Lombard Bank exceeded three million dollars.
While this may have been possible, it is unlikely. The President of the bank was Daniel McLaren, Jr., whose father was a reasonably wealthy individual in New York City. Daniel McLaren, Sr. owned several pieces of real estate in the City and had numerous influential friends. He set up his son in the grocery business around 1818 at 132 Chatham St., then No. 7 Orange Street (later Baxter Street), and then in September 1822, a new grocery store on Bowery Hill at the intersection of Bowery and Broadway.
In order to establish his son in business, Daniel Senior, mortgaged most of his real estate. In January 1825, just after the bank was established Daniel Junior “
offered for sale: Stand and property, groceries, wines and liquor; 132 – 134 Chatham street, with passageway to Orange Street - retiring from business.” When the property did not immediately sell it was put up for auction on 2 February 1825 in the New York Evening Post: …
The house No. 132 Chatham st is occupied by Mr. McLaren, as a grocery store being a two story brick front house, filled in with brick, 20 feet in front & 75 feet in depth, with spacious apartments and accommodations for a large family, with store houses in the rear, stable, &c.
It sold, but the bank still floundered.
Daniel Junior decided there was money to be made in the insurance business and the bank began offering to sell fire insurance in August 1825. The
Evening Post published the following ad on 6 and 8 August 1825:
Proposals for insurance will be received at the Banking House in Jersey city, or they may be made to the Agent of the Corporation, 30 Pine St. New York, who will transmit them to the Institution without expense to the applicant.
D. M'LAREN, Jr. President
Elias B. Dayton, Secretary.
Directors. Isaac H. Williamson, Daniel M'Laren, Jr., Thomas Ward, John F. Delaplaine, Garret Ackerson, Jacob Cram, John D. Haring, Robt. Donaldson, Aa. Ogden Dayton, Abm. Quackenbush
(married to Sarah McLaren Daniel Jr.s’ sister)
, Wm. A. Tomlinson, Jas. C. Smith.
The bank finally broke in November 1825 (not even one year in business). The
New York Evening Post reported on November 18, 1825:
Another Bank Broke. This morning the New Jersey Protection and Lombard Bank closed their doors, and posted up on the window shutters the following placard:
“The New Jersey Protection and Lombard Bank have suspended payment for the present."
The bills of this Bank are signed by D. McLaren, President, and Edw. I. Priest, Cashier. It was only yesterday that this same bank advertised in the papers that their bills would be redeemed in specie at their banking house in Jersey City. The crowd, all this forenoon surrounding the building in which the bank transacted their business, in Pine street, has been immense, and among them we saw a great many poor market women, mechanics and laborers, with the bills of the broken bank in their hands, begging to have them redeemed, that they might have a shilling to buy a loaf of bread for their children.
The
Legislature of New Jersey took possession of the banking house on Saturday, November 25 and “obtained about ,000 in specie, and sundry notes, among which was one drawn by Mr. McLaren, President of the company, for 0,000. It has been ascertained that bills of this bank to the amount of 0,000 are in circulation.” In early December the
stockholders quickly applied for a restoration of their charter and blamed the repeal of the act of incorporation on downfall on the President. The request was immediately denied. The bank continued to attempt to reinstate itself and again met defeat. The United States Gazette published on 26 December 1826 stated:
The application of the bona fide stockholders of the New Jersey Protection and Lombard Bank, for a revival of its charter under proper restrictions has been rejected by the disagreement of the House of Assembly to the first section of the bill.
This is a note printed from sheet “A” by Durand & Wright N. York and was deceptively printed to give the impression the bank was in New York (in bold print) as opposed to Jersey City (in smaller style). It
has as its main vignette on the left an engraving by Asher B. Durand of an allegorical figure of Literature, singed beneath in micro lettering by
A.B. Durand, del et sculp
. On the right panel is an engraving in an oval of a woman inscribing on a tablet the words “Bank Lombard of New Jersey.” In the upper left center in an oval is a portrait of Clinton DeWitt and on the right center in an oval is an unidentified portrait. The note has
the hand written serial number
7967;
is made payable to
R. Lenox;
hand dated
22 June
18
25,
and signed by
Ed I. Priest
, Cashier and
D. McLaren, J
, President.
The note is complete in extremely nice condition with light soiling and a few wrinkles, stamped with the letter N and the extremely rare signature of Ed I. Priest, Cashier.