Title: City National Bank (Green Bay, Wis.) Records
Inclusive Dates: 1863-1880

Creator:

• City National Bank (Green Bay, Wis.)

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 47

Quantity: 9.6 c.f. (21 volumes)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Cash books, general ledgers, and deposit ledgers of the City National Bank of Green Bay; providing information on that bank and on the individuals, business firms, and other banks with which it dealt.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0047

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Edward Vandenbraak and George A. Lawton filed state bank incorporation papers for the City Bank of Green Bay on March 5, 1863. Each man owned 125 shares of the new bank's stock for a total capitalization of $25,000. In 1864 the bank reported resources of some $78,000. After Vandenbraak's death, Conrad Kruger became president of the bank and in 1865, held all 250 shares.

The National Bank Act and related federal legislation between 1863 and 1865 brought major changes to American banking practice. In response to this legislation the City Bank of Green Bay incorporated as a national bank on May 1, 1865, under the direction of Kruger and Lawton. Two weeks later, to avoid a new federal tax on banks which issued or paid out state bank notes, City National announced that its outstanding notes could be presented for payment to the State Comptroller during the next three years.

For the next eight years, the City National Bank continued to grow. In September 1873, it reported assets of $333,286, capital stock of $50,000, and national currency circulation of $45,000. By that date William J. Fisk had become president, following Kruger's death, and H.G. Freeman was cashier.

The City National Bank went into voluntary liquidation on November 29, 1873 and posted sufficient bond with the Treasurer of the United States to redeem its circulation. William J. Fisk became a director of the Kellogg National Bank, which incorporated in Green Bay on January 1, 1874. The new firm moved into the quarters of the City National Bank, purchasing its safe and other fixtures. The City National deposited most of its assets with the new bank although it continued to close its affairs until at least 1880. In an 1874 Green Bay city directory, the Kellogg Bank advertised itself as “successor to City National Bank.”

The records of the City National Bank of Green Bay provide detailed information on the kind and volume of daily activities of a small city bank. They also document the financial activities of individual depositories and local firms using the bank's services and of other banks with which the City Bank dealt. The records are organized in three groups: cash books, general ledgers, and deposit ledgers.

The Cash Books, 1863-1876, are a daily record of the bank's transactions kept in double column format to distinguish debits and credits. Each entry shows the name of the individual or business account, the ledger number to which the entry was posted, and the amount of the transaction. The amounts are entered into columns headed “deposit,” “general accounts,” and “exchange and interest.” The cash books also show daily balances.

The General Ledgers, 1863-1880, and the Deposit Ledgers, 1868-1874, also are in double columns. Before 1868, all accounts were posted in the General Ledgers; thereafter the Deposit Ledger recorded accounts with individuals and with non-banking firms and the General Ledgers recorded accounts with other banks and accounts for personal property owned by the bank, the bank's profits and losses, dividends, total daily deposits and withdrawals, and government taxes on bank operations. Entries in both the General and Deposit Ledgers are arranged by account and listed chronologically thereunder. Each entry shows the date of the transaction, the type of transaction (usually cash), the amount, the Cash Book page number from which the entry was posted, and usually a monthly balance for the account. Volumes 10, 13, 17, and 19 have separate indexes; the remaining ledgers have indexes to the names of the accounts at the front of the volumes.

Other sources for the history of the City Bank include its reports, as a state bank, to the State of Wisconsin in the records of the Brown County Register of Deeds (currently unprocessed); published reports of the Brown County Register of Deeds (currently unprocessed); published reports of the United States Comptroller of the Currency (in the federal serials set); and records of the Wisconsin Bank Comptroller in the State Archives.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin, January 20, 1975. Accession Number: M75-18

Processing Information

Processed by John Fleckner, November 1976.

	Cash Books
Volume   1	1863, January 2-1864, September 30
Volume   2	1864, October 1-1865, July 19
Volume   3	1865, May 1-1866, August 23
Volume   4	1866, August 24-1867, November 11
Volume   5	1867, November 12-1869, February 4
Volume   6	1869, February 8-1870, May 12
Volume   7	1870, May 13-1871, August 12
Volume   8	1871, August 14-1872, November 12
Volume   9	1872, November 13-1876 (primarily 1872-1873)
	General Ledgers
Volume   10	1863-1865
Volume   11	Index to volume 10
Volume   12	, 1864-1865 (includes index)
Volume   13	1865-1868
Volume   14	Index to volume 13
Volume   15	, 1868-1872 (includes index)
Volume   16	, 1872-1880 (primarily 1872-1874; includes index)
	Deposit Ledgers
Volume   17	1868-1871
Volume   18	Index to volume 17
Volume   19	1871-1873
Volume   20	Index to volume 19
Volume   21	1873-1874