Summary Information
Plankinton Bank Records
1866-1907
- Plankinton Bank (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Milwaukee Mss K
13.0 c.f. (27 archives boxes and 82 volumes)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Business and financial records of a leading Milwaukee bank from its organization in 1887 under the presidency of John Plankinton until its insolvency on June 1, 1893, under the presidency of Frederick T. Day, and for the ten years under the administrations of several assignees (including William Plankinton, Irving M. Bean, and Henry Herman) following insolvency. The bank closed following the loss of loans made to Frank A. Lappen & Company, a run on deposits, and a failure to reorganize and attract large investors. Records for 1866-1893 include ledgers of various types, registers of foreign items dispatched, correspondence, and other records. For the years after June, 1893, the papers relate to the operations of the several assignees, including assignments, court testimony and miscellaneous legal papers relating to litigation in Milwaukee County Circuit Court concerning the affairs of the bank, and assignee letter books.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil0000k ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The Plankinton Bank was organized under the laws of Wisconsin early in 1887, with a capital of $200,000, with John Plankinton as president, Frederick T. Day as vice president, and J. P. Murphy as cashier. The original list of Milwaukeeans who were stockholders in the bank, with the amounts of their stock subscriptions, included John Plankinton, $43,500; Frederick T. Day, $63,000; William Plankinton, $10,000; F. W. Noyes, $10,000; A. K. Hamilton, $10,000; James H. Thompson, $5,000; C. E. Lewis, $7,500; J. G. Jenkins, $6,500; J. P. Murphy, Roswell Miller, Charles J. Cary, and S. A. Fields, each $5,000; William H. Momsen, $1,500; and A. A. L. Smith, $1,000. Out-of-city holders of stock were P. D. Armour of Chicago, H. O. Armour of New York City, A. F. Leopold of Chicago, and J. A. Kimberly of Neenah, each with $5,000, and the A. G. Rising estate, $2,000.
The bank first opened for business on February 7, 1887, and was said to have obtained a large line of mercantile deposits and time savings accounts, the latter attracted by the high rate of four per cent interest. The bank also carried on a large collection business.
On the death of John Plankinton in 1891, Frederick T. Day was elected president of the bank, and at the same time he increased his holdings of stock to $96,000, and William Plankinton and the Plankinton estate reduced the amount of stock which they held in the institution. Judge Jenkins and William H. Momsen slightly increased their holdings, while Thompson, Lewis, Murphy, Miller, Smith, Hamilton, P. D. Armour, Leopold, Kimberly, and Rising withdrew entirely. William Sanderson, C. L. Clausen, E. S. Elliott, M. Grigsby, Mary Thompson, and Joseph Moody were new stockholders taken into the firm. In January 1893 the institution was reorganized, and at the same time W. H. Momsen succeeded Murphy as cashier.
The immediate cause of the failure of the bank was the long line of loans made to Frank A. Lappen & Company, totaling $250,000 -- more than the capital stock of the bank. Frank A. Lappen & Company was organized in 1888 as the Lappen House Furnishing Company, and in 1889 was reorganized as Frank A. Lappen & Company. The store was located at 317-327 Grand Avenue, and the Lappen Furniture Company, another of the business firms of which Frank A. Lappen and his brother Owen Lappen, Jr. were the principal owners was located at 407-411 East Water Street. On May 12, 1893, the sheriff took possession of both stores, and the general opinion seemed to be that Mr. Frank A. Lappen, the active manager of the business, had extended his operations beyond his capital resources. Claims filed up to the evening of the day of the closing of the stores aggregated $375,000.
At the same time that a series of apparently unwise and large loans were made to the Lappen companies, President Day was listed as a borrower from the bank to a total of about $300,000, and there were said to be two or three other large borrowers. The bank survived the run on it which began on May 14, 1893 as a result of the failure of the Lappen companies, but efforts to reorganize the bank and interest other large investors failed to materialize. The bank closed its doors on June 1, 1893. William Plankinton was immediately appointed as assignee, and was eventually succeeded by Irving M. Bean, who was followed by Henry Herman.
Scope and Content Note
This collection includes records from the bank's organization in 1887 through ten years of administration by assignees following insolvency in 1893. In the material for the years up to June, 1893, are numerous series of business records, including volumes of registers of foreign items dispatched; various ledgers, registers, and journals; and letterbooks. The correspondence covers the years 1866-1907 and is arranged chronologically by years.
For the years after June, 1893, the papers relate to the operations of the several assignees, including assignments, court testimony, and miscellaneous assignees, including assignments, court testimony, and miscellaneous legal papers relating to litigation in Milwaukee County circuit court concerning the affairs of the bank. Boxes 18-20 of the collection contains a 300-page “Inventory of Documents” which relates to these legal cases.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by the Wisconsin Fidelity Trust & Safe Deposit Company, through the courtesy of Howard Greene, circa 1905.
Processed by AHM, November 24, 1964.
Contents List
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Assignments
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Box
23
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3, 5-7, 14-17, 20-24
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Box
24
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26, 27, 48, 56, 57, 59, 61, 65
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Box
25
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105-127
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Box
26
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128-152
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Box
27
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153-165
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Correspondence
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Box
1
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1866-1889
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Box
2
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1890-1891
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Box
3
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1892-1893 April
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Box
4
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1893 May 1-10
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Box
5
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1893 May 11-20
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Box
6
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1893 May 21-December
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Box
7
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1894-1899
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Box
8
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1900 January-June
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Box
9
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1900 July-December
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Box
10
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1901-1902
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Box
11
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1903-1907
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Box
12-13
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Undated (mainly legal papers)
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Testimony and Legal Papers
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Box
14-15
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Objections of Creditors to the Administration of William Plankinton
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Box
16-17
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Lands in Various States and Schlesinger Acceptances
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Box
18-20
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Inventory of Documents; Spence and Foley; Henry H. Herman vs. F. Schlesinger; Milwaukee Brass and Copper Works
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Box
21-22
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Clearing House Matter; Benedict Company Matter; F. A. Lappen and Co.; Grigsby Litigation
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Register of Foreign Items, Dispatched
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Chicago
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Volume
1
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1890 October-1891 August
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Volume
2
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1890 July-1891 January
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Volume
3
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1891 January-July
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Volume
4
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1891 July-1892 February
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Volume
5
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1892 February-September
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Volume
6
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1892 September-1893 February
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Volume
7
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1893 February-May
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New York and Chicago
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Volume
8
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1889 July-1890 January
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Volume
9
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New York and Chicago, 1890 February-July
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Volume
10
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1890 February-October
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New York
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Volume
11
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1891 August-1892 June
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Volume
12
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1892 June-1893 May
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Miscellaneous
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Volume
15
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1888 December-1889 July
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Volume
13
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1889 July-1891 April
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Volume
14
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1891 April-1892 September
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Volume
16
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Sundries, 1892 September-1893 May
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Drafts
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Volume
17
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No. 1, 1887 February-1889 August
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Volume
18
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No. 2, 1889 August-1891 June
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Volume
19
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No. 3, 1891 June-1893 February
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Volume
20
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No. 4, 1893 February-1893 May
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Balances
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Volume
21
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1887 February-1890 April
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Volume
22
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1890 April-1892 April
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Volume
23
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1892 April-1894 March
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General Ledger
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Volume
24
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No. 1, 1887 February-1889 February
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Volume
25
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No. 2, 1889 March-1890 March
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Volume
26
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No. 3, 1890 April-1891 June
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Volume
27
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No. 4, 1890 April-1892 November
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Volume
28
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Daily Balance Ledger, no. 1, 1887 February-1888 April
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Individual Ledger
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Volume
29
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No. 2, 1888 January-1889 January
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Volume
30
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No. 3, A-L, 1889 January-December
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Volume
31
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No. 3, M-Z, 1889 January-December
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Volume
32
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No. 4, A-L, 1889 December-1890 October
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Volume
33
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No. 4, M-Z, 1889 December-1890 October
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Volume
34
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No. 5, A-L, 1890 October-1891 October
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Volume
35
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No. 5, M-Z, 1890 October-1891 October
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Volume
36
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No. 6, A-L, 1891 October-1892 September
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Volume
37
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No. 6, M-Z, 1891 October-1892 September
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Volume
38
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No. 7, A-L, 1892 October-1893 May
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Volume
39
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No. 7, M-Z, 1892 October-1893 May
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Volume
40
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Index
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Index, Individual Ledger
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Volume
41
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No. 2
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Volume
42
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No. 3
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Volume
43
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No. 4
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Volume
44
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No. 5
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Volume
45
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No. 6
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Volume
46
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No. 7
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City Collections
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Volume
47
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No. 1, 1887 February-1889 December
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Volume
48
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No. 2, 1889 December-1892 May
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Volume
49
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No. 3, 1892 June-1893 June
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Volume
50
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Ledger, Savings Department, 1890 October-1893 My
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Volume
51
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Ledger B, Savings Department, 1892 August-1893 May
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Bills Discounted Ledger
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Volume
52
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No. 1, 1887 February-1889 August
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Volume
53
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No. 2, 1889 August-1890 November
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Volume
54
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No. 3, 1888 August-1894 May
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Foreign Collections
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Volume
55
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No. 2, 1889 April-1891 February
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Volume
56
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No. 3, 1891 February-1892 September
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Volume
57
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No. 4, 1892 September-1893 May
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Exchange Register
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Volume
58
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No. 1, 1887 February-November
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Volume
59
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No. 2, 1887 November-1888 June
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Volume
60
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No. 3, 1888 June-December
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Individual Discount Ledger
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Volume
61
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No. 1, 1887 May-1889 October
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Volume
62
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No. 2, 1889 July-1890 November
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Volume
63
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No. 3, 1890 Nove-1893 October
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Notarial Record, J.B. Murphy
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Volume
65
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1887 March-1891 July
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Volume
64
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1891 April-1892 December
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Volume
66
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Memoranda, 1887 February-1892 April
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Volume
67
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Messengers Items, 1890 January-1891 December
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Volume
68
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Certificates of Deposit, 1887 February-1893 June
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Volume
69
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Register of Foreign Exchange, 1889 April-1891 April
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Volume
70-71
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Lists of Creditors of the Plankinton Bank
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Volume
72
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Stock Certificate Book, 1887 February-1892 December
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Volume
73
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Stock Ledger, 1887 February-1892 December
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Volume
74
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Drafts Drawn, 1888 July-1890 January
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Letter Books
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Volume
75
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Assignee Irving K. Bean, 1899 July-1900 January
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Volume
76
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Assignee Henry Herman, 1900 January-1901 August
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Volume
77
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Assignee, 1901 August-1902 and C. D. Kendrick, , 1885 November-1887 August
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Volume
78
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C. D. Kendrick, 1888 November-1893 June
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Volume
79
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J. B. Murphy, 1888 November-1890 August
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Volume
80
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J. B. Murphy, 1890 July-1891 September
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Volume
81
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J. B. Murphy, 1891 October-1893 January
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Volume
82
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Cashiers Letter Book, Wm. H. Momsen and Wm. Plankinton, 1893 January-June
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