12808. Trenton Savings Fund Society (Trenton, NJ)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Run Only
Bank Type
state
Start Date
September 21, 1889
Location
Trenton, New Jersey (40.217, -74.743)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
bd4e2c3877310869

Response Measures

None

Description

Multiple contemporaneous newspapers report a depositor run on Sept 21, 1889 driven by a rumor that the bank had been robbed and had suspended payments. The bank met all demands (paid over $15,000) and did not suspend, so this is a run-only episode driven by misinformation among Hungarian mill workers.

Events (1)
1. September 21, 1889 Run
Cause
Rumor Or Misinformation
Cause Details
A rumor circulated (especially among Hungarian mill workers) that the bank had been robbed and had suspended payment, which proved groundless.
Random Run
Yes
Random Run Snippet
Rumor that bank had been robbed and suspended; groundless
Measures
Tellers paid out over $15,000 and met every demand; officers publicly denied the rumor.
Newspaper Excerpt
The Trenton Savings Fund Society ... had a run from its depositors this morning. ... the tellers paid out over $15,000, and met every demand without hesitation. The officers said that the rumor was groundless.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (3)
1. September 22, 1889 New-York Tribune New York, NY
Article from New-York Tribune, September 22, 1889

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

HUNGARIAN DEPOSITORS ALARMED. Trenton, N. J., Sept. 21.-The Trenton Savings Fund Society, doing a heavy business with the Hungarians working in the iron mills, had a "run" from its depositors this morning. Some one started a rumor among the Hungarlans that the bank had been robbed, and had suspended payment. They became panic-stricken and flocked in large numbers to the bank. So many of them stopped work at the mills of John A. Roebling's Sons & Co. that the mills were shut down. At the bank the tellers paid out over $15,000, and met every demand without hesita. tion. The officers said that the rumor was groundless, and they knew of nothing that could have caused it.

2. September 22, 1889 The Sunday Morning News Jersey City, NJ
Article from The Sunday Morning News, September 22, 1889

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

A Bank Run Shuts Down a Mill. Special to the Sunday Morning News. TRENTON, Sept. 21, 1889.-A rumor to the effect that the Trenton Savings Fund Society had failed and suspended payment gained currency among the Hungarian population here this morning and caused much excitement. So many of the Hungarians left off work to go to the bank that the big mill of John A. Roebling's Sons & Company was compelled to shut down. Great droves of the foreigners went to the bank and drew out their savings. Over $15,000 was paid out this morning. One rumor was to the effect that a robbery caused the suspension. A NEWS reporter found the bank officers unruffled. They said the rumor was absurd and entirely groundless. They knew nothing of its origin.

3. September 22, 1889 St. Paul Daily Globe Saint Paul, MN
Article from St. Paul Daily Globe, September 22, 1889

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

Run on a Jersey Bank. TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 21.-A run was started on the Trenton Savings Fund Society's bank to-day by a rumor to the effect that it had been robbed. Its depositors for the most part are Hungarians employed in the Union mills here. When the reports reached them they became panic stricken, quit work. and in a short time a large crowd had congregated around the bank building. So many quit work that the mills had to shut down. At the bank every demand was met. Some $15,000 was paid out. There is no truth in the reported robbery.