National Bank - Fishkill, NY

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: national
Bank ID: 971
Charter Number: 971
Start Date: May 1, 1874
Location: Fishkill, New York (41.536, -73.899)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: c034ab4e

Response Measures

None

Receivership Details

Depositor recovery rate: 100.0%
Date receivership started: 1877-01-27
Date receivership terminated: 1884-08-11
OCC cause of failure: Fraud
Share of assets assessed as good: 38.2%
Share of assets assessed as doubtful: 51.7%
Share of assets assessed as worthless: 10.1%

Description

Article (The Sun, 1879-02-10) describes the National Bank of Fishkill as ruined and refers to suits against the receiver and investigation of cashier Alexander Bartow's defalcations. No mention of a depositor run; bank is in receivership and effectively closed. I corrected the provided bank name to the full form 'National Bank of Fishkill' to match the article text.

Events (4)

1. April 1, 1865 Chartered

Source: historical_nic

2. May 1, 1874 Other

Newspaper Excerpt: Bartow bought $20,000 worth of the stock of the ore company at par... Bartow dumped into that ore bed property in less than two years the sum of $61,138.98.
Source: newspapers

3. January 27, 1877 Receivership

Source: historical_nic

4. February 10, 1879 Receivership

Newspaper Excerpt: the suits against the receiver of the ruined National Bank of Fishkill was resumed
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. February 10, 1879 The Sun New York, NY

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Article Text

FISHKILL'S RUINED BANK. MORE LIGHT ON CASHIER ALEXANDER BARTOW'S DEFALCATIONS. What Became of a Part of the Stolen Money -How the Banking Department was Decelved with Respect to the Overdrafts. POUGHKEEPSIE, Feb. -The examination of witnesses in the suits against the receiver of the ruined National Bank of Fishkill was resumed in this city yesterday before Referee Browster of Newburgh. Throughout the two trials of the defaulting cashier. Aloxander Bartow. the greatest efforts were made to keep back the main facts, and not until the civil suits were instituted did the public begin to get at the truth. Many believed when the bubble burst that Bartow had carefully saved thousands of dollars. Ho was a Sunday school teacher. a man much respected in the best society. and he apparently had no costly vices. What, then. became of the money stolen. some $75,000 or $100,000? One of the answers to the question. and the main answer, is in the following testimony given on Saturday: Leonard Horton of New York testifled that in December, 1874, he lived in Fishkill. He was present at the sale of the Dutchess ore beds on the foreclosure of Van Wyck Brinckerhoff's mortgage. Before the sale the followingsums were paid on the mortgage, from February. 1872. to May, 1874. in the order named: $4,000. $8,000. $2,000, $5,500. $4,500, $14,863.92. The property sold for $18,580. Of this $2,780.77 were paid down. it being 15 per cent. of the purchase money. The personal property brought $1.508. As to who paid the sums mentioned as paid before the sale. witness said he paid the $4,000 out of his own money. The $8,000 came from two notes which witness and Bartow arranged to have O. M. Cutler of 58 Broadway. New York, cash. The $2,000 came from the sale of ore to Crocker & Co., New York. The $10,000. in two items. came from George Gay for an interest in the ore mines. he paying $8,000 and then $2,000. Then, on May 1. 1874, the $14,863.92 came from Alexander Bartow. cashier of the National Bank of Fishkill. Bartow bought $20,000 worth of the stock of the ore company at par, paid Leonard Horton $14,863.92 in drafts. and paid the remainder as working capital from time to time. and told witness it was his own money. Witness was shown a paper which he said Bartow gave him some time after the sale of the ore bed at Fishkill VilInge. It was an account of money advanced by Bartow up to that time, and he wanted witness to take it to Poughkeepsleand adjust the claims with Allard Anthony. President of the company. The account, footed up. shows that Bartow dumped into that ore bed property in less than two years the sum of $61,138.98. M. A. Fowler cross examined witness severely. Horton in reply to one question saying that he did not go to Henry Redmond in New York and say to him. There is $75,000 between the two banks in suit at Poughkeepsie, and if you will go up and help me swear we will get half the money," nor anything to that effect. A. W. Sherman. the well-known bank expert. who was first employed by the Government to examine the books of the National Bank of Fishkill. and who was afterward employed by Receiver Bostwick. was placed upon the witness stand. He held a memorandum in his hand. His testimony showed in aseries of astonishing figures how Bartow deceived the Banking Department from time to time in his reports of overdrafts. The contrasts are simply astounding. as the following figures will show: