Freedman's Savings & Trust Company (beaufort Branch)

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: federal
Start Date: January 1, 1874*
Location: Beaufort, South Carolina (32.432, -80.670)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: b47438f8016f485f

Response Measures

None

Description

Article (1876-03-08) refers to the Beaufort branch of Freedman's Savings & Trust Co. and discusses corrupt practices, unsecured loans (e.g., Sea Island Hotel loan), losses and refers to events up to the very eve of its suspension. The text describes bank-specific mismanagement and losses that led to suspension and ultimate failure of the Freedman's Bank; no explicit bank run is described in this excerpt. OCR errors in article were corrected (e.g., spacing and names). Date of the actual suspension is not given in the article; historically Freedman's Bank failed in 1874, but the article only references the past suspension, so event date is left approximate.

Events (1)

1. January 1, 1874* Suspension

Cause: Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details: Unsecured and imprudent loans (including Sea Island Hotel loan), mismanagement and depreciation of securities causing losses that led to suspension and failure of the branch.
Newspaper Excerpt: up to the very eve of its suspension
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. March 8, 1876 The Tribune Beaufort, SC

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Article Text

Tan Washington Republican recently published what purports to have been the result of au interview between a glib tongued reporter and Mr. (Purvis one of the Freedman's Bank commissioners. The whole article is an illy disguised piece of villainy, designed to attack Governor Chamberlain under pretence of showing that the editor of the UnionHerald, which is the exponent of the present State administration, had obtained money in affraudulent;manner from the Beaufort branch of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Co. The statements made by Mr. Purvis in the alleged interview are 80 strangely at variance with what Mr. Purvis must know to be facts, that we are led to consider the whole affair as emanating from the corruptionists who misrepresent this State at Washington in striving to clog the wheels of reform in Columbia. It 18 well known in this community, and has been made evident to Mr. Purvis in the ovure ot his investigation into the that it was a affairs of the Bank, common thing for loans to be made at the Beaufort branch to business and professional men, without a bond secured by mortgage being required as the charter provides, and in some instances the use of money was obtained without any security at all being given, and such loans were a taint of effected without dishonesty being attached to the trausaction. The loan made to the editor of the UnionHerald under such circumstances cannot be deemed an exceptional one, for the securities given by him were at the time considered sound investment and their subsequent depreciation was due to the scandalous practices of that class of so. called republicans which it seems to be the aim of the Washington Republican to continue in power in this state, to the imminent peril of the party in the rest of the country. In this instance the withdrawal of the securities at first given and the substitution of others considered more valuable, certainly does not look an attempt to act and from present to prove a more fortunate transthan the action is dishonestly, like likely for the Bank dishonorably appearances releasing by or Mr. Sperry of the responsible party in the which Sea Island Hotel loan, by course the Bank was made the loser irretrievably of several thousands of dollars, and for which blunder we have never yet heard Mr. Sperry intolerably abused. The cause of this gentleman's connity to the editor of the Union-Heruld is easily accounted for, since the same pen which is now doing good service in the cause of <lecent government at Columbia, was the first to direct attention to the rottenness of the Freedman's Bank, and by laying bare the false statements of inspector Sperry, succeeded in preventing some of the duped depositors from being misled by misrepresentations as to the sound ness of the concern, which were resorted to to prevent the withdrawal of funds, up to the very eve of its suspension. The republican party has been placed in jeopardy by just such characters as the concecters of the interview with Mr. Purvis, and the sooner it is purged of them the brighter will become the pros pest of its continuing to control the policy of the National government Nothing but the triumph of Governor Chamberlain over the venal hosts that are marshailed by these men can maintain republicanism in South Carolina, and the nation at large, with no uncertain voice has proclaimed that the cause of good government demands their withdrawal from participation in public affairs. THE administration of President Grant has received another stunning blow in the discovery of bee