1869. First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown (Georgetown, DC)

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: private
Start Date: May 24, 1908
Location: Georgetown, District of Columbia (38.905, -77.062)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: 5e956c78

Response Measures

None

Description

No contemporaneous run is described. The association was found insolvent, officers (notably J. Barton Miller) were alleged to have embezzled/destroyed records, and a receiver (W. E. Ambrose) was appointed in June–July 1908. The concern remained in receivership and was wound up; later reports (1909–1914) describe asset collection, liens, and distribution, indicating permanent closure. OCR corrected minor punctuation/spacing in the name but not substance.

Events (5)

1. May 24, 1908 Other

Newspaper Excerpt: Complainants ... declare it is insolvent. ... an order requiring the association and its officers to show cause by May 29 why they should not be enjoined ... and why a receiver should not be appointed pending the litigation to take charge of the association's assets, books, papers and records.
Source: newspapers

2. June 11, 1908 Suspension

Cause: Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details: Alleged insolvency caused by embezzlement and destruction/missing of books and records by secretary-treasurer J. Barton Miller; loans and preferential payments to withdrawing stockholders concealed the true condition.
Newspaper Excerpt: Mr. Ambrose was appointed receiver for the building association June 11, 1908, after the stockholders had failed to arrive at any satisfactory solution of the affairs of the company.
Source: newspapers

3. July 12, 1908 Other

Newspaper Excerpt: William E. Ambrose, receiver of the First -operative Building Association of Georgetown, tomorrow will seek the aid of the courts in an effort to secure possession of the missing books and records of the association and will put in motion the legal process of winding up the affairs of the organization.
Source: newspapers

4. July 23, 1909 Other

Newspaper Excerpt: A 10 per cent settlement will be made by William Earl Ambrose, receiver for the First Co-operative Building Assoclation of Georgetown ... the receiver was appointed June 11, 1908.
Source: newspapers

5. March 2, 1914 Other

Newspaper Excerpt: A lien of $25,000 ... against the funds of the defunct First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown, in the hands of William E. Ambrose as receiver.
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (8)

1. May 24, 1908 Evening Star Washington, DC

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

SUIT TO WIND UP CONCERN FIRST CO-OPERATIVE BUILDING ASSOCIATION DEFENDANT. Complainants, Alleging to Be Partners in Association. Declare It. is Insolvent. Proceedings in equity were instituted yesterday by Margaret A. Kopp. Amanda Williams and Daniel J. Logan against the First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown. D. C., H. J. Wagner its president. J. Barton Miller its secretary. and all other officers of the association to wind up its affairs. In the bill filed by Attorney# Burton Macafee. Wilton J. Lambert and R. H. Yeatman it is set forth that the association was organized in May, 1882 and never incorporated, doing business as a joint. association or partnership. The parties complaining at various times subscribed for stock in the association and paid in money. but subsequently gave notices through proper officers, of withdrawal from the concern. It is alleged that the amounts of these withdrawals, with the exception of a small sum, have never been paid. although the association has often been requested to do so, and that refusal and failure to make payment are in direct violation of the articles of agreement. The institution, it is declared, is apparently in an insolvent condition.. The court is informed there are a large number of other persons situated similarly. who are threatening suits. and who have received payments on account of their withdrawals in preference to the parties named in the suit; that no equitable system of payment on withdrawal notices has been observed. and it is alleged on information and belief $16,000 was borrowed from the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of Georgetown, D. C., with which to pay off certain claims of former stockholders against it on account of withdrawals. and to conceal its insolvent-condition. Justice Gould yesterday granted an order requiring the association and its officers to show cause by May 29 why they should not be enjoined and restrained pending the suit from disposing of any of the moneys and property of the association. and from removing the same from the premises where they now are: and further. why a receiver should not be appointed pending the litigation to take charge of the association's assets, books, papers and records.

2. June 6, 1908 Evening Star Washington, DC

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

RECEIVER ASKED FOR. Proceedings to Wind Up Affairs of Co-Operative Building Concern. Proceedings in equity were instituted today by Cora Ball and others against the First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown and its officers to wind up the affairs of the association. In the bill, filed by Attorneys Wilton J. Lambert, Burton Macafee and R. H. Yeatman, it is alleged that the complainants became stockholders in the association at various times, and in all deposited about $2,500; that they have requested the association, through its officers. at various times to pay to them the moneys deposited, but that they have not recelved the amounts mentioned in the bill. It is further alleged upon information and belief that the association is insolvent and that the officers had borrowed large sums of money with which to pay off certain other stockholders who have withdrawn from the association in preference of the complainants. Justice Barnard issued a rule against the association and its officers. returnable Friday. to show cause why an injunction should not be granted restraining them from removing the assets of the company from the premises and disposing of the moneys and property of the association. and also why a receiver should not be appointed to take charge of its affairs.

3. July 11, 1908 Evening Star Washington, DC

Article from Evening Star, July 11, 1908

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

WEEK ENDING JULY 11, 1908. William J. Bryan of Nebraska and John W. Kern of Indiana were nominated for President and Vice President by the democratic national convention at Denver. The executive committee of the republican national committee, in conference with Mr. Taft at Hot Springs, elected Frank H. Hitchcock chairman, George R. Sheldon treasurer and Arthur L. Vorys manager of the campaign in Ohio. The resignation of Judge William Lochren of the United States district court at St. Paul, Minn., was accepted, and M. D. Purdy was appointed to the vacancy. Secretary Sleeper of the American legation at Caracas arrived here and told Assistant Secretary Bacon of conditions in Venezuela; Senor Volez-Geiticea was recalled, and all diplomatic relations between the United States and Venezuela were severed. Commander Peary sailed in quest of the north pole. Fire caused a loss of over $1,500,000 on Boston's water front. Seven persons were killed and several injured in a collision of trains near Medicine Hat, Wash., owing to a telegraph operator's blunder. A coroner's jury in Philadelphia admitted its inability to solve the mystery of the poisoning of Dr. William H. Wilson. The United Mine Workers called a strike of all union miners in Alabama. Fifteen battleships of the Atlantic fleet sailed from San Francisco for Honolulu; the Nebraska was detained at quarantine in San Francisco by an outbreak of scarlet fever on board. Thirty soldiers with machine guns were sent from Fort Huachuca to Fort Wingate, N. M., to aid in quelling a reported uprising of Navajo Indians. Capt. J. W. Breatch of the Marine Corps committed suicide in Cavite. Foreign. Prince Helie de Sagan and Mme. Anna Gould were married by civil and religious ceremony in London. The American athletes entered in the Olympic games arrived in London The British charge at Teheran demanded an apology from the governor for putting guards near the legation to seize refugees. The Russian minister of finance reported a number of good offers for a loan of $230,000,000 contemplated by the czar's government. A Russian torpedo boat went on the rocks in the Gulf of Finland and was wrecked. Paris contractors voted to order a general lockout owing to strikes and boycotts by workmen. The Brooklyn singers visiting Germany were received by the crown prince and crown princess at Potsdam. Over 400 buildings, including the courthouse. prison and the arsenal at Port-au-Prince, Haitl, were destroyed by fire. A papal decree declared the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Holland to be no longer mission countries. Korean insurgents killed 926 pro-Japanese Koreans and burned many houses. In the District. Commissioners Macfarland and West filed a report exonerating the engineer department of the District of the charges of favoritism made by P. J. Brennan, at the same time admitting that the evidence showed a "case of sporadic dishonesty" in the acceptance of gifts and loans by Charles Fernald. Numerous complaints against the present methods of operating local street railways were considered by the District railway commission at its second meeting; rules for the operation of the local lines were adopted. Control of the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church railway. which was taken out of the hands of receivers, passed to new interests, represented by R. A. Chester, formerly vice president of the Commercial National Bank. A receiver was appointed for the First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown. Machinists employed by the Washington Terminal Company went on a strike, demanding better wages for work on Sunday, holidays and overtime. The temporary appointment of Frank A. Sebring as clerk of the Police Court to succeed the late Joseph Y. Potts was made permanent. Col. Bromwell took practical steps for the tearing down and removal of the old Pennsylvania passenger station. Fires in the District during the week caused aggregate loss of $17,000. Burglars attempted to rob the safe of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in the office at 15th and G

4. July 12, 1908 The Washington Times Washington, DC

Article from The Washington Times, July 12, 1908

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

Deposed Official of George-/ town Co-operative Co. Denies He Has Records. AMBROSE BEGINS RECEIVERSHIP WORK Pass Books and Contracts of Concern Will Be Called in at Once. William E. Ambrose, receiver of the First -operative Building Association of Georgetown, tomorrow will seek the a:1 of the courts in an effort to secure possession of the missing books and records of the association and will put in motion the legal process of winding up the affairs of the organization. He has determined on the following course of action: To employ auditors to ascertain as nearly as possible the financial condition of the association. To call in all pass books held by stockholders for comparison with the books, and to determine the amount of money received by the deposed treasurer, J. Barton Miller. To negotiate as soon as possible all the notes now held by the association. To establish offices for receiving payments from persons owing the association. Denies Knowledge of Books. Mr. Ambrose's demand on J. Barton Miller. the deposed treasurer, was met by Henry E. Davis, counsel for Miller. with the statement that his client had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the books which were taken from the safe in the association's office at 1245 Wisconsin avenue. Mr. Ambrose's first work will be the employment of every legal means to learn the whereabouts of the books and to secure possession of them if they are in existence. Astounded by the tangled condition of the concern's affairs, Mr. Ambrose is determined to waste no time in arriving at an understanding of the exact status of its finances. It is feared that the association is hopelessly involved, and that the stockholders will he heavy losers. Visits Offices. Following the signing of the order appointing him receiver. by Justice Wright, Mr. Ambrose visited the offices of the association yesterday afternoon. and. with James Easby-Smith, who, with John Lewis Smith, was retained as counsel to assist in the receivership, made a thorough examination of the contents of the safe, which had been emptied of books and records vital to an understanding of the finances. He found that the reports of the looting of the safe had not been exaggerated, and that it had been stripped of all the cash which it contained as well as the books. So far as the receiver could learn the association, which for twenty-five years has been considered one of the strongest in the city. is ruined. All the passbooks will be called in at once by Mr. Ambrose, and in this manner the amounts paid into the association during the past few months can be determined. The sum received will then be compared with the amounts placed to the credit of the association in the bank. and If there is any discrepancy it will be brought to light in this way. No Record of Receipts. If any moneys were received between June 4 and 17 there is no record of it in the books left. There is still a small sum in a bank, probably about $300. Since the officers learned of the condition of affairs and the disclosures were made public, many persons have refrained from paying anything into the association. When questioned yesterday afternoon President Fleming said it was possible that peculations may have been going on for months. Money might have been received. they say, and not placed on the cash books without any of the of ficers being aware of it. Mr. Miller is still at his home, 1631 Thirty-fifth street, Georgetown. No one can see him except his counsel, it being declared that he is critically ili. Not in Custody. It was decided yesterday morning to allow the matter of the issuance of the writ of ne exeat, ordered issued on petition of W. C. Sullivan, counsel for some of the stockholders, to remain in abeyance. Clerk John R. Young, of the Supreme Court of the District. declined to issue the writ Friday because of insufficient allegations. In the twenty-sixth annual report of the finance and auditing committee, which is composed of Edgar Frisby and Joseph H. Lee, it is set forth that the association had a surplus of $35,862. That report was made to the stockholders June 4 Since that time a loan of $07,000 has been made, and this note matures in two months. There are no funds on hard to meet it, it is said. June Report. The committee report of. June 4 said that the auditing and finance commit tee has made an examination of the accounts of the First Co-operative Building Association-the individual in vestors' accounts and the borrowers' accounts-and respectfully reports that the securities consist solely of first mort gages on real estate in the District of Columbia. and a few advances made upon stock of the association. It was also asserted the title to every property taken as security had been carefully examined by Jesse H Wilson, for many years connected with the Real E tate Title Insurance Company, and a title examiner of high repute.

5. July 23, 1909 The Washington Times Washington, DC

Article from The Washington Times, July 23, 1909

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

Georgetown Building Association Assets May Total $60,000, Says Report. OWNERS OF STOCK TO GET ONE-THIRD Total of $17,000 in Cash So Far Recovered, Following Indictment of J. Barton Miller. A 10 per cent settlement will be made by William Earl Ambrose, receiver for the First Co-operative Building Assoclation of Georgetown, toward satisfying those to whom money is due from the defunct association of which John Barton Miller, now under indictment for embezzlement and the destruction of records, was secretary-treasurer. Mr. Ambrose, who for the past year has been endeavoring to untangle the affairs of the association, declares that he believes he will succeed in realizing $60,000 from the assets, but that after all debts are paid but one-third of this amount will be available toward satisfying the claims of stockholders. Mr. Ambrose already has approximately $17,000 in his possession, and will begin to work toward the collection of loans aggregating $93,500 upon their face, but upon which probably half already has been paid. In addition to these assets, Mr. Ambrose holds a bond of $6,000 guaranteeing J. Barton Miller, and for which the receiver has made a demand on the surety company. There also is $2,000 in real estate notes. To the present time, the expenses for the past year's work by Mr. Ambrose are $1,121.84, not including fees for J.S. Easby Smith and John Lewis Smith, counsel for the receiver. . Mr. Ambrose asks the court to determine their compensation. Receiver Since June 11, 1908. Mr. Ambrose was appointed receiver for the building association June 11, 1908, after the stockholders had failed to arrive at any satisfactory solution of the affairs of the company. At that time Mr. Ambrose could not find any of the records of the company and, when Miller was charged with their destruction, his indictment followed. The only book of any valué in determining the to status of the company, according Mr. Ambrose, was the cash book, and bank deposit pass books. With these books, however, the receiver was able to supply much of the lost information. Mr. Ambrose, after citing the efforts made by him to obtain the books from Miller, recites the advertisement for stockholders and borrowers and says: The list of stockholders and borrowers, however, is only approximately correct. Borrowing stockholders almost universally have refrained from giving the receiver any information until he obtained it otherwise. It appears from a statement on this report that the gross amount originally loaned by the building association was $95,300. Many Loans Old. Many of these loans, however, he says are of long standing and many have been wholly and others partially paid off, but not released of record. It also appears from this statement that there are now 106 loans outstanding due from eighty borrowers. Because but few of the receipt books of these borrowers have been presented to the receiver, it is impossible at this time to determine the exact proportion of this due the association. In summarizing the work of the as(Continued on Fourth Page.)

6. June 7, 1910 The Washington Herald Washington, DC

Article from The Washington Herald, June 7, 1910

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

MILLER'S METHOD EXPLOITED Alleged Embezzler Faces Jury in Justice Stafford's Court. His Lawyers Reserve Outline of Their Defense Until Government's Testimony Is Completed. Accused of embezzlement in connection with the First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown, whose secretarytreasurer he was, John Barton Miller yesterday faced a jury in Criminal Court before Justice Stafford. United States Attorney Wilson made the opening statement for the prosecution, and Attorneys Henry E. Davis and John E. Laskey, representing Miller, reserved an outlining of their defense until the testimony of the government has been completed. In making his opening statement, Mr. Wilson outlined the nature and method of business conducted by the building associations. He said that the association was organized in 1882 and transacted business until July, 1908, when William E. Ambrose was appointed receiver for the concern. Mr. Wilson explained the methods of the association and the status of the stockholders, and declared that under its constitution the secretary-treasurer was empowered with the general management of the business. All moneys were paid to him and he was required to deposit all receipts in the Farmers and Mechanics Bank of Georgetown. Mr. Wilson argued that It was a violation of duty for Miller to expend the money in any manner than by check on this bank. It was the contention of Mr. Wilson that Miller appropriated money to his own use, and that checks, records, and books would be offered In evidence to prove it. The first witness called was William G. Wagner, former vice president of the First Co-operative Building Association, who testified that Miller read a report to the 200 stockholders of the association in June, 1908, showing that It was solvent. Wagner said that some of the stockholders objected to the adoption of the report, and upon the suggestion to appoint a special auditing committee, Miller is said to have strenuously objected.

7. March 2, 1914 Evening Star Washington, DC

Article from Evening Star, March 2, 1914

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

COURT SUSTAINS LIEN AMOUNTING TO $25,000 Estate of S. Thomas Brown Wins Against Defunct Georgetown Building Association. The District Court of Appeals in an opinion by Chief Justice Shepard sustained today a lien of $25,000 in favor of the estate of S. Thomas Brown, former president of the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of Georgetown, against the funds of the defunct First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown, in the hands of William E. Ambrose as receiver. The opinion affirms the action of the lower tribunal. The effect of this decision, it is stated, will be to deprive the shareholders of the defunct building association of any appreciable return of their investment. The first report of the receiver showed assets collected amounting to about $31,000. When this lien of $25,000 has been paid and the costs of the receivership and litigation are deducted, the fund for distribution among stockholders, it is suggested, will be very small. The building association had given a note to the bank for $27,000 June 20, 1908, for one month. In July, 1908, the concern failed and a receiver was appointed. Mr. Brown purchased the note from the bank on the payment of $25,000. He then sued to enforce its priority as a lien on the funds of the association. The receiver opposed the claim.

8. June 8, 1914 Evening Star Washington, DC

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

W. E. AMBROSE FILES REPORT AS RECEIVER Shows $33,889.39 in His Hands Belonging to First Co-Operative Building Association. William E. Ambrose, receiver of the First Co-operative Building Association of Georgetown, filed today his report as receiver under the new rule of court. Mr. Ambrose also filed a detailed statement of the receipts and disbursements since his appointment in July, 1908. The report under the new court rule shows that the property in the hands of the receiver consists of $33,889.39 in cash. This money is on deposit in the receiver's name in a local bank, the court is told. Attorneys John Lewis Smith and James S. Easby-Smith appear for the receiver. Details Given in Report. In the detailed report Mr. Ambrose says his receipts from settlements of loans made by the building association and unpaid at the time of its failure have aggregated $41,713.51. His disbursements in the past six years have been $7,824.12, the receiver asserts. This leaves a net balance of $33,889.39, according to the report. The largest disbursements claimed by the receiver are attorneys' fees of $1,500 each to John Lewis Smith and James S. Easby-Smith and about $800 paid to Jesse H. Wilson, jr., for searching the records and other professional service. The report will be forwarded to Auditor Dent. who will pass on it. An order of court will probably follow directing distribution by the receiver. Most of Fund Due on Single Claim. It is not considered likely that much, if any, of the fund will be left for distribution among the stockholders of the defunct association. The District Court of Appeals recently decided that the estate of F. Thomas Brown has a first claim of $25,000 on the fund. Other indorsers of notes of the association aggregating about $10,000 have recently asked the court to give them a lien on the balance of the fund before any attempt is made to distribute among shareholders of the company. As the fund is little over $33,000 there will be no funds for the stockholders if the claims of the indorsers prevail.