50-0264All checks and notes of former Ithaca Trust Company and Tompkins County National Bank were being handled today from the Trust Company building at 110 North Tioga Street. Checks drawn on either of the old banks will be honored by the Tompkins County Trust Company.
The wheelbarrow was laden with bags. He pushed it into the narrow private lane alongside the bank and stopped. He took the bags and entered the bank. Ten minutes later the main doors were flung open. The crowd surged in and waved checks for full payment of their deposits.
Mr. Williams, white-bearded and substantial, stood inside the teller's window and began cashing the checks from two large heaps of coins, one of gold and the other silver. The crowd was astonished at the sight, and relief began to show itself in every face.
William Halsey of the milling firm of Halsey Brothers, when his turn came, held out a check for several thousand dollars and asked: "Williams, what are you doing here?"
Mr. Williams replied, "Where are your eyes, Halsey?"
"Are you backing this bank, Williams?" the depositor inquired.
Halsey Calms Crowd
"Yes, Halsey."
"Is it all right, Williams?"
"I have examined its securities and conditions and am loaning it all it needs to pay off every dollar it owes, Halsey."
"Then we don't want another check cashed, Williams." Then turning to the horde of depositors, "Men, we are all right, and our money is safe. Come with me!"
And the crowd followed him back into the street, tearing their checks in pieces as they went.
One other such narrative is recalled concerning the Ithaca Trust Company during the panic of 1893. The bank, then only two years old, was naturally in graver danger from sudden withdrawals than the more maturely established institutions.
PERSONNEL COMBINED Personnel of the former Tompkins County National Bank and Ithaca Trust Company have been combined in the merged Tompkins County Trust Company.
1922, the bank accepted the trust established by the Ithaca City Hospital, consisting of all funds previously left to it and those to be bequeathed in the future.
On Apr. 17, 1923, the Trust Company as trustee for the Stewart Park Fund purchased the old Cascadilla School recreation grounds west of the park. On Oct. 6, 1926, it was voted to increase the capital stock from $250,000 to $300,000. On Nov. 6, 1926, it was voted to increase the capital stock from $300,000 to $400,000; to split stock consisting of 4,000 shares at $100 each to 16,000 shares at $25, par value.
On Mar. 3, 1933, national bank holiday declared by President Roosevelt. The Trust Company was one of the first to receive notice that a license had been issued permitting it to reopen for business on Mar. 15, 1933.
One other such narrative is recalled concerning the Ithaca Trust Company during the panic of 1893. The bank, then only two years old, was naturally in graver danger from sudden withdrawals than the more maturely established institutions.
One day a man who had a deposit of $10,000 walked into the bank and asked to withdraw the entire amount. Frederic J. Whiton, the secretary and treasurer, was behind the window. He realized that to have asked the man's reasons or to have endeavored to dissuade him would have been ruinous. The story would have spread like wildfire through the town and a run on the bank might have ensued.
Instead, the bank official calmly asked him if he would prefer his