Bank of Cheney (Cheney, WA)

Episode Information

Episode UID
6767574191001
Episode Type
Suspension โ†’ Closure
Bank Type
private
Bank ID
676757419 hash
Start Date
May 26, 1883
Location
Cheney, Washington (47.487, -117.576)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini (chosen from majority vote of a three-model LLM ensemble)
Short Digest
94363b69fac1cbe3

Response Measures

None

Description

Later accounts describe the bank as having 'exploded' and a suspected robbery/mismanagement; articles do not explicitly report a receiver being appointed.

Events (2)

1. May 26, 1883 Suspension
Cause
Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details
Failure attributed to overexpansion/branching out and apparent mismanagement of the bank's affairs.
Newspaper Excerpt
A private dispatch from Cheney announces the suspension of the Bank of Cheney.
Source
newspapers
2. January 3, 1885 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Danford's banking exploits at Cheney, Washington Territory. Ever since the bank exploded until Thanksgiving Day Ainsworth had been in jail... opinion gained ground that he had nothing to do with the robbery of the bank... Danford sold the bank $20,000 worth of bonds and credited himself; then took the $15,000 and placed it in a special box... then he took the $15,000 and placed it in a special box in the bank vault or safe and put the key in his pocket. (Phillipsburg Herald, 1885-01-03).
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (3)

Article from Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer, May 27, 1883

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Article Text

The Publication Committee was in racted to proceed with the publication of the amended prayer book. committee was appointed to solicit subscriptions on the basis of one dollar each to extinguish the the Cam mins' memorial church and erect tablet to his memory. PACIFIC COAST. The Pilot Explosion SAN FRANCISCO. May Graves, who was seriously but not fatally injured. SAYS: the Haystack 6:50. the time of the explosion, which near 7:20 as can tell. I was just getting up from the breakfast table, the engineer having gone ahead of me. Suddenly the deck rose and the stove fell. and knocked with something don't know what. Assoon came on deck saw body around and thought everybody killed. then heard screams. and found several of the injured and some the crew, most of whem were unin jured. tried to save whom I could and succeeded in saving four Palmer Mathers, his baby, and fireman, John Shedden. The last named, however. died about 15 minutes after I landed him on shore. Palmer I found in a horrible condition, having large splinters of wood in his neck and several broken Mrs. McNear and Hea. gon we found about a mile below the wreck. the former dying and the latter dead We searched all day for bodies but could not find any. count for the explosion. in the engine room on the way to breakfast Had light pressure of steam and erything looked right. We had to contend against greatobstacles The bank could not be reached except through six feet of mud. and all the boats The cept one were blown to pieces first help came from passing train. which went for more help to Donahne landing, The captain attributes the explosion to the fault of the engineer in not having water enough in his boil ers. The Pilot Survivors. The steamer Belle brought the wound ed persons from the wrecked Pilot Petaluma where the best of attention was given them Last evening nothing visible of the wreck except a few sticks. At low tide the stern and part of the forward deck are out of the water. The boiler burst out through the and carried everything with Steamboat Inspectors at Petaluma to make an examination, and will nothing until the examination is com pleted. The Belle was at the scene the disaster to save parts of the wreck and recover bodies of vietin The est victims J. Hagen of San Francisco, killed; Mrs. Geo. P. McNear of Petaluma, died from wounds four sons of W F Mathers drowned Shattuck, fireman of the Pilot, killed S. Graves, Captain of the Pilot knocked with out forehead McAlley, broken arm; W Math ers, body and braised infant child of Mrs. W. Mathers body scalded and can't Geo. o Palmer of the Pilot. wound in the neck and four ribs broken, the case is re garded as almost hopeless by surgeons: Wru. Sullivan, slight wound in the right side of the nose. The following ported missing: Horace Bell, mate of the Pilot; A J. Blackwel Thos ford, engineer of the Pilot: G. W Grogal, A. Hawes, steward of the Pilot Mrs. Mathers and daughter W Mathers, Peter McCabe, deck hand the Pilot: Richmond, dock hand on the Pilot; N. Silva, cabin boy on the Pilot, and an unknown man, deck hand. Falled. SAN FRANCISCO, May .L-inforth Rice & Co., dealers in agricultural im plements, have failed. A meeting of oreditors has been called to consider the condition of their affairs. San Francisco Notes. SAN FRANCISCO, May 6.-Leland Stan ford leaves today for Europe on the steamer Germania. Temperature here yesterday was 81 degrees in the sbade. Vigo Bay Treasure Company has been incorporated, and its purposes are to profit by the right conceded by the King of Spain to explore the bottom of bay at Vigo Spain, and extract there from the treasures they may find. Cap stock $800,000. Grain. Sugar and Peaches. SAN FRANCISCO, May 26. The wheat market coutinges weak. Good judges state that within sixty days wheat will go down to $1.30, with increased freights. Sugar is in good demand in anticipation of cannery demands Peaches made their first appearance, re tailing at 50 cents a pound. Penalties. The Produce Exchange Call Board has instituted a penalty of $25 for every proven fictitions sale also that the marginal deposits on contracts must be ten cents a cental, excepting bran and mill feed, hen the rate shall be five cents cental. Bank of Cheney Suspended. [Special to POST INTELLIGENCES PORTLAND, May 26.-A private dis patch from Cheney announces the suspension of the Bank of Cheney. Further particulars could not be learned Bank is owned principally by John C. Davenport a prominent merchant, who is estimated to be worth about $100,000. The failure is supposed to be caused too much branching out. Bankers here think Davenport's are such that he will be able to pay in full. The Results of Feelishing Around other Man's Wife. 6 VISALIA, Cal. May 23 About o'clock this evening. as J. W. Harlan, of the Western Union Telegraph Company was returning from a buggy ride with the wife and and daughter, the lat ter aged four and six years, of Levi Elliott, Elliott met the party the and trance of caught "You opened fire with revolver Harlan shielded himself with the body of who received a ballet in the breast and died in wounded Harlan in the minutes. right band, and hip. After was thring, shot shot by Harlan through the heart, exmoments. in to determine which was the but from Harlan's manner and the finding of two pistols the scene of the affray, it believed Harlan shot Elliott. a rian, after the shooting. went to drug store, where his wounds were dressed. He then taken by the Sheriff to jail, where he confined. The affair has caused quite an and threats synching


Article from Puget Sound Weekly Argus, May 31, 1883

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Article Text

Cheesy BankSoepended. PORTLAND, May 26. A private dis patch from Chency announces the suspension of the Bank of Cheney. Further particulars could not be learned. The bank is owned principally by John C Davenport a prominent merchant, who is estimated to be worth about $100,000. The failure is supposed to be caused by too much branching out. Bankers here think Davenport's possessions are such that he will be able to pay in full.


Article from Phillipsburg Herald, January 3, 1885

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Article Text

About Danford. ..... Osage City Free Press. Dan. Ainsworth was in town ten days ago. For good reasons we said nothing about it that week. We had a long talk with him about Danford's banking exploits at Cheney, Washington Territory. Ever since the bank exploded until Thanksgiving Day Ainsworth had been in jail. The opinion gained ground that he had nothing to do with the robbery of the bank-in fact was as much a victim and probably more than any one else-and SO he was released that day on bail, one of the principal losers by the bank failure going on his bond. Danford bought a bank that was in operation. Its deposits amounted to about twenty thousand dollars. Its owner asked five thousand dollars for it. Danford made the purchase by giving a check on the bank for that amount. The purchase money was then taken out of the deposits. The style of the new firm was J. S. Danford & Co., bankers and brokers, A fter this purchase was accomplished Danford sent for Ainsworth. He still owed Ainsworth some sixty-five hundred dollarsmoney obtained from the sale of his farm near Newton. This money was to Ainsworth's credit in the Osage City Savings Bank when it suspended. When Ainsworth got to Cheney, the prospects of the new enterprise looked very bright, and the business of the bank was good and very profitable. Danford claimed that he had $100,000 on deposit with a Safe Deposit Company in Chicago, and that as soon as the old affairs could be settled, he would bring it to light Middsthey would be able to carry on a large business. Ainsworth says he believes Danford had money in Chicago, as he had remitted, at Danford's request, the box rent that became due to the Deposit Company at 8 previous time. After Ainsworth got to Cheney, Danford was full of schemes for the extension of his banking business, and not only promised to soon pay Ainsworth all he owed him, but put him on the high road to fortune. "Now," said Danford to Ainsworth, "there is still $15,000 of the depositors' money in the vault. It must be sacredly kept for them when called for." So he sold the bank $20,000 worth of his Osage county land bonds and credited himself with that amount of cash. He explained that he did this to prevent any unexpected officers with attachments from being able to get hold of any valuable property. In other words, that an official search for assets would result in a water haul. "As soon as I get the old matters to rights everything will be all right," said he. Then he took the $15,000. and placed it in a special box in the bank vault or safe and put the key in his pocket. "Now," said he, "the depositors' money