16927. Peconic Bank (Sag Harbor, NY)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Suspension → Reopening
Bank Type
state
Start Date
May 1, 1905
Location
Sag Harbor, New York (40.998, -72.293)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
b0718f74

Response Measures

None

Description

Cashier Francis H. (F. W./Francis H.) Palmer confessed to a large shortage (about $40,000–$41,600) caused by speculation/embezzlement. The bank (state-chartered) suspended operations on May 1, 1905 and reopened about Monday May 8, 1905. No run is reported — only a small curious crowd. Palmer was later arrested.

Events (2)

1. May 1, 1905 Suspension
Cause
Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details
Cashier Francis H. Palmer confessed to a shortage of roughly $40,000–$41,600 from speculative borrowing/misappropriation in Wall Street, causing the bank to suspend operations.
Newspaper Excerpt
he confessed yesterday ... and this morning the institution failed to open its doors for business.
Source
newspapers
2. May 8, 1905 Reopening
Newspaper Excerpt
The Peconic Bank reopened its doors on Monday last. It was announced that Mr. Palmer had reimbursed the bank to the amount of $33,000, and that the directors would make good the amount of shortage still remaining.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (8)

Article from Evening Star, May 2, 1905

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CONFESSES TO SHORTAGE. F. W. Palmer of Peconic Bank, Sag Harbor, Short $40,000. A dispatch from Sag Harbor, N. Y., says: Francis H. Palmer, cashier of the Peconic Bank of this place, confessed yesterday to the president and board of directors of the bank that he was $40,000 short in his accounts, and this morning the institution failed to open its doors for business. According to the statement of Mr. Palmer to the bank's officers, unsuccessful speculation in Wall street was the cause of his downfall. After Mr. Palmer had submitted to John M. Hildreth, president of the bank, a statement covering all the transactions which led to the suspension the announcement was made that the shortage would cause a loss to the bank's depositors. At the same time the announcement was made that the cashier had turned over to the institution all of his real estate and personal property, amounting to $33,000, and it was said that the balance of the shortage would be made up by the directors, who had pledged themselves to pay in the money within twenty-four hours.


Article from The Sun, May 2, 1905

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A SAG HARBOR BANK CLOSES. CASHIER PALMER BORROWS ITS MONEY AND SPECULATES. Owes $40,000 and Turns Into It Property Real and Personal Valued by Him at $33,300-Directors Raise a Fund of $10,000 and Hope to Reopen Thursday. SAG HARBOR, L. I., May 1.-The Peconic Bank. a State chartered institution. closed its doors this morning after Francis H. Palmer, its cashier, had confessed to the directors that he had taken $40,000 of the bank's funds and lost the money in Wall Street. The directors immediately sent for Examiner Hutchins of the State Banking Department, who arrived this morning and is at work on the books. The bank has a capital of $25,000 and a surplus of $10,000. There is some doubt as to whether it can resume, although the bank officials profess to believe that it can. They base their hopes on the fact that the cashier has turned over to them security upon which he places a value of $30,000, and to this the officials have pledged themselves to add $10,000 in the belief that it will make up the shortage. Whether or ot it can resume will not be determined until the examiner has finished his work. Cashier Palmer founded the bank and practically ran it. He has lived in Sag Harbor for eighteen years and is one of the big men of the town. He is also connected with the Peconic Savings Bank, which is in no way involved in the Peconic bank's trouble the glass works and the local electric lighting company. He is a Mason and a prominent member of the Presbyterian church. According to the president of the bank. John W. Hildreth, a local grocer, Palmer confessed to what he had been doing on Saturday. after he had made & trip to New York and consulted with friends there. They say that he has been speculating in stocks for years and at times borrowed from the bank, but always on good security. According to one report, he at one time owed the bank as high as $70,000. Under the law a State bank is forbidden to lend more than 10 per cent. of its capital and surplus. Palmer learned on Saturday, it is said, that he had been "wiped out" in the market and it was then that he called the directors together. The property which he turned over to them, it is learned. consisted of a mortgage on a piece of property here, some stock in local corporations and a life insurance policy. In a statement which he had prepared he had the real estate valued at $30,000 and the personal property turned over to the bank at $3,300, still leaving a shortage of $6,700, which he said he was unable to make up. It was then that the directors piedged themselves to raise $10,000, of which $6,700 was to be immediately available, in the belief that the bank would be able to resume at once. Although the bank officers are inclined to believe that Palmer put a very low estimate on the stuff he has turned OVE! to them. it is known that the feeling of the banking officials is contrary to this, and that $20,000 is the figure they believe it will realize, in which case the bank will have to stand a loss of $20,000. Unless the deficiency is made good it will have to remain closed. The stock and real estate is capable of different valuations. It was not until after banking hours today that it became generally known that the bank had closed. Very little business is done on Monday, and the few who called were taken into President Hildreth's private office and the matter explained to them. There was nothing like a run on the bank. A small crowd gathered out of curiosity in the afternoon. President Hildreth announced this afternoon that every depositor would be paid in full, that the bank was sound, and that it was hoped it wo uld begin business again on Thursday. The bank, he said, had deposits of $100,000. "We expect to be able to stand any run that may come," he said. "Our loans are all good and well secured. Mr. Palmer did not write up his books on Saturday, but did so this morning. The estimates on his property are low, and if there is no forced sale of real estate there will be a deficiency of not more than $2.000 to make up we think." The officers of the bank. besides Mr. Hildreth, are Henry F. Cook, vice-president, and J. Harrison, Olin M. Edwards, William E. Dennison and Cleveland F. Stillwell, directors.


Article from Evening Star, May 10, 1905

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FORMER BANK CASHIER HELD On Charges Based on Alleged Shortage of $41,600. SAG HARBOR, L. I., May 10.-Francis H. Palmer, former cashier of the Peconic Bank of this place, has been arrested on charges based upon an alleged shortage of $41,600 in his accounts, which caused the bank temporarily to suspend operations on May 1. John M. Hildreth, president of the bank, and two directors of the institution have been subpoenaed as witnesses in the case. The Peconic Bank reopened its doors on Monday last. It was announced that Mr. Palmer had reimbursed the bank to the amount of $33,000, and that the directors would make good the amount of shortage still remaining.


Article from The Minneapolis Journal, May 10, 1905

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ARRESTED AS AN ABSCONDER. Sag Harbor, L. I.. May 10.-Francis H. Palmer. former cashier of the Peconic bank of this place, has been arrested on charges based upon an alleged shortage of $41.600 in his accounts, which caused the bank temporarily to suspend operations on May 1. The Peconic reopened its doors on Monday last.


Article from The Sun, May 11, 1905

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CASHIER PALMER ARRESTED. Sag Harbor Bank Official Charged With Lareeny-Acid Used. RIVERHEAD, L. I., May 10.-Cashier Francis H. Palmer of the Peconic Bank of Sag Harbor was arrested there this afternoon by Deputy Sheriff Higgins. His shortage of $41,600 recently oaused the bank to suspend operations for a week, but it reopened its doors on Monday last. Among those examined before the warrant was issued was the Rev. J. Jay Harrison, a director of the bank. The examination was held before Justice Hildreth. In answer to questions Mr. Harrison said that Palmer's method was to charge his shortage up by raising discounted notes when the bank examiners came around and by charging the amount to other banks when the examining committee of the bank was to look over his books. He admitted that acids had been used. The warrant for Palmer's arrest charges larceny in the first degree. Palmer was held by Justice Hildreth for the Grand Jury. Bail was fixed at $2,000.


Article from Willmar Tribune, May 17, 1905

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MISCELLANEOUS. A tornado killed 500 in Oklahoma. The entire town of Snyder is reported swept away. A passenger train of the Pennsylvania road ran into the rear of a freight. causing an explosion of two cars of dynamite. Both trains were wrecked. Seventy-five passengers were killed and probably 100 injured. Francis H. Palmer, former cashier of the Peconic bank, of Sag Harbor, L. I., was arrested Wednesday on charges based upon an alleged shortage of $41,600 in his accounts, which caused the bank temporarily to suspend operations on May 1. The transfer of Count Cassini to the embassy at Madrid and the nomination of Baron Rosen to succeed him as ambassador to the United States is officially confirmed. Advices from Alaska and the Northwest Territory say that the output in gold from the northern country this year will total $22,000,000, if not more. A tornado struck Quinlan, in Woodward county, Okla., on the line of the Santa Fe railroad, destroying the home of Mrs. O. W. Cox and killing her two sons: The case of Mrs. Anna Valentina, the New Jersey woman under sentence of death, will not be reached in the supreme court of the United States before next fall. According to private advices from Zhitomir, Russia, the fruits of the antiJewish riots there are 16 dead and over 100 wounded, mostly Jews. John Golby and Harry Smith were crushed to death and John Chambers was fatally injured by the collapse of the Harroun grain elevator during a tornado at Elwood, Kan. Returns to the chief of the bureau of statistics of the department of agriculture, made up to May 1, show the area under winter wheat in cultivation is about 29,723,000 acres. The sultan of Turkey has decorated J. Pierpont Morgan. A San Francisco man has arrived in Chicago to organize a branch of the National Industrial Peace association, composed of both employers and employes, whose object is to prevent strikes. The forty-fourth Illinois general assembly has adjourned sine die. The records of the house show that 683 bills were introduced in that body, while 495 were introduced in the senate. A mob of workmen tore two Russian policemen to pieces in Ekaterinburg. Nan Patterson refuses a $45,000 engagement, because she says she wants to go home to her mother. Emperor Nicholas has dissolved the ministerial commission on schools over which M. Witte presided. This is regarded as a mark of disfavor against M. Witte. Orlin Kalderwit was found guilty of second degree murder, charged with killing Fredie King, a seven-year-old boy, in a saloon at Columbia Heights, Minn., on the night of November 22. The post office at Viborg, S. D., was raided by cracksmen who secured about $2,500 in stamps, cash and notes


Article from The Worthington Advance, May 19, 1905

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For the Week Ending May 15. The protected cruiser St. Louis was successfully launched at Philadelphia. As a result of anarchy growing out of the strike at Limoges, France, all city officials have resigned. Julius Rosenthal, a prominent Chicago attorney, was run over by a cab and died of his injuries. Germans in general indorse the government's policy toward the United States regarding the tariff. Vice Admiral Beresford proposes that the navies of the United States and Great Britain unite in maneuvers. Emerson Bennett, a well-known writer and composer, is dead at the Masonic home in Philadelphia, aged 83 years. Santa Fe passenger train No. 17 was ditched by train wreckers a mile east of Emporia, Kan. Six passengers were injured. If the supreme court decision on the tax franchise law is favorable $27,000,000 will be added to the New York treasury. Eleven yachts, representing America, England and Germany, will leave Sandy Hook on a race across the ocean to England. Mayor Dunne is worried over the cost of the strike to the city of Chicago, which amounts to $2,500 a day for extra police. The Middleton bank in Waverly, Mo., has failed for $30,000. The cashier, E. H. Lewis, is accused of disappearing with $30,000 of the funds. Floyd Sackett, of Wilbank, Mont., was shot and killed at the 0 X ranch by Mark White. They had an altercation over some sheep. A. Brightman shot and killed Mrs. Charles H. Gurney and then committed suicide at Los Angeles, Cal. Unrequited love was the motive. A report received in Paris says the nurse of the czar's son tried to boil the infant to death, but that the attempt. was frustrated by the empress. While playing with a rifle which was not known to be loaded, Harvey Schleuter, 12 years old, was killed by his little sister at Cedar Rapids, Ia. The American cruisers Brooklyn, flagship of Rear Admiral Sigsbee, and Olympia, flagship of Rear Admiral Bradford, have arrived at San Domingo. The Lindell hotel, a landmark of St. Louis, patronized for a generation by noted men, has been closed. The building is to be razed to make way for a store. A speech of Pius X. to John Redmond concerning the Irish situation resulted in protests to the pope from English bishops and the British government. Joseph Lewis, 104 years of age, is dead at his home in New York city. He served, with two sons, throughout the civil war. Lewis was the father of 27 children. The case of Mrs. Anna Valentina, the New Jersey woman under sentence of death, will not be reached in the supreme court of the United States before next fall. Four persons were killed and about 40 hurt as the result of an explosion of a United Gas Improvement company's tank at Point Breeze, in the southern section of Philadelphia. Two runabout automobiles started from New York to: race to Portland, Ore., for a cash prize of $1,000, offered by the National Good Roads association, whose convention opens in Portland on June 21. At Adel, Ga., John Hewitt shot and killed his wife, shot her sister and brother, wounding them slightly, and when surrounded by a posse of citizens, shot and killed himself. The cause of the tragedy is unknown. Francis H. Palmer, former cashier of the Peconic bank, of Sag Harbor, L. I., was arrested on charges based upon an alleged shortage in his accounts, which caused the bank temporarily to suspend operations on May 1. The formal opening of the new Union passenger station, which is to replace the antiquated structure in use for years, was made a gala event at Atlanta, Ga., about 50,000 persons accepting the invitation of the railroads to be prese THE MARKETS.


Article from The L'anse Sentinel, May 20, 1905

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Dr. Harper of the University of Chicago, is in New York to continue course of treatment under fluorescent rays, and declares he has received great benefit, and is much stronger than a month ago. Justice Gaynor in the supreme court in Brooklyn has decided that a contract declared illegal by the courts of Kentucky is illegal and void in New York. A boa constrictor, 12 feet long, was killed in the street in New York. A complaint has been sworn out by a trolley car motorman in Kansas City, Mo., against Jesse James, son of the famous outlaw of that name, charged with usury. Young James, who is a pawnbroker and money lender, is accused of charging 10 per cent. interest month. as Francis H. Palmer, former cashier of the Peconic bank, of Sag Harbor, L. I., was arrested Wednesday on charges based upon an alleged shortage of $41,600 in his accounts, which caused the bank temporarily to suspend operations on May 1. The transfer of Count Cassini to the embassy at Madrid and the nomination of Baron Rosen to succeed him as ambassador to the United States is officially confirmed. Advices from Alaska and the Northwest Territory say that the output in gold from the northern country this year will total $22,000,000, if not more. A tornado struck Quinlan, in Woodward county, Okla., on the line of the Santa Fe railroad, destroying the home of Mrs. O. W. Cox and killing her two sons. The case of Mrs. Anna Valentina, the New Jersey woman under sentence of death, will not be reached in the supreme court of the United States before next fall. According to private advices from Zhitomir, Russia, the fruits of the antiJewish riots there are 16 dead and over 100 wounded, mostly Jews. John Golby and Harry Smith were crushed to death and John Chambers was fatally injured by the collapse of the Harroun grain elevator during a tornado at Elwood, Kan. Returns to the chief of the bureau of statistics of the department of agriculture, made up to May 1, show the area under winter wheat in cultivation acres. 29.723,000 about si Frank Holbrook and his wife, an aged couple, were brained with an ax at their home, four miles from Watkinsville, Ga., and their bodies dragged to the front porch. Their little store had been burglarized. The Connecticut legislature, in joint session, formally declared Frank B. Brandegee elected United States senator for the unexpired term of the late Senator O. H. Platt, which began 1993. 't March The Minnesota state census bureau rules that women cannot be compelled to give their age when questioned by enumerators. The federal grand jury in Chicago has begun an inquiry into the connection between big packers and the poultry and game business. The Michigan Central railroad broke the grip of the Armour car lines on the Michigan fruit trade by announcrefrigera- UMO su esn IIIM " that Bui tor cars and reduce icing charges to actual cost. John D. Rockefeller will continue his benefactions to needy institutions, despite criticisms as to "tainted money." The launching of a National Fraternal Sanitarium for Consumptives near Las Vegas, N. M., was made possible by a $1,000,000 gift from the Santa Fe railway. The government report suggests a winter wheat yield promise on May 1 of 461,000 bushels. The yield in 1904 was ,000,000 bushels; in 1903, 401,686,000 bushels. The McKinley National Memorial association approved a design for a mausoleum for the late president. Republican members of the senate commerce committee criticise President Roosevelt and Secretary Taft for interfering in rate legislation. Twenty-nine lives were lost in a tornado that wrecked part of Marquette, Kan., and did much damage in that vi-u] елем persons " JO total V chilty. jured. Ira Green and William Dillon were hanged at Belleport, Pa.. for the murder of Jerry Condo, a turnkey in the Center county jail. In a head-on collision between two trolley cars on Staten Island 30 persons were injured. Protestant churches in Chicago plan a big tent revival campaign for the summer. The interstate commerce commission is making close inquiries in Chicago into the peculiar rate situation which enables packers to buy lard pails more cheaply on the Pacific coast than in