File #11954: "F104_N93_T57_1924.pdf"

C . R. BUTTS
NORWICH

,

CONNECTICUT

February

24, 1925.

Mrs. Mary Lanman DouwFerris,
551 Fulton Avenue,
Hempstead, New York.
My dear 11rs. Ferris:

,

I nrust confess that after reading your
poem on Hendrick Hudson and his River, it was some
time before I could identify the author with Miss
Douwwho used to visit in Norwich.
It was very
thoughtful of you to remember me.

(

I think it possible that you may remer1·er
enough of Old Norwich and some of its earlie1 inhabitants to be interested in a copy of 11.tl Review
of the History of One Hundred Years" which I am
sending you by this mail.

You addressed me as Attorney-at-Law.
I
have been a banker all my life, and in fact for nost
of it with the old Norwich Savings Society.
I assure you that it has been a pleasure to ·
me to have old times and old acquaintances brought to
mind.
Believe me
Very truly
CRB/D

-e;_n.~

yours,

Presented

to

LONG
ISLAND
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
IN

MARY
[MRS.

MEMORY

LANMAN
MORRIS

OF

DOUW

PATTERSON

1855 - 1932

FERRIS
FERRIS]

-

..

THE
NORWICH
SAVINGS SOCIETY

A REVIEW OF THE
HISTORY
OF ONE
HUNDRED
YEARS

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THE

NORWICH
SAVINGS
SOCIETY

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PRESENT
NORWICH

BUILDING
SAVINGS

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OF THE
SOCIETY

ON THIS SITE IN OLDEN TIMES STOOD A BRICK
TAVERN, WHERE GEORGE WASHINGTON SPENT
THE NIGHT OF JUNE THIRTIETH,
SEVENTEEN
HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE

'

'

\

THE
NORWICH
SAVINGS SOCIETY

A BRIEF HISTORY OF
THE GROWTH IN ONE
HUNDRED YEARS OF A
MUTUAL SAVIN GS BANK

,
FROM EIGHTEEN
HUNDRED
TWENTY FOUR TO NINETEEN
HUNDRED
TWENTY
FOUR

WRITTEN
BY HENRY
A. TIRRELL;
PRINTED
AND BOUND BY PUPILS
OF THE
NORWICH
FREE ACADEMY, APRIL
NINETEEN
HUNDRED
AND TWENTY
FOUR

I

HISTORICAL

SKETCH

AND THE SEVEN YEARS
OF PLENTY, THAT WAS
IN THE LAND OF EGYPT
CAME TO AN END. AND
THE
SEVEN YEARS OF
FAMINE BEGAN TO COME
ACCORDING
AS JOSEPH
HAD SAID : AND THERE
WAS FAMINE
IN
ALL
LANDS ; BUT IN ALL THE
LAND · OF EGYPT THERE
WAS BREAD. Genesis 4I, 54
AN

ANCIENT

THRIFT

ITEM

THE NORWICH

SAVINGS SOCIETY

1824-1924

At the close of one hundred years of
service it seems fitting to recall briefly the
history of an institution that has contributed
in no small measure to the growth of
our community.
A mutual savings bank,
indeed, is a vital part of community life,
rather than an independent agency for social
betterment, inasmuch as its owners are all
those who become depositors; it _exists
solely for their welfare. Its officers are
trustees, responsible to the state for an efficient and safe administration of the funds
entrusted to them. Its influence is far-reaching, touching the foundations of character.
In a century of service this society has
declared in dividends a total of over thirtyone million dollars, and its present list of

depositors is larger than the population of
the city of Norwich, comprising residents
of every state in the Union, and of almost
every country in the world. Its loans, its
payments of deposits as well as dividends,
its conservative yet helpful aid to individuals and to business interests, would in the
aggregate amount to a huge sum, if measured by the material standard of the dollar.
But far more important than money has
been its influence on the community in
the development of a spirit of thrift and
industry in individuals, and of safe business
methods in co-operative enterprises. Sobriety, reliability, perseverance, ambition, and
other qualities of good citizenship are some
of the by-products of what seems perhaps to be solely a financial institution.
In the 79 savings banks of Connecticut
there are approximately 800,000
depositors.
It is evident that such citizens, having an interest in the preservation of law and order, are
not apt to become a menace to our country.
The savings bank is one of the most helpful means of promoting true Americanism.

The gradual improvements by which
mutual savings banks passed from the
experimental
stage of semi-charitable
efforts for aiding the poor and dependent
classes of a community to the more useful
service of self-respecting and self-sustaining
co-operative
enterprises
have n~t deprived these institutions of their two main
purposes : firstthe purpose of guaranteeing to depositors, however small, a safe
return of their investments; secondly- the
purpose of investing, safely and co-operativel y, sums too small to be invested by the
epositor alone. Insofar as savings banks
ave fulfilled these two purposes, they have
xerted a continuous influence towards thrift
and industry, the foundations of character
and prosperity.
In all the history of mutual
savings banks in the United States, in which
there is now on deposit a sum in excess of
six billion dollars, the total losses to depositors have been so small as to be negligible,
while the dividends paid since the first such
bank was established in I 8 I 6 have been
almost beyond computation.
The annual

l

cost of managing the business of savings banks
is approximately one quarter of one per cent
of the deposits. It is noteworthy that the
costs of operation of The Norwich Savings
Society have been considerably less than this.
The idea of mutual savings institutions
for certain classes of people seems to have
been suggested first in England by the author
of Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, as early
as 1697. This idea, combined with schemes
for pensioning the needy, later resulted in
the foundation of so-called Friendly Societies,
whose purpose was largely charitable.
Frugality Banks followed before 1 800, and by
1817 were fairly common in England. The
first such institution to become entirely selfsupporting originated in 181 o with the
Reverend Henry Duncan of Dumfriesshire,
Scotland, who may therefore be called the
father of the modern mutual savings bank.
In this country the worth of the idea was
soon recognized.
On November 25, 1816
the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society was
organized, and was chartered December 1 3,
1 8 I 6. The sixth savings bank in this country

and the first in this state, was the Society
for Savings of Hartford, organized June 9,
181 9.
The Norwich Savings Society was
the second to be organized in Connecticut
and is fourth largest in amount of deposits.
Its founders were men of vision. In the
list of twenty original incorporators and the
twenty others elected by them as associates
in the Society are to be found many family
names famous in state and national history.
While in some respects conditions of life a
century ago seem to us primitive, as perhaps
our own times will seem a century hence, yet
a knowledge of the limitations under which
these men labored serves only to increase
our respect for their sagacity and courage.
The pages of the Norwich Courier of
I 8 2 3 contain many advertisements offering
to exchange commodities for other articles
of value or "for things to eat".
Specie was
scarce in those days. A sarcastic editorial
rejoices that the mails are arriving from
New York in eighty-six hours as compared
with the twenty-six hours in which Hartford
receives its mail. The cost of mail was very

high, for 30 miles 6 cents, from 30 to So
miles Io cents, So to 1 50, 1 2 ¼ cents, for an
ordinary letter. The telegraph, the telephone, the railroad, were as yet unknown.
The town of Norwich had less than 4,000
inhabitants.
Yet these men saw that the
time was ripe for the new enterprise.
The
nation was just emerging into a vigorous
self-consciousness. To the original 1 3 States
had been added Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi,
Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri.
Steamboats on inland waters, and especially
on the Mississippi, the Cumberland Road,
and the Erie Canal, gave promise of easy
commerce between North and South and
the rapidly growing West. The message
of President Monroe in December I 823 had
given notice to the world that we were ready
to stand by ourselves. His attitude was approved equally by Thomas Jefferson and by
John Adams, the patriarchs of Revolutionary
fame. The younger generation of statesmen, Webster, Clay, John Quincy Adams,
Calhoun, and the doughty Andrew Jackson,

all voiced the coming in of a new era of
national prosperity.
The establishment of
the Second Bank of the United States in
I 8 I 6, the consequent passing of "Wild Cat"
banking, the prosperity of manufacturing in
New England, all pointed in the same way.
Locally, too, there was a place for such an
institution.
The commerce of Norwich
with the West Indies was considerable.
The development of our water power was
about to come. Factories for the manufacture of cotton goods, of paper, and nails,
an iron foundry, a rolling mill, were soon
to be started. Many of the members
of the proposed society were identified
with the foundation of industrial Norwich.
So in May, I 824 a charter was secured.
The first section of the Act of Incorpor"At a General
ation reads as follows:Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden at New Haven, in said State, on the first
Wednesday in May, in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and twenty
four, an Act to Incorporate the Norwich
Savings Society ." "Be it enacted, by the

Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Assembly convened, that Benjamin
Coit, Charles Rockwell, Newcomb Kinney,
Charles P. Huntington, Eber Backus, John
Lathrop, Joseph Williams, Russell Hubbard,
Jabez Huntington, Amos H. Hubbard, Bela
Peck, John L. Buswell, John Breed, Dwight
Ripley, Isaac Story, Nathaniel Shipman,
Francis A. Perkins, Lyman Brewer, George
L. Perkins, and William C. Gilman be, and
they are hereby incorporated, by the name,
style, and title of "The Norwich Savings
Society," and that they and such others as
shall be duly elected members of the said
corporation, as in this Act provided, shall
be and remain a body politic and corporate
by the same name and title forever." At
the first meeting of the Society on the last
Tuesday of June the following additional
members were elected: Erastus Coit, Benjamin Lee, Erastus Huntington, Daniel L.
Coit, Joseph Huntington, Calvin Goddard,
Joseph Perkins, Richard Adams, John DeWitt, Henry Strong, Jed Perkins, David L.
Dodge, James Treat, Jacob W. Kinney,

Luther Spalding, Samuel Tyler, David N.
Bentley, Roger Huntington, Joseph C. Huntington, and William T. Williams. Charles
Rockwell was elected President, Francis A.
Perkins, Treasurer, and Joseph Williams,
Secretary of the Society; Jabez Huntington, John L. Buswell, William C.
Gilman, Russell Hubbard were chosen
Vice-Presidents.
The following members
were appointed Directors and Trustees :
George L. Perkins,
Charles P. Huntington,
John Lathrop,
Erastus Coit,
Richard Adams, Roger Huntington, Joseph
Williams, John Breed, Lyman Brewer.
The :first by-laws, containing I 5 articles,
were adopted on July I 2, I 8 24, and in addition to other interesting regulations provided that the Savings Society should be
open twice a month (the :first and third
Mondays) from 10 A.M. to I 2 M., that
deposits should draw interest from the succeeding quarter day (fractions of a dollar
not to be received nor to draw interest),
dividends not called for within 3 months to
be added to principal, that the Board of

Directors meet once a quarter, that the officers consist of a President, four Vice-Presidents, and nine Directors or Trustees.
At
the first meeting of the Directors on July
12, 1824, the President was authorized to
procure necessary stationery, and to apply to
the Norwich Bank to take all deposits and
allow interest at the rate of 5 per cent annually. The first deposit was two hundred
dollars made by Dorcas Mansfield of Norwich, July 3, 1824. The second was made
by William C. Gilman on July 26, 1824,
thirty dollars in amount.
The first earnings
were received from interest on an order of
the Town of Norwich, and amounted to
78 cents. The total expenses of the first
year were $6 3.92, $40 of which constituted
the salary for the Treasurer, who was under
bonds for $5,000. His pay was increased
to $7 5 for the second year. The total net
deposits on December 1, 1825 amounted to
$15,067.09, credited to 1 78 depositors. As
deposits grew the Treasurer's salary was increased till in 1829 it was $150 per annum.
The Secretary received in 1828 the sum of

!

f(

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l

$ I 5 to pay for "Stationery,

office room,
fuel, light, etc." In June 1833 the Treasurer reported deposits of $I21 ,009.6 I.
For many years the prevailing rate of
dividend was either 27'% or 3% semiannually with occasional extra dividends.
In all its one hundred years the Society
has failed only once to declare a dividend.
This was the semi--annual dividend of I 84 3,
which was made up in January I 847 by a
special extra dividend of 3 % for all "depositors of I 84 3 still on the books".
The
surprising increase in funds left deposited
is well shown in the following accounts.
Mr. Burrell W. Hyde, in the History of
Seventy-five Years of the Norwich Savings
Society, recounts the case of a deposit of
one hundred and seventy-five dollars made
in . I 842, which, in I 874, amounted to eleven hundred eleven dollars and eleven cents ;
equivalent to a dividend of 535% on the
investment.
Another case, even more remarkable, is that of Stephen Brown, who,
on June 4, 18 32, deposited seven dollars,
on September 3 of the same year, eight

dollars, on July 2 I, I 8 3 3, five dollars and
on October 8, I 8 34, thirteen dollars, a total
deposit of thirty-three dollars. The account
was closed by payment to his widow on December 3, 1915 of eighteen hundred twelve
dollars and nine cents, of which sum the
accumulation of dividends was seventeen
hundred seventy-nine dollars and nine cents.
No one who has had confidence enough in the
Society to let his money lie has ever lost by it.
A recent case emphasizes another side of
this truth.
A man came in with eleven
hundred dollars in gold, which he wished
to deposit, if the Society would guarantee
that he should receive it back "in gold" at
any time, after suitable notice. He was
informed that a guarantee of such a kind
could not be given, but that the whole history of the institution would be a sufficient
assurance of his receiving the gold when he
wished it. After much hesitation he decided to deposit the money. When asked
where he had secured the gold, he explained
that he had withdrawn it from the Society
shortly after the opening of the World

War and had kept it in his home ever
since!
His loss of dividends meanwhile
had mounted up to hundreds of dollars.
Stranger still was the fact that he had
all the time had another considerable sum
on deposit with the Society and had invested liberally in United States war bonds.
Another
depositor insisted on withdrawing ten dollars. After the proper
entries had been made, the ten dollars
paid, and the transaction closed, the depositor took out a considerably larger sum
of money, placed it with the ten dollars
just received, and deposited the whole sum!
Confidence was once again established.
Residents of Norwich are familiar with
the U ncas Monument, - erected in 1842 near
the Falls in memory of the friendly Sachem
from whoin the town plot had been purchased by the first settlers. Miss Caulkins,
in her History of Norwich, gives an interesting account of the monument.
When
President Andrew Jackson, accompanied by
Vice-President Martin VanBuren, by several
members of his Cabinet, and by Governor

Edwards of Connecticut, visited Norwich in
I 8 3 3, he laid the corner-stone of the shaft.
But there was no money to pay for the memorial. In I 840, however, women of Norwich
raised by a food sale at a political rally a considerable sum for the purpose, and in I 842
with great ceremony the monument was
dedicated.
But Miss Caulkins was unaware
of one interesting result of the day. It was
found, strange to say, that there remained
an unexpended sum after all bills were paid.
What happened to this money for the next
few years has not been discovered. On July
31, I 848, however, it was deposited in The
Norwich Savings Society, under the title
"Mayor of Norwich in trust for Uncas
Monument.
Interest only to be ·withdrawn." The depositlay untouched till I 8 54,
since which time small withdrawals have
been made as repairs have been needed at the
burial ground.
The original sum deposited
was $46.78; the withdrawals have totaled
$ 5 I I .49; the deposit is now $444.69, enough
to care for the memorial in perpetuity.
The oldest account on the books of the

Society is that of Eliza Esther Clark, opened
January 3 1, 1833 by a deposit of $4, increased by a deposit of $1 on February 1,
18 34, since which time it has been untouched.
For some unknown claimant this
account now stands at $255.28, and, but
for the by-law of 1915 relating to dormant
accounts, would total$ 3 57. 30. In 191 5 the
Society adopted a rule that inactive accounts
cease to draw interest after twenty years.
That these accounts are really sleeping (dormant), and not dead, has been proved a
number of times. Much effort is expended
by the Society to discover and notify all
claimants whose accounts have lain untouched for over fifteen years.
Several
years ago a man appeared with an old deposit book for a dormant account.
Until
he had received the letter from the Society
he had been unaware of his good fortune.
After careful search he had come to the
conclusion that the Society was in error,
when at last, wrapped up in an old brown
paper, he had found the book. How it
came to him he did not know. The

probable explanation is that in the settlement of his father's estate the package had
been handed to him with other parts
of his share, and had been stored away
unopened.
His book called for about
$400; his account was worth over $ 1600.
The following memorandum from the
books tells the story of a life long depositor
who would not allow her account to become
forgotten, as the entry of 190 5 shows. Her
name is omitted by request. L. Q. opened an
account with The Norwich Savings Society,
$30.00
Oct. 2 3, 1834 by deposit of cash
Nov. 23, I 8 36 she deposited cash
3.00
May 15, 1840 she deposited cash
3.81
June 15, 1905 she deposited cash
1.00
Total amount deposited
$37.81
The Norwich Savings Society closed this
account by paying to the Executor of the
Will of L. Q.
Oct. 14, 1908 cash
$1,388.88
representing total deposits as above $37.81
and accumulation of interest
or dividends
$ 1,3 S 1.07

Occasionally one comes across an account
that has a mystery almost pathetic.
John
Higgin made a deposit of $116.40 on November 28, 1836. All that is known of him
is that he was a "railroad labourer," and railroads in 1 8 36 were very few. ( The railroad
tunnel near Taftville was the first in the
United States). The account of John Higgin
or his heirs is now worth $5,427.36. All told
the Society has 27 such dormant accounts.
Many an interesting incident might be
told of friendly advice to depositors who
needed it, of personal as well as financial
assistance, of activities extending somewhat
beyond the strict demands of business.
The following advertisement in the Norwich Bulletin of N ovem her 13, 19 13 1s
self-explanatory except that it does not
reveal the name of the chief donor,
who believed that a mutual savings society is an institution with a mission.
"To the Depositors in the School Savings
System of The Thames Loan & Trust Co.
The Century Dictionary defines a savings bank
as an 'institution for the encouragement

,..

J

of the practice of saving money among
people of slender means, and for the secure
investment of savings, managed by persons
having no interest in the profits of the business, the profit being credited or paid as
interest to the depositors at certain intervals.'
The Norwich Savings Society, incorporated
in May, I 824, is a bank of this character.
"Believing that the experience of about
eight hundred children in this community
in beginning their saving by deposits in the
'School Savings System' of the Thames
Loan & Trust Company, now in the hands
of a receiver, will tend to the discouragement 'of the practice of saving money', and
hoping thereby to modify this feeling, gentlemen associated with The Norwich Savings
Society have arranged to enable the Society,
without cost, to make the following offer
to such children :
If these depositors will present in person,
at our office, between noon and two o'clock
in the afternoon any Saturday up to and including November 29, I 9 I 3, their account
card or receiver's certificate representing
1,

I!

the same, they will receive either the
full amount to their credit in cash, or,
if they prefer, and the deposit is one
dollar or over, a deposit book of The
NOTwich Savings Society for the amount.
The Norwich Savings Society,
Main Street, corner Broadway,
Norwich, Connecticut"
The real history of this Society, as of
many other such institutions, would contain
numerous chapters on human nature.
The
hopes, the fears, the self-sacrifice, the characters, of depositors would furnish abundant
material for a great author.
The names of
the men who have been connected with The
Norwich Savings Society through its development are significant as founders of Norwich
business interests, as benefactors of this
community, and of the country as a whole.
In some cases they were men of more than
local reputation.
Such men as Lafayette S.
Foster, president of the U. S. Senate at the
time of Lincoln's assassination, William A.
Buckingham, the "war governor" of Connecticut (1858-1866), John F. Slater, in whose

Ii
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honor Congress authorized a special medal
commemorative of his gift of a million dollars
for the freedmen of the South, deemed this institution worthy of their interest and support.
From the beginning the Society was
successful in interesting the public in thrift.
In June 18 30, it was voted to open the
office on all week days. In I 84 3 the treasurer was authorized to secure a clerk to
assist in making up the dividend accounts
semi-annually. With increasing business the
directors soon felt the need of a new home.
In August I 84 7 it was voted to leave their
room in the old Norwich Bank at the corner where the Shannon building now stands.
The Society then erected the building now
owned and occupied by the Dime Savings
Bank. In that year the books showed 3,600
depositors with a total account of about
$449,000. Continued growth necessitated
a new banking house, which was opened on
Shetucket Street in 1864 with deposits of
nearly 4 million dollars. For over thirty
years this continued to be used, while
deposits rose to about ten million dollars.

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In 1894 the present
building
was
erected, with ample accommodations for
continued expansion of business, and has
been occupied since January 1, 1895.
The list of Trustees for the century is a
long and honorable one, containing 2 2 1
names. Besides the original 40 from I 8 24 to
l 8 34 seventeen others were elected as follows:
Thomas Robinson
John Dunham
William P. Greene
William Williams, Jr.
Jonathan G. W. Trumbull
Jedediah Huntington
William Hines
Dwight Ripley
George Hill
Charles Coit
William D. Ripley
John Hillard
William H. Law
Benjamin Huntington
James L. Ripley
George Perkins
Alfred Lee

From

I

8 34 to 1844, 28 were elected:
Christopher Vail
Erastus Williams
Amos Cobb
Roger Huntington
Peter Lanman
James Stedman
Jacob W. Kinney
Gurdon Chapman
Hezekiah Lord
Calvin Tyler
William A. Buckingham
Lafayette S. Foster
Charles Johnson
Charles J. Lanman
John Brewster
Learned Hebard
Charles P. Huntington
Jedediah Leavens
Benjamin W. Tompkins
Lewis Hyde
Patrick Fanning
John Johnson
John Isham
Joseph Tyler

James M. Huntington
John W. Boswell
Henry Strong
Charles B. Andrews
From 1844 to 1854
Joseph Otis
Joseph Backus
James Treat
Seabury Brewster
Walter Lester
Jabez W. Huntington
Jedediah Huntington
Franklin Nichols
Elijah A. Bill
Joel W. White
Ebenezer Learned, Jr.
Cushing Eells
Bela Peck
Adam Larrabee
John A. Robinson
John T. Wait
George Bliss
Jeremiah S. Webb
Charles Spalding
Joshua A. Perkins

Leonard Ballou
James L. Day
John F. Slater
John G. Huntington
Amos W. Prentice
James A. Hovey
Jeremiah Halsey
Gardiner Greene
Lucius W. Carroll
George L. Perkins
Charles Bard
From 1854 to 1864
Henry B. Tracy
Frank Johnson
Arthur F. Gilman
William G. Johnson
Daniel L. Huntington
Elijah C. Kinney
Bucklin Mathewson
James L. Hubbard
John Dunham
John A. Morgan
David Gallup
Levi W. Meech
Livingston H. Smith

Albert B. Isham
James Lloyd Greene
Henry C. Huntington
Dudley R. Wheeler
Lewis A. Hyde
From 1864 to 1874
Samuel B. Case
Charles F. Setchel
David P. Otis
Hezekiah F. Rudd
Charles Osgood
William P. Greene
Moses H. Sisson
John Mitchell
Charles Webb
Henry Larrabee
George R. Hyde
Stephen B. Meech
Lucius Brown
Charles Larrabee
From I 874 to 1884
Costelio Lippitt
Charles C. Johnson
Bela P. Learned
Asa Backus

Sidney Turner
Adams P. Carroll
William Roath
John D. Brewster
Albert G. Mitchell
William A. Slater
Calvin L. Harwood
Charles H. Kenyon
Norman Day
From 1884 to 1894
S. Alpheus Gilbert
Luther S. Eaton
Oliver L. Johnson, Jr.
Arthur H. Brewer
John M. Johnson
Willis A. Briscoe
Alfred A. Young, Jr.
Lucius Briggs
Charles L. Hubbard
George B. Prest
Donald G. Perkins
Nathan A. Gibbs
William C. Mowry
Adam Reid
William H. Palmer, Jr.

Charles S. Johnson
James H. Arnold
Frank W. Brewster
Reuben S. Bartlett
Charles R. Butts
From 1894 to 1904
Albert H. Chase
John Porteous
William H. Shields
Franklin S. Jerome
S. Alpheus Gilbert
Charles D. Noyes
Timothy E. Hopkins
Leonard B. Almy
Charles W. Vaughn
Charles Henry Osgood
Ansel A. Beckwith
Amos T. Otis
Frank T. Brown
John C. Morgan
James M. Young
Nelson J. Ayling
William A. Norton

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From 1904 to 1914
Ebenezer Learned
Dwight L. Underwood
Angus Park
John T. Almy
Allyn L. Brown
James L. Hubbard
Lewis R. Church
Chauncey B. Woodworth
Frank E. Palmer
John P. Huntington
Henry M. Pollock
Henry A. Tirrell
Reuben S. Washburn
From 1914 to 1924
Traver Briscoe
Frank B. Ricketson
John F. Rogers
Charles D. White
Arthur F. Libby
Guy B. Dolbeare
E. Howard Baker, Jr.
William I. Cook
Casper K. Bailey
Thomas A. Crowley

The following men have held the office of
President:
Charles Rockwell
1824- 1826
Jabez Huntington
1826-1833
Francis A. Perkins
1833-1835
Charles W. Rockwell 18 35-1842
William Williams
1842- 1847
Henry Strong
1847- 18 5 I
Lafayette S. Foster
1851-1856
Joseph Williams
1856-1866
Charles Johnson
1866-1879
Franklin Nichols
1879- 189 1
Amos W. Prentice
1891-1894
John Mitchell
1894-1901
Charles Bard
1901-1913
Arthur H. Brewer
1913-1923
Charles R. Butts
1923-Treasurers have served as follows :
Francis A. Perkins
1824-1833
Jabez Huntington
1833-1847
Francis A. Perkins
1847-1863
Benjamin Huntington 1863-1878
Costello Lippitt
1878-lt i~ believed that the record of Mr. Lippitt is unique in savings bank annals.

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After graduation from Wesleyan U niversity in the class of 1864 he entered the
service of The Norwich Savings Society
January 1, 1865. His term of continuous
services extends over more than 59 years.
The office of Secretary has been held by
six men:
Joseph Williams
1 8 24- 1 8 3 3
George Perkins
1833-1835
Jabez Huntington
1835-1847
Francis A. Perkins
1847-1863
Benjamin Huntington 1863-1881
Costello Lippitt
I 88 I-Attorneys to the Corporation have been :
I 8 35-1874
George Perkins
Jeremiah Halsey
1875-1896
Willis A. Briscoe
I 896-191 3
John P. Huntington
1913-From the list of Trustees the following men
have served as Directors :
George L. Perkins
John Lathrop
Richard A'1ams
Joseph Williams
Charles P. Huntington

Erastus Coit
Roger Huntington
John Breed
Lyman Brewer
Jacob W. Kinney
George Hill
Jedediah Leavens
Hezekiah Lord
John Johnson
Lafayette S. Foster
Lewis Hyde
Jabez Huntington
Charles Rockwell
John L. Buswell
William C. Gilman
Russell Hubbard
Joseph Perkins
Joseph C. Huntington
Thomas Robinson
Jonathan G. Trumbull
Charles Coit
John DeWitt
John Dunham
Moses Hillard
Nathaniel Shipman

I

I

William Williams, Jr.
Charles W. Rockwell
Francis A. Perkins
Dwight Ripley
William H. Law
Erastus Williams
Amos Cobb
Benjamin Huntington
Gurdon Chapman
Samuel Mowry
Charles Johnson
J ededia:h Huntington
Appleton Meech
Charles B. Andrews
John Brewster
Henry Strong
Patrick Fanning
Benjamin W. Tompkins
Joel W. White
Ebenezer Learned, Jr.
Franklin Nichols
Leonard Ballou
James L. Day
Lucius W. Carroll
John G. Huntington

Jeremiah Halsey
Gardiner Greene
John A. Robinson
Henry B. Tracy
Daniel L. Huntington
Adam Larrabee
David Gallup
John A. Morgan
John F. Slater
Amos W. Prentice
Charles Osgood
John Mitchell
John Brewster
Hezekiah F. Rudd
Charles Webb
Bela P. Learned
Frank Johnson
Henry Larrabee
George R. Hyde
Asa Backus
Sidney Turner
Charles Bard
Calvin L. Harwood
John M. Johnson
Costello Lippitt

Arthur H. Brewer
William H. Palmer, Jr.
William C. Mowry
Adam Reid
William H. Shields
Charles L. Hubbard
Stephen B. Meech
S. Alpheus Gilbert
Ansel A. Beckwith
Charles D. Noyes
John C. Morgan
John Porteous
Franklin S. Jerome
Charles R. Butts
Nelson J. Ayling
Ebenezer Learned
John T. Almy
Henry A. Tirrell
Charles H. Osgood
Frank B. Ricketson
John P. Huntington
Frank E. Palmer

The present members of the
Directors with dates of election
lows:
Lucius Brown
June
Costello Lippitt
"
S. Alpheus Gilbert
"
Charles D. Noyes
"
John Porteous
"
Charles R. Butts
"
Nelson J. Ayling
"
Ebenezer Learned
"
John T. Almy
"
Henry A. Tirrell
"
Charles H. Osgood
"
Frank B. Ricketson
"
John P. Huntington
"
Frank E. Palmer
"

Board of
are as fol-

1877
1892
1901
1905
1908
1910
1910
1913
1913
1916
1917
1919
1922
1923

The deposits of the Society through N ovember 30, 192,3 have been:
DATE

1834
1844
I 8 54
1864
I 874
1884
1894
1904
1914
1923

DEPOSITS

NO. OF DEPOSITORS

$

147,161.81
281,637.65
1,76o,4o9.79
3,831,860.19
7,320,524.88
7,928,511.83
9,863,607 . 11
15,054,820.75
17,515,680.88
20,454,316.61

7,694
I 1,999
I 2,459
10,771
11,639
17,501
20,112
Nov. 30,
23, I 34
The last semi-annual statement of the
Society shows assets carried on the books
at $21,896,819.11 as against deposits of
$20,454,316.61. This leaves a margin of surplus and undivided profits of $1,442,502.50A further security of depositors consists in
the fact that the par value of bonds exceeds
the book value by $1,516,690.69, a sum
which is gradually added to the assets as the
bonds mature for payment.
The last semiannual dividend declared to depositors of
January 1, 1924 amounts to $398,143.65

as compared with the first dividend
January 1, I 825 amounting to $42.63.
The number of deposit accounts for the
century is more than I 65,000, exclusive of
all war loan transactions.
Like all other
savings banks the Society "did its bit" in the
War by handling for its clients and for the
public generally government bonds in large
amounts.
28 50 bondholders are leaving
their Liberty Bonds with the Society for
safe-keeping, in almost all cases having the
coupons added to sums already on deposit.
Thrift amongst children is being taught
successfully, as is shown by I 583 thrift stamp
accounts.
The average deposit for all accounts is
about $887, while the annual expenses of
management average $2 for each depositor.
There is little of the spectacular in the
history of a savings bank. Nevertheless
the steady adherence to duty of its employees,
the conscientious judgment ofits officers and
directors, the safe administration ofits funds,
the helpfulness of its influence, make it a
large asset in community well being. In

the selection of Mr. Charles R. Butts as
president the directors secured a worthy successor to Mr. Arthur H. Brewer, who held
the office from I 91 3 to I 9 2 3. No president
in the list of his fourteen predecessors has
enjoyed any such complete preparation as he
in the technique of banking.
Directors and
depositors alike have reason to rely with confidence on the success of his administration.
The by-laws of the Society have been
changed and modernized,
always with
the welfare of depositors in mind. Interest is counted from the first of each
month, provided the deposit is made
within the first five days of the month.
The entire operating force of the Society
-is as follows :
President
Charles R. Butts,
'Treasurer
Costello Lippitt,
Assistant 'I reasurer
Guy B. Dolbeare,
Assistant 'Treasurer
William I. Cook,
Harold P. Hull
Chief Clerk
Clerk
Katherine D. Smith
Lucile L. Howard
"
Edith A. Fellows
"

I

l

I

·,

!

Ruth E. Bartlett
Clerk
William M. Wyman
"
John Evans
"
Daniel F. McNeil,
Custodian of safe depon·t vault
Ansil A. Champion,
Janitor
It is a matter of unusual interest that deposits of such magnitude are cared for by a
comparatively small office force.
The
number of complete transactions averages
about 200 a day throughout the year; yet the
books are closed usually (Dividend periods
of course are excepted) shortly after 3.30.
The system by which the records are kept is
so simplified and yet so accurate that it is often
admired byvisitorsfamiliar with similar banks.
The statistics presented for The Norwich
Savings Society seem small as compared with
certain metropolitan banks, but are in reality
surprisingly large when the population of
the town of Norwich (29,684) is considered.
In the savings banks of this small community
are deposited over 3 6 million dollars. The
thrift of the population and their prosperity have been due partly to the great

diversity of local manufacturing interests, and
in no small measure, we believe, to the
wisdom of the leaders who founded this and
similar institutions for the public welfare.
One would like to look into the future
and survey the next century of life for this
young and lusty centenarian.
If the deposit
of $200 made by Dorcas Mansfield in I 824
were still on the books, it would amount to
to-day. If the
considerably over $20,000
sum now on deposit were to remain for a
century at the present dividend rate, it would
amount to about one billion dollars. Compound Interest is a little giant, who makes
or mars the fortunes of most people. The
tremendous possibilites for good of such institutions as The Norwich Saving Society
have not diminished with years. The responsibilities of this trust are accumulating
and will continue to do so. Money, if one
examines its origin, is simply a claim to
capital ; and capital is the stored up product of labor. As man works and saves the
product of his labor for the time when he
cannot work, he insures himself and his

household against dependency and humiliation. He makes sure of continuous self-respect and of all the blessings that go with
the full development of his personality.
Hail, to the depositors if the next century !