Duncan, Sherman & Company

Duncan, Sherman & Company was a New York City banking firm, founded in 1852, that went bankrupt in 1875.[1]

Duncan, Sherman & Company
FateBankruptcy (1875)
Founded1852
HeadquartersNew York City, New York
Key people
Alexander Duncan
Watts Sherman
William Watts Sherman
J.P. Morgan
ProductsFinancial services

History

Duncan, Sherman & Company was established in 1852 by Scottish immigrant Alexander Duncan, Watts Sherman (the former cashier and general manager of the Albany City Bank)[2] and William Butler Duncan Sr. (Alexander Duncan's son).[3] After incorporating, the firm purchased a lot at 11 Pine Street, on the corner of Nassau Street, and hired New York City architect Alexander Saeltzer to design the Duncan, Sherman Company building.[4] In 1866, the firm's office suffered a fire which destroyed "some old books and duplicate letters" but did not do much damage otherwise.[5]

When the original partnership expired on July 1, 1862, Alexander Duncan withdrew from the firm but left his capital in the firm which he assigned to his two sons, W. Butler Duncan and David Duncan.[3] Upon the death of Watts Sherman in 1865,[2] Francis H. Green and William Watts Sherman,[6] Watts Sherman's son who had trained as a physician, joined the company as partners.[7] Charles H. Dabney served as a partner in the firm, as well as the company accountant.[8]

The firm was the banker for the Hansom Cab Company, invested heavily in Mobile and Ohio Railroad stock,[7] and acted as the American representatives of George Peabody and Company,[7] which was known as J.S. Morgan & Co. after George Peabody retired in 1864 and Junius S. Morgan took over (the firm later became known as Morgan Grenfell).[9] Beginning in 1857, J.P. Morgan, son of Junius S. Morgan, apprenticed as cashier at the firm.[8] Morgan left the bank in 1860, along with Charles H. Dabney, to establish his own firm and take over as the agent for his father's company.[9]

In June 1875, former teller William F. Leslie, along with his accomplice, Ella Shaw ("a fine-looking young woman of about twenty-five years of age."), was charged with robbing the firm of $25,000.[10]

1875 failure

On July 27, 1875, the firm failed with liabilities in excess of $5,000,000. The business was "placed in the hands of an assignee--ex Judge William D. Shipman."[11] "The suspension of Duncan, Sherman and Company was a shock to the business community of New York and to the country. The firm was one of the oldest and strongest in the country."[12] In 1878, Shipman auctioned the firms investment in the Mobile and Ohio Railroad,[13] filed reports for several years thereafter.[14]

Some initially blamed the failure of Duncan, Sherman on the Union Bank of London, however, the Union Bank had not failed, but, instead, had refused to honor the drafts of the American bank.[12] Duncan, Sherman & Co. was due to its heavy investment in cotton on behalf of English buyers, which in 1875 had broken down markets and "spread ruin among the cotton mills in England."[12]

In 1878, Duncan and Francis H. Grain (both of New York) and William Watts Sherman (of Newport) "lately composing the firm of Duncan, Sherman, and Company," acquired 758 shares of Franco-Texan Land Company stock through land-grant bonds which was associated with the Texas and Pacific Railway.[15]

References
  1. Carosso, Vincent P. (1987). The Morgans: Private International Bankers, 1854-1913. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  2. "Obituary. MR. WATTS SHERMAN" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 March 1865. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  3. "Estoppel as to Ownership of Land: New York Court of Appeals, October 4, 1881. Trenton Banking Co. v. Sherman". The Albany Law Journal. Weed, Parsons & Company. 24: 391. 1881. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  4. Landau, Sarah; Condit, Carl W. (1996). Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 1865–1913. Yale University Press. pp. 404–405. ISBN 978-0-300-07739-1. OCLC 32819286.
  5. "Fire in Messrs. Duncan, Sherman & Co.'s Banking-house" (PDF). The New York Times. 31 March 1866. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  6. Bonin, Hubert; Valério, Nuno (2015). Colonial and Imperial Banking History. Routledge. p. 55. ISBN 9781317218920. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  7. "Duncan, Sherman & Co.'s Affairs.; Examination of Mr. William Butler Duncan and William Watts Sherman the Mobile and Ohio First Mortgage Coupons Mr. Watts Sherman's Connection with the Bankrupt Firm" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 February 1877. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  8. Moody, John. The Chronicles of America Series Allen Johnson Editor. Yale University Press. p. 12. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  9. "J.p. Morgan & Co. Inc". www.encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  10. "The Duncan, Sherman & Co. Robbery" (PDF). The New York Times. 13 June 1875. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  11. "A Great Failure; Duncan, Sherman & Company. Liabilities Said to Be Over $5,000,000--The Assets Unknown--A General Assignment Made by the Firm to Hon. W.D. Shipman--The Probable Causes of Their Failure" (PDF). The New York Times. 28 July 1875. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  12. Administration (Ohio), United States Work Projects (1937). Annals of Cleveland. Cleveland W.P.A. Project. p. 34. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  13. "Duncan, Sherman & Co.'s Assets" (PDF). The New York Times. 2 August 1878. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  14. "Duncan, Sherman & Co.'s Affairs" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 January 1881. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  15. Taylor, Virginia H. (2011). The Franco-Texan Land Company. University of Texas Press. p. 120. ISBN 9780292785717. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
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