User:Evansknight/National German American Bank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National German American Bank
Predecessors
  • Meyer & Willius (1856-1858)
  • F. & G. Willius (1858-1863)
  • Willius Brothers & Dunbar (1863-1873)
  • The German American Bank (1873-1883)
FoundedMay 2, 1883; 141 years ago (1883-05-02) in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Founders
  • Gustav Willius
  • Walter Mann
  • B.C. Howes
  • Joseph Lockey
Defunct1912 (1912)
Fatemerged with Merchants National Bank of St. Paul
SuccessorU.S. Bancorp
Total assets$2,000,000.00 (1883)

Meyer & Willius[edit]

What would become the banking firm of Meyer & Willius began its life in 1854 as a grocery firm on State Street in Chicago.[1] Ferdinand Willius had arrived in Baltimore in 1853, and made his way to Chicago via Philadelphia and New York City.[2] Chicago was recommended to him due to its large German population at the time. Heinrich Meyer, with whom Ferdinand had worked at G. J. Bechtel Sugar works in Bremen, had previously immigrated to the city, and they entered into business together after their reunion.[3] They operated as a grocery firm for a year, at which point they branched out into the banking business, which at the time was risky, volatile, and entirely unregulated. Despite this, the need of their immigrant community for financial institutions was strong, particularly in regard to things like sending money to families in Europe, or paying for family members' passage to America.[4] For a group of people who still, largely, did not speak English, the American banks that served their anglophone neighbors were insufficient, leading to the success of smaller, specialized banking houses within their own communities.[5] Chicago was, however, a large and ever-growing city, and so competition for business was fierce. Westward expansion meant that new and untapped resources in the form of underserved communities in fortier towns would need the same services they were providing in Chicago, so in 1856, Meyer and Willius packed up their shop on State Street and relocated to the newly incorporated town of St. Paul, Minnesota.[6]

After their move to St. Paul, Meyer and Willius acquired a space at Bridge Square, then the bustling town center of St. Paul (now part of the city of Minneapolis).[7][8] They were capitalized for only a few thousand dollars, but the fledgling town had a population of less than 4,500. Shortly after opening this bank, Meyer's brother Fred joined them from Chicago, and Willius' brother Gustav arrived in America from Germany.[9] They were hired as bookkeepers for the firm, and in 1857 admitted as partners. With their brothers managing the bank in St. Paul, Henry and Ferdinand acted on their long-held plans and opened a satellite location in the newly founded and rapidly growing town of St. Peter.[10] That same year, Heinrich Meyer died unexpectedly, which led to his brother Fred quitting the firm.[10] This left only the two Willius brothers, at which point the name of the was changed to reflect the new partnership.[11]


  • Newson, T. M. (1886). Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches of Old Settlers. Saint Paul: T. M. Newson. p. 567. myers and willius open
  • Newson, T. M. (1886). Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches of Old Settlers. Saint Paul: T. M. Newson. p. 700.myers and willius investors

F & G Willius[edit]

https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Bailey_s_Saint_Paul_Directory_for/H9YvAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22willius%22&pg=PA117&printsec=frontcover

Willius Bros. & Dunbar[edit]

Gustav returned from military service in 1863, and Lewis L. Dunbar, a man of substantial means, was admitted into the partnership, and the name of the banking house was changed to Willius Bros. & Dunbar. At this point, they relocated form their Bridge Square office to a new location at 183 Third St. between Wabasha St. and St. Peter St. (where St. Paul city hall stands today).[12]

Willius Bros. & Dunbar Bank, 183 Third St.

The German American Bank of St. Paul[edit]

When the German American Bank opened its doors in 1873, it claimed to be "among the dozen largest banks in the country".[13]

The National German American Bank[edit]

Otto Bremer

References[edit]

  • Millett, Larry. Lost Twin Cities. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1992.
  • Glasrud, Clarence A. A Heritage Deferred: The German‐Americans in Minnesota. Moorhead, MN: Concordia College, 1981.
  • Rippley, LaVern J., Notes About the German Press in the Minnesota River Valley, The Report, A Journal of German-American History, 1972;35:37-45
  • Slade, G. Richard. Crises and Panics and Mergers and Failures: Saint Paul's Struggling Banks and How They Survived Their First 75 Years. Ramsey County History 2002;36(4):4-12
  • Warner, George E., et al. History of Ramsey County and the City of St. Paul, Including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota. North Star Pub. Co., 1881.
  • Bliss, Frank Chapman. St. Paul, Its Past and Present: Being an Historical, Financial, and Commercial Compend, Showing the Growth, Prosperity, and Resources of the Great Commercial Emporium of the Northwest. F.C. Bliss Publishing Company, Saint Paul (Minn.), 1888.
  • St. Paul Daily Globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.), 04 Aug. 1893. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
  • Otto Bremer: His Life and Legacy. Otto Bremer Foundation, Minnesota, 2017.
  • The Banker's Almanac for 1874. New York: Office of the Banker's Magazine and Statistical Register, 1874.
  • Marquis, Albert Nelson. The Book of Minnesotans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the State of Minnesota. A.N. Marquis & Company, Chicago. 1907.
  • Germania Bank. Historic Sites Survey, St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission, Ramsey County Historical Society, 1981.
  • Rippley, Lavern J. "German-American Banking in Minnesota.” A Heritage Fulfilled: German Americans ( Die Erfüllte Herkunft), edited by Clarence A. Glasrud, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, 1981, pp. 94–115.
  • Bundesgesetzblatt des Norddeutschen Bundes. Berlin, October 1868.
  1. ^ Saint Paul: History and Progress. Saint Paul: Pioneer Press. 1897. p. 68-69.
  2. ^ Willius, Fredrick A. (1948). A Genealogic Narrative of the Willius Family and Related Families. St. Paul: [Unpublished manuscript].
  3. ^ Otto Bremer: His Life and Legacy (PDF). Saint Paul: Otto Bremer foundation. 2017.
  4. ^ Keil, Hartmut; Jentz, John (1983). German Workers in Industrial Chicago, 1850-1910: A Comparative Perspective. Chicago: Northern Illinois University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0875800899.
  5. ^ Schroeder, Steve (2003). "The Willius Brothers of St. Paul and Ethnic Banking in Minnesota". Paper Money. XLII (3): 190–203.
  6. ^ Rippley, LaVern J. (1981). "German-American Banking in Minnesota". In Glasrud, Clarence A. (ed.). A Heritage Fulfilled: German Americans (PDF). Moorhead, MN: Concordia College. p. 94-115.
  7. ^ Millett, Larry. Lost Twin Cities. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1992.
  8. ^ LaVigne, Madelyn W. (May 2006). "4. St. Paul". Heartland Germans: Cultural Maintenance in Mid-Nineteenth Century America (PDF) (MA). Boca Raton, FL: Florida Atlantic University.
  9. ^ Newson, T. M. (1886). Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches of Old Settlers. Saint Paul: T. M. Newson. p. 567.
  10. ^ a b Donovan, Frank Pierce; Wright, Cushing F. (1954). The First Through a Century, 1853-1953: A History of the First National Bank of Saint Paul. St. Paul: The Webb Publishing Co. p. 64. ISBN 9781199076311.
  11. ^ Rippley 1981, p. 97.
  12. ^ Bailey, A. A. Bailey's Saint Paul Directory for 1863. A. Bailey, 1863.
  13. ^ *Conzen, Kathleen Neils (2003). Germans in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780873517348.

Category:Banking Category:Banks Category:History of Minnesota

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Evansknight/National_German_American_Bank&oldid=1169837033"