Return to the Frank Passic
Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
|
Morning Star, January 17, 2025, pg. 7 Albion has had three banking failures in its history, namely the Albion National Bank (1912), and the Albion State Bank (1931). The first failure occurred on April 5, 1886 at the lesser-known Peabody Exchange and Deposit Bank. This was a private bank owned by John Murray Peabody (1839-1893) who had the distinction of being the first white male child born in Albion. His parents, Tenney and Eleanor (Thompson) Peabody, were Albion's first settlers. John opened his bank at 300 S. Superior St. in 1876. This was the former location of the National Exchange Bank of Albion from 1865 to 1872, which had subsequently moved across the street. The location is presently the site of a barber shop. John served as president of the bank, while Isaac N. Miller was the cashier. John had concluded that the Albion Exchange Bank operated by his brother-in-law James W. Sheldon (married to John's sister Mary Peabody Sheldon) two doors away was charging too much interest; thus, he opened his own bank. Unfortunately, on Monday morning April 5, 1886, the bank failed to open its doors, and many Albion citizens lost their money. An accounting showed that the bank had real liabilities totaling $28,042, while real assets equaled only $2,501. John Peabody was arrested for obtaining money fraudulently on a complaint from hardware merchant Augustus P. Gardner who had made a deposit. John was also arrested on a complaint by Fred L. Crane on the charge of selling a draft when there were no funds to meet it. Due to legal issues, both charges had to be dismissed, and Peabody was set free. Included in the deposits of the bank was about $5,000 belonging to the City of Albion. The city treasurer, Wellington Bidwell Crane, Albion's first city treasurer, was held personal responsible for the lost funds, according to the laws of those days. He was thus expected to personally pay the money back to the city out of his own pocket. In addition, Crane was fired from his treasurer job, and was sued by the city. The Albion City Council passed a resolution on April 13 which stated, "Resolved: That the city attorney be and he is hereby ordered to commence suit in the name of the city without delay against Wellington B. Crane, ex-treasurer of the City of Albion, including his bondsmen, Lewis D. Crane, John M. Peabody, and John G. Brown, for the recovery of the city's monies now in the hands of the treasurer." After negotiations with Crane, the Council worked out a figure where the city accepted $4,250 in fully payment for the loss, with the city incurring a $700 loss, wanting to avoid costly litigation. The bank's premises and fixtures were sold at auction on July 3, 1886. Disgraced, John Peabody and his family left Albion for Denver, Colorado where they lived the remainder of their lives. There John engaged in real estate and sold life insurance. However, his troubles were not over yet. A 1912 reference stated, "Mr. Crane some years later was able to recover a very small amount of his loss by going to Denver and almost forcing it from Mr. Peabody, but the amount recovered was very small and he never overcame the effects of the bank failure." Crane did manage to pay back the money to the City over a period of several years, but the debt and stress affected his mental and physical health. Crane died at the Kalamazoo asylum on September 25, 1901 at the age of 54, and was buried in Riverside Cemetery here in Albion. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph believed to be that of John Murray Peabody, and an advertisement from the 1885 Albion City Directory.  Believed to be John Murray Peabody (1839-1893)
 Advertisement from the 1885 Albion City Directory
All text copyright, 2025 © all rights reserved Frank Passic
| ||||
