Bank of Florida Letter

Collection — Box: 515

Identifier: MSS 0-13

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The three page letter, signed by E.G. Booth, secretary to D.S. Kennedy, Esq. of New York, gives a list of drafts drawn on several individuals and then the details of a bill of lading covering 41 bales of cotton, all being sent for discount. The postscript refers to the financial difficulties then existing in Florida banking circles.

Dates

Other: Date acquired: 04/01/1952
Creation: 1844

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been transferred to the Florida State University Libraries All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical or Historical Information

Florida banking began in the 18th century with the Native American trading firm of Panton, Leslie and Company. This firm established banking services during the period of English control and continued them after the Spanish occupation, when it is said that it became the financial agent of the Spanish government in Florida. It was the only banking company in Florida until several years after American ownership. However, hardly had the territory been organized before banking projects sprang up in rapid succession, each constituting a special case, as there were no general banking laws. Governor William P. DuVal, first governor of Territorial Florida, opposed these new banks successfully until 1829, but after numerous efforts, and several vetoes by the Governor, Florida's first bank opened in 1829 as the Bank of Florida at Tallahassee, which later became the Central or Union Bank of Florida. Some records show that it began operations with $60,000 and authorized capital of $1,000,000.

In the early 1930's, the "Big Three" came into existence: they were the Bank of Pensacola, the Southern Life Insurance and Trust Company, and the Union Bank of Tallahassee, originally the Bank of Florida.