Independence National Historic Park
In the First Bank Building
116 Chestnut Street, between Third and Fourth Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19106
http://www.nps.gov/inde/

Contact Person:
Researchers are advised to call for an appointment:  (215) 965-2305.  Please ask for Doris Finelli

Overview:

In the Museum Collections of INHP are innumerable pieces of loose correspondence, individual stock certificates, bank notes, pamphlets on currency and banking matters, bank books of individuals dating from the eras of the First and Second Banks of the United States.   Some of the individuals prominent in banking and early financial history in Philadelphia are featured in these collections, including Robert Morris. The Museum Collections include ten important letters of Robert Morris dating from the early 1780s, and miscellaneous papers of Morris during the institutional crisis of the 1780s.

Miscellaneous materials related to the Bank of North America, the Bank of Philadelphia, Stephen Girard's Bank, and the Bank of Pennsylvania will prove useful for the specialized researcher.

For the First Bank of the US, the Park holds some of William Meredith's records of deposits and withdrawals for 1806 to 1811.  Also in the collection are letters of George Clinton (New York), Oliver Wolcott (Treasury Department), First BUS trustees minutes, treasurer's notes, miscellaneous letters about the controversial nature of the Bank and its functions during the 1790s, checks of numerous depositors and bank creditors.

For the Second Bank of the US, the Park holds the bank book of R. P. Page, 1836-1840; cashiers checks and personal checks; bills of exchange on Baring Brothers of London; numerous letters and printed pamphlets on the controversy surrounding recharter of the Bank; numerous letters to Manuel Eyre (as Bank Director) of Philadelphia about bank business; letters and speeches of notables such as Daniel Webster, Andrew Jackson, Mathew Carey, Nicholas Biddle, Wiliam Duane, Henry Clay, and others; internal bank business papers; numerous copies of stock certificates and receipted bills for stock sales, mostly during 1836

For the Girard Bank, the Park holds a few bank notes, checks, and 1849 minutes of stockholders meeting.

For the Philadelphia Bank and the U.S. Treasurey Department, a few miscellaneous pamphlets and papers dating during the 1780s to 1820s that are available, for the most part, in other collections.  Public documents of Alexander Hamilton figure prominently in this part of the Museum Collections.

In a subsection of the Museum Collections, there are numerous items -- letters, pamphlets, bank notes, etc. -- dating from the 1780s through the 1820s, which are not indexed or, in some cases, identified fully, but which will have significance for scholars of early American finance.

            Scholars are urged to make a prior appointment to use any INHP materials.

            See also Catalog of Manuscripts & Documents, Part I, INHP, comp. Margot Fleishman, 1991.