Skip to main content

Sturdivant Bank Ledgers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2002.045

Scope and Contents

Collection consists of 6 separate ledgers summarized below:

Sturdivant Bank Checkbook Register, 1857-1862. Checkbook register for Branch Bank of the State of Missouri (Sturdivant Bank) in Cape Girardeau for the period 1857-1862. Mostly unused, this register records a few checks written by the bank during that time period. On 20 July 1857 number 6 check was written for Amaziah Brewer for $54 to credit.

Sturdivant Bank Daily Records, Vol. 1-2, 1857-1860, 1864-1867 and 1873-1876. Two volumes of records of the Sturdivant Bank (Branch Bank of the State of Missouri) for the years 1857-1860 and 1864-1867 and 1873-1876. Both volumes contain weekly entries for lists of depositors, interest and exchange, domestic exchange, protest, entries for the Bank of Missouri, the Bank of Louisiana, “Parent” bank, and the Bank of Commerce, bills discounted, expenses, and sundries to cash. The records are quite thorough.

Sturdivant Bank Draft Registers, Vol. 1-2, 1882-1885, 1884-1888. Draft registers for Branch Bank of the State of Missouri (Sturdivant Bank) in Cape Girardeau for the periods 1882-1885 and 1884-1888. Volume one lists drafts drawn on the St. Louis National Bank; volume two lists drafts drawn on the Ninth National Bank, New York. Volume one has “St. LOUIS” stenciled on the front. Volume two has “NEW YORK” stenciled on the front. Inside this volume are several loose-leaf sheets, one entitled “Beware of Counterfeit Notes” and dated February 1, 1886. It lists banks which have counterfeit notes circulating and describes the level of expertise of the counterfeiter. It also lists fraudulent banks-banks which do not even exist. Another loose-leaf ad found in volume two is one which details the rates for remittance to the American Exchange in Europe. Several other loose sheets found in this ledger include a list of “incorporated, private, and national banks” in Missouri at the close of business August 28, 1886, a notice concerning trading in of ragged U.S. one and two dollar notes for small silver certificates in return, and a circular concerning the issue of minor coins by the Treasury Department, Bureau of the Mint in Washington, D.C. for September 10, 1886 (five-cent nickel pieces and one- cent bronze pieces that can be ordered).

Sturdivant Bank Loan Records, 1854-1869. Very thorough daily records for loans for the Branch Bank of the State of Missouri (Sturdivant Bank) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for the years 1854-1869. When loans were made the interest was subtracted (discounted) before the money was given to the recipient. Loan columns were labeled number, date, discount, for whose credit, endorser, drawer, acceptor or payor, what point (location such as St. Louis or Jackson), time, time to run, when due, amount, interest and exchange, total, proceeds, and remarks.

Dates

  • Creation: 1854-1890

Rights Statement

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Biographical / Historical

Col. Robert Sturdivant arrived in southeast Missouri in 1835 and involved himself in many different endeavors, including the mercantile business, teaching, newspaper publishing, and banking. In 1866 he acquired the Third Branch Bank of Missouri and opened it in his own name. It was located at the northwest corner of Main and Themis streets in Cape Girardeau. In 1892 the old building was demolished and it was replaced by a new building, designed by St. Louis architect J.B. Legg and built by Henry Ossenkop, a local building contractor. An office on the second floor of Sturdivant’s bank housed Cape Girardeau’s first telephone company and switchboard in 1896.

In 1902 Sturdivant retired from the banking profession but his bank survived until 1932 during the Great Depression. His bank building still stands and is used by present-day retail establishments.

Extent

1.0 Linear Feet

3 folders

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Checkbook registers, signature books, daily records for loans, and other records for the Branch Bank or the State of Missouri (Sturdivant Bank) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Title
Sturdivant Bank Ledgers 1854-1890
Status
Completed
Author
Esther H. Bohnert
Date
2008
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
One University Plaza, MS 4600
Cape Girardeau Missouri 63701 United States
5736512245