Collection number: MC 192
Size: 4 boxes
(1.33 cu.ft.)
About William H. Morton (1814-1904) and the Salmon Falls Bank
The Salmon Falls Bank of Rollinsford, New Hampshire was incorporated on July 3, 1851 with capital of $50,000. Mason & Lawrence Company of Boston, who had recently acquired the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company, directly influenced the bank’s incorporation. They built housing and sponsored business in the area in order to draw workers to the Salmon Falls Mills. On September 15, 1851 William H. Morton was selected as the cashier for Salmon Falls Bank, a position he held until his death on June 4, 1903. After Morton’s death in 1903, John Q. A. Wentworth became cashier and served the Salmon Falls Bank until his death on January 30, 1929. In June 1964 the bank merged with the Somersworth Bank and became the Somersworth-Rollinsford Savings Bank.
William H. Morton was born on February 14, 1814 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to William and Sarah (Griffith) Morton. In 1823 the Mortons moved to Somersworth (now Rollinsford), New Hampshire. William Morton, Sr. was a carpenter who built and serviced several of the mills at Salmon Falls. At the age of 16 William H. Morton was hired by the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company to sort wool. He worked there for 4 years. In 1834, after the mill had burned down, he moved to Grafton, Massachusetts where he worked two years in another woolen mill. Then, in 1836, he and a partner opened a general store. In 1841 Morton married Sarah Putnam Merriam of Grafton and a daughter, Georgietta, was born in 1844. Morton moved the store from Grafton to Blackstone, Massachusetts in 1842 before returning to Salmon Falls in 1845 where he ran the general store business from his new house. Tragedy struck the family when Sarah died in 1849. After being appointed cashier of the Salmon Falls Bank in 1851, William abandoned his general store business to devote his full attention to the bank.
Morton was very active in politics. He served as a selectman of Somersworth for two years before the incorporation of Rollinsford and then as a selectman of Rollinsford from July 3, 1849-March 1, 1852. He also served as Rollinsford town clerk from 1849-1898, town treasurer from 1849 to February 1901 and as a Justice of the Peace. William H. Morton was elected to the New Hampshire Senate and served for two years as the Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Banking. Morton Park, a Civil War memorial, in Rollinsford, New Hampshire, was built with funds from his estate in 1909.
About the Salmon Falls Bank Account Books
The collection consists of eight account books pertaining to the Salmon Falls Bank in Rollinsford, New Hampshire. Included in the collection is William H. Morton’s personal cash book (1852-1865). Morton recorded Rollinsford Town treasury information in this book as well as his own personal income and expenditures. At one time the pages that contained the town treasury information were glued together. Also found in this book were nineteen pieces of paper: blotters, adding tables, bills and a letter. William H. Morton, as cashier of the Salmon Falls Bank, kept six of the other books in this collection, which were vital to the operation of the Salmon Falls Bank: a discount book (October 16, 1851), two note books (1851-1864 and 1864-1894), two cash books (1868-1871 and 1881-1888), and a waste book (1875-1881). The eighth book, a deposit book (1903-1929), was kept by John Q. A. Wentworth for the Rollinsford Savings Bank. Found in this book were 45 pieces of correspondence and other miscellaneous items dating from 1926 to 1929.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Folder], [Box], Salmon Falls Bank Account Books, 1851-1929, MC 192, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Purchase: Carmen Valentino, November 14, 2005 (Accession number: 2005-15)
Collection Contents
Series 1: Account Books, 1851-1929
(4 boxes)| Box 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 1, Item 1 | October 16, 1851 –
November 1, 1898. “Notes Discounted,” Salmon Falls
Bank
This account book records the very beginnings of the Salmon Falls bank. Early transactions involve relatively small amounts. However, on October 29, 1852, Samuel Lawrence, treasurer of the Bay State Mills, deposited a 5-month $10,000 note and the next day Morton began heading his pages “Salmon Falls Bank”. Each entry records the date, name, investment, and dividends. Please wear gloves when using this book. | |
| Box 1, Item 2 | December 1851 – August
1864. “Notes Discounted,” Salmon Falls Bank
This account book follows the due dates of the notes recorded in “Notes Discounted” above. Entries include the Town of Rollinsford, Somersworth Machine Company, Somersworth Savings Bank, Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company, Bay State Mills, and Great Falls Manufacturing Company. | |
| Box 2 | ||
| Box 2, Item 1 | April 1, 1852 – July 11,
1865. “Cash Book,” William H. Morton
In this account book William H. Morton details his personal income and expenses. His income includes his salary as bank cashier and the fees he collects as town clerk and treasurer. Household expenditures include food items (“oranges,” “cider,” “eggs,” “Thompson for beef and tongue,” “Ice cream and Berries”), services (“housekeeper,” “repairing gold pen,” “Boys for bailing water”), church ( “pew rental, ” “church subscription,” “Methodist subscription”), entertainment (” Uncle Tom’s Cabin Play,” “panorama,” “exhibition and concert,” “library subscription”), charity (“Indian,” “charity to freeman,” “man without hands”), and his family (“2 kites,” “wife,” “Etta music lesson,” “toys,” “candy,” “Seamen Society for daughter”). Also included in this account book are ledgers regarding Rollinsford Town treasury. Town tax collection is recorded in detail as well as town expenditures. Civil War bounties and state aid are clearly recorded in some of the last pages. The nineteen paper items found in this book are located in Box 4, Folder 1. | |
| Box 2, Item 2 | September 1864 – May
1894. “Notes Book,” Salmon Falls Bank
This account book also follows the due dates of the notes recorded in the “Notes Discounted” account book. Note holders include Bay City Bonds, the Town of Somersworth, and Sedalia Planing Mill. The last pages of the account book detail bonds and notes held by the bank on May 1, 1895 with corresponding values. Examples of bonds include Burlington Electric Railroad, Denver Consolidated Electric, and Bay City 8% Water Bonds. | |
| Box 3 | ||
| Box 3, Item 1 | May 11, 1868 – April 15,
1871. “Cash Journal,” Salmon Falls Bank
Records the daily cash flow of the bank. The left page details cash coming in and the right page details cash going out. Cash coming in reflects cash deposits from customers and affiliated banks. Cash going out reflects expenses, dividends, and bond coupons. | |
| Box 3, Item 2 |
January 3, 1875 – May 7,
1881. “Waste Book,” Salmon Falls Bank
Waste books were used by bankers to track daily bank transactions. At the end of the day this information would be organized into a different set of books. For a waste book this account ledger is remarkably organized. Each set of pages represents the business of the bank for one week and at the end of the week debits and credits would be tabulated. Each debit and credit expenditure is entered under a category. These categories include: cash, deposits, Eliot National Bank, bills receivable, and interest. (Please wear gloves when using this book.) | |
| Box 4 | ||
| Box 4, Item 1 |
May 16, 1881 – October 24,
1888. “Cash,” Salmon Falls Bank
Records the daily cash flow of the bank. Like the “Cash Journal” above this book details bank debits on the left and bank credits on the right. Bonds are recorded in detail, as well as customer transactions and bank expenditures. These records also detail some Rollinsford Town transactions. | |
| Box 4, Item 2 |
May 10, 1904 – December 31,
1929. “Deposit Book,” Rollinsford Savings Bank.
This book was kept by John Q. A. Wentworth. Records account deposits. Each entry includes the date, account number, name, amount deposited and sometimes includes accrued interest. The forty-nine paper items found in this book are in Box 4, f. 2-4. | |
Series 2: Letters and Miscellaneous, 1851-1929
(1 box)Subseries A: William H. Morton
| Box 4, Folder 1 | Loose Pages, 1850-1860:
|
Subseries B: John Q. A. Wentworth
| Box 4, Folder 2 | Loose Pages, 1926:
| |
| Box 4, Folder 3 | Loose Pages, 1927:
| |
| Box 4, Folder 4 | Loose Pages, 1928-1929:
|
