On May 8th, 1799, the Committee of By-Laws reported "that they had devised a common seal for the Corporation, the description of which is as follows: "Oceanus, one of the sea Gods, sitting in a reclining posture on a rising ground pouring water from an urn which forms a river and terminates in a lake. On the exergue will be inscribed 'Seal of the Manhattan Company.'" There are nine banks now in existence whose history reaches back into the Eighteenth Century. Of these, two are in Massachusetts,

At the first meeting of the Directors, held at the house of Edward Barden, Innkeeper, on April 11th, 1799, the following Directors were present: DANIEL LUDLOW, JOHN WATTS, JOHN B. CHURCH, BROCKHOLST LIVINGSTON, WILLIAM LAIGHT, PASCAL N. SMITH, SAMUEL OSGOOD, JOHN STEVENS, JOHN B. COLES, JOHN BROOME, AARON BURR, and RICHARD HARRISON, Recorder of the City of New York, Ex. Officio, the only absentee being William Edgar. Daniel Ludlow was chosen President, and the following minute was made: The prin

On April 17, 1799, a committee of the Directors was appointed "to consider the most proper means of employing the capital of the Company." The committee reported on June 3, 1799, in favor of opening an office of discount and deposit, and a house was bought on the site of the present No. 40 Wall Street, in which, on September 1, 1799, the "Bank" of the Manhattan Company began business. The following is one of the earliest advertisements, reproduced from the Mercantile Advertiser, October 9, 1799:

In 1853 the Manhattan Company became one of the original members of the New York Clearing House Association, and stands, in order of seniority, No. 2 on its roll. From 1853 down to 1880, the Manhattan Company's deposits averaged between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000. The deposits doubled during the eighties, again during the nineties, and again in the decade ending 1910. This growth has been made along healthy and normal lines, and not by absorbing or consolidating with other banking institutions. T