A merchant and a financier by trade, Charles Nicoll Bancker was a prominent Philadelphian. Born in New York on August 29, 1778, he came to Philadelphia in 1791 to try his hand at business in the capital city. He worked in the counting house of John Guest, one of the largest importers of goods from England at the time. A quick learner and a diligent worker, by age 21, Bancker was Guest's partner. Bancker oversaw operations in Philadelphia, while Guest worked from England. Adversely affected by the retaliatory measures against American trade perpetrated by Great Britain, the partnership dissolved in 1810.

After a short period of time working for the wealthy Philadlephia merchant Stephen Girard, Bancker pursued his own commercial business, engaging in finance and the trade of cotton.

By the 1820s, Bancker had established himself as a successful businessman, founding and then serving as the president of the Franklin Fire Insurance Company. He helped incorporate the company in 1829, and conducted the company's business for nearly forty years.

A voracious reader and collector of books, Bancker had a keen interest in science and general knowledge. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1825.

Bancker married Sarah Upshur Teackle (circa 1780-1843) on January 30, 1806. The couple had eight children together: Henrietta Maria Bancker McIlvaine Cadwalader (1806-1889); Sarah Teackle Bancker (1807-1813); Charles Gerard Bancker (1809-1861); Anne E. Bancker (circa 1811-1869); Henry Teackle Bancker (1813-1813); Evert John Bancker (circa 1816-1840); Virginia Teackle Bancker Beasley (1818-1910); and, James Albert Bancker (1821-1897).

Charles Nicoll Bancker died on February 16, 1869, in Philadelphia.

This collection was assembled in three major accessions, one group, 1791-1864, containing letters to and from Bancker and other members of his family on education, business, and personal topics, with such correspondents as Samuel Hazard, H.M. McIlvaine, James C. Montgomery, and John T. Montgomery (2 boxes). The bulk of the collection was received after 1966 and is more diverse, with more correspondence both earlier and later among family members; and also with many "extraneous" letters from prominent Americans. Many of thse letters are addressed to Frederick Beasley of the University of Pennsylvania.

Physical description

3.25 linear ft.; 3 volumes.

Provenance

Accessions, 1965-1973; 1965 29ms; gifts of Sarah B. Mortimer, August 1966; and Frances K. Talbot, 1973 522ms.

Early American History Note

This extensive collection (13 boxes) contains a range of correspondence, although the bulk of it relates to Charles Nicoll Bancker, a prominent Philadelphia businessman in the 1800s. The letters provide a picture of the family life and business career of Bancker from his earliest beginnings to his success later in life. Aside from the Charles Bancker portion of the collection, the holdings contain a wide variety of other documents, ranging from colonial era documents written in Dutch in Albany to letters from James Madison to Thomas Jefferson from the nineteenth century on religious education.

The Charles Nicoll Banker portion of the collection consists primarily of correspondence among family members. This portion of the collection begins in the 1790s, when Bancker was a young adult who had recently arrived in Philadelphia, and continues to the 1860s. The content of these letters often relate to family affairs, although there are smatterings of letters dealing with business matters. Bancker also corresponded with many prominent individuals and fellow merchants. While his papers are dominated by family correspondence, some of the later papers (after 1815) touch more directly on Bancker's business affairs and include Bancker's letters to and from significant figures in the nineteenth century Pennsylvania, such as Samuel Hazard and John Montgomery, often dealing with landed interests. Although Bancker was well-known for his library and interest in science, there is little discussion of that in this collection aside from an acknowledgment from Reynell Coates of the U.S. Exploring Expedition that thanked Bancker for access to his holdings.

Aside from the letter correspondence, the collection also includes Bancker's Daybook from 1795-1801 and inventory of furniture. These two bound documents contain information on his business dealings and daily financial activities for that early period of his life in Philadelphia. There is also an account book from the 1760s of Evert Bancker, Charles' father.

Included in the Bancker Collection are numerous letters (more than four boxes) to and from members of the extended Bancker family that range from the 1710s-1860s. Of particular note is an undated oration written by Sarah Upshur Teackle, Charles' wife. In poetic verse, the four-page document advocates women's liberation and probably dates to the early-nineteenth century before her marriage to Charles Bancker. There is also a series of letters from a colonist in Savannah who was a loyalist during the American Revolution and corresponded with Charles Nicoll. The records of the Bancker family from the 1730s, of which there is a fairly substantial amount, were written from Albany and are in Dutch. Some of these have typed translations. There are large collections from the Teackle, Beasley, and Talbot families, many that date to the nineteenth century. All three families were prominent in early American circles and were related to Bancker through marriage.

In addition, the collection has various other documents that do not directly relate to Charles Nicoll Bancker or his immediate family. There is a journal from 1793 that chronicles a trip from New York City to Albany up the Hudson River aboard a schooner and then an overland trip throughout upstate New York. The journal offers a vivid depiction of travel and life in the early republic. The author – perhaps a member of the Bancker family – makes numerous observations about the geography, economy, and people of the Hudson River Valley. The journal writer paid particular attention to merchant stores and visited as many as he could. There are two pencil sketches in the back of the journal.

There is an assortment of miscellaneous letters written by prominent Americans that the family acquired over time. Correspondence from this portion of the collection includes letters by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Stephen Girard, Nicholas Biddle, Albert Gallatin, Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan, and George McClellan. Most of these letters contain little content aside from a signature, but some have significant content. Albert Gallatin's letter details his thoughts on currency, debt, and the government's role in shaping fiscal policy. One of Thomas Jefferson's letters discusses his agricultural pursuits, economic policies, and European diplomacy. A James Madison letter details the creation of the University of Virginia, including the role of religion on campus and in the curriculum.

There are also papers that relate to the family's genealogy, which traces the Bancker family's American roots to Dutch settlers in seventeenth-century Albany. This genealogical material was likely used by Howard James Banker to compile A Partial History and Genealogical Record of the Bancker or Banker Families (1909)

• Business Records and Accounts
• Catalogs.
• Daybooks.
• Family Correspondence
• General Correspondence
• Inventories.
• Journals (notebooks).
• Literature
• Manuscript Essays
• Political Correspondence
• Sketchbooks
• Travel Narratives and Journals

• New York (State) -- Description and travel.
• United States - Commerce - To 1865
• United States - Social conditions - To 1865

• Merchants - United States
• Politicians -- United States.

• American Revolution
• Antebellum Politics
• Business and Skilled Trades
• Colonial Politics
• Colony and State Specific History
• Early National Politics
• Education
• Insurance agents -- United States.
• Land and Speculation
• Literature, Arts, and Culture
• Marriage and Family Life
• Pennsylvania History
• Philadelphia History
• Social Life and Custom
• Trade
• Travel
• Women's History