UTICA — My most recent search through vintage regional postcards turned up this undated image from Utica.
The business can be identified by its name painted on the windows: Wilson’s Bank. That allows us to narrow down the timeframe.
According to an article in the Newark Advocate in 1967, the history of Wilsons ran deep in Utica. A.J. Wilson, Peter Speery, and Jess Wilson joined forces to start the Utica Bank in 1871.
In 1871, A.J. bought out the other two investors and renamed his operation Wilson’s Bank. It is very possible that he is the man standing on the front steps of the bank. Who the other two men might be is unknown.
The picture has to date from before 1905, because that is when the bank received a national charter and officially became the First National Bank of Utica. A.J. passed away in 1910, at which point his sister-in-law, C.B. Clark, became bank president.
In 1939, Wilbur J. Wilson, Sr., A.J.’s son, became the bank president, which he still was at the time of the Newark newspaper article.
The occasion for the article was that Wilbur J. Wilson, Sr., was president of the bank, his son Wilbur J. Wilson, Jr., was the bank vice president, and grandson Wilbur J. Wilson III was working as a teller.
Years later the bank continued to change. For a time it was BancOhio, and Wilbur J. Wilson III was president of it when he passed away at the tragically young age of 38 in 1986. Although his obituary does not go into cause of death, newspaper accounts can be found from 1983 that describe a severe automobile accident that Wilson and his wife were involved in.
They both survived the wreck, but later sued the other driver, alleging that the accident had caused the Wilsons severe trouble. Perhaps Wilbur’s early death was related to that unfortunate event.
Later, the bank was sold to National City Bank, going the corporate route like most everything else in this world. The corporate bank operating in Utica today is Park National Bank, with a generic website which says nothing of historical interest. Yawn.
The postcard picture preserves a moment when a business like this was a vital small-town operation, one operated by and for the community, and the owner’s pride is palpable.
The identity of the other two men is a mystery. It would be particularly interesting to find out the identity of the elderly one-legged man.
Considering the timeframe of the picture, could this old gentleman have been a Civil War veteran?
Anyone with more information is welcome to contact us, though I can’t guarantee promptness of response.
This coming week, I have my book The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm coming out from The History Press, and I must record a podcast about it, as well as continue planning speaking events and book signings for this summer and fall.
Also this week, I was invited to become a concert program annotator for the Cleveland Orchestra – one of the people who writes program notes for audiences about the music the orchestra performs. Quite an honor to be invited to do that for one of the top orchestras in the world.
That came about because my extensive work as a music critic, which you can find elsewhere on the Internet at Seen & Heard International.
In the meantime, History Knox is entering its fourth year this weekend. This is column number 157. I hope everyone goes back and explores the columns they’ve missed, and enjoys delving into the forgotten stories of central Ohio history.
We’ve covered a lot of interesting events, and despite my busy schedule, I will do my best to continue History Knox. I appreciate those who have supported it and remained patient on those occasions when it wasn’t perfect. It has been, and continues to be, a labor of love.
