John Thompson (banker)


John Thompson was a United States banker, financial publisher, and dealer in bank notes.

Early life

Thompson was born in Peru, Massachusetts near Pittsfield on November 27, 1802. He was the son of a farmer and former Revolutionary War soldier.

Career

At twenty years old, Thompson worked as a teacher in Hampshire County before becoming a lottery-ticket dealer in Poughkeepsie, New York with Yates & McIntyre. The lottery scheme was legalized by the State Legislature for the benefit of Union College. In 1832, he left Poughkeepsie for New York City to become a dealer in bank notes.
In 1836, he founded Thompson's Bank Note Reporter. The publication was devoted to "sorting out the good banks and their notes from bad banks and their notes." In 1885, the renamed "Thomson's Bank-Note and Commercial Reporter" was purchased by Anthony Stumpf and Charles David Steurer who renamed the weekly publication the American Banker.
In 1863, together with his sons, Samuel and Frederick, he founded First National Bank of the City of New York in 1863; it opened its doors on July 22 of that year. George Fisher Baker became president of the bank after the Thompsons left the bank in the hands of Harris C. Fahnestock, a former partner of railroad financier Jay Cooke in the banking firm of Jay Cooke & Company, in 1877.
He also founded Chase National Bank of the City of New York in 1877. The bank was named after their friend and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase.

Personal life

In 1828, Thompson was married to Electa Ferris, a daughter of Lydia Smith Ferris and Solomon Ferris. They resided in New York City at 295 Madison Avenue and summered at The Anchorage in Highland, New York. Together, Electa and John were the parents of six children, including:
After a severe illness that lasted four months, Thompson died on April 19, 1891 at his home in New York at 295 Madison Avenue. His wife died at her home in New York in September 1902 at the age of 95.