Bank of Florida Letter

Agency History:
Florida banking began in the 18th century with the Indian trading firm of Panton, Leslie and Company who established such services during the English control and continued them after the Spanish occupation when it is said that it became the financial agents of the Spanish government in Florida. It was the only banking company in Florida until several years after American ownership. However, hardly had the territory been organized before banking projects sprang up in rapid succession, each constituting a special case as there were no general banking laws.
Governor William P. DuVal, first governor of territorial Florida, opposed these new banks successfully until 1829, but after numerous efforts, and several vetoes by the Governor, Florida's first bank opened in 1829 as the Bank of Florida at Tallahassee, which it later became the Central or Union Bank of Florida. Some records show that it began operations with $60,000 of and authorized capital of $1,000,000.
In the early thirties, the "Big Three" came into existence: they were the Bank of Pensacola, the Southern Life Insurance and Trust Company, and the Union Bank of Tallahassee, originally the Bank of Florida. Of the fate of the three, the last bore the brunt of the events.

Scope and Content:
The three page letter, signed by E.G. Booth, Secretary to D.S. Kennedy, Esq., of New York, gives a list of drafts drawn on several individuals for varied amounts, and then the details of a bill of lading covering 41 bales of cotton, all being sent for discount. The postscript, representing almost the three pages, refers to the financial difficulties then existing in Florida banking circles.

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