William Jewell purchased lot 28 of the new plan of Shepherdsville on 2 Aug 1814 (Deed Book C, page 176), and held it until 22 Sep 1818, when he and his wife Arethusa sold it, and the brick house standing on it to the president and directors of the Bank of Shepherdsville (Deed Book D, page 2). John Reed was the bank president, and William Simmons, Richard P. Simmons, Nathan Miles Jr., Nathan Harris, Jacob Bowman, William Jones, John Grayham, and Thomas Q. Wilson were its directors.
According to the latter deed, William Jewell had occupied the brick house as a medical shop. In modern Shepherdsville, that lot would be located where Ridgway Library now sits.
This is the earliest record of a bank in Shepherdsville of which we have thus far located any record.
This bank filed a financial report with the Kentucky General Assembly on 21 Dec 1819, as shown below.
We located this report on pages 125-6 of The Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, begun 6 Dec 1819.
Tuesday, December 21, 1819.
The speaker laid before the house a statement made on oath by the Cashier of the Bank of Shepherdsville of the situation of that institution : which is as follows, to wit :
Statement of the situation of the Bank of Shepherdsville on Monday the 8th Nov. 1819.
Stock paid in, ................. $55,880.00 Notes in circulation, ............ 3,411.00 Deposits, .......................... 388.12 Bills receivable, ............... 54,214.33 Other debts due the institution, ... 478.87 Specie on hand, .................. 1,470.10 Notes of the Bank of Kentucky, ..... 261.00 Do. of independent banks, ........... 10.00 Do. Tennessee banks, ............... 132.00 Do. Georgia banks, ................... 5.00
The above exhibits a correct statement of the situation of the Bank of Shepherdsville, taken from the books of the bank on Monday the 8th day of Nov. 1819. (signed) B. Hughes, Cashier, Shepherdsville, December 13, 1819.
This day Benjamin Hughes, Cashier of the Bank of Shepherdsville, appeared before the undersigned, a justice of the peace for Bullitt county, and made oath, that the foregoing was a correct statement of the situation of the Bank of Shepherdsville, as taken by him from the books of said bank on Monday the 8th of Nov. 1819. (signed) John Graham
By 14 May 1821, the bank was apparently out of business as the lot and brick house were sold to Henry C. Jones and John M. Jones on that date (Deed Book D, page 396). That deed stated that it was being sold "on behalf of the president and directors of the late Bank of Shepherdsville."
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The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 12 Jan 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/earlyshepbank.html
