What can a simple signature tell us?
A person’s signature can tell us a great deal if we are willing to do some digging. People have been signing their names to things for thousands of years, whether on stone, clay tablets, papyrus, animal skins, or various forms of paper we are familiar with today. Behind every signature is a real person with a story. This story can be limited to the document itself, or it can extend far beyond the document and into politics, economics, culture, and the very lives of individuals who lived long ago.
A few years ago, I came across a five dollar banknote issued by the Bank of Commerce of Newbern. The bill is dated January 1, 1861 and is signed by J.A. Guion, Cashier, and A.T. Jerkins, President. If you examine modern United States currency, you will see that signatures and dates are printed. In the days of the Bank of Commerce, banknotes and other forms of currency, such as money issued by the Confederate States of America, were hand signed and dated. This attested to the legitimacy of the note and provided a crude means of controlling counterfeiting. Before the War Between the States, the United States government didn’t issue paper currency as it does today, but it did mint gold and silver coins. States were banned from printing their own money by the Constitution, so banks became the primary suppliers of paper money. Theoretically, banknotes could be redeemed for gold and silver at the issuing bank, which is how this form of money derived its value. However, many banks did not have adequate gold and silver reserves, and therefore could not fulfill this promise. During its formative years, the United States financial system could be quite chaotic and unstable.
John H. Bryan, a Craven County representative to the North Carolina General Assembly, worked hard to bring a new bank to New Bern in the 1850s. Although other banks were operating at the time, Bryan firmly believed more capital was needed in the area to encourage business. His efforts paid off and the General Assembly chartered the Bank of Commerce at Newbern in 1859. Stock was issued and operations began that year, with Alonzo Thomas Jerkins being appointed President of the new bank and Dr. John Amos Guion being appointed Cashier. Today, a bank cashier is basically a bank teller, but that was not necessarily the case during the mid-nineteenth century. The more modern title for Dr. Guion’s role is Treasurer, or the Chief Financial Officer for the bank. As Cashier and an officer of the bank, Dr. John Amos Guion signed my Bank of Commerce five dollar banknote, and behind that signature are both a person and a family that had significant influence on the growth and development of New Bern.
Dr. John Amos Guion (1816 – 1894) was descended from Huguenot refugees who left France for the New World in the seventeenth century. His grandfather, Isaac Guion was a physician in Onslow and Craven counties in the eighteenth century and served as a member of the North Carolina Provincial Congress. He also served as a surgeon, commissary officer, and paymaster in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. John Williams Guion, John Amos’ father, was a prominent businessman and bank officer in New Bern. John Amos attended the New Bern Academy and at age seventeen traveled to Tripoli to serve as the private secretary to the United States Consul to Tripoli. After his return from Tripoli, he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Philadelphia, graduating with distinction in 1837 at the age of 21.
After serving five years as a surgeon in the United States Navy, Dr. Guion returned to New Bern to practice medicine. He was active in both business and the community until his death, establishing a factory for manufacturing woolen and cotton cloth, serving as a trustee of the New Bern Academy and Vestryman of Christ Church. He served as Cashier of the Bank of Commerce until it ceased operations in 1867. However, his banking acumen was tapped once again when he was appointed Cashier of the National Bank of New Bern in 1867. Dr. Guion was credited with helping save this bank from ruin, serving as its Cashier until 1886 when he was disabled by a stroke. He partially recovered and continued to serve his community by helping to rebuild Christ Church after a fire in 1871 and serving as Chairman of the Judges for New Bern’s Fish, Game, and Oyster Association Fair.
The signature of Alonzo Thomas Jerkins (1807 – 1895) also stands as a reminder of a person and family that heavily influenced New Bern. Alonzo’s father, Thomas Jerkins, was a sea captain that operated between New Bern and the West Indies. Thomas retired from sailing in 1824 after his wife died while he was away on an extended voyage. Alonzo was attending the University of North Carolina when his mother died. He decided to leave school and come back to New Bern, teaching school in his home. From those simple beginnings as a school teacher, Alonzo became recognized as a highly influential church leader, legislator, and businessman in New Bern’s history. He served as a trustee of the First Baptist Church and was elected in 1850 to represent Craven County in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In 1854, he was one of the original supporters of the Union Bank at Newbern. He was also one of the first directors of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad Company and held interest in both the Trent River Transportation Company and Neuse River Navigation Company. As we know, Alonzo was a founder and the first president of the Bank of Commerce. Without question, he had a significant impact on the development of banking and transportation in New Bern and Craven County.
In addition to banking and transportation, Alonzo was an organizing member and director of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Like his colleague Dr. Guion, Alonzo was involved in manufacturing, serving as a founding partner of the Newbern Manufacturing Company, focusing on the production of cotton and woolen goods. Other community leadership work included serving as chairman of the Committee of Public Safety and Worshipful Master of St. John’s Lodge No. 3, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (Freemasons). Alonzo was also named the Twenty-fourth Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. To this day, a portrait of Alonzo hangs in New Bern’s Masonic Temple and in the Grand Lodge in Raleigh. It is also important to point out that the Jerkins family built a number of fine homes in New Bern, such as the Thomas Jerkins House, Jerkins-Richardson House, and the Jerkins-Duffy House.
So, what can two simple signatures on an old banknote tell us? In the case of Dr. John Amos Guion and Alonzo Thomas Jerkins, they reveal the stories of individuals and families that impacted New Bern, Craven County, and the state of North Carolina. Next time you are rummaging through old letters or documents, or perhaps looking at an old five dollar bill, think about the signatures you may find. Behind each one is a life and a story.
By Thomas Craig Williams