Ralph L. Williams (behalf of The Union Trust Company) to Charles W. Chesnutt, January 22, 1932
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THE UNION TRUST COMPANY1
J. R. NUTT, CHAIRMAN OF BOARD
GEORGE A. COULTON, VICE CHAIRMAN OF BOARD
J. R. KRAUS, VICE CHAIRMAN OF BOARD
W. M. BALDWIN, PRESIDENT
ALLARD SMITH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
CLEVELAND, OHIO2
January 22, 1932
Mr. Charles W. Chestnutt,
1646 Union Trust Building,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Sir:
Please forward to our Collateral Loan Department to be held with your Policies the receipted premium receipts for premiums due December 20th on your Policies Nos. 388334 and 389173 with the Union Central Life Insurance Company.3
Very truly yours, R. L. Williams R. L. Williams, Ass't. Vice President. ✓ WFL: FJCorrespondent: Ralph L. Williams (1892–1961) was a White banker whose career began at Cleveland's Citizens Savings & Trust Co. in 1908. After the bank's merger with Union Trust Company in 1920, he served as collateral loan officer, assistant treasurer, assistant vice president, and eventually vice president just before the bank failed in February 1933. He became one of the assistant conservators to oversee its dissolution.
1. The Union Trust Company was the third-largest Cleveland bank trust, by 1920 a large nationwide bank following several mergers. In 1924, Chesnutt's company began renting offices in the brand-new Union Trust Building that housed the bank's headquarters. Many of his investments were also with Union Trust. After the stock market collapse in 1929, he had to service a $18,500 loan for which the collateral had been stock market shares that were now worthless; the company also held the mortgage for his home at 9719 Lamont St. and for at least one rental property he owned (11900–02 Superior Ave.). Union Trust survived the early years of the Depression, but was not allowed to reopen after another collapse of the Cleveland banks in February 1933. [back]
2. For readability, the remainder of the Union Trust Company Commercial Banking and Banks department letterhead is not transcribed at the top of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. This portion of the letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: "COMMERCIAL BANKING AND BANKS R.S. CRAWFORD EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY E.E. CRESWELL, VICE PRESIDENT GEORGE P. STEELE, VICE PRESIDENT C.B. ANDERSON, TREASURER T.J. CHAMPION, VICE PRESIDENT R.L. WILLIAMS, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT R.B. PETTIT, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT J.L. WADSWORTH, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT W.A. HARTFORD, ASST. TREASURER D.D. GRIGOR, ASST. TREASURER A.R. BOETHELT, ASST. TREASURER DAVE P. LEWIS, ASST. TREASURER C.E. FARNSWORTH EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT H.E. HILLS, VICE PRESIDENT CHARLES B. GLEASON, VICE PRESIDENT C.W. CARLSON, VICE PRESIDENT E.N. WAGLEY, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT M.B. KOELLIKER, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT D.Y. LAFEVER, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT C.F. HEIL, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT, W.H. FREYTAG, ASST. VICE PRESIDENT HENRY LANGE, ASST. TREASURER W.R. IRWIN, ASST. TREASURER, GEORGE Q. HALL, ASST. TREASURER" [back]
3. Chesnutt's life insurance policies served as collateral for his large loan with the Union Trust Company. Chesnutt is reminded to submit proof that he kept up the payments on the annual premium with Union Central Life Insurance, an insurance company founded 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Using life insurance policies (especially those that could be cashed before death in an emergency) as collateral security for bank loans only became common practice during the Depression, after the stocks and bonds which had previously served Chesnutt and many other investors as collateral had lost all of their value in the 1929 stock market crash. [back]
