Duncan, Sherman & Company was established in 1852 by Scottish immigrant
Alexander Duncan,
Watts Sherman (the former cashier and general manager of the Albany City Bank) After incorporating, the firm purchased a lot at 11 Pine Street, on the corner of
Nassau Street, and hired New York City architect
Alexander Saeltzer to design the Duncan, Sherman Company building. In 1866, the firm's office suffered a fire which destroyed "some old books and duplicate letters" but did not do much damage otherwise. When the original partnership expired on July 1, 1862, Alexander Duncan withdrew from the firm but left his capital in the firm which he assigned to his two sons, W. Butler Duncan and David Duncan. Francis H. Green and
William Watts Sherman, Watts Sherman's son who had trained as a physician, joined the company as partners. which was known as
J.S. Morgan & Co. after
George Peabody retired in 1864 and
Junius S. Morgan took over (the firm later became known as
Morgan Grenfell). Morgan left the bank in 1860, along with Charles H. Dabney, to establish his own firm and take over as the agent for his father's company. In June 1875, former teller William F. Leslie, along with his accomplice, Ella Shaw ("a fine-looking young woman of about twenty-five years of age."), was charged with robbing the firm of $25,000.
1875 failure On July 27, 1875, the firm failed with liabilities in excess of $5,000,000. The business was "placed in the hands of an assignee--ex Judge
William D. Shipman." "The suspension of Duncan, Sherman and Company was a shock to the business community of New York and to the country. The firm was one of the oldest and strongest in the country." filed reports for several years thereafter. Some initially blamed the failure of Duncan, Sherman on the
Union Bank of London, however, the Union Bank had not failed, but, instead, had refused to honor the drafts of the American bank. In 1878, Duncan and Francis H. Grain (both of New York) and
William Watts Sherman (of
Newport) "lately composing the firm of Duncan, Sherman, and Company," acquired 758 shares of
Franco-Texan Land Company stock through
land-grant bonds which was associated with the
Texas and Pacific Railway. ==References==