One Hundred Years

We'll round out this run of Henry Graham Ashmead books with the last one in my collection, "One Hundred Years: The Delaware County National Bank. Chester, Pennsylvania. 1814-1914". The topic of the Delaware County National Bank isn't of great interest to me, though I assume I'll read this someday; I purchased it on my path to acquire every "history of" book pertaining to the great county of Delaware in Pennsylvania. It's a classic history of the bank outlining the history, financial crises and individuals associated with the bank. If you're lucky to be related to one of distinguished men associated with the institution, you'll find a wealth of personal information. For the rest of us, we're just happy to know that our ancestors most likely banked here.

The Publication Committee, headed by Wm. C. Sproul, O.B. Dickinson and J.H. Roop provided a nice explanation in the foreward as to the purpose of this book:

"While the nation is attaining such a respectable antiquity, and our institutions are becoming time-honored, as such things go, and although centennial anniversaries of one sort or another are not now so rare in America, the number of financial or commercial establishments which date back on hundred years is not yet so great but that the rounding out of a centennial is still worthy of note. Even in so ancient of a section as the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, including the great and conservative city of Philadelphia, the number of banking houses which have weathered the storms of a century may be counted upon the fingers of one hand."

I love the perspective old books give us into the pasted. Two things stand out from this one paragraph. (1) Even in 1914 the United States was considered new. The authors make note that the young nation was just then gaining "time-honored" antiquities. I think with over 200 years of history behind us we lose sight of how very young we are as a country. In a very early and obtainable copy, we can get a glimpse of that attitude and bring into perspective our current place in history. (2) The second take away from this paragraph is their mention of Philadelphia as being a "conservative city"... for those of you familiar with our current Philadelphia this is sure to make you chuckle. So on the opposite end of the spectrum (which they're currently demolishing [that was a joke]), we can see how quickly things can change. A young, fast moving country. I'm sure if Wm. C. Sproul, O.B. Dickinson and J.H. Roop were alive today, they would have a lot more to say about the state of our State.