been invited to become the cashier, and in pursuance of his acceptance of
the invitation, was, with his bride, on his way to Cleveland.

The bank was organized on his arrival and commenced business on the lot
now occupied by the Merchants National Bank, at the corner of Superior
and Bank streets, the bank lot running back to the present site of the
Herald building. Leonard Case, the president of the old Bank of Lake
Erie, was president of the resuscitated bank, with T. P. Handy as cashier.
It did a thriving business until 1842, when the term of its charter
expired, and the Legislature refused to renew it, compelling the bank to
go into liquidation. When the great crash of 1837 occurred, the bank had
been compelled to take real estate in settlement of the liabilities of
its involved customers, and thus the corporation became one of the
greatest landholders of the city. Had the property been retained by the
bank owners, it would by this time have been worth to them many millions
of dollars.

The close of the bank and the winding up of its affairs necessitated the
disposal of the real estate for the purpose of dividing the assets among
the stockholders. Messrs. T. P. Handy, H. B. Payne, and Dudley Baldwin were
appointed commissioners to close up the affairs of the bank and discharge
its liabilities. This being done, the remaining cash and real estate were
divided among the stockholders, who appointed Mr. Handy their trustee to
dispose of the property. This was accomplished in 1845, when Mr. Handy
made his final settlement. During the time subsequent to the close of the
bank, he had been carrying on a private banking business under the name of
T. P. Handy & Co.

In the Winter of 1845, the State Legislature passed a law authorizing the
establishment of the State Bank of Ohio, and of independent banks. In