Skip to content
Department of State Homepage State Library & Archives of Florida Services for Citizens Services for State Employees Services for Librarians Services for Archivists Services for Records Managers

Division of Library and Information Services : Research : Search Our Catalogs : Archives Catalog

State Archives of Florida Online Catalog

Magnifying glass over a document.

The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.


SearchAdvanced Search  | Browse Indexes | Browse Collections  | FAQ

Details Page

Click on for detailed listing.

Record Group Number: 900000
Series/Collection Number: M99- 12
Creator: Barnett Banks
Title, Dates: Barnett Bank of Jacksonville records, 1877-1998.
Amount: 56.75 cubic ft.
270.00 v.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: Organized into subseries:
    1. Board of Directors Meetings, 1929-1982, 8 cubic feet
    2. Financial Records, 1888-1945, 94 volumes, arranged by type and chronologically
    3. Centennial Celebration Records, 1976-1977, .5 cubic feet
    4. Bank Building Leasing Files, 1926-1967, 2.5 cubic feet
    5. Barnett Bank Minutes, 1905-1976, 3.5 cubic feet
    6. Bank Legal Files, 1880s-1982, 1.5 cubic feet.
    7. General Office Records, 3.5 cubic feet
    8. Corporate Services and Business Development files, 1977-1989, 1.0 cubic foot
    9. Media and Public Relations, 1962-1987, 1.5 cubic feet
    10. Vacant-Reserved for future acquisitions
    11. Employee Payroll and Time Books, 1927-1978, 24 volumes, 5 cubic feet
    12. Bank Registers, c.1930s-1969, 25 volumes
    13. Daily Cash Balance and Statement of Condition, 1954-1979, 14 volumes
    14. Operating Expenses, 1923-1965, 19 volumes
    15. Income and Interest, 1929-1962, 7 volumes
    16. Savings Indexes and Records of Accounts, c.1902-1936, 11 volumes
    17. Bonds and Securities, 1908-1976, 18 volumes
    18. Inactive Ledgers, 1894-1946, 16 volumes
    19. Barnett Bank Newspaper Scrapbooks, c.1930s-1960s, 42 volumes
By record type.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:     William B. Barnett moved to Jacksonville in 1877 and invested $43,000 to start Jacksonville's fifth financial institution, The Bank of Jacksonville. It opened on May 7, 1877 with three staff members: William B. Barnett, his son Bion Barnett, and a clerk. After several years of steady growth, the bank received a national charter in 1888 and its name changed to The National Bank of Jacksonville. In 1908, Bion Barnett, who succeeded his father in 1903, reorganized the bank as the Barnett National Bank of Jacksonville.

    During the first 50 years of its history, Barnett Bank survived two epidemics of yellow fever, three financial panics, the great freeze of 1895, the Jacksonville fire of May 3, 1901, and the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919. In 1925 Bion Barnett became Chairman of the Board and W.R. McQuaid became president. Together they planned the construction of a new 18-story headquarters building, but the collapse of the Florida real estate market in 1927 was the beginning of a difficult period for Barnett and other banks in Florida. Barnett responded by initiating a major reorganization of the bank and sold a portion of the Barnett family stock to Baker, Fentress & Company. Thus, the Barnett family ceded full control of the bank, but was able to acquire the necessary capital to survive the Depression years.

    In 1947, Barnett Bank elected its first woman officer, Miss O. Kathryn "Kitty" Bell. When Guy W. Botts became president of the Bank in 1963, he concentrated on developing a network of banks throughout Florida. His approach was to use the existing holding company, Barnett National Securities Corporation, to acquire or establish banks in each of the 20 most populous counties in Florida. By 1979, Barnett had begun purchasing bank holding companies as well as small banks and had opened its 100th banking office.

    Barnett Banks, Inc. continued to expand throughout Florida, and in March 1993 acquired First Florida Banks, Inc. This made Barnett Banks, Inc. the largest banking organization in Florida and the 18th largest in the United States. In 1997 in a $15.5 billion-dollar deal, the largest in the history of banking industry at that time, NationsBank acquired Barnett Banks, Inc. Subsequently, in 1999, NationsBank and BankAmerica merged to form a national bank, Bank of America.

Summary:     This collection details the establishment, growth, and expansion of the Barnett Bank of Jacksonville from its beginning in the 1870s through its rise to prominence as part of the largest bank holding company in Florida. The collection consists of minutes, financial records, historical records, and employee records of the Bank of Jacksonville, the National Bank of Jacksonville, and the Barnett National Bank of Jacksonville. The records provide information on the growth and development of banking in Jacksonville, the role the Barnett family played in that development, and the history of Jacksonville, Florida.

    Subseries 1 contains materials from the Board of Directors meetings and the annual stockholders' meetings. The Directors meeting files generally include a financial report that lists the amount of loans, deposits, bond holdings, and letters of credit for a specific year. In addition, there is a narrative report discussing the financial status of the bank and the state of the economy in Florida. The stockholders' meeting files include statements of financial condition, elections of Directors to the Board of Directors, determining the total number of Directors, discussions of the amounts approved for donation to charity, and records of voting and proxies.

    Subseries 2 contains financial records such as daily statements, balance books, daily balance books, ledgers, and general ledgers. The balance books generally have two columns (debits and credits) and list banks, Federal Reserve and other financial institutions with which the Bank of Jacksonville. While most of the volumes are either daily or monthly balance books that list banks and other financial institutions, Deposit Ledger K, L, Ledgers U, V, W, X, Y, Ledger No's. 40, 41, 42, and No. 116 list names and amounts of individuals who had accounts with Barnett Banks in Jacksonville.

    Subseries 3 contains records for the 1977 centennial celebration of the 100th anniversary of Barnett Bank of Jacksonville. Included in these files are letters, memoranda, surveys, reports, promotional samples, and photographs. Of special interest is the folder of an audio-visual script, "a century of banking," which details the history of the Barnett family and Barnett Bank in Jacksonville.

    Subseries 4 contains leases, floorplans, blueprints and correspondence relating to the leasing of bank building space to other businesses in Jacksonville. Especially interesting is the correspondence between the bank building manager and the lessee(s) concerning complaints, rent increases, office expansion, air conditioning installation and office vacancies. The leases give information regarding room number(s), terms of the lease, monthly rental fees, and rules.

    Subseries 5 contains photocopies of the minutes from Barnett Bank (except volume 1). The minutes contain the annual meeting of stockholders and the regular monthly meeting of the board of directors. The stockholders' meeting generally includes information on the election of officers and discussion of charitable contributions. The directors' meetings include information on the election of officers, salary, listings of departments, committees, position titles, promotions and resignations. There are also discussions of loans and credit, including lines of credit reaffirmed, increased, amended, approved, and withdrawn. Of interest are the "State of the World" reports from the late 1930s through the late 1940s that comment on events leading up to, during, and following World War II.

    Subseries 6 contains legal files such as deeds, bank agreements, bank applications, leases, certificates from the Comptroller of the Currency, and agreements with various computer and technology companies.

    Subseries 7 contains general office records, including an interest table book, FDIC certificates, Bank charters, letters of authorization, deeds, miscellaneous financial records, and a signature book.

    Subseries 8 contains reports, statistics, presentations, workshop materials, correspondence, FAQ's, and memorandums regarding business development, marketing issues, and commercial credit issues of the Barnett Bank of Jacksonville. The focus of much of the material is how to handle issues such as distressed real estate or problem loans. There are also materials concerning business development and how to train staff to be more proficient in the Jacksonville commercial market.

    Subseries 9 contains Barnett Bank of Jacksonville newsletters, newspaper clippings on the Barnett Bank of Jacksonville, and photographs and slides of Bank employees, Bank events, and the Barnett Bank Building in Jacksonville. The events include the 100th anniversary celebration, the bank building opening ceremony, and the Barnett Bank Tower construction announcement. There is also some information on the NAS branch in Jacksonville and the Regency Square branch.

    Subseries 10 is vacant. This series number reserved for additional donations of paper records.

    Subseries 11 consists of employee time books, payroll ledgers, overtime ledgers, and tax deductions.  Of interest are the Overtime Books (1949-1962), which give the job title, department, and branch location of the employee, and the Time Book and Payroll volumes (1931-1963) for the Barnett Bank building staff.

    Subseries 12 contains draft registers and combined registers of banks with whom Barnett Bank had relationships. Included are the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, Chemical Bank and Trust (New York), Chase Manhattan Bank (New York), Whitney National Bank (New Orleans), First National Bank of Atlanta, First National Bank of Boston, along with many other banks in the southern United States and in Florida. Information for entries include date, payable to the order of, by whom purchased, amount, date paid, daily total and in some cases comments.

    Subseries 13 contains reports, which appear to be computer generated, on the financial status of the bank. The Daily Cash Balance is a balance sheet of the daily loans and deposits; it also lists income and expenses with net earnings. The Daily Statement of Condition continues with a daily listing of assets and liabilities. Among the assets listed are cash, due from banks, securities and loans. The liabilities include demand deposits and time deposits. The Due from Banks Reports are a listing of banks with amounts due from Florida, Southeastern United States, and major banks in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

    Subseries 14 contains ledgers detailing the operating expenses of the various departments of the Barnett Bank of Jacksonville.

    Subseries 15 contains Income Ledgers, Interest Ledgers, and an Undivided Profits Ledger. These ledgers typically list amounts of interest received from service charges on bank loans, deposit accounts, and from various departments within the bank. They also document miscellaneous income from foreign exchange, war bonds, travel checks, safe deposit box rent, and office building rent. The Interest Paid Ledger includes entries for interest paid on commercial accounts, bills payable and savings.

    Subseries 16 contains a variety of Savings Indexes, Records of Accounts, and Safe Deposit Vaults Ledgers. The Account books generally include name, address, and account information for specific dates. For the Safe Deposit Ledgers, the information also includes the individuals authorized signature and names of deputies who also had access to the vault.

    Subseries 17 contains a variety of Bond and Securities Ledgers. The Bond Ledgers are generally divided into sections, such as U.S. Bonds, Municipal Bonds, Federal Reserve, Liberty Bonds, Victory Bonds, Treasury Bills, Railroad Bonds, Foreign Bonds, and so forth. Information contained in each ledger varies, but usually includes name, description, rate, date of issue, maturity, bond rating, and to whom pledged. In addition to the large bond ledgers, there are several smaller ledgers dealing with specific bonds or time frames.

    Subseries 18 contains Inactive Ledgers that include businesses as well as individuals. Entries are alphabetical and there is an index in the front of each ledger.

    Subseries 19 contains scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings of articles, pictures, and advertising. Because most of the clippings are newsprint, the paper quality of the clippings is not good. The clippings contained in the early scrapbooks are especially brittle.

Finding Aids: Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note: This collection was arranged and described from materials obtained from Barnett Banks, Inc. when the Barnett Bank records were transferred to the Florida State Archives between 1999 and 2002.
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields: Barnett family.
Barnett, Bion, 1857-1958
Barnett, William Boyd, d. 1903
Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Banks
Barnett Banks of Florida
Barnett First National Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Banks and banking History Florida.
Bank buildings Florida
Bank management Florida.
Bank mergers Florida
Banks and banking History Florida.
Financial records. aat
Ledgers. aat
Minutes. aat
Photographs. aat
Jacksonville (Fla.)
Added Entries Barnett family.
Barnett, Bion, 1857-1958
Barnett, William Boyd, d. 1903
Barnett Banks
Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett First National Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett National Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Banks of Florida