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THE SAGA OF HENRY GREENEBAUM
Introduction
Henry Greenebaum during his twenty five year active business
career starting in the early 1850s and culminating with his downfall
starting at the end of 1877 and ending in mid-1880, was perhaps
the most prominent Chicago banker of his day. He was in the period
1860-1880 likely the most widely known Chicago-based financier
in Europe and especially in Germany. His story and business career
extends forward that of R. K. Swift
in reflecting the fascinating business, financial, political,
and cultural development of Chicago in the first 30 years of Chicago's
development as the primary Western financial center. It is a story
which is very engrossing to anyone interested in the history of
Chicago, and particularly the city's financial history
A further reason to review, in some detail, the story of Henry
Greenebaum is that Herman Schaffner was a close associate and
employee in the Greenebaum banking group, as was -- perhaps in
a lesser role -- A. G. Becker. During the 1870s, they learned
the banking business under Henry Greenebaum and his brothers.
Greenebaum was a second cousin of Schaffner -- apparently Schaffner's
grandfather on his father's side was a brother of Henry Greenebaum's
mother. Greenebaum hired Schaffner into one of his banks within
two weeks after the Schaffner family arrived in Chicago. Both
Herman Schaffner and A. G. Becker were actively employed in a
Greenebaum bank during the difficult and chaotic period of late
1877 as a prelude to the founding of the Herman Schaffner business
in early 1878. It appears, too, that the Becker family maintained
its friendship with Henry Greenebaum into the early 1900s, when
both A. G. Becker's father and Henry Greenebaum died, well beyond
the failure of the Greenebaum banks and the extensive and unfavorable
litigation which followed.
So, as the following "saga" unfolds, the reader will
keep in mind that after about 1872, both Herman Schaffner and
A. G. Becker must have followed very closely the events which
were being publicly reported and which we will narrate. In fact,
Herman Schaffner was quite intimately involved and by his own
testimony clearly fully informed as to the people, places, and
details which we will describe. It is not clear how much A. G.
Becker knew -but in each case, clearly more we can ever know from
our retrospective of about 130 years.
The below story of Henry Greenebaum was been pieced together
from various sources primarily including articles in the the Chicago
Tribune, New York Times, and other newspapers, and from notes
relating to the Greenebaum family history by James Greenebaum,
for which the author thanks Mr. Greenebaum for his permission
to draw on such notes.
Early Years In Chicago
Henry Greenebaum was born in Eppelsheim, Germany, on June 18,
1833, the fifth son of Jacob and Miriam Greenebaum. As a young
man, his father wanted him to study law, but at the urging of
two older brothers already in America, he came to Chicago in 1848.
He worked for two years in dry goods and then as a clerk in the
R. K. Swift banking firm where his brother,
Elias, also clerked. He returned to German in 1852 to accompany
his father and the rest of the family to America. In due course,
perhaps working again for a period for R. K. Swift, Henry started
a private banking business with his brother Elias in 1855 and
at about this time married Emily Hyman. Some time before 1858,
Henry Greenebaum was elected an Alderman from the western 6th
ward. In 1857, the partnership, Greenebaum Brothers received a
state bank charter. (We remind the reader that it was in late
1857 that the R. K. Swift bank failed; the Greenebaum bank likely
and to some extent inherited some of the Swift bank's depositors
and goodwill).
The Greenebaum banking business grew steadily in the next decade
during which Henry became active, popular, and prominent in the
city's political, civic, cultural, and business circles. Henry
Greenebaum was a leader -- if not the primary leader -- of the
Jewish, and more generally, the German immigrant community of
Chicago, which group of citizens it is reported constituted one-third
of Chicago's population in the 1870s. An interesting survey of
Chicago's German population and institutions appeared in the Chicago
Tribune in 1872.
Tribune, December
2, 1872
Following in R. K. Swift's footsteps, Henry Greenebaum was very
active in fostering immigration to Chicago from Europe, and especially
from Germany. He used his business knowledge and contacts to bring
many new citizens to the city, raising or providing personal funds
for the costs of passage, welcoming new comers, and assisting
them in obtaining employment. In 1860, he was a founder and active
supporter of the "Industrial Committee," a group of
business leaders devoted to "developing home industry"
and worked particularly on immigration matters. By 1863, he apparently
had established a "Passage Office" at his bank where
local residents could come in and pay for the passage of relatives
and friends from Europe to Chicago and be assured that all the
many details of such a challenging journey would be taken care
of with knowledge, experience and good will.
Although politically prominent as a Democrat, Henry Greenebaum
was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln and is recorded as being
instrumental in bringing the Republican convention to Chicago
where Lincoln had many supporters and a good chance of being nominated.
He went to Springfield to see Lincoln off to Washington. In May,
1861, as Civil War broke out, Henry Greenebaum joined other Jewish
citizens in forming, fitting out, and funding the "New German
Regiment," comprised of ten companies. In 1862, through the
Concordia Club, which he founded, he organized meetings to raise
funds and recruit more volunteers into the Israelite regiment.
Throughout the 1860s and 1870s, Henry Greenebaum spoke at at
a range of gatherings, and wrote various letters to the editor,
addressing such matters as religious liberty, discrimination against
Jews, the importance of a proposed Young Mens Association, the
building of a Jewish orphanage, the welcoming of General Sheridan
to Chicago, along with other topics. As a speaker, sometimes in
German, he produced succinct, thoughtful and well reasoned comments.
It was reported that he spoke with passion and eloquence. He also
helped to found the Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Historical
Society, according to James Greenebaum. He was one of the founders
of the first Bnai Brith lodge in Chicago and a leading figure
in organizing the United Hebrew Relief Association.
Henry Greenebaum and his wife had no children but raised two
orphaned nephews and a niece whom the Greenebaum family believes
were the children of brother Jacob Greenebaum., Jr. The childrens'
names are not anywhere recorded and nothing further is known about
them, according to James Greenebaum.
In October, 1871, major portions of downtown Chicago were destroyed
by the Great Fire. The Greenebaum Bank building went up in flames
and operations were shifted to temporary quarters while a new
head office building was constructed. Meanwhile, Henry Greenebaum's
civic activities went forth uninterrupted. In 1872, he was a founder
of the Union League Club, and active as a Vice President of the
United Hebrew Relief Association, which he helped to found. In
1874, he helped to organize the Chicago Atheneum, and was elected
a Trustee of the University of Chicago, which in his own words,
was the "chiefest" among his ambitions. In 1875, Henry
Greenebaum was elected Chairman of The Citizen's Committee of
Twenty-Five (prominent Chicagoans) to consider ways to reduce
crime in the city. In 1876, Henry Greenebaum helped to found and
became the first President of the Haydn Musical Society.
As will be noted in his obituary, Henry Greenebaum had a lifelong
love of music and evidently provided direct financial assistance
to many musicians. He fostered the musical culture of Chicago,
was the first president in 1869 of one of the city's leading German
choir groups, which generally carried forward the tradition of
German singing societies, even as in Germany Wagner was completing
the Ring. Perhaps, too, this love of musical performance led Henry
to include an entertainment hall on the top floor of the new Greenebaum
bank offices opened in 1872.
Development of the Greenebaum Banks
Turning now to the development and outcome of Henry Greenebaum's
business ventures, after a few years of working together with
Henry, brother Elias left the firm in the early 1860s to join
with a brother-in-law Gerhard Foreman in the formation of Greenebaum
& Foreman. In about 1868, Greenebaum Brothers invested in
and started up a New York subsidiary, Greenebaum Brothers &
Co., with brother David moving there to head the operation. The
Chicago firm's name was then changed to Henry Greenebaum &
Co. By 1870, the business of Greenebaum & Foreman, for reasons
unknown, was not successful and was liquidated, at which time
Elias apparently rejoined his two brothers as a partner in Henry
Greenebaum & Co.
By the mid-1860s, Henry Greenebaum &Co. was advertising what
appears to have been new services as a member of the Chicago Stock
Exchange, and as commission broker in "Gold, US Securities,
Bank and other Stock . . .(and) soliciting and executing orders
on a margin." In 1867, the firm's advertising promoted the
firm as the "Oldest German Banking House in Chicago,"
and highlighted drafts and letters of credits which were good
in a long list of U.S. and European cities. Also, the bank had
become the "Northwest" agent for Guoin & Co's operating
a weekly voyage of the steamship "Chicago" between Liverpool
and New York City. Within a few months, in connection with that
year's Paris Exposition, a major ad was placed listing in bold
type all the international correspondents of the Greenebaum bank,
again following in the footsteps of R. K. Swift.
Tribune,
March 11, 1867 (see top of third column from the left)
In 1870 and 1871, respectively, Henry Greenebaum received a newly
legislated state charter to form the German Savings Bank and,
under the also just new national bank laws, formed the German
National Bank. In each case, controlling minority interests were
taken in these new banks through investments from Henry Greenebaum
& Co. and directly as a personal shareholder. All three related
businesses essentially operated out of the same location which
building, as noted earlier, was shortly completely destroyed in
the great Chicago fire of October, 1871. Within months, work was
underway on a new building, financed by Henry Greenebaum, to house
his various enterprises. (Readers will note that Henry Greenebaum
& Co. was perhaps one of the first -- if not the first --"bank
holding companies" in America!).
After the Civil War, the United States entered a great period
of industrial and commercial expansion. Chicago antipated fully
in this exciting growth especially due to the tranportation systems
being constructed into, out of, and within the city and its emerging
surburbs. In some ways, Chicago and other western parts of the
country were the "emerging economies" wiithin the nation.
In 1872, there was rampant land speculation and development leading
to new residential housing construction, and the Greenebaum interests
were very active in this real estate spree. In June, a Humboldt
Park development, financed by Greenebaum interests, was advertised
and sold out quickly. An additional 30 acres containing 300 lots
was offered within a few weeks. In August, 1872, a new development
in south Chicago was underway, being sponsored by Henry Greenebaum
and the German National Bank. A certain "land sale fever"
is apparent in these reports.
Tribune,
June 16, 1872 (See far right column)
Tribune, June
16, 1872 (See bottom of far left column)
Balance sheets as of 1872 dates for the relatively new German
Savings and German National Banks were advertised in the Chicago
Tribune and presumably other Chicago newspapers.
Tribune,
March 3, 1872 (top of left hand column, after scrolling down)
(Note that the Cashier of the German National Bank was Herman
Schaffner)
Tribune,
July 1, 1872 (second column from left, midway down)
In mid-January, 1873, there was a short-lived run by depositors
on the German Savings Bank. The Tribune reported this development
on January 16, and attributed it to "injudicious articles"
published by two other newspapers, noting that the situation has
"now become serious." The article goes on to quote Henry
Greenebaum who presents financial data and stockholder names in
order to bolster confidence in the bank. The run apparently subsided
and on January 19, Henry Greenebaum ascribed the run to unknowing
actions by a small group of German immigrant workers.
Tribune,
January 16, 1873
Tribune,
January 19, 1873
In February, 1873, perhaps by now shaking off the stress of the
January run, Henry Greenebaum hosted the grand opening of a splendid
new bank building housing the three Greenebaum enterprises. A
month later, there was an interesting story about the close-knit
German-American community in Chicago, the Greenebaum family being
a central pillar in that community.
Tribune, February
23, 1873
Tribune,
March 23, 1873
In late September and early October, 1873, one of the nation's
most severe financial panics took place, as summarized in the
"Business Environment" section of this chronicle. Many
banks and businesses throughout the nation suspended operations
or went bankrupt. Major problems occurred in a number of Chicago
banks. Interestingly, however, the Greenebaum banks were not much
affected. In fact, at this time, Henry Greenebaum was broadly
viewed as a civic minded, even tempered, cool headed and competent
banker. It is interesting to follow, in a few select clippings,
the local Chicago banking scene as bank suspensions and then relief
took place.
Tribune, September
27, 1873
Tribune,
September 28, 1873
Tribune,
October 2, 1873
Tribune,
October 13, 1873
In December, 1873, shortly following the Chicago bank panic,
it became news that a major shortage in the City's accounts had
been experienced due to a defalcation by the former Treasurer,
Mr. David A. Gage. A Grand Jury was summoned and Mr. Henry Greenebaum
was appointed Foreman.
For the period of years 1874-77, there is little information
in the public press or other sources as to the progress of and
developments within the Greenebaum banks. Generally, the country
as a whole was in a period of business depression and slow recovery
following the exuberance and speculative bubble of 1872-73. It
was apparently a period of sobriety, unsettled confidence, unemployment,
and anxiety, as the effect of wide ranging bank suspensions, business
bankruptcies, and a collapse in commodities prices unfolded.
The Greenebaum enterprises were mostly in the news during 1875
by reason of a nasty family feud the essence of which can be grasped
in a few clippings. .
Tribune,
February 16, 1875
Tribune, June
1, 1875
Some of the charges by brother Isaac, whether true or not, were
a precursor of very adverse developments starting in mid- to late
1877 which would soon affect Henry Greenebaum, his brothers, and
his employees, including Herman Schaffner and A. G. Becker.
Failure of Greenebaum Banking Group
Henry Greenebaum for some years had been a member of the West
Chicago Park Commission and until sometime in 1876 or early 1877,
was the Board's Treasurer. In April, 1877, in what appears to
be primarily a political vendetta, Mr. Greenebaum was accused
of permitting or overlooking a shortage in the Boards' accounts
while Treasurer. In early September, upon the publication of an
investigation into this matter, Henry explains extensively in
a Tribune article his side on this matter and concludes that the
WCPC accounts which he turned over to his successor were accurate
and in good order. However, a few days later, a Tribune article
reports in a backhanded way that some depositors are withdrawing
funds from the German Savings Bank.
Tribune,
September 9, 1877
Within a few weeks, a brief Tribune story appears hailing the
attraction of the West Chicago Park Commission bonds available
through Henry Greenebaum & Co. And then a few days later,
in succession, Tribune reports aimed at reporting on and defusing
any suggestion of illiquidity or lack of soundness of the Savings
Bank.
Tribune,
September 23, 1877
Tribune,
September 25, 1877
Tribune,
September 30, 1877
Nothing further appeared in the Tribune about these matters until
November 17, on which date there is a report of possible Grand
Jury indictment of Henry Greenebaum for unspecified reasons. In
early December, an indictment was levied against Henry Greenebaum
and two coconspirators charging fraud with respect to various
WCPC land and securities transactions taking place in the early
1870s. Over the next few days, the following articles appeared
detailing the history, development, current suspensions, and related
steps and issues involving the various Greenebaum banking enterprises.
Tribune, December
7, 1877
Tribune,
December 8, 1877
Tribune,
December 18, 1877
A Tribune report in mid-December, 1877 succinctly summarized
the effect of bank failures in the City in late 1877, estimating
a total loss to depositors and shareholders of some $5 million,
"frittered away in land and other speculations." This
was an enormous amount of money at that time. And looking at the
U. S. banking and financial services problems of 2008, one might
conclude that "nothing ever changes."
Tribune,
December 28, 1877
On the same date, Henry Greenebaum, with counsel at hand, petitioned
for the bankruptcy of the two central units owned by him, and
his two brothers as copartners, and for his own personal bankruptcy,
also petitioning that his two brothers were bankrupt, to which
petition they in due course joined. His comments were poignant
and in many ways capture the spirit of the man -- a mixture of
decisiveness and realism, but with fundamental optimism and confidence.
". . . we went on as long as we could. I had hoped to
pull through, but late last week I gave it up. The failure of
the New York house (and) the troubles here in the German National
and German Savings simple made it impossible to go on . . .
I considered (going to friends) but concluded that it was the
worst thing I could do, both for myself and my friends. No,
I preferred to give up all, and start over again. You may say
I don't intend to give up. I am in about the same position as
Chicago after the fire -- destroyed -- and now I've got to build
up again. It's rather hard, but I don't feel discouraged. I
have no complaints to make against anybody, and I'll go to work
and rise again . . . It was no use to run on any longer . .
. I resolved on the only course left open for me -- to go into
bankruptcy." (Tribune, December 18, 1877)
As matters moved into 1878, the German National Bank was in the
process of orderly liquidation by the board and management, whereas
the German Savings Bank, Henry Greenebaum & Co. (Chicago)
and Greenebaum Brothers (NYC) were in the hands of receivers.
Under the banking laws at the time, all shareholders in GNB (and
perhaps, too, the GSB) were liable to depositors in an amount
equal to and over and above their share capital investment (and
up to that amount -- "jointly and severally" - as might
be needed to cover the liability of any shareholders who were
deemed to be not "responsible" (able to meet) for their
liability). Thus, every GNB (and possibly GSB) shareholder had
a stake in the outcome of the two liquidations then underway.
In March, 1878, the Tribune was regularly reporting the meetings
of the creditor's committee as it examined and questioned Henry
Greenebaum about his affairs and assets toward to goal of resolving
a settlement with him and his two brothers. In one of these articles,
Henry goes into some length his story as a Chicago citizen and
banking pioneer, the blunders (mistakes) he made along the way,
and what he has learned through many "trials and tribulations"
over twenty five years, from his early 20s to age 45.
Tribune,
March 19, 1878
In the end of May, 1878, a court approved a settlement ("composition")
of the Henry Greenebaum personal and business bankruptcy (including
his brothers as copartners) on the basis of 25c on a $1.00 of
approved liabilities, payable in part immediately and the balance
over time.
In connection with approving this settlement, the court essentially
determined that the transfer to Herman Schaffner of title to certain
real estate owned by the Greenebaum interests -- such transfer
being made on the day before failure -- as security for $80,000
Schaffner advanced to the Greenebaum banks during late 1877 did
not constitute a "fraudulent conveyance" and could not
be considered capital provided by Greenebaum to Schaffner for
the purpose of helping him to go into his "present business
as a broker."
By July, the preliminary report of the examiner of the German
National Bank's failure was published. The Tribune's editorial
review of this report was quite critical of Henry Greenebaum's
management of the GNB and the family's apparent use of bank funds
to support personal and affiliated operations and real estate
investments. The newspaper's conclusion was that "the bank
(German National) was loosely and recklessly, if not fraudulently,
managed."
Tribune,
July 4, 1878
First Trial of Henry Greenebaum
In October, 1878, just when it was perhaps reasonable for Henry
Greenebaum to have thought that his bank failures and personal
bankruptcy were for the most part history, a bombshell landed
on his doorstep.
Tribune,
October 6, 1878
The trial of Henry Greenebaum for embezzlement commenced on October
15, 1778, and was reported on almost daily through the month of
October and into November. As shown in the above Tribune article,
the complaint was filed by a certain Theodore B. Weber, a German
American citizen who had been a shareholder in both the German
National and Savings Banks. Weber had just returned to Chicago
after a two year stay in Europe. Although with his brother a manufacturer
of boots and shoes, Weber, along with his company's bookkeeper,
seemingly was skilled at bank accounting and procedures and related
financial analysis. He retained as counsel a certain Colonel Edmund
Jussen (sometimes spelled Juessen in the press), a German lawyer/litigator
apparently well known in the Chicago legal fraternity. The testimony
before the Judge was for the purpose of determining whether the
matter should be taken before a Grand Jury to seek an indictment.
The charges against Henry Greenebaum were detailed in six specifications
including that in 1873 he sold the bank building he owned to the
German Savings Bank at well more than it was worth; that in the
stresses of late 1877 he substituted his own worthless notes for
good paper owned by the GSB; that he was responsible for false
entries in the GSB's books; and that generally, he removed funds
from the GSB for his own use. Details relating to each charge
were covered extensively in court, involving many witnesses, and
reported in detail in the Tribune to the point that the court
reporter began to critique the trial as long, drawn out, and tedious.
In November, the Judge decided, to Henry Greenebaum's dismay,
to continue to hold him under bail and in fact refer the charges
to a Grand Jury. Over the next few months, into early 1879, there
is only brief mention of the follow-up with a Grand Jury. Subsequent
Tribune articles suggest that this particular litigation ultimately
failed to receive Grand Jury attention or an indictment and thus
was dropped by the State.
However, while the Greenebaum/GSB/embezzlement litigation was
proceeding and in due course fizzling out, a national bank examiner
was completing an examination of the German National Bank failure,
which until December, 1878, was being voluntarily managed by Henry
Greenebaum, but in that month was turned over to a receiver. In
a Tribune article in early March, 1879, complainant Weber and
his counsel visited Washington to offer assistance to the completion
of the investigation of the GNB failure. At the time, it might
have been surmised that Weber's effort to assist in the GNB investigation
was solely due his lack of success in the GSB litigation, a subsequent
Tribune article reported that Weber was asked to be the representative
of a group of GNB shareholders who were angry with Henry Greenebaum.
As mentioned, depending on the outcome of the liquidation, which
had been for one year under Greenebaum's supervision, GNB shareholders
were exposed to the liability of accessible shareownership. Upon
request, the Comptroller of Currency authorized Weber with his
bookkeeper to review and analyze the GNB books and assist the
examiner in completing his report. The preliminary findings of
this investigation were apparently leaked to the Tribune and other
parties in late April, through the publication of some kind of
a "pamphlet" authored and printed by Weber (and possibly
some backers of Weber).
Tribune,
April 27, 1879
Bazaar Development
No sooner did this article appear, the whole Greenebaum-Weber-Jussen
contest of wills and publicity took a bazaar and tragic turn.
Rather obscurely in the Courts section of its publication, in
late December, 1978, the Tribune printed notice of a Superior
Court suit initiated by a Mrs. Ada(laide) Robert against one Theodore
B. Weber, alleging the breach of an agreement by Mr. Weber to
provide Mrs. Robert personal financial support following the death
of their illegitimate child, born in 1864, and who died in 1876,
pursuant to the terms of their agreement. By coincidence, just
a few days after the Tribune report of the GNB investigation results
published and promoted by Weber, including quite inflammatory
charges against Henry Greenebaum and other family members, testimony
in the Robert vs. Weber suit was beginning. By chance, Henry Greenebaum
learned that this testimony was underway and, as he later confessed,
by reason of being terribly upset by the personal vindictiveness
of Weber, suggested to a Tribune reporter that he look into the
testimony underway in the Robert/Weber matter.
According to this reporter's story, and many subsequent Tribune
articles, the testimony started in the prior day and was being
continued on May 1 in the office of a court stenographer. Present
were Mrs. Robert, her attorney, a Mr. Schaffner (reported later
to be in some way a relative of Herman Schaffer), Colonel Jussen,
and some other witnesses. The session was then adjourned and everyone
walked over to Col. Jussen's office. On the way the reporter left
the group to attend to other business. The group arrived at Col.
Jussen's office, where Theodore Weber was waiting, and shortly
after arrival, Mrs. Robert approached Weber, pulled a gun out
of her cloak, and shot him in the abdomen. He died the next day
in the presence of his brother and Col. Jussen, who purportedly
received the dying man's last words that Henry Greenebaum was
the indirect murderer. Within a few days, Henry Greenebaum answered
the various charges and gossip with respect to his relation to
Mrs. Robert and the Weber murder.
Tribune,
May 3, 1879
Tribune,
May 4, 1879
Tribune, May
5, 1879
During this period, as the coroner's inquest proceeded, the Tribune
was filled with the daily testimony being given as to the various
aspects of the murder and events leading up to it, including detailed
backgrounds of Mrs. Robert and Mr. Weber, their relationship,
her relationships with former husbands, and her mental condition
-- all quite sensational content. Henry Greenebaum's name would
appear occasionally in these reports, even after his public letter.
The coroner's jury determined that Weber's death was due to internal
bleeding after a gunshot by Mrs. Robert and she was held her over
to the Grand Jury which quickly indicted her the murder.
Investigation and Second Trial
Within a few weeks of these unexpected events, the Tribune received
a "special dispatch" from Elmer Washburn, the national
bank examiner investigating the GNB, to the effect that he had
completed his final sixty-page report and delivered it to Comptroller
of Currency Knox. However, the report was not at this time to
be made publicly available. The dispatch goes on to say that the
report differs in some particulars from that issued by the deceased
Weber but that it agrees with the Weber report that "there
were a great many extraordinary irregularities in connection with
the Greenebaum management of (the GNB)" and "whether
or not the Government will consider these irregularities of a
criminal nature, or as warranting prosecution, remains to be seen."
The article ends by suggesting that, in due course, Congress should
investigate the GNB failure.
On October 17, the Tribune reported that a subcommittee of House
of Representatives Banking Committee had in fact been formed to
investigate the GNB (along a New York bank) failure. After two
days of taking testimony in the Palmer House, the committee, with
Col. Jussen acting essentially as counsel, adjourned with the
plan to meet again in Washington on Dec. Well before this date,
on Tuesday, November 11, 1879, possibly without any advance warning,
the Attorney General for U. S. District Court for Northern Illinois
announced a Grand Jury indictment of Henry Greenebaum on twenty-one
counts for the "misapplication and embezzlement of funds
of the German National Bank for his own use and that of friends."
The full indictment in all its detail was published in the Tribune.
It is rather ironic that on the prior Thursday, November 6, the
trial of Ada Robert began, some half year after her murder of
Henry Greenebaum's tormentor, Theodore Weber. During the period
from May, there were regular short newspaper reports as to her
doings in jail and as to her mental condition. Over the next week,
witness after witness, including a number of "experts,"
testified to a lifetime of apparent epilepsy (with all the symptoms),
spastic episodes, extreme somnambulism, delusion and visions,
regular occasions of hysteria, and extensive examples of aberrant,
unpredictable and "crazy" behavior as well as many salacious
details as to her personal life over the years. The testimony
gave no reason to question the rather straightforward details
of the murder itself. On Monday, the 17th, after further and final
testimony, the prosecution announced that it "was satisfied
that the defendant was insane at the time of the homicide, and
insane now." The judge charged the jury with an "agreed
form" of verdict (presumably "not guilty by reason of
insanity") and the jury retired. When the jury did not rather
quickly return the judge sent for them and the foreman reported
that some of the jury were were not willing to sign the agreed
upon verdict since it would "commit this lady" to the
insane asylum "from which there would be no redemption."
Counsel for the defendant suggested that the verdict meant, of
course, that "if Mrs. Robert recovered from her present insanity,
she would be discharged." The jury then went back into session
and after a short period returned with the following finding:
"We the jury find that the defendant did commit the act
of killing Theodore Weber, as charged in the indictment against
her, but that at the time of committing the same the said defendant
was insane, and therefore, we find her not guilty, and that
the said defendant has not entirely and permanently recovered
from such insanity."
With this unusual jury decision, the judge ordered Mrs. Robert
to be delivered to the Northern Asylum in Elgin, Illinois, and
that she should be kept safely in said Asylum
"until she have fully and permanently recovered from such
insanity."
Meanwhile, back to the course of the Greenebaum indictment, the
trial would not take place for many months, during which period
the Congressional committee, in February, 1880, completed its
investigation and published its report, including the conclusions
that "great irregular(ies) had been practiced in conducting
the affairs of the bank" and that "they were so numerous
and so great as to impress the minds of the Committee with the
suspicion that they were intentional." On the next day, Henry
Greenebaum provided the Tribune a letter of rebuttal to this report
as sent to the Chairman of the Committee. And at the same time,
the committee recommended that the GNB directors "utterly
failed" in their duty" and they be held to a "stricter
accountability" and that shareholders whose duty it is to
elect such directors should "in no case be relieved of their
personal responsibility to creditors" to pay into a national
bank an amount of their shareholder investment to help cover any
shortage of creditor funds on liquidation. As was usual, the Tribune
had editorial comment about the Congressional committee's findings.
February
13, 1880
For the over five month period between November 11, 1879, and
April 19, 1880, the first day of the People vs. Greenebaum trial,
there were no Tribune reports concerning the pending trial except
as alluded to the above mentioned Congressional report, the trial
apparently having been regularly pushed forward by continuances.
However long this period, the trial was short and intensive, and
covered daily and comprehensively in the Tribune, as well presumably
in many other Chicago papers of that time. As noted, the indictment
specified twenty-one charges, three of which were withdrawn in
pretrial procedures. Col. Jussen, who had been selected by the
District Attorney Leake to assist him in the prosecution on behalf
of the government, made the opening statement. (Later it is learned
that Jussen served pro bono). He detailed the history of GNB,
gave a "long and exhaustive analysis" of each charge,
and generally mocked and pilloried Henry Greenebaum as the "Napoleon
of Finance." These opening remarks of Jussen and the charges
against Mr. Greenebaum were in due course addressed and answered
sharply and effectively by his able joint counsel, a Mr. Small
and Mr. Swett. The dual was on.
In each of the five days of the week of April 19, 1880, witnesses
-- perhaps upwards to 35 in total -- appeared either for the government
and for Henry Greenebaum. Examinations, cross examinations, and
witness responses were reported in detail in daily Tribune articles.
The minutia of each transaction in each charge was reviewed meticulously
by counsel and witnesses. In reading all this it is hard to imagine
that the jurors, many of whom were farmers, were able to understand
all the fine points, insights and explanations which were presented
or rebutted. After a few days of rather dry financial analyses,
colorful humor and clever sarcasm began to emerge from the mouths
of counsel and some witnesses. A more relaxed atmosphere became
apparent. The whole process must have become quite engaging to
the daily audience, especially as the trial moved forward.
Henry Greenebaum apparently sat through each session. Toward
the end of the week, he was on the stand, and defended himself
quite handily. Some fourteen leading commercial and banking leaders
appeared as witnesses on his behalf, attesting to his character
and probity, to the difficulties of the banking environment in
which GNB found itself. They all expressed a disbelief in any
dishonest intent of Greenebaum. A leading and effective witness
in explaining many of the complex GNB transactions which were
centrally questioned by the government was the former GNB cashier,
Herman Schaffner. In his testimony, it came out that his father
was a cousin of Henry Greenebaum, and that he Schaffner was currently
in a brokerage business with a partner, "Baker" (presumably
A. G. Becker), who had been a bookkeeper of GNB and who was also
a relative of Henry Greenebaum.
On Monday, April 26, each counsel summed up his case in a relatively
brief, substantive, and cogent final argument. As it was the end
of the day, Judge Blodgett said he would give the jury its charge
the next morning. As hard as it might be to understand, after
a comprehensive search of the complete Tribune microfilm for Tuesday,
April 27, there is for that day's issue no report of Judge Blodgett's
instructions to the jury, and their action (or for subsequent
days). Further research may determine that there was more than
one issue of the Tribune for April 27, 1880 and that such an issue
was not microfilmed, or that there is some other reason for this
absence!
However, the report of the last day of the trial was published
in the Chicago Times, the microfilm copy of which at the
Chicago Public Library, however, is only partially readable. One
can determine however, according to the report, essentially, that
Judge Blodgett went over each count with the jury very carefully,
explaining the charge and some of the details, and in this process,
rather repeatedly, instructed the jury that unless it could find
an "intent to injure and defraud," or some intention
to "conceal," "gain personal benefit," or
other similar action or motivating factor, using various phrases
and repetitions in doing so, that the jury must acquit the defendant.
He regularly mentioned that the government must prove its charges
through evidence "beyond a reasonable doubt." The following
quote could be read rather clearly in some final summarizing by
the Judge:
"It comes back to this: Does the testimony in the case
applicable to these several counts, under which defendant is
on trial, when all considered together, satisfy you that the
defendant acted in regard to each or any one of the transactions,
set out in these several counts, with an intent to injure and
defraud the German National Bank, or its stockholders? If so,
it will then be your duty to find defendant guilty as to the
charges which such fraudulent intent is clearly and satisfactorily
proven beyond reasonable doubt. While on the contrary if you
do not find such fraudulent intent proven beyond reasonable
doubt, then defendant is entitled to an acquittal." (Chicago
Times, April 27, 1880)
The Chicago Times report goes on to say that jury retired a little
before noon and stayed out until 4:15 p.m. at which time the jury
reentered the courtroom "in solemn file." The roll was
called and the judge asked if a verdict was reached? The the answer
being "Yes," the judge ask that it be heard. The foreman
reported: "We find on all the counts the defendant not guilty."
With this, the court and the defendant were simultaneously discharged.
The report then says " "Little Henry" was considerably
pump-handled and wore an "I Told You So" expression
of countenance in the midst of congratulations." The report
went on to report that verdict was reached in six ballots in all,
apparently the first three being 9:3, but then 10:2, 11:1, and
finally all 12 in agreement on the sixth ballot. And thus ended
this chapter in the saga of Henry Greenebaum. Within a few days,
the Tribune published an editorial noting that the jury and court
had determined that Greenebaum was "guiltless of any criminal
intent" and that he was "promptly acquitted."
Tribune,
May 2, 1880
Later Long Life
Shortly after his 1880 trial ended, Henry Greenebaum became 47
years old. Although still appreciated for all he done for the
Chicago community over almost 30 years and respected as a financial
and civic pioneer, he had lost his standing and capital with which
to become once again the central force he particularly enjoyed
in the previous two decades. Shareholders in his two main banks,
according to various reports, came out whole, even though he and
his family and other shareholders in the central Henry Greenebaum
& Co. operation lost significant funds. In 1882, and for many
years, he was General Agent for the Equitable Life Assurance Company.
Until 1890, Henry Greenebaum's name was hardly again in the Tribune,
and then only to report on settlements he was continuing to have
to make with creditors. In some ways, it must have been a relief
to be out of the limelight. Starting in about 1890, he appears,
from occasional news sitings, to have returned to some active
involvement in civic matters including Jewish and German causes,
the 1893 World's Fair planning, matters relating to the Humboldt
Park community of which he had been the founder and which by now
was thriving, and in various political campaigns. He is alluded
to as a "private banker" from time to time which was
probably due to some affiliation with banking business by then
being carried on by his brother Elias and his sons.
Henry Greenebaum died at his residence, 4059 Michigan Boulevard,
on February 2, 1904, at age 80 years and 7 months, as reported
in the Tribune and the New York Times. His many civic and religious
activities were noted and particularly his aid to struggling young
musicians. The funeral took place on February 4 at Sinai Temple,
46th and Grand. He was buried in Rosehill. As noted in the Tribune
article, he was estimated to have had a fortune of $1 million
at one time (in the late 1870s). At the end of April, 1904, his
estate was settled in the amount of $13,600 which funds were to
to charities, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
Tribune, February
3, 1914
New York
Times, February 4, 1914
Postmortem
In its life as a financial center for over 150 years, Chicago
has had few personages possessing the force of personality and
breadth of civic participation of Henry Greenebaum. He was energetic,
creative, optimistic, perservering. He was an early developer
of a residential community with its own homeowners' association;
in later years the Greenebaum Park was named in his honor. He
was clearly a poor financial manager and probably too kindhearted
to be an effective organizational manager. He had little regard
for financial controls. He was clearly an extended family man
-- as was said in one of his trials, almost every Greenebaum bank
employee was a relative. Even at his high point, despite his wealth,
he apparently lived relatively modestly and was always generous
with his time and money. His contribution to the founding and
development of many Chicago cultural institutions was outstanding,
unique, and broadly based. He loved music. He was an eloquent
speaker. He was a partriotic American who supported the Union.
He was proud of his Jewish and German heritage and became a religious
and community leader. He extended help to new immigrants never
forgetting his own journeys. Even after intense public scrutiny
and adverse publicity, he stayed on his feet time after time.
He took blows but he could rebut accusations with sensible arguments.
He was a unique man. Hopefully this narrative will provide the
reader with just a brief glimpse into the "saga" of
Henry Greenebaum.
Postscript
A brief notice in the September 16, 1881 Tribune reported that
Mrs. Robert, who two years prior shot and killed Theodore Weber,
was seeking to be released from the Elgin asylum on the ground
that she was (now) sane. The Tribune went on to suggest that there
was not the slightest reason why she should be permitted her liberty.
Notwithstanding the Tribune's view, Mrs. Robert, now 40 years
old, shortly appeared in court seeking a discharge from Elgin
on the basis of habeas corpus (unlawful imprisonment). Her case
was continued to October 29 so that experts could appear. However,
at that hearing, she appeared first on the stand and in her testimony,
she calmly reviewed in some detail and with good memory her personal
history and the "killing." In conclusion, she said that
that she "had never been out of her mind." Later she
was again on the stand, "exhibiting considerable intelligence,
discrimination, memory, and judgment," in the opinion of
the judge. Various experts, along with layman who had known her
over time, testified that whereas they thought her to be insane
a few years back, that she had "recovered" and was now
very sane. Other witnesses, particularly Elgin staff, testified
that Mrs. Robert was still insane and sited various instances
of continuing unusual and abnormal behavior. The Medical Superintendent
of Elgin observed that Mrs. Robert continued to show "manifestations
of insanity" through various enumerated behaviors. She was
not, in his opinion, "fully and permanently restored from
her insanity." She was not a "safe person to be at large."
Her insanity was "incurable." Others testified that
Mrs. Robert had periods of excited insantity between periods of
calm saneness. On October 31, the Judge went over the conflicting
and confusing testimony and noted that often in murder trials
"insanity . . . as a defense . . . is frequently the last
refuge of our incredulous and too sympathetic jurors" as
they seek an "escape from a verdict of willful murder."
He was of the opinon that these circumstances applied to the Robert
case. He finally determined as follows:
"What may have been the guilt of this unfortunate woman
in taking the life of Theodore B. Weber, I cannot by law consider.
If she was criminally responsible for her act because of sanity
at the time, then the verdict was wrong. Yet under the law I
would have to discharge her as a sane woman. The statute provides
for confinement only until sanity is restored, and recognizes
that sanity is curable. If she was insane to a degree that satisfied
the jury (that) she was not responsible, still I am as well
satisfied that she is now a sane person, fully restored, and
not at all likely to be subjected in (the) future to the causes
which disturbed her mind and led to the act for which she has
been confined for two years . . . (thus) I am bound by law to
discharge her (from Elgin). Such is my order."
The article then reports that spectators applauded as Mrs. Robert
cried.
Posted: January 27, 2009
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