Leonard Baldwin Vaughn was born in 1834 at New York. He married
Sarah Felicia Swift, daughter of
Julius C. Swift and
Lydia Hawkins, circa 1857. He died on 5 October 1887 at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan.
Leonard Baldwin Vaughn was shown in the census on 5 June 1860 as a farmer.
Leonard Baldwin Vaughn and
Sarah Felicia Swift appeared on the census of 5 June 1860 at Summit Twp., Erie County, Pennsylvania; real estate value 5,000.00 personal proberty 1,550.00. He removed to at Lamberton County, Ontario, Canada, in 1865. He removed to at Petrolia, Lamberton County, Ontario, Canada, in 1868. One of the things that was confusing to us when we first moved to Petrolia in the late 1970s was a building that everyone referred to as "The Little Red Bank". It was not red and it was not a bank. We soon came to realize, though, that townsfolk here were not prone to forgetting quickly their glorious past. The Little Red Bank is just one of the examples of this characteristic of Petrolians.
In the 1860s, when our town was a fledgling community, the charter banks of the day were not anxious to become involved in the financial affairs of small places. Because of the oil industry, the monetary transactions here had rapidly escalated beyond what would be normal for the population. Petrolia needed a bank. J.H. Fairbank and Leonard B. Vaughn set about to make this need a reality.
For the sum of $70, the two purchased a house in Oil Springs, had it cut in half and transported it to the corner of Oil and Petrolia streets. Here they set up a financial institution that was to survive in the same location for fifty-five years. Whipp and Phelps (Petrolia 1866 - 1966) referred to it as "one of the most significant developments of the period". The bank opened its door on August 12, 1869. Its first client was William Duffield with a deposit of $2053. Vaughn and Fairbank followed suit with deposits of $1000 and $2500 respectively.
Vaughn and Fairbank were reputed to have been two of the most unlikely men to have formed a partnership in a banking venture. Fairbank had only borrowed money once in his life to drill his first well in Oil Springs and generally loaned money wisely. Vaughn, on the other hand, was more adventurous with money and was inclined to borrowing - usually from Fairbank. The fact that Fairbank died a millionaire and Vaughn died penniless seems to have confirmed this basic difference in the way they handled money.
But form a partnership they did - Fairbank with his New Englander caution and Vaughn with his mid-western American flair. They had come to know each other through the oil industry. Vaughn had initially been a producer then moved on to become a bank operator in Oil Springs where he was Fairbank's friend and neighbour.
Business at The Little Red Bank skyrocketed, so much so that in four short months, Fairbank turned over the accounting portion of the endeavour to Edwin Kerby, another of his oil friends from Oil Springs. Fairbank then was able to concentrate on his Petrolia business empire. Vaughn died in 1887, leaving Fairbank as the sole owner. In 1901, Fairbank could have sold the bank at a substantial profit but declined the offer.
When Fairbank died in 1914, his estate took over the running of the bank but, by 1924, found it necessary to close the doors. It was one of the last private banks in Canada. Changing times in the early decades of the century changed the banking industry and it was no longer financially viable to keep the bank in operation.
The Little Red Bank was moulded as much by its place in the community as the personalities of the partners involved. Fairbank dispensed financial caution and Vaughn dispensed medical advice. (One of his ancestors had been a physician and he considered himself an expert on homoeopathic remedies.) They lived by the credo that a man should be extended credit based on his character and his ability to repay the loan. They asked for no business references. Records also indicate that the debts of the poor or afflicted were quietly forgotten.
Today, law offices grace the building. Some of the original interior has been retained, including the bank safe. The outside has been revamped. It is still not a bank and it is still not red but, in the hearts and minds of Petrolians it is still affectionately referred to as The Little Red Bank.
Leonard Baldwin Vaughn appeared on the census of 1871 at Petrolia, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. Leonard Baldwin Vaughn was shown in the census in 1871 as a banker. In additon to Minnie Vaughn, there are two unknown Vaughn children listed as burried at the Oil Springs Cemetery, Enniskillen Twp., Lambton County, Ontario. Leonard Baldwin Vaughn was shown in the census in 1881 as a banker. He a Unitarian 1881.
Leonard Baldwin Vaughn and
Sarah Felicia Swift appeared on the census of 1881 at Petrolia, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada.