2944b / .

Henry Hentz, and Henry Hentz & Co., and cotton

on this page —
Cotton at $1,000 a Bale / reminiscences of Henry Hentz (1834-1924, cotton broker)
more of Henry Hentz / the man, his firm (dry stuff, and thereby interesting)

Cotton at $1,000 a Bale
Reminiscences of the Cotton Trade of Old.
Methods of transacting business before and during the war — when prices were high — some of the old merchants and firms.
The New York Times (December 29, 1890)

note —
paragraphs numbered, to facilitate reference and checking transcription.

“There was a time when cotton was worth $1,000 a bale; now it is only worth about $50,” sighed a veteran cotton broker recently, as he sauntered around the “pit” of the New-York Cotton Exchange.

The remark set the writer thinking, and the result was that he asked Mr. Henry Hentz, the head of the firm Henry Hentz & Co., and one of the highest authorities upon cotton and the cotton market, a veteran among veteran merchants, to tell the public, through THE TIMES, something about the “old timers” and old-time methods in the cotton trade of the past.

“There has been a complete change, so far as cotton is concerned, in the manner of doing business before and since the war”, said Mr. Hentz. “Before the war news was received by steamer from England only twice a week, and cotton was received from the south largely by sailing vessels. Prior to 1860 little or no cotton was received by rail from the south and southwest; now we receive by rail about a million bales a year.

“Bills against the shipments were drawn at sixty days’ sight, but during the war the custom of drawing at sight was adopted, and has been continued ever since. Before the war none of the banking institutions would think of lending money upon a bill of lading for cotton or for cotton warehoused here. Such a transaction was considered outside of the functions of banking. For my part I think there is no better security than a bale of cotton backed by a margin of $10 a bale. That article always commands cash readily, and a great deal of it can be sold without affecting the market seriously.

“Before the war a large business was done in ‘transit cotton.’ That system is now practically abolished. Transit shipments were made in the South this way: A bill of lading was taken to order, indorsed in blank; the marine insurance was effected in New-York, where the cotton was sold upon the southern samples, the correctness of which the seller guaranteed. The samples were sealed up, sent to Europe, and when the cotton arrived there the samples were compared with redrawn samples in the presence of the seller’s referee, who would certify to their being correct or as to any differences which might be found. The sellers in New York would pay claims arising out of such differences on the production of a certificate to the effect that the claim was a just one.

“Our house, before the war, was mainly confined to that style of business. There was, in those days, a decided prejudice against shipping cotton by steam; practically, all the cotton went by sailing vessels. I remember when the late John G. Dale, agent for the Inman Line, purchased a few hundred bales of cotton to get freight for his steamers. Then it was quite a common occurrence for sailing vessels to remain on the bar at the mouth of the Mississippi River for thirty or sixty days; in fact, we had cotton, after hostilities had been declared, detained on the bar as late as July, 1861. It required several powerful tugs to pull them through the mud.

“During the war a good deal of cotton ran the blockade from Wilmington, Charleston, and Mobile; it was very scarce here, then, and the price advanced to $2 per pound, currency price, or $1,000 a bale; the price is now about $50; gold was then up to about 200. Cotton had risen to $2 per pound from 10 cents per pound when the war broke out. It was worth about 30 pence at Liverpool during the war. To such an extent did prices go up that, during the war, American cotton was imported from Liverpool. We made the first importation in December, 1861; it has been imported since the war to meet ‘corners’ in New-York.

“Very few people are aware of the important part cotton played in the finances of this country when the war was ended. At that period there were about 2 million bales of cotton in the south, worth about $200 per bale, or $400 million. About three quarters of this amount was taken by Europe, and it gave this country the value of $300 million in gold, which was practically like digging that quantity of gold from the earth. If it had not been for the existence of so much cotton ready to be sold to Europe, no one could have said what would then have been the outcome of the financial situation.

“Many old fashioned business people were, and still may be, prejudiced against the present system of doing business in cotton. But they are what we may term ‘back numbers.’ Prior to the establishment of Exchanges the losses by failures of houses in the cotton trade were very disastrous. If any one of them had a large stock of cotton on hand, they could rarely get rid of it until bottom prices were reached, as the buyers naturally held off. I recall during the panic of 1857, when private paper sold as high as 4 percent per month, I was informed that Moses Taylor’s paper sold as high as that; and I know of a note of Willete & Co., the great Quaker house, having fifteen days to run, sold at 15 percent discount from its face value. Cotton fell from 16 cents to 9 cents during that crisis.

“People who, before the time of the Exchanges, shipped cotton to Liverpool, were obliged to submit to very heavy losses in a declining market. But since dealing in future deliveries has been established there is no need for anyone making heavy losses, as they are afforded the opportunity of selling futures against their holdings, and can thus stop the loss. Failures nowadays in the cotton trade are less important than formerly, as the system of calling for cash margins causes a house to stop before getting in too deep. The recent failures of Richard H. Allen & Co. and V. & A. Meyer & Co. caused very little loss to the members of the Exchanges.

“During 1866 and 1867, before the New-York Cotton Exchange was established, cotton dropped from 24d. to 7d. in Liverpool. The crop of 1867-8 was a very small one, only about 2.5 million bales, and it was taxed at 2 cents a pound by the Government. The average price for the five years before the war was about 7d. per pound. Now, I say with emphasis, cotton never would have dropped to such a low point — it subsequently advanced to 33d. in 1868-69 — had there been an opportunity for the holders to have hedged their holdings by the sale of futures.

“It is now the custom, and one that is rapidly growing, for the mill corporations in New England to contract for their future supply of cotton for delivery throughout the season. By making such contracts they are enabled to name a price for their goods for future delivery. They secure the cotton through the New York and southern houses, who would not dare to take the risk if they did not purchase contracts in New York for delivery in the months they contract for with the mills. The cotton is seldom shipped from New York; it goes direct from the Southern interior towns to the mills. Those selling to the mills sell out their contracts in New-York, as they buy in the South.

“When cotton seems pretty high to many planters, they sell futures in New York, and when their crop is ready to be delivered they ship it to their nearest town, sell it, and then buy in their contracts in New-York. Quite a number have sold at the high prices that ruled here during the summer and have covered at a lower price since, which shows that they did not speculate when they made the transaction, but that they desired to secure the ruling price for cotton, which was profitable to them.

“The business of selling fertilizers to the south is an immense one. The people in that line of trade contract to sell fertilizers to the planters at so much per ton for cash, or at another price payable in cotton at 9 cents per pound. If the crop promises to be a full one and the price is about 10 cents, the fertilizer companies are willing to sell contracts in New-York to secure their profits on the sales of fertilizers.

“The Exchanges, it should be added, keep the values more steady than under the old system of trading. During the French Revolution and during the coup d’etat in 1848 and in 1851, cotton fell below 4 cents a pound. No such decline would occur under the present system.

“The Farmers’ Alliances are all wrong in opposing the future delivery system. If we could not work under that system, especially during periods of depression, cotton and other merchandise would have to sink to a point where the big capitalists only would be able to come in and buy. The future system enables the many small capitalists, who are generally bulls, to prevent a big drop. The price of grain and wheat this season, by the aid of bull operations and the various Exchanges, have been pushed up to 20 to 25 cents a bushel above European values.

“Among the receivers of cotton from the South who were in business some forty years ago were Robert Caldwell & Co., Benjamin Blossom & Son, Charles M. Fry & Co., (Mr. Fry is now president of the Bank of New-York,) Brewer & Caldwell, Brigham & Carhart, Albert O. Parmelee, and Post, Smith & Co., who were succeeded by Woodward & Stillman. Mr. Woodward died about two years ago; he was a prominent figure in the cotton trade.

“John. H. Brower & Co. were were known about forty years ago; they were owners of the ship Harvey Birch, captured by the Confederate cruiser Nashville when bound from Havre to New-York. The Harvey Birch, I believe, was the first vessel captured by the Confederates. Mr. Brower had his grandson, young Blydenburgh, on board the Harvey Birch at the time of her capture; but Mr. Brower was always a friend of the South, and the loss of his ship did not change his convictions or feelings.

“Dennis Perkins & Son was another well-known firm. Mr. Perkin’s two sons are now in the brokerage business in this city. Bowman & Sellers, subsequently Bowman & Murchson, and Fenner, Bennett & Bowman were also popular firms in those days. Mr. Sellers was a very modest man, and few of his acquaintances were aware of the fact that he was with Davy Crockett at the massacre of the Alamo.

“Smallwood, Earle & Co., Watson & Meares, Wakeman, Dimon & Co., Brodie & Pettus, and R. R. Graves & Co. also ranked among the prominent old firms. Mr. Graves’s son and partner, Arthur B. Graves, is now President of the St. Nicholas Bank. Trenholm Brothers & Co. were also old-timers. Mr. W. L. Trenholm subsequently became Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate States, and his son, William L. Trenholm, was appointed Controller of the Currency by President Cleveland. He is now President of the American Surety Company and Vice President of the State Trust Company.

“In the old times Spofford, Tileston & Co. were considered a very rich firm; they were principle owners of the Charleston Line of steamers. Then there were Sawyer, Wallace & Co., who then were mainly in the tobacco trade; Robert L. Maitland & Co., Williams, Bee & Co., Blow & March, Thomas Scott, the father of Francis M. Scott, the recent candidate for Mayor of this city; Brown, De Rosett & Co., Nelson Clements & Co., Reid & Nash, Taylor & Ritch, and Robert & Williams.

“Among the leading buyers before the war were A. P. Pillot, a soldier, I believe, under the first Napoleon; Lonis Lornt, Williams & Guion — who were also receivers — Bogert & Kneeland, Joseph Stitt & Co., De Rham & Co. — who were established in about 1806 — J. & C. Heydecker, and Lemoyne & Bell. Mr. Edward R. Bell of this firm is still alive and a member of the Executive Committee of the Farmer’s Loan and Trust Company. Then there were J. H. Burgy & Son and Bierwith & Rocholl — Mr. Rocholl is now President of the German-American Bank — J. J. Merriam, and Maury Brothers, who were considered the statisticians of the trade. Both of the Maury brothers have since died. James F. Maury succeeded to the business. The Messrs. Maury were the sons of the first American Consul to Liverpool, who was appointed by Gen. Washington. Mr. Matthew Maury was a college mate of Mr. William E. Gladstone.

“Then there will be remembered Mr. F. F. Dufais, who served as United States Consul at Havre under Mr. Cleveland’s Administration; there were also Hennings, Muller, & Gasting, Eugene Lentilhon, Kunkelman & Strecker, and August Nottebohm, who was later on a member of the wealthy banking house of Nottebohm Brothers of Antwerp. I also remember Edward Coward, who represented Maclean, Maris & Co. of Liverpool, and was, I believe, the father of Edward Fales Coward, the amateur actor. Then I recall Edward Baker, who represented Herman Cox & Co. of Liverpool; Franz B. Muller, A. W. Süs, Winterhoff, Piper & Co., and many others.

“I must not forget to mention one of the most prominent receivers of cotton during the war. It was the late Edward Matthews, father of Brander Matthews (1852-1929, wikipedia), the playwright. Mr. Matthews had the happy faculty of being able to get cotton through the lines wherever the Union Army advanced in the South. He had a splendid lieutenant in ‘Joe’ Bramwell, formerly a broker in the city, who was ablt to carry out Mr. Matthews’ wishes.”

—

ex The New York Times (December 29, 1890) : link (paywall)

a partial transcription is found at a wonderful labor of love, John Langlois his blog/website 1898 Revenues (United States Revenue Stamps that Financed the Spanish American War) : link

The role of slavery, as an underpinning of the North American cotton economy, is nowhere mentioned in the article, nor in H. Hentz & Co., 1856-1956 (1956), the book produced on the occasion of the firm’s 100’s anniversary (copy in hand).

From that book, I learn that cotton from the South, which made its way to Liverpool by blockade-runners, was “sometimes resold and shipped to New York to meet the desperate demand.” (p20)

further, on Henry Hentz (1834-1924)

“Henry Hentz Dies in his 91st Year
He was the only surviving charter member of the New York Cotton Exchange.
Its former president
Oldest member of New York State Chamber of Commerce — to be buried from Plymouth Church”
The New York Times (September 30, 1924) : link (paywall)

Henry Hentz, founder of the cotton firm of H. Hentz & Co. in 1856, one of the original one hundred members of the New York Cotton Exchange and the only surviving charter member, died at his home in Madison, N. J., Sunday, in his ninety-first year.
Mr. Hentz was rated as one of the most prominent cotton factors in the United States. During the years 1873-74 he was Vice President of the New York Cotton Exchange, and served as President from 1874 to 1876. He was the oldest member of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, having reached his sixty-sixth year of service in that organization May 6 last. He served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Chamber from 1889 to 1896; Vice President from 1896 to 1900 and from 1915 to 1919. He also served as a member of other committees of the Chamber from time to time. On March 6, 1924, he was unanimously elected an honorary member of the Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his long service.
In 1918 Mr. Hentz retired from active connection with the firm of H. Hentz & Co., but he retained a special partnership for several years, and up to two years ago was a frequent visitor at his office. The collapse came last Saturday.
He had long been a member of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn Heights, and was a member of the Hamilton Club, Downtown Club and others. The family surviving him are two sons, Henry Jr. and Leonard S. Hentz, and two daughters, Miss Mary Hentz and Mrs. Helen Schultz.
On the wall of Mr. Hentz’s old office is hung a large photograph of an oil painting of a ship, the original having been taken home by Mr. Hentz when he retired from active participation in the business. Attached to this photograph is the following statement:
“Henry Hentz sailed on the Baltimore Clipper brig ‘Putnam’ of Philadelphia ‘before the mast’ from Philadelphia Nov. 10, 1847, bound for Pernambuco, Brazil. Outward passage forty-two days; homeward forty-four days. Under the name of ‘The Echo’ she landed a cargo of slaves near Charleston, S. C., in 1860. She was subsequently renamed Jefferson Davis, and was the first war vessel owned by the Southern Confederacy. Was lost in 1861 on the Florida reefs.”

—

“Henry Hentz’s Funeral.
Cotton and Coffee Exchanges Close in Respect for His Memory.”
The New York Times (October 2, 1924) : link (paywall)

Funeral services for Henry Hentz, last surviving charter member and former President of the New York Cotton Exchange and former member of the Coffee Exchange, were held at Plymouth Church, Orange and Hicks Streets, Brooklyn, yesterday. The two exchanges were closed out of respect for his memory, and delegations from them attended the funeral. The honorary pallbearers were composed of members of the exchanges.
The Revs. Ira W. Henderson and William A. White officiated at the services. Flowers were banked high around the altar.
The Rev. Mr. Henderson in his eulogy said it was no surprise to have two large commercial enterprises suspend operations on the day of the funeral. He described Mr. Hentz’s work and referred to his friendship with Henry Ward Beecher. Mr. Hentz was a former trustee of the church, and several former trustees were among those present.
Mr. Hentz’s sons, Henry and Leonard, and his daughters, Miss Mary Hentz and Mrs. Helen Schultz, were present. The pallbearers were Edward S. Diercks, William Bayne Jr., Charles M. Bull, Max R. Mayer, Levis W. Minford, Louis Seligsburg, Charles H. Taylor and Charles J. Walter.
Twenty-five automobiles followed the cortège to Greenwood Cemetery.

—

“Hentz & Co. Acquisition Is Set by Hayden, Stone”
by Michael C. Jensen, The New York Times (April 19, 1973) : link (paywall)

It appears that this acquisition did happen; Hayden Stone would later be absorbed by Shearson-American Express, etc., etc.)
Robert Gambee, his Wall Street : Financial Capital (1999)
see wikipedia page for Hayden, Stone : link

—

Henry Hentz (1834-1924)
findagrave page : link

20260331