The year was 1875. The drawn-out Civil War was over but the country was still in a state of unrest. America was plagued with rampant inflation, a plummeting stock market, soaring interest rates, and bankruptcies. Political and financial collapse seemed imminent. Closer to home, Boston (then a community of 342,000) was just beginning to recover from the Great Fire of 1872, which destroyed more than 1,000 businesses, devastating nearly 60 acres of downtown Boston.
Despite this foreboding milieu, Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company opened its doors to the public on June 1, 1875. Our history actually begins on May 8, 1865 when the Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill “to incorporate the Boston Company for Safe Deposit, with a capital of $200,000.” For some unknown reason, the name of the company was subsequently given as Boston Safe Deposit Company as the bill went on to Senate approval on the afternoon of May 15.
On April 13, 1867 the Boston Safe Deposit Company was incorporated, and although the corporate title was unchanged, the charter was broadened to cover a phase of trust activity thus making history as the first trust company chartered to act as executor and administrator in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
It was not until 1874 that the legislature authorized the new corporation to change its name to Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company. In 1875 company subscribers Francis Dane and Francis M. Johnson aggressively pressed the General Court for “power to act as administrator, executor, and in other fiduciary relations” and for permission to increase authorized capital stock to $1 million. Both requests were soon granted, paving the way for the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company to open its doors in June.
With a salaried staff of eight, the company occupied the basement floor of a new office building erected at 87 Milk Street in Post Office Square. For 36 years the company flourished at this location. By 1899 trust assets had grown to $6.5 million and deposits to $9 million. Growth, resulting from the company’s reputation as one of the city’s leading financial institutions and corporate fiduciaries, demanded new quarters, a 10 story edifice that became home for the next 60 years.
Prosperity continued to favor Boston Safe. Under the leadership of Charles E. Rogerson from 1905 to 1932 the company experienced rapid growth, with trust assets increasing 300% during the 1920’s. The election of Ralph Lowell as president in 1943 marked the beginning of a new era for Boston Safe. Under his guidance, departments were reorganized and capabilities were added to meet the new demands of trust management. His successor in 1955 was William W. Wolbach. During his tenure as president, the foundation for creation of The Boston Company in 1964 was laid with sophisticated equity research, comprehensive investment management, and financial strength.
In September 1981, The Boston Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc., an American Express Company. In 1993 Mellon Financial Corporation acquired The Boston Company, Inc. from Shearson Lehman Brothers. The acquisition strengthened Mellon's position as a leading provider of institutional asset management. On July 1, 2007, Mellon Financial Corporation merged with The Bank of New York Company to become The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Organized as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), The Boston Company is run independently of our parent company.
