Abraham Howe

Howe, Abraham, was born in Marlboro, Mass., February 18, 1823, a son of Amory and Mary (Brigham) Howe. Amory came to Granby in 1822, built a house and brought his family to the town in 1823. Abraham was educated in the district schools, after which he taught school, including three years in the Oswego city public schools. Later on he entered Oberlin College for two years. At Elyria, O., Mr. Howe read law for a time and returning to Baldwinsville, N. Y., he continued the same study with Judge Stansbury, but was never admitted to the bar. He returned to Oswego County and became surrogate's clerk and for several years following was an active factor in local politics, was deputy sheriff, etc. At length Mr. Howe engaged in real estate enterprises, and with Mr. Kennedy purchased the site of and built up Oswego Falls, by establishing the first factory in that village. In the fall of 1869, Mr. Howe was elected to the Assembly and re-elected in 1870, where he procured the charter for the Fulton Savings Bank, and has been its president since 1886. He has been its treasurer and managing officer for the last seventeen years. In Lysander he married Eunice Kennedy, by whom he had one child, Grace, wife of Graeme Drew, of Jacksonville, Fla.
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*1895 LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NY FAMILY SKETCHES*

*FULTON SAVINGS BANK* ON January 30 1871, a bill was introduced in the State Legislature by Abraham Howe, who was a member of that body to incorporate the Fulton Savings Bank. The bill was passed March 29, 1871. This special act was short as compared with the general law passed in 1878, but it was a great improvement on private banking. It prohibited loans to ofiicers trustees or servants of the bank. Banks at that time made liberal loans to their directors, a statement of a local bank dated October 18, 1871 shows that the indebtedness of their directors at that time was more than one half of their total assets. The Fulton Savings Bank was authorized to receive deposits from tradesmen, clerks, mechanics, laborers, minors, servants and others. Probably the others included anybody and everybody. That the incorporators believed in safety first is evidenced by the action taken at one of their first meetings in fixing the bond of the treasurer at $100,000.00. The total deposits did not reach an amount equal to the bond for nearly ten years. The charter named as first trustees twenty one prominent men of the village of Fulton and vicinity. Sands N. Kenyon, George M. Case, John W. Prat,t Willis S. Nelson, Charles G. Bacon, William D. Patterson, John C. Wells, Calvin Osgood, Morris S. Kimball, Willard Johnson, Benjamin J. Dyer, Stephen Pardee, John E. Harroun, Hiram Bradway, Henry H. Merriam, Ira Carrier James H Townsend Amos Dean William Dexter Henry N Somers and Abraham Howe