By THOMAS SHANNON, Interim Columbia County Historian
“The Rock of Gibraltar is no better symbol of strength and stability than the Germantown National Bank…” – 1928 advertisement in The Germantown Post.
THE 1920S WERE an exceptional time in Germantown, the community rebounding from a population crash in the previous decade with new innovations such as the Hudson Valley Cold Storage at the foot of Main Street, a high school (GCS), and a national bank. All were built of brick, with permanence in mind.
Germantown National Bank incorporated on January 7, 1922, and opened for business on October 2, on the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue. The building’s eastern facing exterior wall was scorched badly in the great fire of November 14, 1923.
Robert Reginald Livingston, Jr. (1888-1962) served as the bank’s president for its whole existence. Livingston’s paternal grandfather built the Northwood mansion on Woods Road, snapped up real estate almost all the way up to Germantown village, and played a large hand in the cultural coup that changed the East Camp hamlet’s name to Cheviot. Reggie, or “RRL,” as he was sometimes called, was a heavyweight in Democratic politics, running for NYS Assembly and the House of Representatives multiple times.
The bank’s vice-president was the fatefully-named Clyde Holliday DeWitt (1888-1961), likewise a scion, though one from a few layers of atmosphere below. Clyde’s father, Edgar R., built a business empire on inherited land at Cheviot Landing. That empire included a hotel, a gas-lit causeway extending more than 1,000 feet into the Hudson River, a cooperage, a cider mill and wineworks, and multiple warehouses to hold coal, sand, cement, and brick for sale. Clyde served one term as Columbia County Clerk, then successfully ran for two terms as County Treasurer, all while also serving as the head of the county Republican Committee.
With the Great Depression underway, Clyde lost his reelection bid in 1930, leaving the Treasurer’s office on December 31. Immediately, financial irregularities were noticed by his successor. Columbia County’s books were short by $87,000. Just prior to leaving office, Clyde DeWitt wrote a $87,000 check from his personal account at the Hudson River Trust Company to Columbia County’s account at Germantown National Bank. J. Raymond DuBois, the bank’s treasurer, accepted the check on DeWitt’s word without verifying with Hudson River Trust Company. DeWitt had just $23,000 to his name. The Federal Reserve notified Reggie Livingston on January 5, and DeWitt was arrested a few days later, though quickly freed on $10,000 bail.
NYS brought the criminal charges against DeWitt to trial in late May 1931. It revealed that he used county funds to purchase a cement plant in Western Massachusetts. Clyde also was a dandy, with a weakness for steamboats, automobiles, and extravagant living. The $87,000 melted away little by little from July 1923 through December 1929, hidden by erasures in the county ledger, and a separate set of books kept at the Germantown Bank. His defense amounted to an argument that the transaction was irregular, but not criminal. He also claimed that DuBois gave him the idea to use the county funds, which DuBois denied. DuBois’s wife, Esther, died suddenly on June 3, at the age of 37, one day before DuBois was set to testify as a state witness.
DeWitt took the stand in his own defense in the subsequent days. He was said to have kept a perfectly calm demeanor throughout several days of tense cross examination, maintaining it even when deemed guilty of just one (out of 21 total) count of grand larceny. The NYS Appellate Division of the Supreme Court rejected, and the NYS Court of Appeals refused to hear his appeal. DeWitt began serving a four to seven year sentence first at Dannemora, then Wallkill prison in late January 1932.
Germantown National Bank closed its doors forever on December 29, 1931. Subsequent lawsuits by the bank against both their insurance company and Columbia County were unsuccessful. Both suits found that the bank had knowledge of DeWitt’s shenanigans prior to his downfall. Reggie Livingston ultimately ate the upwards of $50,000 loss, redeeming in full the bank accounts of children, while leaving other depositors a fraction of their account value.
Clyde DeWitt was paroled in September 1934, having served just one year and eight months of his initial four to seven year sentence. He lived in Hudson for the rest of his life, divorcing, remarrying, and operating a number of businesses including a bowling alley and tavern on Warren Street. The DeWitt empire in Cheviot rapidly declined. In 1948, Edna, first wife of Clyde DeWitt, sold the defunct Cheviot dock area to the Town of Germantown for all of one dollar. It was developed into Cheviot Park some three decades later.
The bank building sold for $3,500 in 1937, having been built in 1922 for $24,000. It later served as a branch of the State Bank of Albany, and has long since been the home of the Germantown Telephone Company.
