I. ORGANIZATION. THE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA had its origin in THE UNIVERSAL TONTINE, which was projected in the city of Philadelphia early in the year 1792. Sundry citizens, to whom were added some of Boston, planned the scheme of a Tontine, a system which had many attractive and plausi- h1e features, " for the purpose of raising a fund upon lives, to he applied to the charitable and other uses." The sub- scription books w-ere to be opened on the twentieth day of March, 1792. It was founded upon the plan of The Boston Tontine Association, a copy of whose Constitution, printed in 1791, was submitted to the present subscribers, and yet remains among the files of this Company. The Boston failed of its original objects, and eventually took the form of a State bank, The Union: a like project in :N"ewYork came to naught about the same time. Among the promoters in (9) 10 A HISTORY OF THE the Boston Association was Mr. Samuel Blodget, jr., a son- in-law of the Eev. William Smith, D. D-, the first Provost of the College and Academy of Philadelphia. A friend and correspondent of his in Philadelphia, Mr. Ebenezer Hazard, was kept informed of its progress, and when it failed of success, it was hy the latter's intervention that Mr. Blodget concluded upon attempting the Fund in this city; and it was due to this instrumentality that some of the Boston subscribers transferred their interests to the Philadelphia scheme. The subscriptions to The Universal Tontine, as it was here called to avoid the appearance of only a local scope, were opened on the day named. " In order to pursue the preliminary steps for establishing the Society," there were "appointed five agents, to wit: John Maxwell Kesbitt, "Walter Stcwart, Jasper Moylan, Samuel Blodget, junior, and John Dewhurst, Esquires, and one Secretary, to wit, Ebenezer Hazard." In due time one hundred and eighty- seven persons signed the Articles of Association, their shares, however, numbering in the aggregate but eight thousand four hundred, when the required limit was one hundred thousand shares. At the close Mr. Blodg-et sub- 0 scribed, in conformity to the third article of the Associa- tion, to fifty thousand shares to transmit for sale to Boston, no agent or other subscriber being allowed more than fifty thousand shares, "in order to prevent the shares from being monopolized by the citizens of any one State or District, to give effect to the beneficent design of the Institution." But no one locality seemed desirous to monopolize this beneficence. Pursuant to the Articles of Association, a INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA. 11 general meeting of the subscribers was held at the State House on Saturday, 3 November, 1792, pursuant to a public call, advertised in the papers from 15 September to the date of meeting, " when the agents represented to them the state of the subscriptions, and the improbability of success in carrying the plan of the Tontine into effect; that a similar attempt had failed at Boston, and another at New York; that Tontines in general appeared to be in disrepute; that no subscriptions to The Universal Tontine had been re- ceived for a considerable time; that many who had sub- scribed were dissatisfied, and were desirous that either the Association should be dissolved or the Funds appropriated to some other use ; and that the idea of a general Insurance Company had been suggested, and appeared to meet with public approbation." Upon this a committee was unani- mously directed to be formed " to devise, digest, and report such other use, or uses, as they shall deem eligible and most beneficial to the Society for employing the Fund raised," and Messrs. Nesbitt, Moylan, Stewart, Blodget, with Alexander James Dallas, Matthew McConnell, and Edward Fox were appointed such committee. This direc- tion to the fund may fairly be laid to the voice of Mr. Ncsbitt, who, in his extended experience as a policyholder, and also as an underwriter himself, foresaw the great possi- bilities of a large association engaging in the business of underwriting the ventures of our citizens in the growing commerce of the port; and to him we shall see was com- mitted the first presidency of this wise effort. To the adjourned meeting, held at the same place on 12 November, this committee reported " that in their opinion 12 A HISTORY OF THE it will be for the interest of the concerned to change The Universal Tontine into a general Insurance Company, and submitted a plan for that purpose to the consideration of the meeting," and this plan being read, it was unanimously resolved, " That The Universal Tontine Association be and it is hereby changed from its original objects and converted into a society to be called THE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA," and the Plan was referred for considera- tion in detail to an adjourned meeting, which was held at the same place on Monday, 19 November, when it was unanimously adopted. The subscriptions to this came in good number, and by 1 December the minimum number of forty thousand shares were taken, when, agreeable to Article YII. of the Plan, the Secretary called a meeting for the 10th, at the same place, for the election of fifteen directors. Mr. Hazard received these subscriptions at his new house, which he had recently built at JSTo. 145 (now 415) Arch street, where also, probably, the Tontine subscriptions had been received by him. At this meeting General Walter Stewart was appointed Chairman, and Messrs. Hazard, Francis Ingra- ham and Fox, Tellers, who reported the election of the following Directors:— SAMUEL BLODGET, JR., JASPER MOYLAN, JOSEPH BALL, CHARLES PETTIT, MAGNUS MILLER, THOMAS L. MOORE, MICHAEL PRAGER, JOHN- Boss, JOHN M. JSTESBITT, WALTER STEWART, MATTHEW MCCONNELL, WILLIAM GRAMOND, INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA. 13
JOHN LEAMY, JOHN BARCLAY, JOHN SWANWICK, who are named in this order according to the number of their votes respectively. Thus was formed and brought into existence THE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA, in the same room where was transacted, sixteen years before, that memorable scene which forever names it INDEPENDENCE HALL ; and the Directors at once took steps to form their plans under the eighth of their Articles of Association, "To make such Insurances upon Vessels and Merchandize at Sea, or going to Sea, or upon the life or lives of any person or persons, or upon any goods, wares, merchandize, or other property gone or going by land or water; and at such Rates of Insurance or Premium as thev shall deem advisable."