John A. Mathews

John A. Mathews

$5 John A. Mathews (on Mahaiwe Bank)

$5 John A. Mathews (on Mahaiwe Bank)

 

$5 John A. Mathews (on Mahaiwe Bank)

$5 John A. Mathews (on Mahaiwe Bank)

 

John Arnot Mathews was born in Elmira, New York in 1824. He learned the mercantile business from his father, and left for Pennsylvania to become a merchant in 1845. He came to Winona in 1855, and established his business on Front Street, as a real estate and loan office. He earned the confidence of the town citizens, being elected mayor for four terms. He was a stockholder and director of the Winona & Southwestern Railroad, although he did not advocate the use of public funds to support the railroads. He was called “one of the most popular men of Winona, a safe and substantial business man, a true friend.”

Mathews endorsed the notes of the Mahaiwe Bank for a short time in 1856, in order to create a circulating medium for his locale.

Read more about Minnesota’s Endorsed Notes in Paper Money, journal of the Society of Paper Money Collectors.

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