Union Bank and Trust Company of Eastern Pennsylvania collection

The Union Bank and Trust Company of Eastern Pennsylvania Collection contains financial material relating to banking on the south side of Bethlehem from 1918-1976. All of the material was removed from the basement of their branch at 530 E. Third Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. There are four distinct series within the collection, relating to the various mergers and predecessor companies. Series One is made up of material from the Gosztonyi Savings and Trust, notable for their founder and president at the time of their public offering, Rozalia Gosztonyi, being one of, if not the, first female bank presidents in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Gosztonyi went public in 1918 and would fail during the Great Depression. Their reorganization attempt resulted in a name change to Gosztonyi Bank in 1934 and in 1939, after the last Gosztonyi had left the bank, changed names once more to the People’s Bank of Bethlehem. Records in this series include original stock certificate ledgers, internal accounting, and miscellaneous records. Some documents and ledgers predate the 1918 incorporation and in other cases, Gosztonyi records are intermixed with those of People’ Bank of Bethlehem. These comingled records have been included with Gosztonyi. Approximately nine cubic feet. Series Two consists of material relating to the People’s Bank of Bethlehem and their operations at Third Street. People’s was the corporate name of the operation from 1939 through June of 1959. Records in this series include: bank operations, stock certificate ledgers, accounting ledgers, employee records, loan ledger cards, account ledger cards, mortgage loan closeouts, securities orders, and audit data. Approximately 36 cubic feet and 380 reels of 16mm microfilmed records. Series Three consists of material relating to the Union Bank and Trust Company of Bethlehem. Union Bank and Trust Company of Bethlehem was founded in 1935. They would be renamed Union Bank and Trust Company of Eastern Pennsylvania on January 14, 1963. Our holdings include: loan closeout data, loan ledger cards, ledgers, securities information, railroad banking records, merger documents with People’s Bank, individual account record cards from both Third Street as well as the Northwest Savings branch, and employee records. This material dates from 1955-1963. Some material continues to use the Union Bank and Trust Company of Bethlehem letterhead and name through at least 1967. These records are included in this series. Approximately 70 cubic feet. Series Four consists of material relating to the Union Bank and Trust Company of Eastern Pennsylvania. Formed on January 14, 1963 from the Union Bank and Trust Company of Bethlehem, this would be the most recent corporate name in our bank collection. While this company continued to exist and operate after 1974, our holdings end at this date. Holdings include: Treasury Bill receipts, receptionist’s records, consumer credit, and daily accounting records. Approximately 4 cubic feet. Restrictions may apply to the research of certain parts of the collection due to the sensitive personal information contained within.