William Chrisman
Encyclopedia
William Chrisman was born to Joseph and Eleanor Chrisman. He attended Georgetown College and Center College in Kentucky where he received his degree in Law. In 1847 he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
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Career
On May 8 or May 10 1848, William Chrisman married Lucie A. Lee, a member of the distinguished Lee familyRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. That day, Mr. Chrisman and his bride set out for Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
. Upon arrival, Chrisman was admitted to the bar in Missouri and began his law practice on the Independence Square. Immediately an entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and community activist
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
in addition to being a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and banker, Mr. Chrisman soon managed "...the second largest tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
west of the Mississippi, and is the namesake of William Chrisman High School
William Chrisman High School
William Chrisman High School is a high school located in Independence, Missouri as part of the Independence School District. The school was founded in 1888 and was originally known as Independence High School. The first building was located at the intersection of Pleasant and Truman Road, the...
in Independence, Missouri...", A section of the 1877 book The Commonwealth of Missouri: A Centennial Record provides considerable information about William Chrisman. However, archaic
Archaism
In language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately or as part of a specific jargon or formula...
syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
in the section initially gives a puzzling impression that William Chrisman (instead of his father, Joseph Chrisman) "...died in Clay County, Missouri in 1875".
In 1857, William Chrisman helped found the Chrisman-Sawyer Banking Company, which evolved directly from the already-established "Independence Savings Institution/Independence Savings Association". Over the years, with several changes in partners, the bank became Chrisman-Sawyer Banking Company. In 1995, the bank became known as Hillcrest Bank when Chrisman-Sawyer Bank merged with Hillcrest Bancshares company.
Hillcrest Bank headquarters remained in the same location as the original Chrisman-Sawyer Bank headquarters until offices were transferred to an Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
location in 2007. An apparent casualty of the 2007-2010 U.S. Financial Crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
, the bank "failed" on Friday, October 22, 2010 and ownership was transferred for the time being to NBH Holdings Corporation
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
of Boston, Massachusetts. Named one of the top "Most Efficient Bank Holding Companies" in the United States by American Banker
American Banker
American Banker is a daily trade newspaper covering the financial services industry. Founded in 1836and based in New York, American Banker has approximately 50 reporters and editors in six U.S. cities who monitor developments and breaking news affecting banks...
Magazine in May 2008, Hillcrest Bank's condition nevertheless had come under scrutiny by banking regulators
Bank regulation in the United States
Bank regulation in the United States is highly fragmented compared with other G10 countries, where most countries have only one bank regulator. In the U.S., banking is regulated at both the federal and state level. Depending on the type of charter a banking organization has and on its...
since October 2009. Hillcrest bank's failure was the largest in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
since 1991, and historically significant due to Chrisman-Sawyer Bank's legendary "survival" of the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
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In 1867 Chrisman was elected to the first Board of Education of the Independence School District. In that capacity he served as Secretary of the Board. He also helped found the Kansas City Ladies’ College in Independence and paid for the financing of the college’s principal buildings.
As a delegate to Missouri’s 1875 Constitutional Convention, Chrisman helped craft the constitution of Missouri. The 1945 Constitution now used in Missouri is largely based on this document. Though relatively removed from politics, William Chrisman spent most of his life a member of the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
and in later years switched to the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
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William Chrisman suffered a stroke in 1888 and was forced to give up most of his law and financial business dealings.
Death/Children
In February 1889, his wife Lucie died. William Chrisman died in 1897 and was buried in Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence, MissouriIndependence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
.
He was survived by his three children:
- George Chrisman – of Independence
- James Chrisman – who died at Fulton College
- Maggie Chrisman Swope. She married Logan Swope, the nephew of Col. Thomas H. SwopeThomas H. SwopeThomas Hunton Swope was a real estate magnate and philanthropist in Kansas City, Missouri, His death in 1909 became the focus of one of the most publicized murder trials in the early 20th century.-Career:...
, who was renowned in the area for his gift of Swope Park to Kansas City and his infamous murder.
Posthumously
In 1917, the Independence School District pursued a campaign to build a new high school. The tax issue passed and a site was sought for the new home of Independence High School. Maggie Chrisman Swope offered the sale of a plot of land at Maple and Union for $1.00 in exchange for the high school being renamed after her father. Since the doors to the Maple Avenue building opened the school has been known as William Chrisman High SchoolWilliam Chrisman High School
William Chrisman High School is a high school located in Independence, Missouri as part of the Independence School District. The school was founded in 1888 and was originally known as Independence High School. The first building was located at the intersection of Pleasant and Truman Road, the...
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External links
- William Chrisman at Findagrave.com