Waltham Savings Bank Records 1853-1987 Guide to the Collection The bulk of the Waltham Savings Bank records (except for 2 oversize volumes) are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Historical Sketch Collection Description Processing Note Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms

Collection Summary

Historical Sketch

The Waltham Savings Bank was founded in 1853 and became Sterling Bank in 1990. Sterling Bank acquired the Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank in 1990 and the University Bank and Trust in Cambridge in 1991. Fleet Bank acquired all branches of Sterling Bank in August of 1994.

Collection Description

The records of the Waltham Savings Bank, 1853-1987 (bulk: 1853-1935) consist of 100 volumes: 22 cartons containing 98 volumes stored offsite and 2 oversize index volumes stored onsite. The collection has been arranged into three series: I. Bank records, 1853-1986; II. Customer records, 1853-1935; and III. Bank histories, 1924-1953.

The vast majority of the collection is made up of financial ledgers covering a wide range of business activities. Series I. Bank records contain internal financial records of the bank, as well as minutes of trustee, investment committee, and annual meetings. Series II. Customer records contain financial records of customer accounts, including account balances, deposits, personal loans and World War I Liberty loans and bonds. Series III contains copies of two histories of the bank published in 1924 and 1953.

Processing Note

In June 2001, the records were appraised and processed. As a result, the collection was reduced from 428 volumes and 6 boxes in 60 record cartons to 100 volumes and 1 folder in 22 cartons.

Administrative records (minutes of the trustees and annual meetings) were kept to the most recent date (1987), while the remainder of the collection was weeded extensively. Apart from summary financial records, the detailed financial information can be found only in the customer records and in daily journals of the bank. Detailed customer accounts were retained through 1888 (the date through which they are indexed); personal loan records and daily journals of the bank were kept through the same date for consistency. Although much of the information contained in the deposit records is duplicated in the customer account balances, the records were kept because they also contain personal information on the customer, including signatures of new account holders, place of residence, age, place of birth, and parents' and spouse's name.

Acquisition Information

The Waltham Savings Bank Records were the gift of the Sterling Bank, Waltham, Mass., August 1994.

Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the Waltham Savings Bank records (except for 2 oversize volumes) are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Waltham Savings Bank records, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.