Bio of PRINCE, Frank Moody (b.1854), Hennepin Co., MN ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Laura Pruden Submitted: June 2003 ========================================================================= Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ======================================================== EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical ======================================================== Vol II, pg 74 FRANK MOODY PRINCE Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in financial and business circles than Frank Moody Prince, chairman of the executive committee of the First National Bank of Minneapolis. This is due not alone to the success he has achieved but also to the honorable, progressive and straightforward methods which he has ever followed, and in many other respects his life measures up to high standards. He at all times gives tangible evidence of his public-spirited citizenship in his cooperation with plans and projects for the general good and Minneapolis ranks him with her most valued residents. Mr. Prince was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, July 23, 1854, his parents being George H. and Sarah E. (Nash) Prince, who were also natives of New England. The father successfully engaged in merchandising in Amherst and took active part in promoting the growth and upbuilding of his city and state, being classed as an outstanding figure there by reason of his progressiveness in business and his reliability and enterprise in all that pertained to the general welfare. At the usual age Frank M. Prince became a pupil in the public schools of Amherst, where he completed his high school course and then initiated his business career by securing a clerkship in a store, in which he was employed until he reached the age of twenty. It was at that time that he bade adieu to New England and sought the opportunities of the rapidly growing west. Stimulated by a laudable ambition, he believed that better opportunities could be secured in this section of the country and accordingly he made his way to Stillwater, Minnesota, where for a year he was employed in the general store of Prince & French. He then taught school for a short time, after which he secured employment as a general clerk in the First National Bank of Stillwater and thus entered upon that line of activity which was eventually to lead him to his present position of distinction and prominence as a financier of Minnesota. He dates his residence in Minneapolis from July, 1878, at which time he became correspondent and teller in the First National Bank, serving in that capacity until November, 1882, when he resigned his position and returned to Stillwater to accept the proffered cashiership in the First National Bank, in which he had previously been a clerk. He has ever applied himself with great thoroughness and perseverance to the mastery of every task assigned him and from the faithful performance of each day's duties has found strength and encouragement for the labors of the succeeding day. For ten years he continued to act as cashier of the Stillwater bank, making an excellent record in this position, his cooperation contributing in large measure to the continued growth and success of the institution. In 1892 Mr. Prince resigned his cashiership to return to Minneapolis as the secretary and treasurer of the Minnesota Loan and Trust Company, in which capacity he continued for two years and then once more entered the employ of the First National Bank of Minneapolis, this time being called to the position of cashier. He entered upon the duties of the office on the 1st of August, 1894, and since that time has been active in the management and control of the bank. On the 1st of January, 1895, he was elected vice president and in January, 1904, was called to the presidency, continuing as the chief executive officer of this institution until 1917, when he was succeeded by C. T. Jaffray. It is today one of the strongest moneyed concerns in the Northwest and during the past five years Mr. Prince has served as chairman of its executive committee. In his management of the bank progressiveness and a safe conservatism have ever been evenly balanced and with unabating zeal he has sought to protect the interests of depositors and stockholders alike. He has also closely studied the questions of business development of every character and the part which a bank may play therein through the judicious placing of loans, and in this way he has aided notably the material development of the state. Mr. Prince is also one of the directors of the First National Bank at Cloquet and is a trustee of the Hennepin County Savings Bank. His careful study of any plan or project is followed by prompt and decisive action and he never fails to reach his objective. Mr. Prince has been married twice. In 1883 he wedded Miss Belle Russell of Minneapolis, who passed away in 1888, and ten years later he married Mrs. Margaret (Macartney) Townshend of Stillwater, Minnesota. He is widely known in club circles through his membership in the Minneapolis, Minneapolis Athletic, Minikahda and Lafayette clubs and he is also identified with the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts. His interest in these organizations is ever of tangible and helpful quality and his cooperation can at all times be counted upon to further any plan or movement that is looking to the substantial growth and development of the city. Sound judgment and broad intelligence have directed his activities at all times and his labors have therefore been an effective force in accomplishing desired results.