Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad Co. issued to Jay Cooke and Co. - 1860's dated Railway Stock Certificate

Stock with Imprinted Revenue stamp issued to Jay Cooke & Co. Not signed. Rare!

Jay Cooke (1821-1905), Banker. A chance move to Philadelphia as a result of the panic of 1837 determined Jay Cooke's future career, with his eventually ending up as a partner in the distinguished banking house of Clark & Company in that city. Retiring as a wealthy man in 1857, he could not stay idle long, and founded Jay Cooke & Company in 1861, destined to become one of the most widely known banking houses in the country.

The nation was slowly healing its wounds and recovering from the disastrous effects of the Civil War. Visionaries of the period looked to the future and the opportunities available in a recovering nation's expansion. Naturally so, men of stout hearts looked west. Thus, it is no surprise that the man who successfully orchestrated the Union effort in selling bonds to finance the war turned his eye toward his next great challenge, the resurrection of the Northern Pacific Railroad. After years of failed attempts at financing the road, the future of the company lie in doubt. Jay Cooke arrived on the scene, successfully lobbying Congress for legislative change which would facilitate his grand plan for financing the construction of the road. Thus the first tracks of what would become America's second transcontinental railroad were laid. As construction continued, rising costs necessitated the need for constantly growing amounts of capital and Jay Cooke boldly took the lead. His optimism for the costly project exceeded even his firm's abilities to muster the financial resources to continue in the face of ever-increasing fears of failure by the banking community. Ultimately, with Jay Cooke & Company's fortunes closely tied to the Northern Pacific Project, the firm failed and was forced into bankruptcy and in some part, contributed to the onset of the financial panic of 1873. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke

On July 8, 1853, the Ohio and Indiana companies merged, and on February 7, 1855, the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad and the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad were merged into the Northern Indiana Railroad. On April 25, 1855, that company in turn merged with the Michigan Southern Rail Road to form the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad. In October 1867, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad leased the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. The CP&A changed its name to the Lake Shore Railway on March 31, 1868, and on February 11, 1869, the Lake Shore absorbed the Cleveland and Toledo. On April 6 the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and Lake Shore merged to form the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, which absorbed the Buffalo and Erie Railroad on June 22, giving one company the whole route from Buffalo to Chicago. The main route passed through Dunkirk; Erie; Ashtabula, Ohio; Cleveland; Toledo; Waterloo, Indiana; and South Bend. An alternate route (the Sandusky Division) in Ohio ran north of the main line between Elyria and Millbury (not all track was laid until 1872). From Toledo to Elkhart, the Old Road ran to the north, through southern Michigan, and the through route was called the Air Line Division or Northern Indiana Air Line. Along with various branches that had been acquired (see below), the Monroe Branch ran east from Adrian, Michigan, to Monroe, where it intersected the leased Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad. At some point the original line to Toledo was abandoned west of the branch to Jackson, Michigan (Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad), with the new connection at Lenawee Junction, the crossing between that branch and the line to Monroe. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Shore_and_Michigan_Southern_Railway