Westcott Express Co. Signed by James C. and Wm. C. Fargo - Stock Certificate

Stock Issued to James C. Fargo and signed at front and back by both Wm. C. Fargo and Jas. C. Fargo. Very Likely Unique!

Westcott Express was taken over by American Express in 1904. At the time of the take over, a very few certificates were signed by James C. Fargo. All others bear the signature of Smith as President. The company was a freight operation in 1907 and it became a cab service in 1915 when it was dissolved.

Wm. Congdell Fargo was born in Chicago, on May 27th, 1855. After leaving Anthon Grammar School in New York, he entered Williams College, whence he graduated in the class of 1878. Upon his graduation he was made Cashier of the Merchants Dispatch Transportation Company, and held that position until 1880, when he entered the firm of Page, Fargo & Co., agents of the Howe Scale Company. Enlisted in the Ninth Co., Seventh Regiment, National Guard, State of New York, March 15, 1879, serving in that Regiment to Oct. 29, 1885, when he was honorably discharged. In 1883, Mr. Fargo entered the service of the American Express Company and was appointed Secretary of the Executive Committee; in 1898 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Company.

In 1895, upon the reorganization of the National Express Company, he was elected Treasurer and Director of that Company. In 1903, when the American Express Company purchased the Westcott Express Company, Mr. Fargo was elected Treasurer and Director of the latter Company. He also holds a position as Director of the New England Dispatch Company. Mr. Fargo is a member of the Ardsley, University, Church and New York Athletic Clubs, and the New York Genealogical Society. On April 20th, 1881 he married Mary Stockwell Preston, daughter of William R. Preston of New York, at New York.

Excerpt from "History of the Express Companies":

James Congdel Fargo (1829-1915) The son of James Fargo, James Congdel Fargo entered the employ of Wells & Co. (in which his brother, William George Fargo was a partner) at Buffalo in 1844. In 1866 after becoming agent and manager of the firm’s successor, the American Express Co., Fargo went to New York as General Superintendent and Manager. In 1881 he became President of the company as well as President of Westcott Express Co. and National Express Co. As president of the American Express Company James C. Fargo was well off and well known. It is not surprising that he felt insulted when he could not get checks cashed during a trip to Europe in 1890. The European bankers were steadfast as Fargo was not known to them, they would not cash his checks. Would Americans always have a cash problem when traveling in Europe? Marcellus F. Berryn, an employee of the American Express Company set out to find a solution. He wrote later: "There’s one thing every person does in a distinctive way. That is writing his signature. Therefore the foolproof device for taking money to strange places must carry the signature of the bearer. It must declare that it will be cashed only when a second, and matching, signature is added before witnesses." On July 7, 1891, Berry was granted four copyrights for what he called "the travelers cheque," and William C. Fargo got the first one. He had no difficulty when he wanted fifty dollars a few weeks later in Leipzig, Germany. In 1891, American Express sold $9,120.00 worth of travelers checks, and the amount has risen every year. During 2000, sales of American Express Travelers Cheques increased to $24.6 billion.

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