Henry Duncan: Church of Scotland Minister at Ruthwell in 1798

Henry Duncan, a church of Scotland minister, wanted to revitalizing the village’s Friendly Society during the economic downturn.

Henry Duncan was born in 1774 and became a church of Scotland minister at Ruthwell in 1798. With severe economic hardship going on at that time, Duncan sought to make life less arduous by revitalizing the village’s Friendly Society, which guaranteed cash to support members in financial difficulty because of accident or illness.

Henry Duncan to do something of real and lasting value for the under-privileged that led to the beginning of his savings bank movement.

Despite of success in revival, Henry Duncan was not satisfied as the Friendly Society wasn’t a complete solution for the relief of poverty. Realizing the value of publicity, six months before opening the bank, he founded a local newspaper, The Dumfries & Galloway Courier, in which he published his proposal for a parish bank in Ruthwell.

Duncan opened an economical bank for the savings of the industrious

In 1810, Henry Duncan opened “an economical bank for the savings of the industrious”, persuading villagers to bank what little spare cash they had. As a pilot project it was remarkably successful, and within five years savings banks based on Duncan’s model were operating throughout the United Kingdom.

In the 18th century, the Church of Scotland had a problem about widows

When a married minister died, his salary was transferred to his successor but not to his widow and children, resulting financial burden to the left family without either income or home. The only option for some was the poorhouse. Supplementary pay as you go scheme only disbursed face value of premiums paid in by ministers.

Two churchmen, Dr. Robert Wallace and Alexander Webster, sought a solution