American National Bank, Fort Worth, TX (Charter 4848)

Postcard of the American National Bank of Fort Worth, Texas, ca1920s. Burk Burnett Building was located on the corner of Main and Fourth Streets. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

American National Bank, Fort Worth, TX (Chartered 1893 - Closed 1919)

Town History

The old American National Bank on Fourth and Main Streets, ca2022. Courtesy of Google Maps

Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in Texas and the 12th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly 350 square miles into four other counties: Denton, Parker, Wise, and Johnson. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Fort Worth's population was 927,720. Fort Worth is the second-largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, which is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

The city of Fort Worth was established in 1849 as an army outpost on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River. Fort Worth has historically been a center of the Texas Longhorn cattle trade. It still embraces its Western heritage and traditional architecture and design. Nearby Dallas has held a population majority since the 1950s, and Fort Worth has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States in recent years, particularly in the 21st century, and has more than doubled its population since 2000.

As a stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail, Fort Worth was stimulated by the business of the cattle drives and became a brawling, bustling town. Millions of head of cattle were driven north to market along this trail. Fort Worth became the center of the cattle drives, and later, the ranching industry. It was given the nickname of Cowtown.

During the Civil War, Fort Worth suffered from shortages of money, food, and supplies. The population dropped as low as 175, but began to recover during Reconstruction. By 1872, Jacob Samuels, William Jesse Boaz, and William Henry Davis had opened general stores. The next year, Tidball and Wilson established a private banking house which became Tidball, Van Zandt, and Company in 1874 and in 1884, the Fort Worth National Bank.

Fort Worth had 14 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 12 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized January 14, 1893
Chartered February 6, 1893
Assumed 4946 by consolidation November 1, 1897 (National Livestock Bank, Fort Worth, TX)
Closed March 15, 1919
Consolidated with 4004 March 15, 1919 (Farmers and Mechanics NB, Fort Worth, TX)
Circulation assumed by 4004 (Farmers and Mechanics NB, Fort Worth, TX)

On February 6, 1893, Alonzo Barton Hepburn, Comptroller of the Currency, authorized The American National Bank of Fort Worth to commence the business of banking. In June 1893, the comptroller of the currency reported W.J. Boaz, vice president of the American National Bank.

In December 1894, the Officers were C.J. Shapard, president; W.J. Boaz, vice president; and Luther I. Boaz, cashier. The directors were C.J. Shapard, W.J. Boaz, Luther I. Boaz, Elmon Armstrong, and T.E. Boaz.

In November 1897, the following changes in officers occurred: Luther I. Boaz, president in place of C.J. Shapard; Ben J. Tillar, vice president; J.M. Logan, cashier in place of Luther I Boaz, James B. Reilly, assistant cashier.

Benjamin Johnston Tillar, attorney and businessman, was born to John Thomas Westbrook and Antoinette (Pruitt) Tillar on September 17, 1866, at Selma, Arkansas. His father was prominent in Arkansas political and economic affairs; Tillar, Arkansas, was named for him. Benjamin Tillar was educated in the public and private schools of his hometown and entered the University of Arkansas at age thirteen. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1886 and studied law for a year in a law office in Little Rock before entering the University of Michigan law school, from which he graduated in 1888. He then returned to the Arkansas state capital and practiced law for two years. When ill health forced him to abandon his profession in 1890, he moved to West Texas. For three years Tillar worked as a cowboy on the Block Ranch, which was owned by his father and located twenty-five miles south of Midland. With his health restored he acquired his own ranch, although he apparently spent little time there. He moved to Fort Worth in 1894 and quickly established himself as a leading businessman in the Tarrant county seat. Soon after his arrival in Fort Worth, Tillar played a major role in the establishment of the National Live Stock Bank of Fort Worth, where he served as vice president until the bank merged with the American National Bank in 1897. He held a seat on the latter institution's board of directors. Before the merger Tillar and a partner had formed the company of Bush and Tillar, a ranch holding company, which eventually acquired some 100,000 acres in Howard, Borden, Mitchell, and Scurry counties. The ranches operated by the company made the Bush and Tillar Company one of the state's largest beef producers and enabled Tillar to accumulate a considerable fortune. He sold his interest in the firm in 1906 and embarked upon the financing and construction of a million-dollar luxury hotel, the Westbrook, in Fort Worth.

In March 1904, the officers were Wm. G. Newby, president; W.J. Boaz, vice president; G.H. Colvin, cashier; and E. Renfro, assistant cashier. The directors were A.J. Roe, A.J. Long, F.D. Thompson, I.H. Burney, B.C. Rhome, A.F. Crowley, W.S. Wilson, W.J. Boaz, Ben J. Tillar, Wm. G. Newby, and G.H. Colvin. The bank had capital stock $150,000 and surplus $30,000.

In January 1914, the officers were Wm. Newby, president; G.H. Colvin, cashier; Elmer Renfro, assistant cashier; Dr. Bacon Saunders, I.H. Burney, A.J. Long, B.C. Rhome, W.J. Boaz, N.H. Lassiter, B.J. Tillar, and F.M. Long, directors. The bank had capital $150,000 and surplus and profits $220,000.

In January 1919, The Farmers and Mechanics National Bank and The American National Bank consolidated under the name of The Farmers and Mechanics National Bank with capital and surplus of $1 million and assets over $11 million. The business would be conducted at the offices of the American National Bank in the Burk Burnett Building, corner of Main and Fourth Streets. The consolidated bank would retain all of the officers and most of the employees of the two banks. The officers were J.W. Spencer, president; Geo. H. Colvin, vice president and chairman of the board; J.T. Pemberton, vice president; B.H. Martin, cashier and vice president; Elmer Renfro, first assistant cashier; R.L. Foulks, L.H. Nutt, Guy J. Price, Jr., David Boaz, C.E. Gillham, L.L. Manchester, and George F. Rozelle, assistant cashiers.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The American National Bank of Fort Worth, TX

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of G.H. Colvin, Cashier and William G. Newby, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,273,800 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1893 and 1919. This consisted of a total of 78,768 notes (78,768 large size and No small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 11240	$10s with Abnormal border variety
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 7006	$10s with Abnormal border variety
1902 Date Back	3x50-100	1 - 1446

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1893 - 1919):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Fort Worth, TX, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth,_Texas
Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
Fort Worth Daily Gazette, Fort Worth, TX, Tue., Mar. 7, 1893.
The Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, Tue., June 20, 1893.
Fort Worth Daily Gazette, Fort Worth, TX, Sun., Dec. 16, 1894.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Tue., Nov. 9, 1897.
The Fort Worth Record and Register, Fort Worth, TX, Wed., Mar. 16, 1904.
The Fort Worth Record-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Sun., Jan. 1, 1914.