American National Bank, Los Angeles, CA (Charter 6545)

The American National Bank located on the corner of Second Street and Broadway, ca1906.

American National Bank, Los Angeles, CA (Chartered 1902 - Liquidated 1909)

Town History

Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., officially the City of Los Angeles, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California. With roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits as of 2020, Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the United States, behind only New York City; it is the commercial, financial and cultural center of the Southern California region.

Los Angeles had 22 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 18 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

A statement of condition at the close of business on June 23, 1909 for the American National Bank of Los Angeles, California. The bank had total assets of $6,063,354.54.

• Organized December 10, 1902
• Chartered December 19, 1902
• Succeeded California Bank
• Liquidated September 1, 1909
• Absorbed by 5927 (Citizens National Bank, Los Angeles, CA)

On August 7, 1887, the California Bank of Los Angeles incorporated with a capital stock of $500,000. The directors were H.G. Newhall of San Francisco and H.C. Witmer, M.L. Wicks, E.A. Hall, E.W. Jones, Juan Bernard, and William Lacy of Los Angeles. The officers were H.G. Newhall, president; M.L. Wicks, vice president; H.C. Witmer, manager; T.J. Weldon, cashier. The bank was located on the corner of Fort and Second Streets.

In 1890 the directors were E.W. Jones, J. Frankenfield, J.C. Kays, G.W. Hughes, Hervey Lindley, Sam Lewis, H.C. Witmer. The officers were H.C. Witmer, president; J. Frankenfield, vice president; T.J. Weldon, cashier; and J.M. Witmer, assistant cashier. The bank was on the corner of Second Street and Broadway.

In January 1900, the officers of the California Bank of Los Angeles were W.F. Botsford, president; G.W. Hughes, vice president; J.G. Mossin, cashier; and T.W. Phelps, assistant cashier. The directors were W.F. Bottsford, Wm. H. Burnham, G.W. Hughes, E.W. Jones, R.F. Lotspeich, Homer Laughlin, L.B. Newton, W.S. Newhall, and H.C. Witmer. The bank had capital of $350,000 and surplus and undivided profits $25,000.

In December 1902, the officer of the California Bank of Los Angeles were W.F. Botsford, president; I.B. Newton, vice president; T.E. Newlin, second vice president; J.G. Mossin, cashier; and T.W. Phelps, assistant cashier. The directors were W.F. Botsford, Wm. H. Burnham, John M. Miller, T.E. Newlin, R.F. Lotspeich, Homer Laughlin, I.B. Newton, W.S. Newhall, and H.C. Witmer. The bank had capital and surplus of $460,000 and deposits of $2,527,000.

The American National bank with paid-up capital of $1,000,000 commenced business on January 1, 1903 in the quarters previously occupied by the California Bank, corner of Second Street and Broadway.

In February 1909, the directors of the Citizens National Bank of Los Angeles were R.J. Waters, J. Ross Clark, A.G. Hubbard, L.W. Blinn, J.M. Hale, John H. Norton, C.A. Canfield, E.L. Doheny, E.G. Fay, Robert Hale, Jno. J. Fay, Jr., and A.J. Waters.  The officers were R.J. Waters, J. Ross Clark, vice president; A.J. Waters, cashier; Geo. E.F. Duffet and E.T. Pettigrew, assistant cashiers.  The bank had total assets of $4,018,845.35.

On April 21, 1909, an official statement confirmed the syndicate composed of Messrs. J. Ross Clark, J.M. Hale, E.L. Doheny, John H. Norton, C.A. Canfield, Robert Hale, John J. Fay, Jr., E.G. Fay, A.J. Waters, R.J. Waters, and others had purchased a large block of stock in the American National Bank of Los Angeles. M.J. Monnette and Orra E. Monnette and other associated remained in charge of the bank.

On August 30, 1909, the consolidation of the American National Bank and the Citizens National Bank went into effect under the name of the latter institution. The union of the two banks made the Citizens National one of the strongest on the coast. The capital was $1,000,000, surplus $500,000, deposits $8,000,000 and total resources approximately $10,500,000. Hon. R.J. Waters was president; A.J. Waters, fromerly cashier, was a vice president. J. Ross Clark was also a vice president. W.W. Woods, formerly vice president of the American National, became cashier of the new bank, and George Bugbee, lately of the American National, became an assistant cashier. The other assistant cashiers were E.T. Pettigrew and George E.F. Duffet. The directors were R.J. Waters, J.Ross Clark, A.G. Hubbard, L.W. Blinn, J.M. Hale, E.L. Doheny, John H. Norton, C.A. Canfield, E.G. Fay, Robert Hale, J.J. Fay, Jr., A.J. Waters, M.J. Monnette, M.J. Connel, W.J. Hale, Frank C. Bolt, Lee C. Gates, F.X. Pfaffinger, William Rhodes Hervey, Orra E. Monnette, and James Bastable. The Citizens National Bank was located at Third and Main Streets.

Official Bank Title

1: The American National Bank of Los Angeles, CA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $10 bank note with pen signatures of J.W. Phelps, Assistant Cashier and W.F. Botsford, President. This is a Replacement note. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Red Seal $5 bank note with printed signatures of T.W. Phelps, Cashier and W.F. Botsford, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,324,700 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1902 and 1909. This consisted of a total of 304,164 notes (304,164 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
1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 36250
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 25000
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 12995
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1796

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1902 - 1909):

Presidents:

• William Finn Botsford, 1903-1904
• John George Mossin, 1904-1904
• William Finn Botsford, 1904-1908
• Mervin Jeremiah Monnette, 1909-1909

Cashiers:

• Thomas Woodbridge Phelps, 1903-1906
• William W. Woods, 1907-1909

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• Andrew M. Brown (Asst Cashier 1908...1909)
• George Burton Chaffey (Jr.) (VP 1904)
• Charles Ewing (Asst Cashier 1904)
• John Charles Fremont "Fre" Hull (VP 1908...1909)
• Thomas Elwood Newlin (VP 1903)
• John Wilson Phelps (Asst Cashier 1904...1908)

Bank Note History Links

• American National Bank, Los Angeles, CA History (NB Lookup)
• California Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Los Angeles, CA, on Wikipedia
• 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
• The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 72, Jan. 1906-June 1906, pp 872-874.
• The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, CA, Sun., Aug. 7, 1887.
• The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Fri., Dec. 30, 1887.
• The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Mon., June 16, 1890.
• The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Mon., Jan. 1, 1900.
• The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Tue., Dec. 23, 1902.
• Los Angeles Herald, Los Angeles, CA, Sun., Dec. 20, 1908.
• Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, Los Angeles, CA, Wed., Feb. 10, 1909.
• Los Angeles Herald, Los Angeles, Thu., Apr. 22, 1909.
• The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Fri., June 25, 1909.
• The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Tue., Aug. 31, 1909.