American National Bank, Vicksburg, MS (Charter 6121)
American National Bank, Vicksburg, MS (Chartered 1902 - Liquidated 1910)
Town History
Vicksburg is a historic city and the county seat of Warren County, Mississippi. It is located 234 miles northwest of New Orleans at the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and 40 miles due west of Jackson, the state capital. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana.
The city has increased in population since 1900, when 14,834 people lived here. The population was 26,407 at the 2000 census, decreasing to 23,856 at the 2010 census.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg was built by French colonists in 1719, and the outpost withstood an attack from the native Natchez people. It was incorporated as Vicksburg in 1825 and named after Methodist missionary Newitt Vick. In the American Civil War, it was a key Confederate river-port, and its July 1863 surrender to Ulysses S. Grant, along with the concurrent Battle of Gettysburg, marked the turning-point of the war. From the surrender of Vicksburg until the end of the war in 1865, the area was under Union military occupation. The Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, had his family plantation at Brierfield, just south of the city.
During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, in which hundreds of thousands of acres were inundated, Vicksburg served as the primary gathering point for refugees. Relief parties put up temporary housing as the flood submerged a large percentage of the Mississippi Delta. Because of the overwhelming damage from the flood, the US Army Corps of Engineers established the Waterways Experiment Station as the primary hydraulics laboratory to develop protection of important croplands and cities. Now known as the Engineer Research and Development Center, it applies military engineering, information technology, environmental engineering, hydraulic engineering, and geotechnical engineering to problems of flood control and river navigation. The city is home to three large installations of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Vicksburg had seven National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and five of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized December 23, 1901
- Chartered February 6, 1902
- Opened for business February 10, 1902
- Succeeded Vicksburg Bank
- Liquidated November 2, 1910
- Absorbed by American Bank and Trust Company of Vicksburg
On February 4, 1902, the Board of Directors of the American National Bank met expectant of a wire from the Washington authorizing the bank to commence business. The organization had been perfected with Edward S. Butts, president; W.T. Rose, cashier; Directors, Edward S. Butts, H.C. McCabe, E.H. Raworth, J.B. Cowan, P.A. Cowan, Sam Brown, Jr., and Lee Richardson.
The new bank replaced the old and time-honored institution, the Vicksburg Bank. The new bank started with capital of $100,000 and assumed cash and available assets of the Vicksburg bank which would be liquidated.
William B. Ridgely, Comptroller of the Currency, certified on February 6, 1902 that The American National Bank of Vicksburg was authorized to commence business in the city of Vicksburg. The Vicksburg Evening post announced that $50,000 in new U.S. currency in denominations of $5, $10, and $20 with the late President Benjamin Harrison, lamented President Wm. McKinley, and late Secretary McCulloch pictured, respectively. The paper notified the public that "This currency is the first from the new plates of 1902."
The Vicksburg Savings bank, closely affiliated with The American National Bank of Vicksburg, changed its name on June 8, 1909 to the American Bank and Trust Co. with W. Thos. Rose as manager. An amended charter was approved by the Governor of Mississippi changing the name and increasing capital stock to $200,000.
In 1910, the American Bank and Trust Company absorbed the The American National Bank. The officers afterwards were B.B. Willis, president; Lee Richardson, vice president; W. Thos. Rose, Vice President and Manager; W.G. Paxton, Treasurer and Trust Officer; K.D. Brabston, Secretary; R.L. McLaurin, Counsel; and E.J. McCabe, Real Estate Officer.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The American National Bank of Vicksburg, MS
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $410,200 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1902 and 1910. This consisted of a total of 47,396 notes (47,396 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 - 4500 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 4500 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 1575 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1274
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1902 - 1910):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- American National Bank, Vicksburg, MS History (NB Lookup)
- Bettie B. Willis, National Bank President (SPMC PM#285)
- Mississippi Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Bettie B. Willis, National Bank President (SPMC PM#285) By Karl Sanford Kabelac (requires an SPMC membership to view)
- Vicksburg, MS, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicksburg,_Mississippi
- 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
- Vicksburg Evening Post, Vicksburg, MS, Wed., Feb. 5, 1902.
- The Vicksburg Herald, Vicksburg, MS, Sat., Feb. 8, 1902.
- Vicksburg Evening Post, Vicksburg, MS, Wed., Apr. 30, 1902.
- Vicksburg Evening Post, Vicksburg, MS, Tue., June 8, 1909.