American National Bank/American-Southern NB, Louisville, KY (Charter 4956)

The old Bank of Louisville Building, 322 West Main Street, ca2021. Courtesy of Google Maps

American National Bank/American-Southern NB, Louisville, KY (Chartered 1894 - Closed 1919)

Town History

Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city, although by population density, it is the 265th most dense city. Louisville is the historical county seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.

Named after King Louis XVI of France, Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark, making it one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachians. With the nearby Falls of the Ohio as the only major obstruction to river traffic between the upper Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico, the settlement first grew as a portage site. It was the founding city of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which grew into a 6,000-mile system across 13 states.

Today, the city is known as the home of boxer Muhammad Ali, the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the University of Louisville and its Cardinals, Louisville Slugger baseball bats, and Fortune 500 company Humana. Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, the city's main commercial airport, hosts UPS's worldwide hub.

Louisville had 18 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 18 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Advertisement from March 1916 for the American-Southern National Bank located at 322 West Main Street, Louisville.

Advertisement from October 1916 for Blue Stamps. The Mutual Stamp Company kept a redemption fund with the American-Southern National Bank which guaranteed the payment of every Blue Stamp issued.

• Organized May 29, 1894
• Chartered June 4, 1894
• 1: Succeeded 777 (Second NB), 1908 (Kentucky NB), 2161 (Merchants NB), 2784 (Fourth NB)
• 1: Absorbed 5195 August 7, 1915 (Southern National Bank, Louisville, KY)
• 2: Closed February 3, 1919
• 2: Consolidated with 5312 February 3, 1919 (National Bank of Kentucky of Louisville, KY)
• 2: Circulation assumed by 5312 (National Bank of Kentucky, Louisville, KY)

On Tuesday, May 8, 1894, the directors of the Kentucky National Bank met and nominated three of their number for directors of the American National Bank. They chose Messrs. J.S. Bockee, Paul Jones, and George M. Davie. The directors of the Merchants National Bank also met and nominated Messrs. J.H. Lindenberger, Charles F. Johnson, and John J. Harbison. The Second National was to have recommended two names, but an insufficient number of directors assembled and they would meet the next day. The Fourth National Bank did not act in the matter. Stockholders of the American National Bank met on Wednesday, 9 May to elected directors and make the new institution a reality. Messrs. Green, Lindenberger, Warren and Bockee had worked hard to secure the amalgamation. On the 10th, ten directors were announced with the eleventh yet to be elected. The ten were: J.S. Bockee, George M. Davie, J.J. Harbison, John W. Green, George Davis, Paul Jones, J.H. Dindenberger, Charles F. Johnson, George S. Allison, and J.T. Duffy. Bank examiners Hubbell and Escott and Deputy Comptroller of the Currency O.P. Tucker were in the city arranging for the consolidation, the largest ever undertaken in this country.

On Saturday, May 26, directors met and Mr. Clinton McClarty, Jr., informed them that he would not accept the position of assistant cashier. He was considering an offer made to him by one of the large financial institutions of the city. He began his career as a bookkeeper with the Second National Bank.

The American National Bank opened Monday, June 4, 1894. The official list of their force of clerks was made out as follows: R.F. Warfield of the Kentucky National, paying teller; Charles Carter of the Merchants, receiving teller; F.L. Moseley of the Second, general bookkeeper; W.I. Webb of the Kentucky and Marcus T. Field of the Second, bank bookkeepers; John Schang of the Second and Charles Bobzein of the Merchants, individual bookkeepers; Herbert Lochridge of the Merchants, exchange and stock certificates; Claude Revenaugh of the Fourth, collection department; Miss Agnes Smith of the Merchants and Miss Kirch of the Fourth, stenographers. There were two messengers yet to be appointed. Vice President Murray and Assistant Cashier Truman would be in charge of the discount department. As for the four banks, June 1st was their last day of their corporate existence, ending at 2 p.m. This was the first attempt in the history of the national banking system to consolidate four national banks. From the hour of opening the handsome banking house at Third and Main was thronged with visitors. Many dropped in to congratulate President J.H. Lindenberger and Vice President Logan C. Murray and many came to swell the bank's deposits. Cashier Warren and Assistant Cashier Truman put in a hard day's work and tellers Carter and Warfield fingered coin and currency busily all day. During the day $230,000 of individual deposits were handed in over the counter and this did not count the amounts placed to their credit by corresponding banks through the mail. The mail was unusually heavy and the new bank started out with an unusually long list of correspondents throughout Kentucky, Tennessee and Southern Indiana, as well as elsewhere, giving it excellent facilities for collections. A handsome floral horseshoe presented by bank examiners James S. Escott and James G. Hubbell who had been closely identified with the consolidation from the first stood at one side of the room. Mr. Murray's old friends called in large numbers to welcome him back to the city which he left fourteen years ago for other fields. He possessed the confidence of a wide circle of friends in the city and State as well as in the East, and brought to bear a wide experience in banking affairs. Three of the banks entering into the consolidation had suffered a loss of deposits during the panic more by a reduction of balances than by a decrease in the number of accounts. The new bank had all the fine facilities offered by the splendid banking office of the Kentucky National, the building having been placed in with the assets of the Kentucky National at $115,000. The American National would act as agent without cost in settling up the business of the old banks. The officers of the old banks would be on hand when needed to assist in the winding up of their affairs. The aggregate capital stock of the old banks was $1,600000. Fifty per cent of this was distributed in cash to the stockholders as the liquidation progressed and the remainder had paid for stock of the new bank. Scarcely a stockholder of either of the old banks refused to go into the arrangement, though any one had the privilege of withdrawing if desired. Mr. Murray who was in Washington Saturday, said great interest was felt at the Treasury Department in the success of the consolidation because of the novelty of such an undertaking on such a scale. Mr. Escott who was personally familiar with the banking business in Louisville and whose experience during the panic when he had charge of some of the suspended banks, convinced him of the wisdom of such a step. The beginning of the movement was a meeting of a representative of each bank with Messrs. Escott and Hubbell at the Louisville Hotel on the invitation of the examiners.

In January 1906, the stockholders of the American National Bank elected the following directors: Logan C. Murray, J.S. Bockee, J.J. Harbison, Q.D. Vaughan, W.E. Grinstead, Samuel Ouerbacker, R.B. Hickman, L.L. Jones, John C. Hughes, Henry Burnett, and J. Hope Lindenberger. The only change was the addition of Mr. Lindenberger who succeeded Mr. Cushman Quarrier. The directors re-elected the following officers: Logan C. Murray, president; J.S. Bockee, vice president; R.F. Warfield, cashier; Charles C. Carter and Forrest L. Moseley, assistant cashiers.

On Tuesday, January 12, 1915, stockholders elected the following directors: L.C. Murray, Earl S. Gwin, W.E. Grinstead, Charles F. Huhlein, Samuel Ouerbacker, Warner L. Jones, R.B. Hickman, Henry Burnett, Clarence R. Mengel, and R.L. Callahan. Vacancies on the board caused by the death of Q.D. Vaughan and the resignation of John C. Hughes were left unfilled. The officers elected were Earl S. Gwin, president; L.C. Murray, chairman of the board; R.F. Warfield, cashier; F.L. Mosely, Noel Rush, and H.R. Grant, assistant cashiers.

On Wednesday, July 7, 1915, directors selected the new name of The American-Southern National Bank, subject to ratification by stockholders. Thirty days' notice was required before stockholders could vote on the change. At that time the stockholders also would be called upon to authorize an increase in the size of the Board of Directors, in order to permit the election of some of the old directors of the Southern National. These were thought to include Henry Thiemann, vice president; Gen. Bennett H. Young, Edgar Ezzell, W.A. Thomson, Brainard Lemon, H. Buschemeyer, and John H. Wilkes. On Thursday, August 12th, Earl S. Gwin, president of the American-Southern National Bank announced the election of four additional directors. In accordance with plans made when the American National and the Southern National were merged a few weeks ago, the new members of the board were J.H. Wilkes, Edgar Ezzell, A.V. Thomson, and Brainard Lemon. Henry Thiemann, vice president, and Gen. Bennett H. Young already had been elected directors to fill vacancies. The stockholders at a meeting Wednesday ratified the changing of the banks name to American-Southern National Bank.

In October 1915, the Iroquois Life Insurance Company was in discussions to merge with the Central Life Insurance Co. of Lexington. The Iroquois Life was organized in Louisville about a year ago and soon after Mr. Sam P. Jones become president, Clint McClarty was elected secretary and Treasurer at the same time. The company purchased from the American-Southern National Bank the old American National Bank building at the southwest corner of Third and Main Streets valued around $100,000. The insurance company occupied the ground floor for its general office.

On Tuesday, January 25, 1916, old officers of the American Southern National Bank were all re-elected at the organization meeting of the directors. On Saturday, February 5th, Miss Ethel Rau and Mr. Noel Rush were married in Louisville. Mr. Rush was well-known and popular as for some years he held the position of assistant cashier at the Farmers' Bank & Trust Company, Bardstown. He was now the assistant cashier at the American-Southern National Bank. Mr. Rush would become a vice president of the National Bank of Kentucky and in 1922 he joined the Lincoln Bank and Trust Company of Louisville as a vice president, becoming president from 1928-1956.

In January 1917, the directors elected were R.L. Callahan, Edgar Ezzell, Earl S. Gwin, R.B. Hickman, Warner L. Jones, Brainerd Lemon, C.R. Mengel, Logan C. Murray, Henry Thiemann, A.V. Thomson, J.H. Wilkes, Bennett H. Young, Joseph H. Durham, and A.J. Carroll. The officers were Earl S. Gwin, president; H. Thiemann, and R.F. Warfield, vice presidents; E.B. Robertson, cashier; F.L. Moseley, Noel Rush, and H.R. Grant, assistant cashiers.

On Wednesday afternoon, November 27, 1918, the American-Southern National Bank directors voted to recommend their bank merge with the National Bank of Kentucky. This was just a few days since the announcement was made that the National Bank of Kentucky and the National Bank of Commerce would merge. The resultant bank would be one of the largest in the South with capital stock of $2,500,000 and a surplus of an equal amount. Of this, the American-Southern would contribute $500,000 of the capital and the same amount to surplus. The Bank of Kentucky and the Bank of Commerce would each have a million of capital and a million of surplus in the big bank. The deposits were variously estimated at from $30 million to $40 million, making one of the most powerful banking institutions in the South. The name of National Bank of Kentucky would be retained.

In January 1938, restoration of the interior of the American-Southern National Bank Building at 322 W. Main was completed and the Louisville Credit Men's Association began moving its office there from the Speed Building. The association last summer purchased the 100-year-old bank building for conversion into its own offices, at a cost of $30,000. Under the direction of Otis & Lea, architects, the interior was converted into modern office space, although the architectural style of the classic old building was retained both inside and outside. The association, which employed forty persons, was a co-operative, non-profit organization of wholesalers, jobbers, manufacturers, and banks. Erected in 1837, the building was designed by Louisville's first professional architect, Gideon Shryock, who some years prior had won considerable renown for his design of the State Capitol at Frankfort.

• Bank of Louisville Building, 322 West Main Street, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY. Nine photos of the exterior and interior of the bank from the Historic American Buildings Survey Library of Congress), accessed Nov. 27, 2025.
• Photograph, Kentucky Historical Society, Historic American Buildings Survey Photographs, Graphic 23. Exterior front view of National Bank of Kentucky of Louisville, Jefferson County, KY. The Bank of Kentucky building was designed in 1837 by James H. Dakin for the United States' Bank of Louisville with two Ionic columns and a cornice with an iron palmetto crest.

Official Bank Titles

1: The American National Bank of Louisville, KY

2: The American-Southern National Bank of Louisville, KY (8/18/1915)

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of R.F. Warfield, Cashier and L.C. Murray, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Date Back $10 bank note with stamped signatures of R.F. Warfield, Cashier and Earl S. Gwin, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

1902 Plain Back $20 bank note with stamped signatures of E.B. Robertson, Cashier and Earl S. Gwin, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $7,701,800 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1894 and 1919. This consisted of a total of 642,256 notes (642,256 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
1: 1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 72900	ABCA plate with Variety 1 Battle of Lexington Vignette DEFB plate with Variety 3 Battle of Lexington vignette
1: 1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 44281
1: 1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 15831
2: 1902 Plain Back	4x5	1 - 10880
2: 1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 16672

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1894 - 1919):

Presidents:

• Jacob Hopewell Lindenberger, 1894-1899
• Logan Crittenden Murray, 1900-1913
• Earl Stimson Gwin, 1914-1918

Cashiers:

• Charles Warren, 1894-1902
• Roderick Franklin Warfield, 1903-1914
• Eugene Beverly Robertson, 1915-1918

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• American NB/American-Southern NB, Louisville, KY History (NB Lookup)
• Kentucky Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Louisville, KY, 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