Citizens National Bank, Albion, NY (Charter 4998)

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The old Citizens National Bank of Albion, ca2022, located on Main Street.
The old Citizens National Bank of Albion, ca2022, located on Main Street. Courtesy of Google Maps

Citizens National Bank, Albion, NY (Chartered 1895 - Receivership 1932)

Town History

Albion is a village in Orleans County, New York. The population was 5,637 as of the 2020 census, down 419 from the 2010 census. The village is centrally located in the county and is partly within the towns of both Albion and Gaines. It is the county seat of Orleans County and is about 30 miles west/northwest of the Rochester. Albion is an alternative name for the island of Great Britain.

The Albion area was first settled by European Americans in 1812. This area attracted few residents before the announcement, near the end of the decade, that the Erie Canal would be constructed through here. In 1822, an entrepreneur named Nehemiah Ingersoll bought much of the land near the planned intersection of the canal and Oak Orchard Road, the main north-south route through the area at the time. The property was soon subdivided, and the village, then known as Newport, began to grow.

Orleans County was created two years later. State officials considered both Gaines (then more populous) and Newport as the county seat due to their central locations within the new county. They chose Newport in 1826 due to its location on the canal and the West Branch of Sandy Creek, where a mill had already been established. The next year the village changed its name to Albion to avoid postal confusion with New York's other Newport, in Oneida County. In 1828 it was incorporated as a village.

Albion had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Albion also had three Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).

Bank History

  • Organized May 2, 1895
  • Chartered May 15, 1895
  • Succeeded Coann's Bank
  • Receivership January 21, 1932

The new Citizens National Bank of Albion superseded the Coann Bank. Ezra T. Coann of the Coann bank became its first president, retaining the majority of the stock. The rest of the stock was taken up on the first day offered. On July 8, 1895, the bank opened with a paid in capital of $50,000. The directors were Ezra T. Coann, president; R. Titus Coann, cashier; Arnold Gregory, George M. Waterman, S.N. Tanner, P. Church, C.R. Sawyer, assistant cashier, and Judson Curtis, teller.

In January 1899, the directors elected were: Ezra T. Coann, G.M. Waterman, Spencer N. Tanner, Albion; Arnold Gregory, Knowlesville; Perry Church, and William Hallock, Albion. The officers were: Ezra T. Coann, president; R.T. Coann, cashier; and E.R. Sawyer, assistant cashier.

On the morning of June 25, 1900, Ezra T. Coann, prominently identified with many of the best interests of the town and village of Albion, died after a long illness. He was the son of Ezra and Fanny Hull Coann, and was born in Byron, Genesee County, in 1829. When quite young he went with his father's family to Albion and was educated in part of the old Albion Academy, where he had a brother teaching. From 1850 to 1868, Mr. Coann was in trade, succeeding the late Thomas C. Fanning, and later in the drug business. He held the office of county treasurer during the Civil War, and was on Governor Morgan's military committee for the purpose of raising troops and organizing the same for military service. He was secretary of this committee, and it was his duty also to provide for the raising of funds for the payment of bounties for which county bonds were issued. It was through the special efforts of Mr. Coann, as secretary of the war committee, that Orleans county was given credit for the excess of the enlistments in the Civil War early in the fall of 1862. Mr. Coann at the time went to Washington and brought the matter before the military authorities, presenting at the same time an alphabetical list of the volunteers from each town in the county, duly certified by the several supervisors and enrolling officers, he showed the excess to be 278 men, which, when properly recognized, saved the county taxation of more than $83,000. He was one of the incorporators of the Orleans County Soldiers' Monument Association, built in memory of the soldier and sailor dead of the Civil War. It was a turreted, open monument, 85 feet in height standing on the highest point of Mount Albion Cemetery, 400 feet above Lake Ontario, and upon whose walls were inscribed the names of those who died in their country's service. Lieutenant William Coann, a brother of Mr. Coann, 27th Infantry, United States Volunteers, died September 11th at Washington early in the progress of the war. In 1869 Mr. Coann's wife and family spent 18 months traveling in Europe, and on their return, he established the Coann private banking business which was continued up to 1895 when on July 8th of that year the Citizens National Bank was organized with a capital paid up of $50,000. He was vice president and director of the Niagara Falls International Bridge Company. The late Titus Coann, for many years a missionary to the Sandwich Islands (name given to the Hawaiian Islands by James Cook in 1778), was an uncle, and the late George Coann, also a missionary, was a brother. Deceased leaves one son, Pearl Coann, editor of the Albion Free Lance and Herald, and one daughter, Fanny C. Curtis, a grandson, Judson Curtis, and a granddaughter, Miss Pearl Curtis, son and daughter of Mrs. F.C. Curtis, of Albion. Marcia Clement Coann, his wife, died in March, 1890.

On April 22, 1931, Harry E. Colburn, Albion cashier of the Citizens National Bank was elected president to succeed the late Judson C. Curtis whose sudden death occurred a few days earlier. Mr Colburn had been cashier of the bank since 1924. He entered the bank in 1903. In 1912 he became a teller, in 1920, assistant cashier and in 1921 he was elected to the board of directors. He was a former county treasurer of Orleans County and served as town clerk of Albion. He was the assistant chief of the local fire department for a number of years.

On Monday, January 11, 1932, the Citizens National Bank of Albion failed to open for business and was placed in the hands of the comptroller of the currency. F.R. Peterson, National Bank Examiner, was in charge of affairs. Protection of depositors was given as the reason for the directors' action. A recent statement showed the bank had deposits of $4,000,000 amd total resources of about $5,000,000.

In 1937, assets of the closed Citizens National Bank including 4 homes, 8 farms and the bank building, were at a receiver's auction with Otis B. Coppedge, receiver.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Citizens National Bank of Albion, NY

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R. Titus Coan, Cashier and S.N. Tanner, Vice President.
1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R. Titus Coan, Cashier and S.N. Tanner, Vice President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of R. Titus Coan, Cashier and Perry Church, President.
1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of R. Titus Coan, Cashier and Perry Church, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Date Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R. Titus Coan, Cashier and J. Coann Curtis, President.
1902 Date Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R. Titus Coan, Cashier and J. Coann Curtis, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Plain Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of an unknown Cashier and Carter Curtis, who signed as President.
1902 Plain Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of an unknown Cashier and Carter Curtis, who signed as President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $5 bank note with SN 1 and printed signatures of Harry E. Colburn, Cashier and J. Coann Curtis, President.
1929 Type 1 $5 bank note with SN 1 and printed signatures of Harry E. Colburn, Cashier and J. Coann Curtis, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,013,760 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1895 and 1932. This consisted of a total of 128,886 notes (116,712 large size and 12,174 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 4x5 1 - 4900
1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2840
1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 3772
1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2340
1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 830
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 668
1902 Plain Back 4x5 831 - 9330
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 669 - 5996
1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 1236
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 622
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 171

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1895 - 1932):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

Wiki Links

Sources

  • Albion, NY, 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
  • Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, Sat., May 11, 1895.
  • Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, Tue., July 9, 1895.
  • Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, Wed., Jan. 18, 1899.
  • Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, Tue., June 26, 1900.
  • The Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY, Thu., Apr. 23, 1931.
  • The Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY, Mon., Jan. 11, 1932.
  • Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, Sun., Nov. 7, 1937.
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