Citizens National Bank, Bedford, IN (Charter 5173)
Citizens National Bank, Bedford, IN (Chartered 1899 - Closed (Merger) 1989)
Town History
Bedford is a city in Shawswick Township and the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana. Bedford was laid out as a town and the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana, around 1825. The original county seat was in Palestine, four miles to the south, but was moved, at the urging of the legislature, to a new location as the original location near the White River was deemed unhealthy because of malaria spread by mosquitoes. The new site was named Bedford at the suggestion of a prominent local businessman, Joseph Rawlins, who had relocated to the area from Bedford County, Tennessee. It incorporated as a town in 1864 and received its city charter in 1889.
The city is known as the "Limestone Capital of the World" because of its large limestone quarries that are around the area. Some of the limestone was used to make the Empire State Building and The Pentagon. Bedford is situated about 70 miles south of Indianapolis and 18 miles south of Bloomington. In the 2020 census, the population was 13,792. The population in 1890 was 3,351 growing to 13,024 by 1930.
Bedford had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all five of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 3, 1899
- Chartered January 25, 1899
- Succeeded Citizens Bank
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website* Merged into INB National Bank in Indianapolis, IN, September 29, 1989
- Merged into INB National Bank in Indianapolis, IN, September 29, 1989
The Report of Condition of the Citizens' Bank of Bedford at the close of business, June 15, 1893, showed total resources of $181,273.62 with capital stock paid-in $50,000, surplus $832.08, profits $25.67, undivided profits $1,288.78, and deposits $127,581.09. J.R. Voris was cashier.[2]
On Saturday afternoon, December 2, 1911, Colonel A.C. Voris, aged 82, president of the Citizens National Bank, the Bedford Trust Company and head of the Light, Heat and Power Company of Bedford, died at his home following a long illness.[3] Col. Archibald C. Voris was born in Switzerland County, Indiana on June 16, 1929. He was the son of Cornelius R. and Mary (Van Nuys) Voris. The parents were natives of Kentucky and settled in Indiana in 1824. In 1851, Col. Voris began a course in Hanover College which he completed in 1855. After graduation he moved to Bedford and taught school for one year. In 1856 he was admitted to the Bar of Lawrence County and the following year he went to Harvard University and attended the Dane Law School. He returned to Bedford and formed a partnership with Judge Pearson. In July 1862, he was commissioned a Captain and was assigned to the staff of General W.S. Hancock where he served until the close of the war. Upon his discharge he held the rank of brevet Lieutenant Colonel awarded "for gallant and faithful service on the field." In 1879 he engaged in the stone business and was president of the Dark Hollow, the Bedford Oolitic and the Louisville & Bedford stone companies that opened the first quarries in the district northwest of Bedford near the town of Oolitic. Col. Voris realized a fortune from his stone investments and disposing of this interest, organized the Citizens Bank in 1893. He was elected president and was also president of the Bedford Light, Heat and Power Company in which he had acquired a controlling interest.[4]
A bronze placard in the bank shows, building erected 1926-1927, McGuire & Snook, Architects. The officers were E.B. Thornton, president; E.E. Farmer, vice president; H.G. Aldenhagen, cashier; R.A. Moore, assistant cashier. The directors were E.B. Thornton, E.E. Farmer, H.G. Aldenhagen, C.H. Emery, W.R. Martin, G.M. Foster, Miles Standish, E.A. Sohn, W.H. Sherrill, and B.H. Sherwood.
On Tuesday, January 14, 1941, the Citizens National Bank held its annual election, re-electing all officers and directors. A.C. Voris was re-elected president; Charles H. Emery, vice president; Ralph A. Moore, cashier; and Frank Tincher, assistant cashier. The directors were H.G. Aldenhagen, R.G. Crowder, C.J. Donovan, C.H. Emery, C.C. Herndon, and Mr. Voris. The banking house would observe its golden anniversary in May. The re-elected president was the grandson of one of the founders, Archibald C. Voris.[5]
On Tuesday, January 9, 1951, at annual meetings held by the stockholders of three Bedford banking institutions, all directors were re-elected for the year and these directors in turn re-appointed all officers. Arch C. Voris, president of the Citizens National declared that a new record had been attained with an increase of deposits for the past year amounting to $1,468,000. The directors were H.G. Aldenhagen, Ralph Carmichael, R.G. Crowder, C.J. Donovan, Dr. Charles B. Emery, K.E. Graham, C.C. Herndon, Joseph T. Sohn, and Arch C. Voris. Re-appointed officers were A.C. Voris, president; Herb Parham, vice president; R.A. Moore, cashier; and Frank Tincher, assistant cashier.[6]
In January 1961, the directors were Ralph Carmichael, partner, Black-Carmichael-Klein Lumber Co.; C.J. Donovan, attorney, C.B. Emery, M.D.; John D. Fuller, president, Heltonville Limestone Co., Philip C. Furst, president, Triangle & Lehy Plumbing & Heating Corp.; Jos. T. Sohn, vice president, Yuba Consolidated Industries; Delbert Stewart, president, Stone City Construction Co.; A.C. Voris, president; Arch C. Voris, Jr., vice president. The officers were Arch C. Voris, president; H.M Parham and Arch C. Voris, Jr., vice presidents; Ralph A. Moore, cashier; Frank Tincher, Wm. Fred Kern, and John E. Hetrick, assistant cashiers. As of the end of 1960, the bank had total assets of $12,785,922.35. The capital stock was $200,000, surplus and undivided profits $541,144.57, and total deposits $11,865,776.64.[7]
In January 1966, the officers were A.C. Voris, chairman, Arch C. Voris, Jr., president; J.E. Voris and H.M. Parham, vice presidents; Frank Tincher, cashier; Wm. Fred Kern, Robert D. Lewis, James E. Robinson, and Glen Richards, assistant cashiers. The bank reported total assets of $19,594,715.11 at the end of 1965.Thu., Jan. 13, 1966. On February 16, 1966, Archibald Voris, former president of the Indiana Bankers' Association died in Bedford. Voris was president of the state group in 1942 and 1943. He joined the Citizens National Bank in 1928 and became its president in 1936, retiring in January 1965.[8]
On Wednesday, April 19, 1989, Indiana National Corp. said it agreed to purchase Citizens Bancshares, the parent company of the Citizens National Bank of Bedford for $12.6 million. The 90-year-old bank would be merged with INB National Bank, Indianapolis. Arch C. Voris, Jr., chairman of Citizens, said the acquisition would complement INB's operations in Morgan and Monroe counties. Bedford was the county seat of Lawrence County, located south of Monroe County in the heart of Indiana limestone country. Citizens Bancshares, which would be INB's ninth acquisition, had year-end assets of $120 million.[9] In September Indiana National Bank Financial Corp. bought the 99-year-old Chesterton State Bank for $18.2 million, the sale to be completed in the first quarter of 1990. INB, the state's largest bank holding company had more than $5.8 billion in assets while CSB had $135 million. Indianapolis-based INB Financial Corp. owned seven banks around the state including the former Lowell National Bank, now INB Northwest, and the INB National Bank in Indianapolis.[10] Adding the Chesterton State Bank as part of INB's affiliate network gave INB an important entry into the attractive Porter County market.[11]
Official Bank Title
1: The Citizens National Bank of Bedford, IN
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,501,260 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1899 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 181,793 notes (160,360 large size and 21,433 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 - 3150 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2440 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 7650 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5220 1882 Value Back 4x5 7651 - 10310 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 5221 - 6571 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 10455 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 7164 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 832 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1434 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 624 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 2870 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1048 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 175
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1899 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Archibald Cameron Voris, (Sr.), 1899-1911
- Joseph Rawlins Voris, 1912-1916
- Edmund Braxton Thornton, 1917-1928
- Edward E. Farmer, 1929-1935
Cashiers:
- Joseph Rawlins Voris, 1899-1911
- Henry G. Aldenhagen, 1912-1927
- Archibald Cameron Voris, (Jr.), 1928-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Bedford, IN, 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 Times-Mail, Bedford, IN, Mon., Jan. 9, 1961.
- ↑ The Bedford Mail, Bedford, IN, Fri., July 21, 1893.
- ↑ The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Sun., Dec. 3, 1911.
- ↑ The Bedford Daily Mail, Bedford, IN, Mon., Dec. 4, 1911.
- ↑ The Times-Mail, Bedford, IN, Wed., Jan. 15, 1941.
- ↑ The Times-Mail, Bedford, IN, Wed., Jan. 10, 1951.
- ↑ The Times-Mail, Bedford, IN, Mon., Jan. 9, 1961.
- ↑ The Kokomo Morning Times, Kokomo, IN, Mon., Feb. 21, 1966.
- ↑ The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN, Thu., Apr. 20, 1989.
- ↑ The Times, Hammond, IN, Wed., Sep. 6, 1989.
- ↑ Vidette-Messenger of Porter County, Valparaiso, IN, Thu., Sep. 7, 1989.