Citizens National Bank, Ellwood City, PA (Charter 11570)
Citizens National Bank, Ellwood City, PA (Chartered 1919 - Receivership 1931)
Town History
Ellwood City is a borough primarily in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, with a small portion in Beaver County. It is 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and approximately 8 miles southeast of New Castle. In the past, Ellwood City sustained many heavy industries such as steel-tube mills, steel-car works, building-stone and limestone quarries, foundries, machine shops, and coal-mining. The population was 7,921 at the 2010 census.
Princess Ileana of Romania founded the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, the first English-language Orthodox monastery in North America.
Ellwood City had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized Dec 19, 1919
- Chartered Dec 31, 1919
- Receivership Dec 8, 1931
On August 30, 1919, D.C. Hancher received the charter for the Citizens National Bank of Ellwood City. The new bank was capitalized at $100,000 and all shares were to be offered only to Ellwood City people. H.F. Hancher, a banker of Caldwell, Ohio with many years of experience was brought in as the cashier of the new organization; he was the brother of the president. The planned location for the bank was at the location of the Cohen drug store. Directors were chosen by stockholders on January 14, 1920. The following were elected: C.C. Davidson, W.G. Evans, V.H. Grove, E.E. Hazen, H.E. Helling, H.F. Hancher, D.C. Hamilton, G.B. Hancher, D.C. Hancher.
Later in 1920, H.F. Hancher with his son went to Caldwell, Ohio and returned driving in their Buick touring car. They reported the roads in the Ohio district in excellent condition, but claimed that the roads throughout the adjoining area of Pennsylvania were in bad shape.
On February 10, 1921, the New Castle Herald reported that the new bank notes in denominations of $10 and $20 of the Citizen's National Bank, signed by D.C. Hancher, president of the bank. and H.F. Hancher, cashier, were received and were being distributed. Dr. W.G. Evans was the vice president and G. Blaine Hancher was the assistant cashier.
John Camille, former manager of the foreign exchange department of the Citizens NB of Ellwood City was released from jail Saturday, June 23, 1928 and placed under $5,000 bond pending trial in the federal court on a charge of embezzling funds of the bank. Camille was indicted May 8, 1928 for allegedly embezzling $6,935 in sums ranging from $185 to $3,400 between May 18, 1927 and January 18, 1928. Camille pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to the Atlanta Penitentiary for 15 months by Judge Nelson McVickar in federal court on October 24, 1928.
On November 4, 1931, The Citizens National Bank of Ellwood City failed to open being closed by action of the directors to conserve assets.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Citizens National Bank of Ellwood City, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $996,270 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1919 and 1931. This consisted of a total of 80,070 notes (64,092 large size and 15,978 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 16023 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 2074 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 589
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1919 - 1931):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Ellwood City (Wikipedia)
- General information on Lawrence County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Ellwood City, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellwood_City,_Pennsylvania
- 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
- New Castle Herald, New Castle, PA, Sat., Aug. 30, 1919.
- New Castle Herald, New Castle, PA, Wed., Jan. 14, 1920.
- New Castle Herald, New Castle, PA, Mon. May 24, 1920.
- New Castle Herald, New Castle, PA, Fri., Jan. 14, 1921.
- New Castle Herald, New Castle, PA, Thu., Feb. 10, 1921.
- Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., June 25, 1928.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Oct. 24, 1928.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Nov. 5, 1931.