Citizens National Bank, Laurel, MD (Charter 4364)
Citizens National Bank, Laurel, MD (Chartered 1890 - Closed (Merger) 2007)
Town History
Laurel is a city in Maryland, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Founded as a mill town in the early 19th century, Laurel expanded local industry and was later able to become an early commuter town for Washington and Baltimore workers following the arrival of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1835. The community was originally known as "Laurel Factory", named for its laurel trees, when Edward Snowden became the first postmaster in 1837 and was a true company town, with a school and shops, and many of the mill workers' homes owned until the 1860s by the company. Largely residential today, the city maintains a historic district centered on its Main Street. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. In 1890 the population was 1,984 growing to 2,532 by 1930.
The Department of Defense has a prominent presence in the Laurel area with the Fort Meade Army base, the NSA and Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory all located nearby. Laurel Park, a thoroughbred horse racetrack, is located just outside the city limits.
Laurel had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized March 18, 1890
- Chartered July 11, 1890
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into PNC Bank, N.A. in Pittsburgh, PA, September 14, 2007
In January 1894, the newly elected board of directors met and organized by electing Charles H. Stanley, Esq., president; A.T. Brooke, cashier; and George W. Waters, Jr., assistant cashier.[1]
On Friday, February 4, 1921, a 'modest' hold-up man hit a Baltimore bank and then proceeded to Laurel, twenty miles away. He received $25 from the Provident Savings Bank, Broadway and Gough Streets, and another $30 from the Citizens National Bank of Laurel. When captured at the Camden station he confessed to police. When searched at the police station, Hyles was found to have a pistol, the $55 he had stolen and some small change. Hyles gave as his reason for not demanding more money the fact that it was 'easier.' At 2:45 the hold-up man appeared at the Citizens national armed with two pistols according to C.E. Little, cashier and demanded $50. He had in his hand a piece of paper believed to have a written demand for money, but did not president it. Little asked him if $50 was all he wanted. He said it was. Little then gave him the money and the man left, dropping a $20 bill in leaving, so his total loot was only $30.[2]
On Tuesday afternoon, September 12, 1922, frustrated in an alleged attempt to rob the Citizens National Bank of Laurel Tuesday afternoon, five armed soldiers from Camp Meade sought refuge from an armed posse of more than a hundred men in Hammond's corn field, where they were finally captured after a fusillade of shots from the posse led by Judge Roberts of Laurel. Arraigned later before Judge Roberts, all were held for the action of the county grand jury in $2,500 bail. Held were: Private Ray W. Proctor, Private Luther A. Smith, Private Seth Peterson, Private Ernest Neeley, Sergeant Harold W. White. Private C.J. Jones, first-class cook for the headquarters detachment, driver of the car used by the would be bandits, who frustrated the attempt of the robbery, was held in $100 bail as a state's witness. The machine reached Laurel shortly before closing time at the bank and, according to Jones, the others tried to compel him to enter into the plot. Arriving at Laurel, Proctor and Neeley entered the bank. They asked C.E. Little, cashier, to change a $2 bill for them and to give them the change in nickels. Outside, Peterson, Smith and White, supposedly guarding the front of the bank and awaiting a report from the "layout" men, relaxed their vigilance long enough for Jones to escape. He hurried to Sub-Station A of the State Police and informed State Policeman Link of the plans to rob the bank. Link, unable to respond himself because of having recently been crippled, notified Judge Roberts, who Seized the State policeman's, gun and dashed from the sub station calling for help. From almost every house men and boys came forth armed with shotguns, revolvers and rifles.[3]
On April 2, 1935, George Patterson McCeney, 56, attorney and vice president of the Citizens National Bank of Laurel, died at his home after a long illness. He was twice mayor of Laurel and was also city solicitor, resigning in 1931 due to illness.[4]
On Tuesday, March 23, 1965, the Comptroller of the Currency, James J. Saxon, announced the approval of a merger of the Citizens National Bank of Laurel with the Central Bank of Howard County, Clarksville, Maryland.[5]
In September, 1972, Mercantile Bankshares Corp. said its directors and those of the Citizens National Bank of Laurel approved the purchase of Citizens National for about $9.7 million in stock.[6]
On Monday, September 21, 1981, a criminal complaint charging a member of the Secret Service uniformed division with the armed robbery of the Citizens National Bank in Laurel was filed. John Arthur Bachmann, Jr. of Laurel, a 29-year-old White House guard was charged with robbing the bank, according to the FBI and was released on personal recognizance after a bond review before U.S. Magistrate George E. Burgess in Hyattsville. According to Richard Hartwig, a spokesman for the Secret Service, uniformed guards work at some federal buildings, including the White House and at foreign missions. Hartwig said Bachmann would be placed on administrative leave pending resolution of the case. The amount taken in the robbery was not disclosed.[7] A teller in the Citizens National Bank in Laurel followed the robbery suspect to the bank parking lot and watched as he tried unsuccessfully to get into a car. The suspect abandoned the car and walked away. While police searched for the suspect, the car disappeared, but through the car's license plates authorities traced its ownership to John A. Bachmann, Jr., according to an affidavit. After interviewing Bachmann on Monday, authorities searched the car and recovered $480, including five $20 bills with recorded serial numbers that banks routinely included in their cash, police said. In addition, Bachmann gave authorities over $2,500 in cash when FBI agents accompanied him to his Laurel apartment. Bachmann was released under $5,000 property bond.[8] On December 18, 1981, Bachman was give a 20-year prison term, all by 6 months suspended, and placed on 5-years' probation for the armed robbery. Paul Kemp, the public defender lawyer, cited Bachmann's severe depression over family matters and finances. Judge Miller in a 40 minute oration noted among other things that a psychiatric report indicated that Bachmann had psychiatric problems at the time of the robbery.[9]
In January 1977, Mercantile BankShares Corporation reported 1976 profits of $8,963,000, or $1.98 per share, comparted with $8,146,000 and 1.80 per share the previous year. There were 4,537,000 shares outstanding. Williem E. McGuirk, Jr., chairman, and H. Furlong Baldwin, president, said net income was $8,984,000, increased from $8,168,000. Mercantile-Safe Deposit and Trust Company was the main affiliate. The company had recently consolidated two other affiliates, Belair National Bank at Bowie and the Citizens National Bank in Laurel. There were now nine banks and three bank-related organizations with 55 offices in the MercBank group.[10]
- 01/03/1977 Acquired Belair National Bank (FDIC #19071) in Bowie, MD.
- 02/20/1996 Main Office moved to 517-521 Main Street, Laurel, MD 20707.
- 10/24/2003 Branch Purchased
- 09/14/2007 Merged and became part of PNC Bank, National Association (FDIC #6384) in Pittsburgh, PA.
Official Bank Title
1: The Citizens National Bank of Laurel, MD
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $318,700 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1890 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 32,741 notes (28,992 large size and 3,749 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 - 2825 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 690 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 155 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 74 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1330 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1331 - 3504 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 448 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 126 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 240 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 65
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1890 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Augustine Thomas Brooke, 1890-1893
- George W. Waters, Jr., 1894-1914
- Andrew Roy Bevans, 1914-1915
- Wilbur Owings "Timmy" Timanus, 1915-1917
- Charles Eugene Little, 1917-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Laurel, MD, 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 Prince George's Enquirer and Southern Maryland Advertiser, Upper Marlboro, MD, Fri., Jan. 26, 1894.
- ↑ The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA, Fri., Feb. 4, 1921.
- ↑ People's Register, Chambersburg, PA, Thu., Sep. 14, 1922.
- ↑ The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, Tue., Apr. 2, 1935.
- ↑ The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, Wed., Mar. 24, 1965.
- ↑ The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Sun., Oct. 1, 1972.
- ↑ Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Wed., Sep. 23, 1981.
- ↑ The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, Thu., Sep. 24, 1981.
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, Sat., Dec. 19, 1981.
- ↑ The Evening Sun, Baltimore, MD, Tue., Jan. 25, 1977.