Citizens National Bank, Waynesburg, PA (Charter 4267)
Citizens National Bank, Waynesburg, PA (Chartered 1890 - Receivership 1927)
Town History
Waynesburg is a borough in and the county seat of Greene County, Pennsylvania, located about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. Its population was 4,176 at the 2010 census. In 1900 the population was 2,544 and it peaked in 1950 at 5,514.
The region around Waynesburg is underlaid with several layers of coking coal, including the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam, the Waynesburg seam, and the Sewickley (Mapletown) seam. The area is also rich with coalbed methane, which is being developed from the underlying Marcellus Shale, the largest domestic natural gas reserve. Early in the 20th century, four large gas compressing stations and a steam shovel factory were located in Waynesburg.
Waynesburg is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, one of the top lieutenants of George Washington during the Revolutionary War (1776–81). In 1796, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation to create Greene County, dividing Washington County into two parts with the lower part becoming Greene County. Part of the legislation required a city to take the county seat for the section of land. They chose Waynesburg as the place for the county seat because it was in the center of the county. Thomas Slater owned the land which is now Waynesburg. The borough is the location of Waynesburg University, and it is served by the Greene County Airport.
Waynesburg had seven National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all seven of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized Jan 15, 1890
- Chartered Mar 21, 1890
- Assumed 5085 by consolidation Jun 18, 1923 and its circulation (Peoples National Bank, Waynesburg, PA)
- Receivership Aug 17, 1927
In October 1922, Greene County boasted eight banks: The Citizens National Bank, the Union Deposit and Trust Company, and the Peoples National Bank of Waynesburg; First National of Carmichaels; Farmers and Merchants National of Mt. Morris; Rices Landing National; First National, Jefferson, and Peoples Bank of Greensboro with a total capitalization of $650,000, surplus and profits of $1,779,641.40; resources of $13,228,520.21; loans and investments totaling $11,664,486.69 and $10,197,406.53 in deposits.
Also in October 1922, Officers of the Citizens National Bank included Davis W. Johns, president; T. J. Wisecarver, vice president; H. L. Abell, cashier; William Bennett and Charles Smith, assistant cashiers; and E. M. Powell. Jr., trust officer.
On May 9, 1923, directors of the Citizens National Bank and the Peoples National Bank, both of Waynesburg, voted to submit to stockholders a proposition to combine the institutions. The Citizens had capital of $400,000 and resources amounting to $5,500,000 while the Peoples had capital of $100,000 and resources of $1,800,000. On June 14, the directors met in a joint session to elect officers to serve upon merger of the two banks. The following officers were elected: T.J. Wisecarver, president; Jesse L. Garard, first vice president; F.P. Iams, second vice president; Harry L. Abell, active vice president; J.D. Orndorff, cashier; and E.M. Powell, Jr., trust officer. This consolidation occurred on June 18, 1923 and Greene County had one less bank.
In April 1927, William C. Griswold, an employee of the McDowell National Bank of Sharon, was elected active vice president to replace Harry L. Abell. Mr. Abell resigned and began working with Cassatt & Co., investment bankers of Philadelphia.
John D. Orndorff was the cashier until the bank entered receivership in 1927. Orndorff would be found on January 2, 1928, in the offices of George Elliott, an oil and gas operator, having been shot through the heart. Authorities believed that it was a suicide.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Citizens National Bank of Waynesburg, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,870,550 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1890 and 1927. This consisted of a total of 344,736 notes (344,736 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 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 7185 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 477 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 10250 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 8000 1902 Plain Back 4x5 10251 - 47955 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 8001 - 30567
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1890 - 1927):
Presidents:
- George Washington Wisecarver Jr., 1890-1893
- William Penn Hoskinson, 1894-1907
- Dennis Smith, 1908-1920
- Davis W. Johns, 1921-1922
- Timothy Johns Wisecarver, 1923-1925
- Jesse Leasure Garard, 1926-1927
Cashiers:
- James Corbly Garard, 1890-1917
- Harry Lester Abell, 1918-1922
- John Delbert Orndoff, 1923-1927
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 Waynesburg (Wikipedia)
- General information on Greene County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Waynesburg, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waynesburg,_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://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., Oct. 23, 1922.
- Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, PA, Wed., May 9, 1923.
- The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Fri., June 15, 1923.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Sun., Apr. 3, 1927.
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Sun., 31 Jul 1927.
- Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, Tue., Jan. 3, 1928.