Farmers and Merchants NB, Winchester, VA (Charter 6084)
Farmers and Merchants NB/Farmers and Merchants NB & TC, Winchester, VA (Chartered 1902 - Closed (Merger) 2002)
Town History
Winchester is the northwesternmost independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 28,120. Winchester is home to Shenandoah University and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.
Winchester is in the Shenandoah Valley, located between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Allegheny Mountains, and is 15 miles north-northeast of the northern peak of Massanutten Mountain. I-81 passes through the city, along with US 50, US 522, US 17, which ends in the city, and SR 7, which also ends in the city. The city is approximately 75 miles to the west of Washington, D.C., 24 miles south of Martinsburg, West Virginia, 25 miles north of Front Royal, 118 miles south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 180 miles north of Roanoke.
Winchester had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the Farmers and Merchants National Bank (Charter 6084) and the Shenandoah Valley National Bank (Charter 1635), and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized December 13, 1901
- Chartered January 4, 1902
- Opened for business January 13, 1902
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Branch Banking & Trust Company of Virginia in Richmond, VA, March 16, 2002
In 1901, stimulated by the excellent statements made for some time past by the Shenandoah Valley National and the Union Bank, it was reported that Mayor R.T. Barton, Harry H. Baker and others were interested in establishing a new institution. Mr. P.H Reardon, an extensive dealer in groceries and queensware since the Civil War, made an assignment with his brother, J.H. Reardon, as the preferred creditor in the Winchester bank.[1] On about December 8, the comptroller of the currency approved an application for the organization of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Winchester, capital $100,000, R.T. Barton, James Clark, W.P. McGuire, H.H. Baker, German Smith and others, incorporators.[2]
On the afternoon of December 13, the first formal meeting of stockholders was held. Mayor R.T. Barton was elected president and H.D. Fuller, cashier. Seventeen prominent men were elected directors, among them ex-Judge E.D. Newman of Woodstock, Virginia. The directors were R.T. Barton, John Keating, Daniel Annan of Cumberland, Md.; Judge E.D. Newman of Woodstock; J.W. Rhodes of Middletown; T.M. Nelson of Millwood; W.C. Grachen, John M. Steck, M.M. Lynch, German Smith, H.H. Baker, Dr. W.P. McGuire, W.E. Barr, J.S. Haldeman of Winchester; P.C. Gore, S.M. Chiles, B.E. Clevenger of the county.[3] A site in the business section was bought for $16,000 and construction of a building costing $30,000 was planned.[4]
In January 1902, R.T. Barton announced all the capital stock of $100,000 had been paid and the bank would begin business in temporary quarters. John Keating was vice president and Lewis N. Barton, assistant cashier of the Union Bank was selected for the same position in the new bank.[5][6]
On January 17, 1917, Robert Thomas Barton, 75 years old, nestor of the Winchester Bar, Confederate Veteran, bank president and author of several law books died in Winchester after a brief illness. He was at one time a member of the Virginia Legislature, president of the Virginia Bar Association and president of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank since its organization. He served with the Rockbridge Artillery throughout the War Between the States.[7]
On January 10, 1933, stockholders of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank and Trust Company elected the following directors: Gov. Harry F. Byrd, W.E. Cooper, H.D. Fuller, John M. Steck, Ray Robinson, Phil H. Gold, R.G. Mitchell, Charles R. McCann, Dr. H.H. McGuire, J.S. Haldeman, M.M. Lynch, George W. Haddox, Dr. L.M. Allen, Thomas E. Kremer and Frank N. Hack. The directors re-elected H.D. Fuller, president; W.E. Cooper, vice president; J.H. Yost, cashier; and S.D. McFadden and C.W. Bachman, assistant cashiers.[9]
On February 8, 1935, William E. Cooper, merchant and bank director, was elected by the City Council a member of the Handley board of trustees to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of his father, Thomas J. Cooper. The latter had been a member of the board since its creation by a State legislative act. The board was custodian of a fund of over $1,000,000 bequeathed by the late Judge John Handley, Scranton, Pennsylvania, for educational and library purposes in Winchester.[10] On December 28, 1935, H.D. Fuller resigned as president of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank and Trust Company and W.E. Cooper was elected as the new president. Mr. Cooper was elevated from the vice presidency and the bank's board chose P.H. Gold and Dr. L.M. Allen as vice presidents. Mr. Fuller would continue as chairman of the board.[11]
On January 1, 1985, Farmers and Merchants National acquired Stonewall Jackson Bank and Trust Company, National Association in Mount Jackson, Virginia. F&M National Corp. of Winchester reported 1984 net income of $3.04 million, or $1.56 per share, up from 2.7 million in 1983. It also reported total assets increased $37 million to $315.5 million. F&M National Corp. was a holding company which controlled the Farmers and Merchants National Bank, Massanutten Bank and Trust in Harrisonburg and the Suburban Bank in Richmond.[12]
On December 31, 1991, the name was changed to F&M Bank-Winchester under a new state charter.
In September 1993, shareholders of Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Hamilton agreed to a plan to merge into Winchester-based F&M later that month in an exchange of stock amounting to nearly $7.1 million. The Hamilton bank, charter 9861 issued September 29, 1910, had assets of $185 million and would join F&M National with assets of $1.1 billion and operating nine banking affiliates with 56 offices.[13]
Official Bank Titles
1: The Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Winchester, VA
2: Farmers and Merchants National Bank and Trust Company of Winchester, VA (1/23/1928)
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $4,158,240 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1902 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 523,570 notes (451,488 large size and 72,082 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 6100 1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 4560 1: 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 7500 1: 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5280 1: 1882 Value Back 4x5 7501 - 22630 1: 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 5281 - 14047 1: 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 33084 1: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 20367 2: 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 6493 2: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 5591 2: 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 6606 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 3034 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 964 2: 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 4792 2: 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 2933 2: 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 733
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1902 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Robert Thomas Barton, 1902-1916
- Dr. William Province McGuire, 1917-1925
- H. Douglas Fuller, 1926-1934
- William Ewing Cooper, 1935-1935
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Virginia Bank Note History
- General information on Winchester (Wikipedia)
- General information on Winchester County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Virginia (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Winchester, VA, 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
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Wed., Nov. 27, 1901.
- ↑ Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sun., Dec. 8, 1901.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sat., Dec. 14, 1901.
- ↑ Highland Recorder, Monterey, VA, Fri., Dec. 20, 1901.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sat., Jan. 4, 1902.
- ↑ Clarke Courier, Berryville, VA, Wed., Feb. 12, 1902.
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Thu., Jan. 18, 1917.
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Sun., Jan. 3, 1937.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sun., Jan. 15, 1933.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sat., Feb. 9, 1935.
- ↑ The Richmond News Leader, Richmond, VA, Sat., Sep. 28, 1935.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Fri., Jan. 18, 1985.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Fri., Sep. 3, 1993.