First National Bank, Bath, PA (Charter 5444)

Postcard of the First National Bank of Bath, Pennsylvania ca1960s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

First National Bank, Bath, PA (Chartered 1900 - Closed (Merger) 1993)

Town History

Old First National Bank Building ca2020. Courtesy Google Maps

Bath is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Bath is located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state with a population of 2,693 according to the 2010 census. The 1900 census recorded 731 people in Bath.

The Bath borough is located at the head of the Monocacy Creek (Lehigh River) in an area of the Lehigh Valley that was once rich in agriculture. Bath was established in 1728 as a Scotch-Irish settlement before the American Revolution as the first settlement by white people in the Forks of the Delaware. It was named for Bath, Somerset, England by Margaret DeLancey, who sold land under her father, lieutenant colonel of the Continental Army, William Allen, in the 1700s.

On March 3, 1737, the 247 acres of land that is currently inside the boundaries of Bath was purchased and surveyed for Daniel Craig. According to borough historians, this land spans from Chestnut Street to the north of Northampton Street. William Allen conveyed the greater part of Bath's land to his son, Andrew, in 1776, the same year American declared its freedom from the British. The Wesselhoeft House was the first homeopathic school of medicine, located on Chestnut Street in 1829.

Bath had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized May 12, 1900
Chartered June 21, 1900
Bank was Open past 1935
For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
Closed/Merged into Meridian Bank in Reading, PA, December 11, 1993

Since the passage of the currency bill, March 14, 1900, also known as the Gold Standard bill, applications from over 250 national banks with a capital of $25,000 had been received at the comptroller's officer in Washington, DC. The new law allowed banks with a capital of $25,000 to organize in villages of less than 3,000 inhabitants; with $50,000 capital in villages of less than 6,000 inhabitants; with $100,000 capital in cities or villages of less than 50,000. The estimate was that over 1,000 such banks might be expected within the near future from the smallest villages. The proposed national bank at Bath with capital stock of $25,000 was one of the first 250 banks to make application.

The stockholders of the First National Bank of Bath held a meeting on May 16, 1900 at the Bath Hotel and elected the following officers: W.L. Odenwelder, Charles Shuman, A.H. Cressman, J.O. Berlin, and L.B. Groner, all of Bath; H.N. Kleckner of Moorestown; Frank Young of Youngs; W.L. Shimer of Nazareth; and A.M. Paff of Bangor. W.L. Odenwelder was elected president and Jacob H. Seem of Bangor was elected cashier.

On Jan 11, 1905 the stockholders met at the Nazareth Inn and elected Charles Shuman, L.R. Groner, Frank Young, A.M. Paff and Jacob H. Seem as directors. They also decided to erect a large banking house on Main Street in the spring and J.M Jacoby, an architect of Allentown, submitted a sketch of the proposed building. At the end of 1906, the bank reported Capital stock of $25,000; surplus and undivided profits, $19,361; loans and discounts, $175,547.47; and individual deposits, $195,242.95

Official Bank Titles

1: The First National Bank of Bath, PA

2: First National Bank of Bath, PA [5/12/1920]

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Value Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of Jacob H. Seem, Cashier and J.A. Horner, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 2 $20 bank note with printed signatures of Jacob H. Seem, Cashier and J.A. Horner, President. President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $1,132,550 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1993. This consisted of a total of 91,538 notes (63,608 large size and 27,930 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	3x10-20	1 - 1890
1: 1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 4700
1: 1882 Value Back	3x10-20	4701 - 6985
2: 1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 7027
2: 1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 2622
2: 1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 684
2: 1929 Type 2	5	1 - 300
2: 1929 Type 2	10	1 - 5933
2: 1929 Type 2	20	1 - 1861

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

First National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1993):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Jacob H. Seem, 1900-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Bath, PA, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, PA, Wed., May 2, 1900.
The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, Wed., May 16, 1900.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Tue., Jan. 3, 1905.
The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, Wed., Jan. 11, 1905.