First National Bank, Beggs, OK (Charter 6868)

Postcard of Beggs, Oklahoma, dated November 15, 1909, displaying a number of wagons in front of the First National Bank of Beggs.  Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

First National Bank, Beggs, OK (Chartered 1903 - Receivership 1931)

Town History

A 1917 announcement of the consolidation of the First National Bank of Beggs with the Exchange State Bank.

Beggs is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,179 as of the 2020 census. Beggs was named for Charles Hoffman Beggs (1865–1942), vice president of the St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Railway.

Starting as a Frisco railroad stop in 1899, Beggs officially became a town on September 15, 1900, when its post office opened. It originally was a center for hog, cattle, and horse ranches in the area. In 1918, oil was discovered just to the west, and Beggs became an oil boomtown until circa 1926. After that, corn, cotton, pecans, and stock raising became important local industries, but Beggs went into a gradual decline, going from an official population of 2,327 in 1920 to 1,531 in 1930 and 1,107 in 1970.

Beggs had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and two of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

• Organized June 22, 1903
• Chartered July 6, 1903
• Succeeded Beggs State Bank
• Receivership July 9, 1931

On Friday, April 3, 1903, application was filed with the comptroller of the currency for permission to organize the First National Bank of Beggs, Indian Territory, by the following gentlemen: P.J. Brown, Fred Comstock, C.H. Drinker, C.B. Drinker, C.A. Post, C.S. Reed, and H.C. Abbott. Most of the above were owners and operators of the Beggs State Bank which was organized September 24, 1901, doing a fine business. On July 6, 1903, the comptroller of the currency authorized the First National Bank of Beggs, I.T., to commence business with $25,000 capital. P.I. Brown was president and Earl Brown, cashier.

In March 1905, the officers were P.I. Brown, president; Earl Brown, vice president; H.H. Barker, cashier; and Ray Brown, assistant cashier. The bank provided a modern fire- and burglar-proof safe and vault and was heavily insured. The bank was in a flourishing condition and was very popular with the people. The directors were P.I. Brown, H.C. Way, Silvester Biggerstaff, C.S. Reed, and Earl Brown. In August 1905, Earl Brown sold his residence on West Main Street to Ben Morrison and accepted a position with the First National Bank at Mounds of which his father was a large stockholder.

On January 20, 1916, here was a meeting of the stockholders of the First National Bank and as a result there was a change of directorate, Mr. P.I. Brown retiring from connection with that institution. He had been at the head of the bank almost continuously and it seemed strange that he was out entirely. The new officers were H.S. Whitt, President; E.M. Stapp. Vice President; E.C. Whitt, Cashier; and E.G. Kelly, assistant cashier. The officers, together with H. George, constituted the board of directors. It had been known that Glenn Kelly had some stock in the bank but the addition of E. M. Stapp was a surprise to most. On Saturday, January 22, 1916, P.I. Brown bought the controlling interest of H.S. and E.C. Whitt and immediately the new directorate was chosen--P.I. Brown, president; H.H. Johnson of the American National Bank of Sapulpa, vice president; Grover C. Moore, also associated with the American National, cashier; and E.G. Kelly, assistant cashier. The following were among the stockholders of the reorganized bank: L.B. Jackson, W. Earl Brown, and J.D. Berry of Sapulpa; H. George, E. Glenn, and M. Thorne Kelly of Beggs; and C.C. Walker of Tuskegee.

In March 1917, an announcement was made that the First National Bank and the Exchange State Bank had consolidated and were doing business under the name of the First National Bank and under management of the Exchange State Bank. The new organization had capital and surplus of $40,000. The officers were W.H. Reading, president; J.B. Kelly, vice president; W.G. Reynolds, cashier; E.G. Kelly, second vice president; and N.O. Brane, assistant cashier. The Exchange State Bank, Beggs, was chartered in January 1916 by J.C. Doneghy, St. Louis, Missouri; W.H. Reading, H. Garwood, Jr., W.G. Reynolds, Beggs; with capital stock $25,000.

In March 1919, the directors were W.H. Reading, Jas. B. Kelly, W.G. Reynolds, G.C. Moore, and N.O. Brane. In October 1919, the C.C. Hodges residence was sold to N.O. Brane of Eastern Oklahoma. He was connected with the Clayton Realty Co. of Clayton, New Mexico.

On Tuesday, January 8, 1924, stockholders elected the following directors for the ensuing year: W.H. Reading, chairman; Wm. H. Donahue, Iva M. Reading, Glen E. Leslie, secretary; and A.M. Burger. The board reorganized by electing W.H. Reading, president; Wm. H. Donahue, vice president; Glen E. Leslie, cashier; and Grace M. Watson, assistant cashier. Mr. Reading who several years ago was president of the bank again assumed an active role and would hereafter be found in the offices of the bank. Under his management the bank had a long season of prosperity. Mr. Donahue who's past three years managing the bank had proved his exceptional ability as a credit man, would devote his entire time to the bank's loans, while Mr. Leslie would be in charge of the details of the office. Miss Watson would continue as paying and receiving teller and Miss Esther Drinker as stenographer and bookkeeper.

At the close of business on March 25, 1931, the total assets were $218,045.10, with capital $25,000, surplus $2,500, undivided profits $2,505.22, circulation $25,000, and deposits of over $40,000. Iva M. Reading was cashier and the directors attesting to the correctness of the report were Grace M. Watson, Bessie Reading, and R.M. Clark. Plans were underway for a re-organization of the First National Bank which closed July 3rd by order of the board of directors. There was a rumor afloat that there was a possibility of a consolidation of the first National with the American National Bank. Beggs was the only town in the county which had not had a bank failure within the past few years. J.G. Hughes was appointed receiver of the First National Bank.

Official Bank Title

1: The First National Bank of Beggs, OK

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of Iva M. Reading, Cashier and Glen E. Leslie, Vice President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Plain Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of Grace M. Watson, Assistant Cashier and W.H. Reading, President. Courtesy of the NBNCensus.com

Needed: a picture of a Small size bank note.

A total of $391,080 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1903 and 1931. This consisted of a total of 31,398 notes (28,128 large size and 3,270 small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 400	Territory, Indian
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1990
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1991 - 6632
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 432
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 113

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1903 - 1931):

Presidents:

• Patrick Iredell Brown, 1903-1914
• W. D. Hall, 1915-1915
• John Archer Price, 1915-1915
• Patrick Iredell Brown, 1916-1916
• William Harvey Reading, 1917-1919
• Roy Elliot Karls, 1920-1920
• William Hayden Donahue, 1921-1923
• William Harvey Reading, 1924-1930

Cashiers:

• Walter Earl Brown, 1903-1904
• Harrison Hinkley Barker, 1905-1906
• Oscar K. ("O. K.") Peck, 1907-1913
• W. D. Hall, 1914-1914
• Daniel Gilbert Dodds, 1915-1915
• Henry Smith Whitt, 1915-1916
• Grover Cleveland Moore, 1916-1916
• William Gaw Reynolds, 1917-1919
• James Malcolm Vincent, Jr., 1920-1921
• Glen Earl Leslie, 1922-1923
• Iva Mae Reading , 1924-1930

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• Herbert Hunt Johnson (VP 1916)
• Grace Marie Watson (Asst Cashier 1921...1925)

Bank Note History Links

• First National Bank, Beggs, OK History (NB Lookup)
• Oklahoma Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Beggs, OK, 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