First National Bank, Belmar, NJ (Charter 5363)

A 1959 advertisement for the Belmar-Wall National Bank, celebrating the opening of the Wall Township office on May 2, 1959. The old First National Bank building at F Street and 9th Avenue (left) was acquired by the Belmar National Bank in 1933. In 1958, the bank became the Belmar-Wall National Bank and construction of an office began at Route 35 and 18th Avenue in Wall Township.

Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Belmar, NJ (Chartered 1900 - Liquidated 1933)

Town History

Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, situated on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,907.

What is now Belmar was originally incorporated as Ocean Beach borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1885, from portions of Wall Township, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. On April 16, 1889, it became the City of Elcho borough, which lasted for a few weeks until the name was changed to the City of Belmar Borough on May 14, 1889. The city acquired its current name, Borough of Belmar, on November 20, 1890. The borough's name means "beautiful sea."

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

Bank History

Organized May 3, 1900
Chartered May 21, 1900
Conservatorship March 18, 1933
Liquidated December 1, 1933
Succeeded by 13848 (Belmar National Bank, Belmar, NJ)
Circulation assumed by 13848 (Belmar National Bank, Belmar, NJ)

The First National Bank of Belmar commenced business on June 4, 1900. Nearly $15,000 were received on deposit opening day. The president and founder of the bank was Thomas P. Burtt, a prominent merchant and capitalist of Englishtown, New Jersey. F.S. Hutchinson of Belmar was vice president and William A. Berry of Ocean Grove, cashier. Mr. Berry had charge of the Ocean Grove branch of the Asbury Park and Ocean Grove Bank for several years. The directors were Thomas P. Burtt, D.F. Van Nortwick, F.S. Hutchinson, H.T. Pullen, William A. Berry, J.G. Barnett, Jr., T.J. Murphy, J.O. Burtt, president of the Central National Bank of Freehold, John Davison, A.D. Wickham, and George E. Rogers. The bank which was organized last spring purchased a lot at the corner of Ninth and F Streets, formerly the property of Mrs. Disbrow where it planned to erect a two-story brick building with ornamental stone front. New bank notes were received by the First National Bank of Belmar to the amount of $6,250. Starting Friday, September 7th, $10s and $20s were being paid out over the bank counters.

In late November 1901, The First National Bank of Belmar took possession of its handsome new building at the corner of F street and Ninth avenue. The new building was the most imposing and attractive building in Belmar. It was built of rock faced brick. With a frontage on F street of 33 feet, 60 feet deep, two stories high and had a high slate roof. The design was furnished by Architect W.E. Allen, of Belmar. The interior had a vestibule at the entrance leading into the bank building. The flooring of the building was of tile, the ceiling of steel, and together with the fittings of the bank, which are of quarter oak, they were of most ornamental design. The bank is fully equipped with the most modern appliances and conveniences for the transaction of business. The rear end of the banking room was occupied by the president's and directors' rooms. The building was heated throughout with steam heat and was lit with electricity. A novel feature, and one which will be doubtless fully appreciated by the fair patrons of the bank, is a large room at the right of the entrance to the bank, which is supplied with a table, comfortable chairs, stationery, etc., for their special use. The second floor of the bank building contained four front offices, two six-room flats, with all conveniences. Cashier William A. Berry and Bookkeeper F.M. Davison were already thoroughly at home in their new quarters.

On Thursday, November 18, 1920, Mr. and Mrs. Leon A. Woolley of Pitney Avenue, Spring Lake, tendered a turkey supper at their home to the employees of the First National Bank of Belmar, where Mr. Woolley was assistant cashier. Mr. and Mrs. Woolley were married In Lakewood on Oct 31st, Mrs. Woolley being formerly Miss Helen Harris of Lakewood. The young couple were presented with a Community set by their guests. Piano selections by Fred Eggimann and vocal solos by Robert G. Poole were features of the evening's entertainment, while music and singing were enjoyed by all during the evening. Other present were: Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Poole, Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Davison, Mr. and Mrs. Edward F. Lyman, Morgan VanNote and Miss Cecile Herbert of Belmar; Mr. and Mrs. Brazil Woolley, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson Woolley, Miss Carrie Anderson and Stanley Curtis of Spring Lake; Mrs. V. Alfretta Newton of Ocean Grove and Fred and Charles Eggimann of Como.

In January 1923, the stockholders re-elected the following directors: Michael E. Sexton, George E. Rogers, C.I. Newman, A.D. Wickham, N.H. Miller, Paul C. Taylor, R.G. Poole, F.S. Hutchinson, and E.F. Lyman, Jr.

In January 1933, no new members were elected to the board of directors of the First National bank of Belmar, five being re-elected and the sixth, withdrawing. The board included George E. Rogers, F.S. Hutchinson, C.I. Newman, Paul C. Taylor and Edward F. Lyman, Jr. Neil H. Miller withdrew and was not replaced. George E. Rogers was re-elected president, F.S. Hutchinson, vice president; Edward F. Lyman, Jr., cashier; and Leon A. Woolley and William A. Gassin, assistant cashiers.

On December 1, 1933, Belmar celebrated the re-opening of the one and only bank of the community. At 9 o'clock the doors of the Belmar National Bank opened and $750,000 in deposits were made available for unrestricted use. It replaced the First National Bank of Belmar which was closed when President Roosevelt called the bank holiday last March. It was a gala day for the town and members of the board of commissioners, headed by Mayor Joseph Mayer, and the depositors' re-opening committee with former State Senator E. Donald Sterner, chairman, were on hand to greet the new officers and directors. Thirty-eight per cent of the deposits, it was announced, were represented in unacceptable assets of the old bank and three trustees, Edward F. Lyman, Jr., George W. Van Note and Claude W. Birdsall would seek to convert those assets into cash as quickly as possible. With the opening of the bank, George W. Van Note, former mayor of Belmar and supervisor of the Wall Township schools, became president. Harry J. Lewis, owner of the Lewis Department Store of Belmar, was vice president. John P. Mulvihill of Fair Haven was the new cashier. Edward F. Lyman, Jr., cashier and director of the old bank and the only official of that institution, would serve as chairman of the board of directors. The directors were William H. Hurley, owner of Hurley’s Men’s and Boys’ haberdashery store; John Guinco, owner of Guinco’s fruit and produce market; Vernon H. King, West Belmar grocer, and E. Donald Sterner, vice president and treasurer of Sterner Coal and Lumber Company.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Belmar, NJ

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R.G. Poole, Cashier and F.S. Hutchinson, Vice President Courtesy NBNCensus.com

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with stamped signatures of E.F. Lyman, Jr., Cashier and George E. Rogers, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of E.F. Lyman, Jr., Cashier and George E. Rogers, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $526,700 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1933. This consisted of a total of 42,364 notes (36,784 large size and 5,580 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 - 1200
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 3160
1882 Value Back	3x10-20	3161 - 4383
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 3613
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 745
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 185

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1933):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

Forman South Hutchinson, Vice President 1900...1933
There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Belmar, NJ, 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
Monmouth Democrat, Freehold, NJ, Thu., June 14, 1900.
The Shore Press, Asbury Park, NJ, Thu., July 19, 1900.
The Shore Press, Asbury Park, NJ, Thu., Sep. 13, 1900.
The Journal, Asbury Park, NJ, Fri., Nov. 29, 1901.
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, NJ, Tue., Nov. 23, 1920.
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, NJ, Wed., Jan. 10, 1923.
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, NJ, Wed., Jan. 11, 1933
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, NJ, Fri., Jan. 13, 1933.
The Daily Record, Long Branch, NJ, Fri., Dec. 1, 1933.