First National Bank, Clover, SC (Charter 11439)

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A 1942 advertisement from the First National Bank of Clover, South Carolina. The ad reads "The Backbone of the Nation is Farming. Mr. Farmer, we invite you to consult us regarding your banking needs." A Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Member logo is shown.
A 1942 advertisement from the First National Bank of Clover, South Carolina.

First National Bank, Clover, SC (Chartered 1919 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.
Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

Clover is a town in York County, South Carolina. As of 2010, the population was at 5,094 within the town limits. Clover is twinned with the Northern Irish town of Larne on County Antrim's East Coast.

Clover was founded just north of an earlier settlement, New Centre, which had waned during the Civil War. The pivotal American Revolutionary War battle of Kings Mountain occurred approximately eight miles to the west of modern-day Clover, on October 7, 1780.

The village of Clover began as a railway stop in 1876, midway between Yorkville, and modern-day Gastonia, North Carolina, when the first railroad tracks were laid through the northern section of the county. Before the Civil War, the Kings Mountain Railroad had operated as far north as Yorkville from Chester, but the tracks were destroyed during the war. In 1873, the Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad was officially chartered and acquired the Kings Mountain rights of way. By 1875, new, narrow gauge railway replaced the remnants of the former Kings Mountain line, and the following year the tracks were extended from Yorkville to Gaston County, North Carolina. A water tank for the railway's steam locomotives was constructed midway between Gastonia and Yorkville.

According to lore, the overflow of water from the railway's water tank fertilized a patch of clover, and the stop was called "the clover patch." The town was officially incorporated in 1887.

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

Bank History

  • Organized August 14, 1919
  • Chartered August 25, 1919
  • Bank was Open past 1935
  • Merged with The First National Bank of South Carolina on December 18, 1962

In August 1919, V.Q. Hambright, assistant cashier of the Peoples National Bank of Rock Hill, accepted a position as cashier of the First National Bank of Clover, a new banking institution which planned to open early in the fall. McElwee Stroup, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Stroup of Clover and connected with the National Union Bank of Rock Hill, accepted the bookkeeper position at the new bank. However, on August 22d at a meeting of the stockholders of the First National Bank of Clover, the following officers were elected: G.F. Hambright, president; A.J. Quinn, vice president; V.Q. Hambright, cashier and M.M. Stroup, assistant cashier. Directors elected were G.F. Hambright, A.J. Quinn, V.Q. Hambright, Bate Hambright, R.L. Campbell, Ross Hambright, W.B. Falls, W.B. Stroup, and H.P. Jackson. Half of the capital stock had been paid in and bank fixtures were on ordered; the bank was expected to be ready to open by October 1. Cashier Hambright made a lucky deal on bank fixtures from Orangeburg. He was at a loss as new fixture were just not available. Then one of the Sifford boys remarked that the fixtures of a bank were available near where he was working in Orangeburg. They were purchased from a Charlotte concern and the next day the parties informed Hambright that they had just received an offer for twice what the Clover bank had paid. The bank opened for business on Saturday, October 25, 1919, on Kings Mountain Street, Clover.

On August 25, 1919, John Skelton Williams, Comptroller of the Currency, authorized the First National Bank of Clover to commence the business of banking with Charter No. 11439.

In April 1921, it was announced that V.Q Hambright gave up his job as cashier in order to return to Rock Hill to work with his brother J.C. Hambright in the firm of Hambright & Co., wholesale lumber dealers. But he would remain cashier for another 9 years.

In January 1962, plans were announced to start construction on a new building on Bethel Street, costing about $90,000, and to double the capital stock. Earlier, stockholders voted to increase the capital stock from $25,000 to $50,000. The officers were A.N. Sifford, president; M.M Stroup, executive vice president; Joe L. Jackson, vice president; and David Bodie, cashier.

On December 18, 1962, the comptroller of the currency, James J. Saxon, approved the merger of the First National Bank of Clover into the First National Bank of South Carolina. First National Bank of South Carolina had assets of $81 million and planned to add the Clover bank as its 20th branch bank.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Clover, SC

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note
1902 Plain Back $10 bank note. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of V.Q. Hambright, Cashier and G.F. Hambright, President
1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of V.Q. Hambright, Cashier and G.F. Hambright, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of M.M. Stroup, Cashier and G.F. Hambright, President.
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of M.M. Stroup, Cashier and G.F. Hambright, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $327,650 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1919 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 42,400 notes (30,880 large size and 11,520 small size notes).

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

Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments
1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 5025
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 2695
1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 918
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 452
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 146
1929 Type 2 5 1 - 1332
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 828
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 264

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1919 - 1936):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

  • No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Clover, SC, 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
  • The Herald, Rock Hill, SC, Tue., Aug. 12, 1919.
  • The Herald, Rock Hill, SC, Fri., Aug. 22, 1919.
  • Yorkville Enquirer, York, SC, Fri., Sep. 19, 1919.
  • Yorkville Enquirer, York, SC, Fri., Sep. 26, 1919.
  • Yorkville Enquirer, York, SC, Fri., Oct. 24, 1919.
  • Yorkville Enquirer, York, SC, Fri., Oct. 31, 1919.
  • The Herald, Rock Hill, SC, Fri., Apr. 8, 1921.
  • The Herald, Rock Hill, SC, Mon. Jan. 15, 1962.
  • The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, NC, Tue., Dec. 18, 1962.