First National Bank, Delta, PA (Charter 4205)

Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Delta, PA (Chartered 1890 - Liquidated 1932)

Town History

Delta is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and one of the southernmost communities in Pennsylvania. The population was 706 at the 2020 census. In 1890 the population was 565, peaking at 881 in 1910.

Delta is at the heart of the Peach Bottom Slate Region. Slate quarries opened in Delta in the 1840s, as quarrymen arrived from Wales.[9] At the Crystal Palace Exposition of 1850, Peach Bottom slate was judged the finest in the world. Most of Delta's houses still have slate roofs, and remnants of the original blue-black slate sidewalks still exist throughout the borough.

The Peach Bottom Railway entered Delta in 1876, and shipped slate along its line to Red Lion and York, Pennsylvania. From the south, the Maryland Central Railroad reached Delta in 1883 and began operating trains from Delta to Bel Air, Maryland and Baltimore in 1884. Both lines were later succeeded by the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, which operated until 1978. The slate quarry was a major freight customer until 1971, when Delta’s Funkhouser Quarry closed.

Delta had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized November 9, 1889
Chartered January 11, 1890
Liquidated June 18, 1932
Absorbed by 5198 (Peoples National Bank, Delta, PA)

In Delta, until 1889, the people did their banking business miles away, as far as Port Deposit, Maryland. After newspaper agitation and literary society debates, citizens of the community organized the First National Bank of Delta. The bank started with 500 shares of stock at $100 per share, owned by people in the community.

On Saturday, November 9, 1889, The First National Bank of Delta was organized at a meeting of the stockholders. The following were the directors elected: Harry Keyser, Lower Chanceford Township; John H. Anderson, Fawn Township; Wm. McSparran, Robert L. Jones, Chas. R. McConkey, Peach Bottom Township, David M. Taylor, Chester County and V.S. Stubbs, Delta, Pennsylvania; George A. Davis, and W.G. McCoy, Harford County, Maryland. Chas. R. McConkey was elected president and L.K. Stubbs of the Former's National Bank of Oxford was elected cashier. The capital stock was $50,000 and it was expected that the bank would begin business about the opening of the new year.

In January 1897, the directors of organized by re-electing the following officers: V.G. Stubbs, president; William McSparran, vice president; L.K. Stubbs, cashier; and William G. McCoy, secretary. E. Winchester Keyser was elected a director to succeed his father the late Henry Keyser.

On January 9, 1900, the stockholders convened and the following were elected directors: V.G. Stubbs, president; William McSparran, vice president; William G. McCoy, R.L. Jones, D.M. Taylor, Frederick R. Williams, E.W. Keyser, W.W. Maffit, John H. Anderson, Abel J. Webb and Barry P. Rees. In November, Lewis K. Stubbs was chosen secretary and treasurer of the newly organized Chester County Trust Company of West Chester. He was the current chief burgess of Delta and secretary of its board of trade. Harry W. Stubbs was elected cashier to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of L.K. Stubbs. He was a former clerk in the bank and for some time had been assistant cashier of a bank in Steelton.

In November 1901, E.W. Keyser of Lower Chanceford, a director since 1897, was elected cashier and would assume his new duties the first of the year.

In January 1910, the directors were William G. McCoy, John H. Anderson, W.W. Maffit, Abel J. Webb, Harry P. Rees, J.R. Showalter, Calvin Galbreath, J. Howard Stubbs, and E.W. Keyser. The board in turn re-elected the following officers: president, William G. McCoy; vice president. J. Roy Showalter; secretary, Harry P. Rees; cashier, E.W. Keyser.

In January 1921, stockholders elected the following directors: Calvin Galbreath. H.P. Reese, J.R. Stubbs, C.C. Galbreath, Benjamin P. Stubbs, Dr. R. Warren Ramsey. C.R. Robinson. D. Ross Anderson and E.W. Keyser.

In January 1932, the officers were J. Howard Stubbs, president; Calvin Galbreath, vice president; D. Ross Anderson, 2nd vice president; Clayton R. Robinson, Secretary; C.O. Brown, cashier; and P.E. Thompson, assistant cashier. the directors were Harry P. Rees, Benjamin P. Stubbs, Cal. Galbreath, R. Warren Ramsay, J.H. Stubbs, Clayton R. Robinson, Wm. R. Brown, D. Ross Anderson, J. Roy Showalter, J. Walter Streett, W.H. Myers, and Marshall T. Heaps.

In March 1932, the First National Bank of Delta and the Peoples National Bank of the same town consolidated, according to announcement made by the presidents of the respective institutions, J. Howard Stubbs and E.M. Kilgore. The resources of the consolidated bank were $1,534,641.75. The business of the consolidated bank was being conducted in the banking house of the First National Bank which contained a modern vault and safe. The banking house of the Peoples National Bank, it was said, would be offered for sale. H.J. Evans, cashier of the People's National Bank, and C.O. Brown, cashier of the First National Bank, were retained on the staff of the new institution which was to be known as the Peoples First National Bank of Delta. This title change never occurred and the consolidated bank entered the new year as the Peoples National Bank. Former Judge McClean Stock represented the People's National bonk, and Attorneys George E. Neff and Charles A. Hawkins were counsel for the First National Bank in the negotiations.

So quietly had all the negotiations been conducted that an agreement was reached, the books and equipment moved, and the cash, securities and other valuables all transferred before the public had an inkling of the transaction. Citizens on the street were unaware of the large sums of cash being carried in ordinary cars in broad daylight before their eyes, and no crack of bandit gun marred the peaceful movement of the people's money. When the new and enlarged bank opened on Monday morning, the 21st of March, huge piles of bills were in evidence showing that the institution was amply prepared for any emergency. Happily, the demands were few, and deposits attested to the faith of the public in the judgment and integrity of the officials.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Delta, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $100 bank note with pen signatures of L.K. Stubbs, Cashier and V.G. Stubbs, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $100 bank note with printed signatures of C.O. Brown, Cashier and J. Howard Stubbs, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,000,140 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1890 and 1932. This consisted of a total of 90,838 notes (80,398 large size and 10,440 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	4x5	1 - 1755
1882 Brown Back	50-100	1 - 1943
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 2850
1902 Date Back	50-100	1 - 260
1902 Date Back	3x50-100	1 - 612
1902 Plain Back	4x5	2851 - 16390
1902 Plain Back	3x50-100	613 - 853
1929 Type 1	6x5	1 - 1618
1929 Type 1	6x50	1 - 94
1929 Type 1	6x100	1 - 28

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1890 - 1932):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

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

Wiki Links

Sources

Delta, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta,_Pennsylvania
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 York Dispatch, York, PA, Mon., Nov. 11, 1889.
The Gazette, York, PA, Sat., Feb. 13, 1897.
The Gazette, York, PA, Thu., Jan. 11, 1900.
The Inquirer, Lancaster, PA, Sat., Nov. 17, 1900.
The Inquirer, Lancaster, PA, Sat., Dec. 1, 1900.
The Gazette, York, PA, Tue., Dec. 10, 1901.
The York Daily, York, PA, Sat., Jan. 15, 1910.
The York Daily, York, PA, Wed., Jan. 12, 1921.
Delta Herald-Times, Delta, PA, Thu., Jan. 14, 1932.
The York Dispatch, York, PA, Mon., Mar. 21, 1932.
Delta Herald-Times, Delta, PA, Thu., Mar. 24, 1932.
York Daily Record, York, PA, Sat., Jan. 6, 1968.