First National Bank, Glassboro, NJ (Charter 3843)
First National Bank, Glassboro, NJ (Chartered 1888 - Closed (Merger) 1971)
Town History
Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey. It is located approximately 24 miles south of Philadelphia, PA, 20 miles north of Vineland, NJ and 31 miles east of Wilmington, DE. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,579.
What is now Glassboro was originally formed as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 11, 1878, from portions of Clayton Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Elk Township (April 17, 1891) and Pitman (May 24, 1905). Glassboro was incorporated as a borough on March 18, 1920, replacing Glassboro Township. The borough was named for its glass industry.
The town was first established in 1779 by Solomon Stanger as "Glass Works in the Woods"; glass manufacturers over the years since include Heston-Carpenter Glass Works, Olive Glass Works, Harmony Glass Works, Temperanceville Glass Works, Whitney Brothers Glass Works, Owens Bottle Company, Owens Illinois Glass Company, and Anchor Hocking.
Glassboro is home to Rowan University, founded in 1923 and formerly known as Glassboro State College, which was the site of the Glassboro Summit Conference in 1967 between U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin.
Glassboro had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 28, 1888
- Chartered February 4, 1888
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Closed (Merger) October 1, 1971 (First National Bank of South Jersey)
The First National Bank of Glassboro organized on Tuesday night, November 15, 1887, by electing the following directors: Woodward Warrick, John P. Whitney, William Iszard, Dr. Jacob Iszard, Samuel Earwood, Joel Bodine, of Williamstown; R.C. Clark, of Hurffville, and Samuel A. Eastlack. A new building was planned and the capital stock of $50,000 had all been subscribed.
On Tuesday, February 7, 1888, the bank received its charter from Washington and started on its banking career the next day.
On Monday, May 21, 1906, had it not been for the alertness of George Benninger, a night watchman of the First National Bank of Glassboro, the post office at there would have been robbed by three safe crackers. As it was the interior of the building was badly wrecked by the explosion of a large charge of dynamite. At approximately three o'clock in the morning, Watchman Benninger was startled to hear a muffled roar from the post office building. Running across the road, Benninger arrived in time to see a tall man wearing a black slouch hat pulled well down over his eyes, standing near the front window. "What are you doing in this building?" inquired the watchman. "What the ____ is that your business," replied the man. "You leave and quick, or I'll pump you full of lead." With that the unknown man pulled a revolver from his pocket and fired at Benninger, the bullet going within a few inches of the watchman's head. Then two other individuals appeared at the windows, and they too opened fire, but Benninger miraculously escaped being struck. He stood his ground and returned the robbers' fire, but it is not known whether any of his shots took effect. This exchange of shots aroused the community and in a short time many of the townsfolk had formed a posse and every effort was made to capture the intruders, but the latter made good their escape. An examination of the room where the men had been working presented the appearance of having encountered a cyclone. The charge of dynamite which attracted the watchman's attention not only wrecked the safe, but also blew out the windows and doors of the building, and that the robbers escaped serious injury was remarkable. The floor was littered with debris, and among it were hundreds of dollars worth of stamps, and a small amount of cash.
In November 1925, a bank building was swapped for a town hall site. The trade was made by Mayor Frank R. Stanger and members of borough council, with the directors of Glassboro's First National Bank. The bank and the site for the hew town hall were on opposite corners of the business section. Council abandoned its plans for a new municipal building, and instead planned to purchase the bank building for a town hall while the banking company planned to erect a modern banking house on the lot that it obtained from the borough. The old bank building was of stone and of a unique design. The borough council voted to buy the building for $17,000. It was of ample size for a council chamber and for borough offices after renovations estimated to cost $5,000. Voters appropriated $33,000 for a new municipal building a few months earlier. The town was about to have two new bank buildings constructed within the same year, as work was under way on the new building of the Glassboro Title and Trust Company, also on High street and near this corner in the center of the town, occupied for nearly a century by the old Whitney Glassworks, which was razed about two years earlier.
Peter K. DuBois, 59, cashier of the First National Bank of Glassboro, shot himself through the heart at his home the morning of February 2, 1931. Partly dressed, he was found dead in his bedroom with a wound in his chest and a revolver, one chamber empty, beside his body. Members of his family, at breakfast downstairs, had heard the shot. Business associates ascribed his act to a nervous breakdown caused by overwork. A meeting of the bank directors was called by the president Thomas W. Synnott of Wenonah. Directors reported that affairs of the bank appeared to be perfectly sound. DuBois also was a director of the bank and an officer of the Gloucester County Bankers' Association. He had an active interest in a number of building and loan associations. The last statement of the First National Bank of Glassboro, issued on December 31, 1930, showed resources of more than $1,700,000. The savings deposits were in excess of $875,000 and the checking accounts were $400,000. The capital and surplus was $350,000.
In June 1971, directors of First National Bank of South Jersey, Pleasantville, and First National Bank of Glassboro approved a merger plan. Shareholders of both banks approved the plan in August 1971. The two banks operated 29 offices in South Jersey. The First National Bank of South Jersey was established in 1823 and the First National Bank of Glassboro was organized in 1888. Approval from state regulators came in September as did a non-binding opinion from The Federal Reserve Board which concluded the bank merger would have slightly adverse effects on banking competition in South Jersey. On September 23, Comptroller of the Currency William B. Camp approved the merger. The First National Bank of South Jersey upon merging had total resources of more than $365 million and deposits of more than $325 million.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Glassboro, NJ
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,380,470 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1888 and 1971. This consisted of a total of 174,784 notes (142,860 large size and 31,924 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 - 5032 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2752 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 400 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 320 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 5075 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 3650 1902 Plain Back 4x5 5076 - 16450 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 3651 - 10761 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 2002 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1126 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 272 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 6784 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 3780 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 960
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1888 - 1971):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Albert Stokes Emmel, 1888-1896
- Charles Applegate, 1897-1903
- Peter K. Du Bois, 1904-1930
- Oscar George Casperson, 1931-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- New Jersey Bank Note History
- General information on Glassboro (Wikipedia)
- General information on Gloucester County (Wikipedia)
- General information on New Jersey (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Glassboro, 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
- Courier-Post, Camden, NJ, Fri., Nov. 18, 1887.
- Courier-Post, Camden, NJ, Fri., Feb. 10, 1888.
- Courier-Post, Camden, NJ, Mon., May 21, 1906.
- Courier-Post, Camden, NJ, Tue., Nov. 17, 1925.
- The Morning Post, Camden, NJ, Mon., Feb. 2, 1931.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., June 3, 1971.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Aug. 4, 1971.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Sep. 9, 1971.
- Courier-Post, Camden, NJ, Thu., Sep. 23, 1971.