First National Bank, Gratz, PA (Charter 9473)
First National Bank, Gratz, PA (Chartered 1909 - Receivership 1934)
Town History
Gratz was incorporated in Lykens Township, April 3, 1852. It is located in northeastern Dauphin County along the northern base of Short Mountain, a western extension of Bear Mountain, part of the Appalachian Mountains. The town was laid out by Simon Gratz, in 1805, after whom it is also named. George Hoffman was a justice of the peace for nearly half a century and the town's oldest citizen at the time of his death, having settled there in 1819. The region has many coal mines with early canal and later railroad transportation projects to move this resource to markets.
Since 1873, the Gratz Fair has provided carnival entertainment, agricultural & horticultural exhibits, and harness racing.
As of the census of 2000, there were 676 people residing in the borough.
Gratz had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and only the First National Bank issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized May 8, 1909
- Chartered Jul 6, 1909
- Conservatorship Jun 29, 1933
- Receivership Nov 16, 1934
The following appears in the Gratz Sesquicentennial, July 2-4, 1955, "A History of the Gratz Bank, 1909-1955." During the early period of 1909 the leading business men of this community discussed the great need of establishing a bank at Gratz, Pennsylvania. Considerable interest in this matter was shown by many business leaders and citizens of the town. Although Gratz was a small town, these men had confidence in themselves and great faith in the future of Gratztown. Abe Gross was the moving spirit and it was he who called together the Gratz community people who might be interested in such a move. The business people became so enthused that they established the first bank in the valley east of Millersburg and Elizabethville.
First National Bank, Gratz, Pennsylvania, was incorporated July 9, 1909. It was located on the northeast corner of the square in the John H. Miller home, now [1955] owned by Allen L. Shade. Esher Poticher of Williamstown, Pennsylvania, was the first cashier. He died in 1912. James M. Sheibley succeeded him till 1917. He lives at Lykens, Pennsylvania, and is now in the insurance business. Ray H. Snyder became the cashier in 1917 [however, service during World War I called him away and J.R. Graybill became cashier for 1918]. John Leitzel, Klingerstown, Pennsylvania, was assistant cashier to J. M. Sheibley. In 1918 R. H. Snyder was called into United States Army service, Camp Lee, Virginia. A new cashier [J.R. Graybill] was appointed. Irvin M. Buffington, Gratz, Pennsylvania, was assistant cashier from 1917 to 1933. Tobias S. Klinger was the first bank president, and Irvin M. Buffington was the first vice-president. Directors were: John A. Willier; Frank Hartman; Abe Gross; Samuel Wiest; W. O. Leitzel; C. G. Updegrave; Jacob Boyer; Harvey Miller; Charles Hartman; and Robert C. Deibler. During 1914 the preferred stock was paid in full and a stock dividend issued to the common shareholders. Each shareholder received 3/4 share of common stock for each original share held. An additional 1/4 share could be purchased at a cost of $6.25.
The depression came in 1932. The money became scarce. Europe was broke, and too many banks had to be reorganized. A new party came into power and a bank holiday was called. [Gratz FNB, Charter 9473, 11/16/34 Receivership]
The Gratz National Bank [no notes issued] opened for business November 9, 1934. On the opening date the total deposits of the bank were $228,758. The bank’s capital structure consisted of $25,000 preferred stock owned by Reconstruction Finance Corporation; $25,000 common stock, and $25,000 surplus paid by the local shareholders. There were 1000 shares of common stock issued at par value of $25.00 per share, $25.00 representing par value of common stock and $25.00 paid to surplus. The organizers and first directors of the bank were: George C. Adams; Benjamin A. Weiss; Clarence E. Miller; Eston R. Klinger; and Harry R. Hoffner. The first officers were: George C. Adams, President; Clarence E. Miller, Vice President; Harold H. Umholtz, Cashier; Arthur Hoffner, Assistant Cashier.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Gratz, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $586,960 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1909 and 1934. This consisted of a total of 73,863 notes (49,136 large size and 24,727 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 2250 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1740 1902 Plain Back 4x5 2251 - 7451 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1741 - 4833 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 2082 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1114 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 320 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 2202 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1100 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 329
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
First National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1909 - 1934):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Esher Talmadge Poticher, 1909-1911
- James M. Sheibley, 1912-1916
- Ray H. Snyder, 1917-1917
- J. R. Graybill, 1918-1918
- Ray H. Snyder, 1919-1932
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Gratz (Wikipedia)
- General information on Dauphin County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Gratz, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratz,_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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
- Gratz Sesquicentennial, July 2-4, 1955, "A History of the Gratz Bank, 1909-1955."
- Lykens Valley: History & Genealogy, https://www.lykensvalley.org/, accessed Aug. 27, 2021