First National Bank, Kansas City, MO (Charter 3456)
First National Bank, Kansas City, MO (Chartered 1886 - Closed (Merger) 1996)
Town History
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the most populated municipality of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line and has a population of 2,392,035. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, with portions spilling into Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.
The city is composed of several neighborhoods, including the River Market District in the north, the 18th and Vine District in the east, and the Country Club Plaza in the south. Celebrated cultural traditions include Kansas City jazz; theater, as a center of the Vaudevillian Orpheum circuit in the 1920s; the Chiefs and Royals sports franchises; and famous cuisine based on Kansas City-style barbecue, Kansas City strip steak, and craft breweries. It serves as one of the two county seats of Jackson County, along with the major suburb of Independence. Other major suburbs include the Missouri cities of Blue Springs and Lee's Summit and the Kansas cities of Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, and Kansas City, Kansas.
Kansas City had 43 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 40 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized February 18, 1886
- Chartered February 24, 1886
- Succeeded Lombard Bros.
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Boatmen's National Bank, Kansas City, MO, June 17, 1996
In May 1884, Mr. C.A. Litchfield, treasurer of the Keene Five Cent Savings bank of Keene, New Hampshire, in company with Mr. J.L. Lombard of the new banking firm of Lombard Bros., to be opened soon in Kansas City, arrived from Wichita, Kansas. They had large interests in common being connected with the Kansas State bank and with a mortgage and loan business. Mr. Litchfield expressed himself as much pleased with the first visit to the west, being especially gratified with what he saw in Kansas City, western Missouri and Kansas.
Early in the spring of 1885, another banking institution would be added to those already in Kansas City. The new comers were Messrs. Lombard Bros. of Boston, and the Lombard Investment Company of Boston, and Creston, Iowa. The former firm did a heavy banking business in the Hub, and the latter does an extensive loan business on real estate. The new house planned to occupy the diamond block on the 1st of April at the junction used by Messrs. Holman & French as a drug store. Lombard Bros., Bankers advertised a general banking business by August 1885 at the junction of Main and Delaware Streets. The officers were B. Lombard, Jr., James L. Lombard, and C.H.V. Lewis, the cashier.
James L. Lombard, capitalist, was born January 6, 1850, in Henry, Marshall County, Illinois. He was the son of Benjamin and Julia Elizabeth (Battles) Lombard. James L. Lombard was educated in Lombard University, the school endowed by his father and also was a student at Farmington, Maine and Bowdoin College. After leaving school he came west and engaged in business in Chicago and later engaged in the real estate business in that city. In 1875 he went to Creston, Iowa, where he entered the banking business. He remained in Creston ten years and in 1885, moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where with his brother he established the banking house of Lombard Bros. The Lombard Bros. Banking house was consolidated with the First National Bank of Kansas City with J.L. Lombard as its first president. In 1895 he sold his interest in the First National Bank and retired from the presidency.
In April 1887, the officers were James L. Lombard, President; Witten McDonald, Vice President; E.F. Swinney, Cashier; and G.W. Fishburn, Assistant Cashier. The directors were James L. Lombard, Witten McDonald, E.F. Swinney, J.L. Abernathy, Benjamin Lombard, Jr., Joseph S. Loose, George H. Nettleton, John F. Richards, George W. McCrary, E.D. Fisher, and Robt. L. Yeager.
In January 1890, the officers were James L. Lombard, president; Jas. L. Abernathy, vice president; E.F. Swinney, cashier; and G.W. Fishburn, assistant cashier. The directors were James L. Abernathy, James A. Blair, E.D. Fisher, James L. Lombard, Joseph S. Loose, Geo. W. McCrary, John F. Richards, E.F. Swinney, Robert L. Yeager, Benj. Lombard, Jr., Geo. H. Nettleton, and John Perry. The capital was $250,000 and surplus $150,000.
On January 28, 1985 the institution changed its name to Boatmen's First National Bank of Kansas City. On June 13, 1996, the name was changed to Boatmen's National Bank of Kansas. In August 1996, an application to merge the charters of Boatmen's First National Bank of Kansas City and BANK IV was filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The merged bank, called Boatmen's National Bank, had more than $9 billion in assets. The merger, would give customers of both banks access to seamless banking from Blue Springs, Missouri to the Colorado border. William C. Nelson was chairman, president and CEO of Boatmen's First National Bank. Boatmen's Bancshares Inc. was one of the 30 largest bank holding companies in the United States when it was acquired by NationsBank in 1996.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Kansas City, MO
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $7,203,010 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1886 and 1996. This consisted of a total of 791,302 notes (602,112 large size and 189,190 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 - 2039 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2655 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 7750 1902 Red Seal 50-100 1 - 2760 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 57665 1902 Date Back 50-100 1 - 1912 1902 Date Back 3x50-100 1 - 7200 1902 Plain Back 4x5 57666 - 127000 1902 Plain Back 3x50-100 7201 - 8748 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 27740 1929 Type 1 6x50 1 - 1070 1929 Type 1 6x100 1 - 356 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 13996 1929 Type 2 50 1 - 198
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1886 - 1996):
Presidents:
- James Lewis Lombard, 1886-1895
- J. L. Abernathy, 1896-1899
- Edward Fletcher Swinney , 1900-1926
- Harry T. Abernathy, 1927-1935
Cashiers:
- Charles H. V. Lewis, 1886-1886
- Edward Fletcher Swinney , 1887-1899
- Harry T. Abernathy, 1900-1907
- Charles G. Hutcheson, 1908-1916
- George Paul Reichel, 1917-1924
- Sidney Silverman, 1925-1926
- Charles D. Hayward, 1927-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Missouri Bank Note History
- General information on Kansas City (Wikipedia)
- General information on Jackson County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Missouri (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Kansas City, MO, 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 Kansas City Times, Kansas City, MO, Thu., May 15, 1884.
- The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO, Wed., July 30, 1884.
- The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, MO, Fri., Aug. 28, 1885.
- The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, MO, Sun., Apr. 3, 1887.
- Rosedale Era, Rosedale, KS, Sat., Jan. 11, 1890.
- The Star-Herald, Belton, MO, Thu., Aug. 1, 1996.