First National Bank, Kinston, NC (Charter 9085)
First National Bank, Kinston, NC (Chartered 1908 - Receivership 1931)
Town History
Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of eastern North Carolina. It is mainly on the northeast side of the Neuse River, and is northeast of the center of Lenoir County. It is 26 miles east of Goldsboro, 30 miles south of Greenville, and 35 miles west of New Bern. The Atlantic Ocean at Emerald Isle is 57 miles to the southeast, and Raleigh, the state capital, is 80 miles to the northwest. The population was 19,900 as of the 2020 census. In 1910 the population was 6,995, growing to 11,362 by 1930.
Kinston was created by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly in December 1762 as "Kingston", in honor of King George III, who had just recently ascended to the throne. The bill to incorporate it was introduced by Richard Caswell, who made his home there and later served as the first governor of the state of North Carolina from 1776 to 1780. After victory in the American Revolution, the citizens renamed the city "Kinston" in 1784 to show the population's disavowal of royalty. In 1833, Kinston briefly became "Caswell", in honor of Governor Caswell, but the name Kinston was restored the following year.
Kinston had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the First National Bank (Charter 9085), and the National Bank of Kinston (Charter 9044), and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized February 25, 1908
- Chartered March 31, 1908
- Conversion of The Citizens Bank of Kinston
- Opened for business April 1, 1908
- Receivership May 1, 1931
In March 1901, a bill passed the Senate to incorporate the Citizens Savings Bank of Kinston, capital $10,000.Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, VA, Wed., Mar. 6, 1901. It was proposed to make the capital stock $20,000 and subscriptions were being solicited.[3] On April 26th, at a meeting of the stockholders held at the rooms of Mr. B.W. Canady, a majority of the stock being represented, Mr. B.W. Canady was appointed chairman and Mr. D. Oettinger, secretary. The charter was read and accepted. The capital stock of the bank was placed at $25,000. The following gentlemen were elected as directors: B.W. Canady, L. Harvey, J.W. Grainger, W.L. Kennedy, D. Oettinger, J.F. Taylor, Lovit Hines, J.E. Hood, and D.F. Wooten. The directors elected Mr. N.J. Rouse president and Mr. Chas. F. Harvey cashier. Business would begin as soon as a suitable location could be obtained.[4]
In March 1905, the corporation charter was amended to change the name of the bank to The Citizens Bank of Kinston.[5]
On March 31, 1908, the First National Bank of Kinston, North Carolina, capital $100,000, was issued a certificate. N.J. Rouse was president; Henry Tull, vice president; and C.F. Harvey, cashier. This was a conversion of the Citizens Bank of Kinston.[6][7] In April, Mr. J.J. Bizzell was elected assistant cashier of the First National Bank. He had been with this bank since its organization.[8]
On Tuesday morning, February 22, 1910, Capt. Jesse W. Grainger, one of the most prominent men in Eastern Carolina, died at his home in Kinston. He had been suffering with a cold for several days but his condition was not considered to be serious. Captain Grainger served through the Civil War with great bravery and when the strife ended, he was in command of a company. After the war he settled down to business and accumulated a considerable fortune. During Governor Glenn's administration, he was president of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, showing the same fine business ability in the discharge of these duties that he displayed in all his personal affairs. At the time of his death, he was president of the North State Mutual Life Insurance Company, vice-president of the First National Bank of Kinston and a director in nearly every corporation in his hometown. He represented Lenoir County in the legislature of 1885.[9]
In January 1914, the directors were W.L. Kennedy, H. Tull, J.H. Canady, L.C. Moseley, J.F. Parrott, C. Felix Harvey, David Oettinger, H.E. Moseley, J.F. Taylor, H.H. McCoy, S.H. Isler, and N.J. Rouse. The officers were N.J. Rouse, president; Dr. H. Tull, vice president; D.F. Wooten, cashier; J.J. Bizzell, assistant cashier; and T.W. Heath, teller.[10]
In June 1926, H.H. McCoy, long-serving director, prominent local businessman and community builder was elected vice president of the First National Bank succeeding Dr. Henry Tull, deceased. The second vice president was W.B. Harvey, the active officer in that capacity. D.F. Wooten was president.[11]
On April 21, 1931, while a distant band played and false fire alarms rang in an effort to distract them, depositors stormed the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Kinston after two other banks had closed, but found all their demands met. That night the bank's officers expressed belief the run was over. The banks closing were the National Bank of Kinston and the First National Bank of Kinston.[12] On Thursday, June 18, 1931, William B. Harvey confessed defalcations totaling $53,800 while he was an officer of the First National Bank of Kinston. Harvey, one of the best-known men in eastern North Carolina, was executive vice president and cashier of the bank when it closed several weeks ago carrying two other Kinston banks down with it. He summoned U.S. Commissioner Henry Sutton and a group of friends to the office of his attorney yesterday and unfolded a story of misapplied money, covering a period of 10 years. The largest item was $15,000 which he said he embezzled from an estate. Commissioner Sutton advised the former banker he could not be tried before the October term of federal court and fixed bond at $10,000. Harvey's friends signed his bond at once.[13]
In August 1931, H.C. O'Neal, the new receiver of the closed First National Bank of Kinston was also receiver of the defunct National Bank of Goldsboro. Raymond L. Schumacher, receiver who went to take over a closed New York bank turned over to Mr. O'Neal assets of the bank. Mr. O'Neal would divide his time between Goldsboro and Kinston with headquarters in Kinston. The receiver's office was open for distribution of depositors dividend checks. Officials of the receiver's office said payment of dividend checks had helped some in note collections.[14]
In May 1932, seeking payment of the bond carried by W.B. Harvey of the closed First National Bank of Kinston, H.C. O'Neal, receiver of the bank filed suit in federal court against the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company for recovery of $44,582.44 with interest from July 16, 1931, and costs for the action. Mr. Harvey pleaded guilty in federal court to embezzlement and misappropriation of funds from the bank while he was serving as executive vice president and was serving a sentence in the Atlanta penitentiary.[15]
Official Bank Title
1: The First National Bank of Kinston, NC
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $460,030 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1908 and 1931. This consisted of a total of 57,302 notes (51,944 large size and 5,358 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 625 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 500 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 2425 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1920 1902 Plain Back 4x5 2426 - 7108 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1921 - 4753 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 544 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 258 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 91
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1908 - 1931):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Kinston, NC, 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 Free Press, Kinston, NC, Sat., Dec. 31, 1904.
- ↑ The Kinston Free Press, Kinston, NC, Wed., Jan. 21, 1914.
- ↑ The Wilmington Morning Star, Wilmington, NC, Thu., Mar. 7, 1901.
- ↑ Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, VA, Sun., Apr. 28, 1901.
- ↑ The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, Sat., Mar. 19, 1905.
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, Wed., Apr. 1, 1908.
- ↑ The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, Wed., Apr. 1, 1908.
- ↑ The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, Sat., Apr. 11, 1908.
- ↑ The Raleigh Times, Raleigh, NC, Tue., Feb. 22, 1910.
- ↑ The Kinston Free Press, Kinston, NC, Wed., Jan. 21, 1914.
- ↑ The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, Mon., June 28, 1926.
- ↑ The State, Columbia, SC, Wed., Apr. 22, 1931.
- ↑ The Durham Sun, Durham, NC, Thu., June 18, 1931.
- ↑ Goldsboro News-Argus, Goldsboro, NC, Fri., Aug. 28, 1931.
- ↑ News and Record, Greensboro, NC, Wed., May 18, 1932.