First National Bank, Lawrenceville, IL (Charter 5385)

Photo of the First National Bank of Lawrenceville, Illinois, at State and 12th Streets, ca2022. Courtesy of Google Maps

First National Bank, Lawrenceville, IL (Chartered 1900 - Receivership 1932)

Town History

Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Illinois, located along the Embarras River. The population was 4,348 at the 2010 census. Lawrenceville is located in southeast Illinois, northwest of Vincennes, Indiana.

The city is home of the Lawrenceville "Indians", Illinois Class A high school state basketball champions in 1972, 1974, 1982 and 1983. The team had a combined two season win-loss record of 68-0 from 1982–83. The team was coached by Ron Felling, who, after the 1983 season at Lawrenceville, went on to coach at Indiana University as an assistant under Bobby Knight.

Lawrenceville had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized May 4, 1900
Chartered June 1, 1900
Succeeded Bank of Lawrenceville
Receivership August 22, 1932

The Bank of Lawrenceville started as a private bank in 1888 by J.W. McCleave and P.W. Barnes. Mr. McCleave was the first cashier and later was assisted by W.S. Titus. In 1897, F.W. Keller became associated with the bank as cashier and a few years later acquired control of a majority of the stock and it was made a national bank.

On March 15, 1900, the Comptroller of the Currency approved the applications to organize for the First National Bank of Lawrenceville with capital of $25,000 and the First National Bank of Toledo, with capital of $40,000. In May, stockholders met in Lawrenceville to complete the organization. The Bank of Lawrenceville was about to change into a national bank known as the First National Bank of Lawrenceville. The directors were P.W. Barnes, G.M. Whittaker, C.F. Breen, C.J. Borden, and F.W. Keller. The directors elected P.W. Barnes, president; G.M. Whittaker, vice president; F.W. Keller, cashier; and W.S. Titus, assistant cashier. On June 1, upon receipt of a charter, the change was implemented.

On August 5, 1909, F.W. Keller, cashier of the First National Bank of Lawrenceville and six friends, narrowly escaped death Thursday afternoon, but as luck would have it no one was injured. Mr. Keller and his friends had been to the country attending a picnic and were returning home in his new seven passenger automobile. A portion of the road led through corn fields and it is necessary to cross the B.& O.S.W. tracks. On account, of the high corn it was impossible to see the train and the noise of the automobile prevented them from hearing the locomotive. The train was fast mail No. 1, west-bound, and was traveling at the rate of about sixty miles an hour while the auto was going at the rate of forty-four miles an hour. Mr. Keller, who was driving the car had enough presence of mind not to attempt to slow down but put on more power. The cross beam of the pilot struck the rear seat of the machine, tearing it completely off, but passengers in the rear seat were uninjured, all having leaned forward just as the engine struck the car.

In April 1924, The First National Bank of Lawrenceville, the oldest national bank in Lawrence County, passed the million dollar mark in resources for the first time. The honor of having first reached the million dollar mark belonged to the First National Bank of Bridgeport with the Farmers State Bank of Lawrenceville second. On May 17, 1924, between three and four thousand people attended the official house-warming of the First National Bank. T.C. Watts had the honor of being the first customer in the new building, making a deposit as soon as the bank opened for business. He was closely followed by H.C. Keller of the Vogue Shop. Crisp new bills in keeping with the general appearance of the building, were provided for customers during the day. Bill folds were distributed as souvenirs of the occasion, those for ladles having a small coin purse on the outside. F.W. Keller, president of the bank, greeted the visitors with his customary smile and a hearty handshake, taking especial delight in personally- escorting them through the various rooms and explaining in detail the construction of the vault, the mechanism of the massive vault door, the burglar alarm and all other points and items of interest. The other employees of the bank, Miss Edna Thorn, cashier, R.M. Rainwater, assistant cashier, Miss Florence Sutfin, Margaret Keller and Edgar Atkins also answered questions while waiting, on customers.

On Saturday, August 20, 1932, the directors closed the bank and J.B. Neid was appointed receiver by the comptroller of the currency to wind up affairs of the institution. The closing caught hundreds of people unprepared although rumors had circulation that the bank was in dire distress with the illness of the president. Rather than have the bank closed by federal examiners, the directors voluntarily asked that a receiver be appointed. Mr. Neid was placed in charged and opened up a new set of books to close up affairs and save as much as possible for the depositors. Deposits at the close of business June 30 were $659,632.13 with bills payable and rediscounts of $92,500, circulating notes and checks outstanding, $57,376.09, undivided profits of $2,164.20 and capital stock of $100,000. The directors were F.W. Keller, H.C. Keller, Edna E. Thorn, and John Mieure.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Lawrenceville, IL

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of P.W. Bayard, Cashier and F.W. Keller, President., President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Edna E. Thorn, Cashier and F.W. Keller, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $770,870 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1932. This consisted of a total of 62,044 notes (53,956 large size and 8,088 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	3x10-20	1 - 1390
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 4110
1882 Value Back	3x10-20	4111 - 5995
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 6104
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 1089
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 259

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 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

Lawrenceville, IL, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrenceville,_Illinois
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 Rock Island Argus, Rock Island, IL, Thu., Mar. 15, 1900.
Mount Carmel Daily Republican, Mount Carmel, IL, Sat., Aug. 7, 1909.
Lawrence County News, Lawrenceville, IL, Wed., Apr. 9, 1924.
Lawrence County News, Lawrenceville, IL, Wed., May 21, 1924.
Lawrence County News, Lawrenceville, IL, Wed., May 6, 1925.
Lawrence County News, Lawrenceville, IL, Thu., Aug. 25, 1932.