First National Bank, Lawrenceville, PA (Charter 9702)

The drive-in banking facility built in 1961 for the First National Bank of Lawrenceville, located on the corner of Main and Mechanics Streets. Courtesy of Google Maps ca2022

First National Bank, Lawrenceville, PA (Chartered 1910 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Lawrenceville is a borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. It was named after Captain James Lawrence best known today for his last words, "Don't give up the ship!", uttered before he died during the capture of the USS Chesapeake in 1813. The population was 690 at the 2020 census. In 1910 the population was 549, decreasing to 457 by 1930.

Lawrenceville is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 287 and Pennsylvania Route 49. The only traffic light in town can be found at this intersection. It is on the banks of the Tioga and Cowanesque Rivers. The confluence of these streams is just outside downtown Lawrenceville. Cowanesque Lake, a US Army Corps of Engineers flood prevention lake, is just to the west of town on Pennsylvania Route 49.

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

Bank History

March 1965 announcement of the merger of four banks to form the Commonwealth Bank and Trust Company. Pictured were J.H. Decker, president, Tioga County Savings and Trust Company; D.C. Chamberlain, president, First National Bank of Galeton; Adrian E. Marsh, president, First National Bank of Lawrenceville; and Frank M. Maryott, president, Farmers and Traders National Bank, Westfield.

Organized March 8, 1910
Chartered March 19, 1910
Bank was Open past 1935

On January 18, 1910, the comptroller of the currency approved the application of Lewis Darling, L.C. Eaton, H.P. Rusling, A.T. Porter and George B. Colby to organize the First National Bank of Lawrenceville with $25,000 capital. On Saturday, March 5, 1910, George Colby was elected president; C.F. Woodward, vice president; and W.H. Westbrook, cashier. The directors were H.P. Rusling, Ira L. Price, J.L. Howe, J.T. King, Dr. E.G. Treat of Millerton, E.W. Close and E.J. Hall of Farmington; George Colby and W.H. Westbrook.

In January 1926, the officers were W.E. Barnes, president; R.E. Baker, vice president; H.C. Cloos, cashier; and E.H. Stoddard, assistant cashier.

On Tuesday, January 20, 1927, the following directors were elected: W.C. Barnes, J.H. Putman, H.C. Cloos, Meade P. Close, A.J. Swan, B.W. Baker, M. Rathbun, R.E. Baker, D.A. Brown, Alex Brown, D.A. Harrison, A.E. Marsh, and E.J. Hall. The officers were all re-elected.

In January 1931, at the annual meeting of the stockholders, the following directors were elected: William S. Wilcox, Joseph T. King, Arthur T. Swan, Eugene B. Beaumont, Ernest H. Stoddard, Floyd, H. Bostwick, and Enoch A. Blackwell. At a directors' meeting, officers were elected as follows: William S. Wilcox, president; Joseph T. King, vice president; and Ernest H. Stoddard, cashier. Horace C. Cloos resigned as cashier to take charge of the Deerfield Mills at Knoxville.

In January 1932, the officers and directors were as follows: W.S. Wilcox, president; J.T. Kink, vice president; Ernest Stoddard, cashier. Directors: E.B. Beaumont, Floyd L. Bostwick, Clarence Brisco, J.T. King, A.W. Orr, E.H. Stoddard, A.T. Swan, H.B. Toby, and W.S. Wilcox.

In March 1941, D.W. Baker was named president of the First National Bank of Lawrenceville, following the resignation of Ernest Stoddard who had been connected with the bank for 19 years. Mr. Stoddard had served as cashier at the bank and his place was taken by A.S. Haffinger of Laurelton, Pennsylvania.

On May 26, 1941, Ernest H. Stoddard, former president and cashier, was sentenced to a year and four months in federal prison for misapplication of funds of Federal Reserve Member Bank and using the mails to defraud. Sentence was imposed by Federal Judge John Knight of Buffalo who also sentenced Howard B. Deuell, former North Hornell mayor to a year and six months, and Gerald C. Talbot, former cashier of the First State Bank of Canisteo to a year and a day on similar charges. The three men had previously pleaded guilty to participation in a scheme by which Deuell maintained fictitious accounts in the two banks, eventually causing losses of about $30,000.

In August 1961, President A.E. Marsh announced the First National Bank of Lawrenceville would erect a new bank building at the south corner of Main and Mechanic Streets. The structure was expected to be ready for occupancy early in December. During the past year a committee of directors composed of Cashier Robert Eaton and Marion Croft had considered the needs of enlarged quarters for the growing business of the bank. They arranged with architects Kesnow & Thompson of Towanda to prepare plans for a modern, fireproof building. New features would include an enlarged vault, an entrance on the north side for users of safety deposit boxes, a one-way drive on the south side with drive-in window, and enlarged parking spaces. Low bids for the project were submitted as follows: construction, F.P. Case & Son, Troy; electrical and heating work, R.E. Baker & Son, Lawrenceville; vault installations, Diebold Co., Canton, Ohio.

In January 1965, the notice of application to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation appeared for the merger of the Tioga County Savings & Trust Company, located on 61 Main Street, Wellsboro, with The First National Bank of Galeton, 39 West Main Street, Galeton; The First National Bank of Lawrenceville, Main Street, Lawrenceville; and Farmers & Traders National Bank of Westfield, 100 East Main Street, Westfield.

The merger of the four banks received Federal and State banking authorities' approval and was effective on March 24, 1965. The resulting institution was named Commonwealth Bank and Trust Company with assets of over $17 million. It would continue to operate as branches the banks in Wellsboro, Galeton, Lawrenceville and Westfield. The officers were J.H. Decker, president; F.M. Maryott, board chairman and senior vice president; Donald C. Chamberlain, board vice chairman and senior vice president; R.R. Eaton, treasurer and senior vice president; George Hewitt, secretary and senior vice president; R.G. Fenstermacher, executive vice president; W.E. Shumway, trust officer and senior vice president; M.C. Brucklacher, senior vice president; and A.A. Cool, vice president.

In January 1966, the board of directors of Commonwealth Bank and Trust Co. were Thomas R. Bailey, James D. Baker, D.C. Chamberlain, Robert F. Cox, Marion J. Croft, M. Beach Davis, Frank L. Dunham, Robert R. Eaton, Joseph Eberle, R. Glen Fenstermacher, Gordon B. Ford, George D. Hewitt, Frank M. Maryott, Leon G. Niles, Carl W. Smith, Robert Taynton, Sr., and Thomas E. Wilcox. Elmer G. Carson and Adrian E. Marsh were elected as honorary directors. The Board appointed the following advisory board for the Lawrenceville branch: Adrian E. Marsh, chairman, Frank Carlson, Robert R. Eaton, James D. Baker, and Marion J. Croft.

Police of two states sought a shotgun-wielding bandit who held up the old First National Bank of Lawrenceville, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, and escaped with between $2,000 and $3,000 the afternoon of December 10, 1968.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Lawrenceville, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

NEEDED: image of a large size bank note.

1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of H.C. Cloos, Cashier and W.E. Barnes, President. The Government Printing Office (GPO) prepared the overprinting plate used to produce this note. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of E.H. Stoddard, Cashier and W.S. Wilcox, President. Barnhart Brothers and Spindler (BBS) prepared the overprinting plate used to produce this note. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of E.H. Stoddard, Cashier and J.T. King, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $389,130 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1910 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 31,473 notes (24,748 large size and 6,725 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	3x10-20	1 - 2280
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	2281 - 6187
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 772
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 180
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 840
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 173

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1910 - 1935):

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, PA, 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
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Jan. 18, 1910.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., Mar. 9, 1910.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., Jan. 27, 1926.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., Jan. 26, 1927.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., Jan. 21, 1931.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., Jan. 28, 1931.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., Jan. 20, 1932.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., Mar. 12, 1941.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Wed., June 4, 1941.
Mansfield Advertiser, Mansfield, PA, Wed., Aug. 2, 1961.
The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Thu., Aug. 10, 1961.
Mansfield Advertiser, Mansfield, PA, Wed., Jan. 6, 1965.
The Potter Enterprise, Coudersport, PA, Wed., Mar. 24, 1965.
The Potter Enterprise, Coudersport, PA, Wed., Jan. 26, 1966.
The Evening Times, Sayre, PA, Wed., Dec. 11, 1968.