First National Bank, Mount Pleasant, OH (Charter 492)
First National Bank, Mount Pleasant, OH (Chartered 1864 - Liquidated 1903)
Town History
Mount Pleasant is a village in southern Jefferson County, Ohio. The population was 394 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. Founded in 1803 by anti-slavery Quakers, the village was an early center of abolitionist activity and a well-known haven for fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. It was named for its scenic landscape.
In 1817, Quaker Charles Osborn established The Philanthropist, the first newspaper in the country advocating the abolition of slavery, in Mount Pleasant. In 1821, the Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lundy started publishing The Genius of Universal Emancipation, another abolitionist newspaper, also in Mount Pleasant. The paper eventually moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Lundy's house is a National Historic Landmark.
Mount Pleasant had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, The First National Bank (Charter 492), the Mount Pleasant National Bank (Charter 6640), and Peoples National Bank (Charter 6667), and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Chartered August 5, 1864
- Succeeded Mount Pleasant (Branch), State Bank of Ohio
- Liquidated February 24, 1903
- Succeeded by 6640 (Mount Pleasant NB, Mount Pleasant, OH)
In March 1845, an act to incorporate the State Bank of Ohio and other banking companies passed the Ohio Legislature.[1] The General Banking Act of 1845 was also known as the "Kelley Bank Act," named after Alfred Kelley, the bill's Senate floor manager.[2]
Hosea Williams, whose portrait appears on $1 notes in 1860, was president of the Delaware Branch of the State Bank of Ohio in 1845. Judge Williams also served on both the Board of Control and Executive Committee of the State Bank of Ohio until the institution ceased operation.[3]
In November 1902, the application of R.W. Chambers, Oliver Thomas and others for authority to organize the Mt. Pleasant National Bank, Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, with a capital of $50,000 was approved.[4] In June 1903, the comptroller of the currency was advised that Charles E. Knox was cashier of the Mt. Pleasant National Bank.[5]
In February 1904, L. Grimes, formerly cashier of the Mingo-Junction First National Bank, was employed to examine the books of the old First National Bank of Mt. Pleasant, which went out of business by the expiration of its charter. The examination was demanded by a majority of stockholders. In August 1902, the financial statement showed $42,000 of surplus and undivided profits. Three months later the last report of the bank was filed and it showed only $10,000 in surplus and undivided profits. This created much consternation among the stockholders and caused a small run on the bank. Before the last report was filed, I.K. Ratcliff resigned, sold his property, and moved to Chicago and the report was made by the new cashier, E.B. Jones. The shrinkage of $32,000 was explained by the statement that it represented losses on loans which had been made on western real estate years earlier, but had been carried on the books simply as loans. In the Spring of 1903, directors paid stockholders a 50% dividend on their stock and nothing had since been paid. Values on western lands had shrunk considerably while other loans were near home, including one to the defunct Altman-Miller Company at Akron.[6]
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Mount Pleasant, OH
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $736,450 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 1903. This consisted of a total of 78,716 notes (78,716 large size and No small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 3000 Assumed, not observed, Mountpleasant with no space Original Series 4x5 1 - 3750 Assumed, not observed, Mountpleasant with no space Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 4600 Mountpleasant with no space Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 3112 Mountpleasant with no space 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 5217 Mountpleasant with no space
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 1903):
Presidents:
- William Price, 1864-1873
- Hon. Dr. Jonathan Taylor Updegraff, 1874-1877
- James Hannah Gill, 1878-1881
- Robert Wallace Chambers, 1882-1902
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Mount Pleasant, OH, 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
- ↑ Huron Reflector, Norwalk, OH, Tue., Mar. 4, 1845.
- ↑ Paper Money, January/February 2004, Whole No. 229, p. 5.
- ↑ Paper Money, January/February 2004, Whole No. 229, p. 15.
- ↑ The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Sat., Nov. 15, 1902.
- ↑ The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Tue., June 19, 1903.
- ↑ The Evening Review, East Liverpool, OH, Thu., Feb. 4, 1904.