First National Bank, Munhall, PA (Charter 8795)

Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Munhall, PA (Chartered 1907 - Liquidated 1916)

Town History

Munhall is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Monongahela River, 8 miles south of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers where the Ohio River begins. It abuts the borough of Homestead. A post office called Munhall was established in 1887. The borough was formed on June 24, 1901, out of a part of Mifflin Township, and named for John Munhall, the original owner of the town site.

A large part of the Homestead Works of the Carnegie Steel Company existed in Munhall. Steel products were the only items made in Munhall in 1910 when 5,185 people lived here. In 1940, 13,900 people lived in Munhall. The population was 11,406 at the 2010 census. Munhall, along with the boroughs of Homestead and West Homestead, is served by the Steel Valley School District.

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

Bank History

Organized June 13, 1907
Chartered July 12, 1907
Opened for business July 15, 1907
Liquidated January 17, 1916
Absorbed by Monongahela Trust Company of Homestead

In April 1907, The comptroller of the currency approved the application to organize the First National Bank of Munhall, capital $50,000, made by Edward Rott, Homestead; Joseph Tomcsanyl, Bertalan Rauky, Michael Hann, and Julius Ryano. The bank organized by electing John G. Silveus, president; Ignatz Grossman, first vice president; Joseph Tomcsanyl, second vice president, and Edward Rott, cashier. The board consisted of the officers and William Clayton, Benjamin Friedlander, Paul Stand, William Wilkinson, and M. Ross. The new bank took over the private banking business of Joseph Tomcsanyl & Co.

In January 1910, the directors elected were John G. Silveus, L.E. Rott, A.E. Holt, William J. Wilkinson, William Clayton. M.H. Moss, B. Friedlander, and I. Grossman.

On December 7, 1915, announcement was made that control of the Homestead National Bank and the First National Bank of Munhall had been merged into the Monongahela Trust Co., Homestead. The Monongahela Trust Co. group in the past has included, besides its own institution, the First National Bank of Homestead and the Hays National Bank. This group is closely connected with the Mellon National Bank interests of Pittsburgh.

On Tuesday, January 11, 1916, banks and trust companies of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County held their annual elections. The Clayton anti-trust law prohibiting interlocking directorates resulted in numerous changes to boards of directors even though the law did not become operative until October. Practically all the banks deemed it convenient to make the changes at the regular election. The directors of the First National Bank of Munhall were Reid Kennedy, G.V.L. Wickerham, W.L. McConegly, G.F. Lloyd, Benjamin Friedlander, and Hugh Nevin.

On January 28, 1916, the comptroller of the currency announced the voluntary liquidation of the First National Bank of Munhall which was absorbed by the Monongahela Trust Company of Homestead. George F. Lloyd of Homestead was the liquidating agent.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Munhall, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Date Back $10 Proof approved October 14, 1908. The Red Seal plate was used once as only one set of printer's initials, RB, is seen before it was altered into its Date Back form. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 300
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 240
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 4625
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 3450
1902 Plain Back	4x5	4626 - 4685
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	3451 - 3474

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1907 - 1916):

Presidents:

John G. Silveus, 1907-1915

Cashiers:

Edward Rott, 1907-1913
Louis Edwin Rott, 1914-1915

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Munhall, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munhall,_Pennsylvania
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, Wed., May 1, 1907.
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Sun., June 23, 1907.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Jan. 12, 1910.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Dec. 8, 1915.
The Pittsburgh Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Jan. 12, 1916.
The Pittsburgh Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Jan. 29, 1916.