First National Bank, New Paris, OH (Charter 9211)
First National Bank, New Paris, OH (Chartered 1908 - Closed (Merger) 1978)
Town History
New Paris is a village in Preble County, Ohio. The population was 1,494 at the 2020 census. In 1900, the population was 790, growing to 925 by 1930. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
New Paris was platted in 1817, and named after Paris, Kentucky, the former home of a share of the first settlers. A post office called New Paris has been in operation since 1820. Richmond, Indiana is located about 6 miles west and Eaton, Ohio, is about 12 miles southeast of New Paris.
New Paris had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 25, 1908
- Chartered July 31, 1908
- Opened for business August 3, 1908
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Eaton National Bank and Trust Co in Eaton, OH, September 1, 1978
On June 25, 1908, the First National Bank of New Paris, Ohio, was organized with a capital of $25,000. Samuel W. Gaar, cashier of the Second National Bank of Richmond, Indiana, was elected president of the new financial institution which assumed the business of the People's Bank. The People's Bank suspended operations due to the death of the proprietor, J. Albert Peelle; the new bank was necessary to close up the Peelle estate. Stockholders elected the following board of directors for the ensuing year: S.W. Gaar, Richmond; C.A. Hawley, C.M. Benson, Ellwood Coblentz, G.L. Lyne, C.W. Bloom, and M.H. Pence, all of New Paris. The directors elected the following officers: S.W. Gaar, president; C.A. Hawley, vice president; M.H. Pence, cashier; and Marie E. Peelle, assistant cashier. Miss Peelle filled the same position in the People's Bank which was owned and operated by her father, the late J.A. Peelle. New Paris and vicinity was one of the most prosperous agricultural districts in the middle west.
In January 1919, the tenth annual meeting of the First National Bank was held in the banking room. Stockholders ratified an agreement for the merger of the Farmers' Bank and the First National, subject to approval by the State and National authorities. It was hoped to have the merger completed by March 1st. The Farmers Bank was organized by Horace G. Bloom who operated private banks at New Madison, Eldorado, and New Paris. Following his death, the banks at New Paris and New Madison continued to operate as private banks. The consolidation of the two banks would give the First National resources near the quarter of a million mark, making it one of the strongest banks in the county. In the election of directors of the First National, J.A. Garretson, S.C. Richie, M.H. Pence, C.W. Bloom, H.M. Engle, Elwood Coblentz, and Calvin Middaugh were named who in turn named J.A. Garretson, president; S.C. Richie, vice president; M.H. Pence, cashier; and Miss Helen Sawyer, bookkeeper. S.C. Richie had served as president of the Farmers Bank for the past 12 years. Several changes were being made to the banking room to accommodate the business of the merged banks. The officials had recently bought the big safe used by the treasurer of the county and installed a nest of safety deposit boxes in this safe to add to the convenience of the bank's patrons.
On Tuesday, January 13, 1920, the officers were re-elected and E.C. Mikesell was elected to succeed the late C.W. Bloom. The directors were J.A. Garretson, S.C. Richie, E.C. Mikesell, Calvin Middaugh, Elwood Coblentz, and M.F. Engle.
On April 10, 1929, Milton H. Pence, 70, retired president of the First National Bank of New Paris and vice president of the American Roque League, died at his home in New Paris. Fr. Pence aided in the organization of the Fountain City, Indiana, bank and was part owner of the institution. He was formerly postmaster of New Paris.
On March 15, 1934, T.A. Dougherty resigned as cashier of the Farmers State Bank, Boston, Indiana, to accept appointment as cashier of the First National Bank of New Paris, effective April 1st.
In January 1957, stockholders re-elected all directors as follows: C.P. Jones, E.O. Radford, V.C. Reid, W.M. Mikesell, and F.J. Coblentz, all of New Paris. Officers re-elected were C.P. Jones, president; E.O. Radford, vice president; Paul Mikesell, cashier; Carrie Haller, assistant cashier; and Marion Culbertson, bookkeeper.
In December 1977, the First National Bank of New Paris and the Eaton National Bank and Trust Company were merging according to a joint announcement by Paul Mikesell, vice president and cashier of the New Paris bank and Everett L. Maffett, president of the Eaton Bank. Assets of the New Paris bank were $6 million while those of the Eaton bank were $29 million. The merger was expect to take several months to complete and was a step in the growth program of Eaton National which opened a branch the previous year in West Alexandria and was undergoing a $650,000 remodeling and reconstruction project at the main building on 110 West Main Street, Eaton.
In January 1978, stockholders elected the following directors: Everett L. Maffett, William S. Clayton, Wilbur M. Mikesell, Paul W. Mikesell, and Donald Brower. Following the stockholders' meeting, the directors election Wilbur M. Mikesell, president; Paul W. Mikesell, vice president and cashier; and Paul Beck, assistant cashier. The Eaton National Bank and Trust Company and the First National Bank of New Paris merged effective Friday, September 1st, 1978. John Bettelon was the new vice president and manager of the New Paris branch of the Eaton National bank and Trust Company. He was an assistant vice president of Second National Bank of Richmond.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of New Paris, OH
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $382,440 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1908 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 30,741 notes (25,128 large size and 5,613 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 - 2260 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 2261 - 6282 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 696 658 Not issued 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 202 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 210 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 15
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1908 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Samuel W. Gaar, 1908-1909
- Dr. Crittenden Augustus Hawley, 1910-1914
- Joel Albert Garretson, 1915-1927
- Milton H. Pence, 1928-1928
- Samuel Charles Richie, 1929-1931
- William Franklin Engle, 1932-1932
- Charles P. Jones, 1933-1935
Cashiers:
- Milton H. Pence, 1908-1927
- Trafford Boyd, 1928-1930
- Walter F. Shultz, 1931-1933
- Thomas Ambrose Dougherty, 1934-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- New Paris, 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
- Palladium-Item, Richmond, IN, Fri., June 26, 1908.
- The Richmond Item, Richmond, IN, Sat., July 11, 1908.
- The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN, Tue., Aug. 4, 1908.
- The Richmond Item, Richmond, IN, Sun., Jan. 19, 1919.
- The Richmond Item, Richmond, IN, Fri., Jan. 16, 1920.
- The Star Press, Muncie, IN, April 11, 1929.
- The Richmond Item, Richmond, IN, Fri., Mar. 16, 1934.
- Palladium-Item, Richmond, IN, Wed., Jan. 9, 1957.
- Palladium-Item, Richmond, IN, Wed., Dec. 7, 1977.
- Palladium-Item, Richmond, IN, Wed., Feb. 1, 1978.