First National Bank, Niles, OH (Charter 4190)
First National Bank, Niles, OH (Chartered 1889 - Receivership 1908)
Town History
Niles is a city in southern Trumbull County, Ohio, situated at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek. It is a suburb of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. Niles is best known as the birthplace of William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States. Located in the nation's former industrial belt, the city's economy focused initially on iron manufacturing but later diversified to include steel and glass production. After the decline of the manufacturing sector throughout the northern United States in the 1970s, Niles has adapted to become a retail hub for the northern Mahoning Valley, with development centered around the Eastwood Mall complex and along the U.S. Route 422 corridor. The city's population was 18,443 at the 2020 census. The population in 1890 was 4,280, growing to 8,361 by 1910.
Niles was founded in 1806 by James Heaton, who owned one of the first iron-ore processing plants in Ohio. The town originally went by the name of Heaton's Furnace but was later renamed Nilestown, after Hezekiah Niles (editor of the Niles Register, a Baltimore newspaper). In 1843, the name was shortened to Niles. In the early 19th century, Heaton built a forge and, later, a charcoal blast furnace in the area just east of what is now the city's central park, on the west side of Mosquito Creek. Heaton is credited with producing the first bar iron in Ohio.
Niles had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized November 20, 1889
- Chartered December 28, 1889
- Assumed 4977 January 10, 1905 (City National Bank, Niles, OH)
- Receivership September 3, 1908
- Succeeded by Niles Trust Co.
On December 18, 1889, at a meeting of the directors of the First national Bank, the following gentlemen were elected officers: H.H. Mason, president; John H. Park, vice president; Charles R. Mayers, cashier; and W. Cameron, teller.[1] On December 28, 1889, the First National Bank of Niles, Ohio, was authorized to begin business with capital of $50,000.[2]
In February 1894, Comptroller Eckels approved the following change in officers for the First National Bank of Niles: R.G. Sykes, president in place of J.R. Thomas; Wade A. Taylor, assistant cashier.[3]
On February 29, 1904, W. Aubrey Thomas, the well-known iron manufacturer of Niles, announced his candidacy for Congress. Mr. Thomas became a candidate to succeed Hon. Charles W.F. Dick who resigned. Although active in politics for many years, Mr. Thomas had not held any office of consequence.[4]
On August 3, 1904, John H. Park, pioneer of Trumbull County, died at his home in Niles. He was born May 23, 1822 in the little settlement of Welles, Rutland County, Vermont. Four years later his parents moved to Essex County, New York and in 1831 they came to Ohio, settling in Weathersfield Township near the salt springs. There, a clearing was made in the virgin forest and a cabin erected. Mr. Park began teaching school when 18 years of age. During most of his life, Mr. Park was a farmer, but for three years he kept books for his brother S.W. Park; was in the manufacturing business at Hudson; had a sawmill in Lordstown; and was in the grocery business in Niles. He was one of the incorporators of the First national Bank of Niles and served as its vice president. He was interested in the Bostwick Steel lath Co., the Niles Car and Manufacturing Co. of Niles and the basket factory at Newton Falls. Mr. Park became a Mason in 1840 and always kept up his membership. He was a great reader and had a fine library. Mr. Park enlisted in the 100-day call-up early in the Civil War and later went to the front in the spring of 1864.[5]
On November 14, 1904, new Ohio corporations included The Dollar Savings Bank, Niles, by E.W. Stillwagon and others; capital $100,000.[6]
On September 3, 1908, the First National Bank of Niles was closed under orders of the comptroller of the currency after a fight of many months to keep the institution open. President William Herbert stated the bank felt severely the depression of the previous fall and that it ever since had struggled to get back into a position of safety. The filing of a suit for $70,000 was the last straw which broke it. The suit was brought by P. Tillinghast, the receiver of the First National Bank of Rock Creek, Ohio, to recover on paper bought by that bank under the guarantee of the Niles institution. Mr. Herbert said that if the suit had been held off a while his bank almost certainly would have pulled through. The bank had taken steps toward a reorganization, the plan asked the comptroller of the currency to permit a reduction of the capital from $300,000 to $150,000, a move which was believed would permit the bank to take up the doubtful paper dragging them down. The comptroller's office gave as reason for refusing the plan the suit by the Rock Creek bank. Paper of the Akron China Co. and the Mercantile Importing Co. of Chicago was also said to have helped weigh the bank down. The stockholders and board of directors were businessmen of Niles with C.P. Wilson of Youngstown the vice president. The bank had been run without a cashier since the resignation of E.J. Job on April 1st. Job went to Ashland, Kentucky, where he bought a steel mill which he operated under the name of Job Iron & Steel Company.[7]
In September 1909, the defunct First National Bank of Niles, Ohio, filed suit against E.J. Job asking judgment in the sum of $30,857.23. The petition stated that in the United States circuit court in Kentucky during the Main term, 1909, Receiver Philip Tillingham secured a judgment against Job in the sum of $33,335.98. Of this amount, $2,478.80 had been paid and the amount sued for was the balance claimed yet due.[8]
In August 1916, the first consignment of McKinley souvenir gold dollars minted for the benefit of the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial Association was on deposit with the Niles Trust Company at Niles. There were $10,000 dollars in the first installment with more to follow as fast as required by the association. Congress authorized the minting of 100,000 coins at the request of the association. A premium of $1.50 was expected to be charged which would mean $150,000 for an endowment fund for the association.[9]
The Niles Trust Company failed to open its doors on September 28, 1931. The trust company had deposits of approximately $2,400,000 and resources of about $2,600,000. It was capitalized at $150,000 and R.L. McCorkle was its president.[10] The Niles Trust Company was succeeded in 1933 by the Niles Bank Company.[11]
Official Bank Title
1: The First National Bank of Niles, OH
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $667,400 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1889 and 1908. This consisted of a total of 53,786 notes (53,786 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 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 10335 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 1891 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 2441
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1889 - 1908):
Presidents:
- Henry Harrison Mason, 1890-1892
- John Rhys Thomas, 1893-1893
- Raymond Gilson Sykes, 1894-1900
- Andrew J. Leitch, 1901-1903
- Hon. William Aubrey Thomas, 1904-1906
- William Herbert, 1907-1907
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Niles, 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
- ↑ The Cleveland Leader, Cleveland, OH, Fri., Dec. 20, 1889.
- ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph, Bucyrus, OH, Mon., Dec. 30, 1889.
- ↑ The Cleveland Leader, Cleveland, OH, Tue., Feb. 27, 1894.
- ↑ The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH, Tue., Mar. 1, 1904.
- ↑ John H. Park on Findagrave.com
- ↑ The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH, Tue., Nov. 15, 1904.
- ↑ The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH, Fri., Sep. 4, 1908.
- ↑ The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH, Fri., Oct. 1, 1909.
- ↑ The Salem News, Salem, OH, Thu., Aug. 10, 1916.
- ↑ The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Tue., Sep. 29, 1931.
- ↑ The Galion Inquirer, Galion, OH, Wed., June 14, 1933.