First National Bank, Point Marion, PA (Charter 6114)

A 1922 photo of the First National Bank of Point Marion, Pennsylvania. Courtesy of Jerry Dzara

First National Bank, Point Marion, PA (Chartered 1902 - Open past 1935)

Town History

The Clock on the First National Bank of Point Marion. Courtesy of Jerry Dzara

Point Marion is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,159 at the 2010 census, down from 1,333 at the 2000 census.

Point Marion is located at the confluence of the Monongahela and Cheat rivers. Approximately 3 miles north of Point Marion is Friendship Hill National Historic Site, home of early American politician Albert Gallatin. Point Marion was settled in the mid-18th century and named in 1842 for its geographic location and Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox", a South Carolinian who never saw the town.

Houze Glass Co., located in the borough, was the primary employer. The company was founded by Leon Houze, a Belgian immigrant, in 1902 as a glassware manufacturer, but later branched into silkscreen printing and decorating. The company closed in 2004 and the plant was later auctioned off.

The Albert Gallatin Memorial Bridge across the Monongahela River was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Marion Bridge in 1988. It was demolished November 16, 2009, and replaced with a new bridge.

Point Marion had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized December 23, 1901
Chartered January 31, 1902
Opened for business February 10, 1902
Succeeded Merchants and Mechanics Bank
Bank was Open past 1935
Acquired by the Gallatin National Bank in 1955

In December 1901, Representative Ernest F. Acheson filed the application to organize the First National Bank of Point Marion, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, with the comptroller of the currency. Organizers were John A. Clarke, H.J. Sidwell, J.B. Johnson, A.S. Mapel, and Simeon McCain who managed to raise capital of $25,000. The directors elected were Elmer Cagey, E. Titus, W.J. Lyons, Dr. S.B. Owen, J.L. Conn, J.E. Sturgis, and A.S. Mapel. The officers elected were Elmer Cagey, president; Dr. Spencer B. Owen, vice president, and W.O. Foley, Cashier.

The first series of 1902 red seal 10-10-10-20 sheets were printed for The Paintsville National Bank of Kentucky, Charter 6100, arriving at the Comptroller of the Currency's office March 17, 1902. They were made a month before the Act of April 12, 1902 was passed. For Point Marion, the serial number 1 sheet would have had treasury serial number A1021, clearly dating production and delivery to the same day or nearly the same day for The First National Bank of Point Marion.

On September 15, 1953, Milo K. Ruse, former president of the First National Bank of Point Marion, was given a three-year suspended jail sentence and place on three years' probation for embezzling $150,000 of the bank's money. He started at the point Marion bank in Fayette County at the age of 17 as a teller-bookkeeper. The money was taken for stock speculation in American Telephone and Telegraph in his own name and then later replaced. He had certified that the money was used to purchase U.S. government bonds, although the bonds were never bought. He was arrested February 6, 1952.

On October 8, 1954, Joseph McCort, former teller at the First National Bank of Point Marion, was arrested after a depositor complained about withdrawals from his account. McCort was in Morgantown, WV where he was enrolled at the university. The warrant charged that McCort used a $900 false withdrawal slip to cover $521 in Christmas savings he had taken earlier. He admitted to embezzlements over a period of January 16 to August 25, 1954 when he was fired by the bank. He took the money to defray his university expenses--he had a wife and a two-month old baby.

Sale of the First National Bank of Point Marion to the Gallatin National Bank was announced by the directors on March 11, 1955, subject to approval by stockholders. Presidents of the First National, established in 1902, were Elmer Cagey, J.F. Burchinal, Lloyd W. Cagey, a son of the first president, serving until his death in 1949. Following his death, Peter Emmenegger, William H. Board, Milo K. Ruse, Carl R. Mapel, Jules J. Quertinmont, and Robert A Jarvis served as president. George W. Breakwell would manage the Point Marion office of the Gallatin National Bank.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Point Marion, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $20 bank note with pen signatures of William O. Foley, Cashier and Elmer Cagey, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of E.E. Beardsley, Cashier and J.F. Burchinal, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $558,120 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1902 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 44,852 notes (34,000 large size and 10,852 small size notes).

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

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 1800
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 2160
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	2161 - 3562	Plate dated 1901
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 3138	Plate dated 1921
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 1028
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 294
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 2224
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 696

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1902 - 1936):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

James Estep Sturgis, Vice President, 1903...1917 Signature
There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Point Marion, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Marion,_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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
"Treasury Serial Numbering on National Bank Notes," Peter Huntoon.
Pittsburgh daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Dec. 10, 1901.
The Weekly Courier, Connellsville, PA, Fri., Jan. 3, 1902.
The Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA, Fri., Mar. 11, 1955.