First National Bank, Teague, TX (Charter 8195)

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Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.
Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Teague, TX (Chartered 1906 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Teague is a city in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,384 at the 2020 census. In 1910 the population was 3,288, growing to 3,509 by 1930.

The area was first settled around the time of the Civil War. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, a small community known as "Brewer" grew up at the site. The 1895 Rand McNally atlas shows Brewer with a post office and no express office or railroad.

The residents incorporated the new town as "Teague" in 1906, named after Betty Teague, the niece of railroad magnate Benjamin Franklin Yoakum, who was building the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway through the county at the time.

Teague had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the First National Bank (Charter 8195) and the Teague National Bank (Charter 13067). Both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

  • Organized March 27, 1906
  • Chartered April 28, 1906
  • Bank was Open past 1935
  • Failed November 14, 1985

On April 28, 1906, the First National Bank of Teague was authorized to begin business with a capital of $50,000. W.E. Richards was president; M. Sweeney, vice president; and E.B. St. Clair, cashier. The directors were W.E. Richards, president, Townsite Co.; Jos. Nussbaum, president, First National Bank of Mexia; M. Sweeney, vice president and general manager; T.J. Hall, Merchant; Wm. Malone, Claim Agent, Trinity and Brazos Valley (T&BV) Railway; Gordon King, merchant; and W.L. Lott, stockman.

In April 1931, the First National Bank observed its quarter century anniversary. Notable among the original stockholders were Senator Charles A. Culberson who served as Governor of Texas 1894-1898; Col. E.M. House, confidential advisor to President Wilson during the World War and at that time treasurer of the T&BV Railway; Hon. W.R. Boyd, Jr., the vice president of the American Petroleum Institute in New York; R.H. Baker of Austin, president of the T & BV Railway; Guy M. Bryan, current president of the Second National Bank of Houston. Two others, T.J. Hall and Jos. Nussbaum, were well known in the area.

In January 1945, controlling interest in the City National Bank and the Prendergast-Smith National Bank of Mexia was purchased by J.E. Woods and Irvin McCreary of Temple. The two banks were consolidated as the First National Bank of Mexia. Woods, former president of the Texas Bankers' Association and a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas also purchased the First National Bank of Teague and consolidated it with the Teague National Bank which he owned and operated for many years. The new bank would be known as the First National Bank of Teague. Resources of the new Mexia bank totaled $2,945,636. Resources of the Teague bank were $3,079,448.

On November 18, 1946, W.E. Richards, 76, Texas banker, died in Dallas. He was associated at various times with more than 30 banks, serving as president of several South Texas banks, including the American Bank and Trust Company of Houston.

At the close of business, December 31, 1951, depositors had $2,776,239 and the bank's resources were listed as $3,002,139. Capital stock was $50,000. The directors were J.E. Woods, Herbert Neyland, Dr. W.P. Harrison, W.E. Riley, and E.R. Simmons. Officers were Mr. Woods, president; Mr. Neyland, executive vice president; Dr. Harrison and C.A. Dunn, vice presidents; Clydell McSpadden, cashier; and P.W. Curry, Mrs. Jewell Doss, and Ceryl McDonald, assistant cashiers.

On September 27, 1961, Clydell McSpadden was elected director and president. McSpadden started his banking career in Teague in 1927 when he was 17 and was associated with Teague banks since. He succeeded the late Herbert Neyland as president. Neyland had been head of the First National since 1955. McSpadden was named vice president in 1954 and executive vice president in 1955.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was unable to sell the failed First National Bank of Teague and decided to pay off its insured depositors. The bank was declared insolvent November 14, 1985. It held $26.3 million in deposits in 5,400 accounts. The FDIC estimated that all but $465,000 worth of deposits in 40 accounts were within the federal insurance limit of $100,000 or were otherwise secured. Poor management and lending practices were cited as the reasons by the Comptroller of the Currency for closing the bank. There was no evidence of fraud or insider abuse. Todd Gaudin was president having replaced Craig McSpadden in May.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Teague, TX

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Date Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of Robert F. Riley, Cashier and E.B. St. Clair, President.
1902 Date Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of Robert F. Riley, Cashier and E.B. St. Clair, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Robert F. Riley, Cashier and John Riley, President.
1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Robert F. Riley, Cashier and John Riley, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,047,700 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1906 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 131,816 notes (102,032 large size and 29,784 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 4x5 1 - 1450
1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 1160
1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 3750
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2700
1902 Plain Back 4x5 3751 - 13800
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 2701 - 9098
1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 2410
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1126
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 310
1929 Type 2 5 1 - 3948
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 2220
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 540

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1906 - 1935):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

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

Wiki Links

Sources

  • Teague, TX, 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 Houston Post, Houston, TX, Sat., May 5, 1906.
  • The Fort Worth Record and Register, Fort Worth, TX, Sun., Oct. 14, 1906.
  • Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, TX, Sat., Apr. 25, 1931.
  • Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Wed., Jan., 3, 1945.
  • Lubbock Evening Journal, Lubbock, TX, Nov. 19, 1946.
  • The Mexia Daily News, Sun., Jan. 6, 1952.
  • Waco Tribune-Herald, Waco, TX, Sun., Oct. 1, 1961.
  • Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Sat., Nov. 16, 1985.
  • Longview News-Journal, Longview, TX., Sun., Nov. 17, 1985.