First National Bank, Wesley, IA (Charter 5457)

Postcard of the First National Bank building ca. 1910. Courtesy of Mark Hotz

First National Bank, Wesley, IA (Chartered 1900 - Receivership 1928)

Town History

Photo of the First National Bank building in 2014. It has since been razed.

Wesley is located in Kossuth County in north central Iowa.

Wesley was incorporated on April 13, 1892.

During the National Bank Note Era, the population of Wesley was 730 in 1900, dropping to 462 in 1930. It's highest population was 598 in 1980, and the current population is estimated at 378 (2016).

For more information on the town of Wesley, see their Wikipedia page.

Bank History

• Organized May 1, 1900
• Chartered Jun 26, 1900
• Succeeded Wesley State Bank
• Receivership Oct 12, 1928

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Wesley, IA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Value Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of (Faded), Cashier and Nathan Studer, President

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of Ihno A. Gerdes, Cashier and Julius Kunz, Vice President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Currency Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $295,650 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1928. This consisted of a total of 23,652 notes (23,652 large size and 0 small size notes).

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

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 1250
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1900
1882 Value Back	3x10-20	1901 - 2460
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 2203

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

First National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1928):

Presidents:

• Ignatius Nathan Studer, 1900-1901
• Stitzel X. Way, 1902-1906
• Ignatius Nathan Studer, 1906-1928

Cashiers:

• Stitzel X. Way, 1900-1901
• Theodore Doerfler, 1902-1911
• Ihno Arnold Gerdes, 1912-1928

Other Bank Note Signers

• Julius Kunz, Vice President (1907-1928)

Wiki Links

• Iowa Bank Note History
• General information on Wesley (Wikipedia)
• General information on Kossuth County (Wikipedia)
• General information on Iowa (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Wesley, IA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley,_Iowa
• 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