First National Bank, Whitestone, NY (Charter 8957)

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Postcard, ca 1900s, of Frank J. O'Rourke's Drug Store located on 8th Avenue. Next door the First National Bank of Whitestone, New York, opened for business in 1907. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

First National Bank, Whitestone, NY (Chartered 1907 - Liquidated 1928)

Town History

Whitestone is a residential neighborhood in the northernmost part of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood proper is located between the East River to the north; College Point and Whitestone Expressway to the west; Flushing and 25th Avenue to the south; and Bayside and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the east.

Dutch settlers derived the name of the town from limestone that used to lie on the shore of the river according to a popular tradition. This tradition is supported by 17th century wills and deeds, which may be found in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, that refer to "the white stone" as a local landmark and survey reference point.

The area was, in large part, the estate of Francis Lewis, a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The estate was the site of a British raid during the Revolutionary War. Lewis was not present but his wife was taken prisoner and his house was burned to the ground. For a period of time Whitestone was called Clintonville after Dewitt Clinton, the former governor of New York; this etymology is present in the name of Clintonville Street, located in the neighborhood. In the late 19th century, many wealthy New Yorkers began building mansions in the area, on what had once been farmland or woodland. Rapid development of the area ensued in the 1920s, however, as trolley and Long Island Rail Road train service on the Whitestone Branch was expanded into the neighborhood. Although this rail service ended during the Great Depression, part of the right-of-way was later used by Robert Moses to help construct the Belt Parkway, which includes the Whitestone Expressway which runs along the southeast edge of the former Flushing Airport and through Whitestone. Flushing Airport has been abandoned since 1985.

Whitestone had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

A 1920 advertisement for the Bank of the Manhattan Company with a history of the bank and the officers.[1]
  • Organized September 26, 1907
  • Chartered December 5, 1907
  • Opened for business December 9, 1907
  • Liquidated August 15, 1928
  • Succeeded by First Bank of Whitestone

In September 1907, the application to organize the First National Bank of Whitestone, New York, capital $50,000, was approved. Edwin P. Roe, Henry Bohne, William Taft, Clinton T. Roe, and S.G. Beals were applicants with Seth H. Rice, correspondent.[2] The bank planned to open in the early part of November in the Laubmeister Building on Eighth Avenue near 18th Street. This would be Whitestone's first banking institution. For many years the local merchants and others had been handicapped by having to carry their bank accounts with out-of-town banks. The past summer, the matter of Whitestone having a bank of its own was agitated by a number of prominent citizens with the result that in a very short time sufficient money had been subscribed for such an institution. The directors of the new bank were Henry C. Buncke, John D. Martens, J. Eberhardt, Clinton T. Roe, Edwin P. Roe, Peter Zipf, Henry Bochne, Capt. I.J. Merritt, S.G. Beals, John R. Townsend, Lawrence Collins, William Taft, Clarence D. Hodson, D.A. Skinnell, Charles Webber, Charles F. Peace, D.R. Lewis, and Heinrick Dorzoacher.[3] On October 16, officers were announced as follows: Edwin P. Roe, president; S.G. Beals, first vice president; John R. Townsend, second vice president; Moses Worms, treasurer. The election of cashier and other office positions were pending.[4] In December, C. Brokaw was announced as cashier.[5]

On Tuesday, January 21, 1908, the First National Bank of Whitestone elected the following officers for the ensuing year: Edwin P. Roe, president; S.G. Beals, first vice president; John R. Townsend, second vice president; Theodore P. Brokaw, cashier; John D. Martens, Charles Weber, Laurence Collins, Elmer A. Keeler, William Taft, Herman Knoblock, John R. Townsend, Henry Buncke, C.T. Roe, Henry Bohne, Daniel A. Skinnel, John Eberhardt, S.G. Beals, and E.P. Roe.[6]

On Tuesday, February 22, 1910, the First National of Whitestone formally opened for business in the new building. The officers of the bank were Edwin P. Roe, president; Henry C. Buncke and S. Granville Beals, vice presidents; and J.W. Stanley, cashier. The new bank building which had been under construction for several months was situated in the center of Whitestone's business street, Eighth Avenue and was within easy access of all parts of the village. The front of the building was of white brick faced with stone. It was two stories high and designed in a Greek pattern.[7]

On Tuesday, January 13, 1914, Stockholders elected the following directors: Henry C. Buncke, Edwin P. Roe, Clinton T. Roe, John R. Townsend, Charles Weber, S. Granville Beals, Herman Knoblock, Elmer A. Keeler, John R. Merritt, Henry Bohne, H.B. Peace, John Eberhardt, William Pankok, John D. Martens, and Daniel Skinnell.[8] The directors re-elected the following officers: Edwin P. Roe, president; Henry C. Buncke and S. Granville Beals, vice presidents; and J.W. Stanley, cashier.[9]

A 1928 advertisement for the Brooklyn offices of the Bank of the Manhattan Company.[10]
In January 1928, recent changes in the officers of the Bank of Manhattan Company included Stephen Baker who had been president of the bank, now chairman of the board.  Mr. Baker was succeeded as president by his son, John Stewart Baker. P.A. Rowley, heretofore in charge of Brooklyn and Queens, became vice chairman of the board, and E.S. Macdonald succeeded him in charge of the Queens and Brooklyn division.[11]

On Friday, June 8, 1928, presidents of four Queens banks commented on the merger of their institutions with the Bank of the Manhattan Company, terms of which had been approved by directors on Thursday. The four banks involved were the Flushing National Bank, Bayside National Bank, First National Bank of Whitestone, and the Queens-Bellaire Bank. The staffs of all four institutions would enter the organization of the Bank of the Manhattan Company which would have 40 branches in Queens once the merger became effective.[12] On August 18, 1928, the State Banking Department in Albany announced an organization certificate for the First Bank of Whitestone, Whitestone, Queens, a conversion of First National Bank of Whitestone, and authorization certificate issued, capital $100,000.[13] On Thursday, October 18, 1928, directors of the Flushing National Bank, the First National Bank of Whitestone, the Bayside National Bank and the Queens-Bellaire Bank were guests at a dinner tendered by the Bank of the Manhattan Company. E.S. MacDonald, vice president in charge of Brooklyn and Queens branches of the Bank of the Manhattan Co., presided. The dinner was held at Sherry's, 300 Park Ave., Manhattan. Members of the Brooklyn and Queens advisory board also were guests. Speakers at the dinner were P.A. Rowley, vice chairman of the board of the Bank of the Manhattan Company, and Elmer G. Story, William Callister, Edwin Roe, and Clarence M. Lowes, presidents respectively of Bayside, Queens-Bellaire, Whitestone, and Flushing banks.[14] On Tuesday, October 23rd, Stockholders of the Bank of the Manhattan Company ratified an increase in the capital from $12,500,000 to $15,000,000 and the removal of the bank's stock from listing on the Stock Exchange. The merger would give the Bank of the Manhattan Company two additional branches in Queens. The offices of the Queens-Bellaire Bank at 215-48 Jamaica Ave., Queens Village, and the First Bank of Whitestone at 13 N. 5th Ave., Whitestone, would become branches of the Manhattan Bank, while the Flushing and Bayside banks would be consolidated with the present Bayside branch of the institution at 41-04 Bell Blvd.[15]

Official Bank Title

1: The First National Bank of Whitestone, NY

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $10 bank note with pen signatures of Theo. P. Brokaw, Jr., Cashier and Edwin P. Roe, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $204,450 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1907 and 1928. This consisted of a total of 16,356 notes (16,356 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
1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 500
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1720
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1721 - 3589

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1907 - 1928):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

  • No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Whitestone, NY, 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
  1. The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 101, 1920, p. 136.
  2. The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, Thu., Sep. 19, 1907.
  3. Times Union, Brooklyn, NY, Fri., Oct. 11, 1907.
  4. Times Union, Brooklyn, NY, Wed., Oct. 16, 1907.
  5. Times Union, Brooklyn, NY, Fri., Dec. 6, 1907.
  6. Times Union, Brooklyn, NY, Tue., Jan. 21, 1908.
  7. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, Fri., Feb. 18, 1910.
  8. Times Union, Brooklyn, NY, Thu., Jan. 15, 1914.
  9. Times Union, Brooklyn, NY, Thu., Jan. 22, 1914.
  10. Times Union, Brooklyn, NY, Thu., Jan. 12, 1928.
  11. The Chat, Brooklyn, NY, Sat., Jan. 7, 1928.
  12. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, Fri., June 8, 1928.
  13. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, Sun., Aug. 19, 1928.
  14. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, Fri., Oct. 19, 1928.
  15. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, Tue., Oct. 23, 1928.