First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, PA (Charter 4728)

Postcard of the old First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, ca1930s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, PA (Chartered 1892 - Receivership 1933)

Town History

The First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, located on the corner of Penn and Wood Streets, ca2020. Courtesy of Google Maps

Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with a population of 15,930 as of the 2010 census. Wilkinsburg is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough of Wilkinsburg was named for John Wilkins Jr., a United States Army officer who served as Quartermaster General of the United States Army from 1796 to 1802.

Modern broadcasting as known in its current form began when Wilkinsburg resident Frank Conrad spearheaded a radio laboratory at his home, coordinated with Westinghouse Electric Corporation and the United States Signal Corps, under a special war time permit (using call signs 2-WM and 2-WE). After moving from Swissvale to Wilkinsburg, Conrad installed a radio station on the top floor of his backyard two-story garage, with a microphone, where he worked into the wee hours of the morning, eventually resulting in the development of modern broadcasting, as do it yourself listeners who had made their own crystal radio sets began to respond, some quite enthused by the music broadcast when Frank Conrad coupled a phonograph to radio. Wilkinsburg thus became the original location for modern broadcasting, combining the concepts of "the station, the audience, the programs, and a means to pay for the programs" after Conrad accepted a donation from a Wilkinsburg music store to promote its musical offerings. This was all before and leading up to KDKA and the development of commercial radio. In 1916, KDKA began broadcasting, as experimental station 8XK, from the Westinghouse plant in East Pittsburgh and in a small garage owned by Frank Conrad, before it was launched with its current call letters on November 2, 1920. In 1923, Wilkinsburg-based Russian immigrant Vladimir Zworykin designed and patented the iconoscope, the photocell "eye" of early television cameras.

Wilkinsburg had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized April 2, 1892
Chartered April 19, 1892
Assumed 5265 and its circulation by consolidation July 16, 1930 (Central National Bank, Wilkinsburg, PA)
Conservatorship March 22, 1933
Receivership December 5, 1933
Succeeded by The First National Bank at Wilkinsburg, Charter 13823

In March 1892, all the required capital stock of $50,000 for the new First National Bank of Wilkinsburg was subscribed in the borough, and the new institution was readying for business. A meeting of the stockholders was planned to be held in the bank room on Wood street, on Saturday evening at 7:30, to elect the directors and complete the organization. On April 19, the Comptroller of the Currency authorized the First National Bank to begin business with $50,000 in capital. The officers were A.W. Duff, President; T.D. Turner, vice president; P.J. Pierce, cashier; J. Weinman, W.T. Mitchell, W.C. Lyne, and Drs. H.S. Pershing and J.E. Rigg, directors. The bank opened on Wednesday morning, April 27.

In January 1914, the directors elected were Peter J. Pierce, Dr. F.S. Pershing, Dr. John E. Rigg, Jacob Weinman, A.J. Puffinburg, R.G. Yingling, Frederick L. Graf, William J. Mitchell, Harry W. McIntosh, George W. Black, John S. Hooper, and John E. Peterson. The last three named were new directors added for the coming year.

In January 1917, the directors elected were P.J. Pierce, F.S. Pershing, Jacob Weinman, Fred L. Graf, W.I. Mitchell, Harry W. McIntosh, A.J. Puffinburg, George W. Black, John S. Hooper, and R.G. Yingling.

On Monday, July 7, 1919, Frank Clark, formerly paying teller at the First National Bank, Wilkinsburg was arrested based on information made by National Bank Examiner J. Frank Miller. Miller worked on the case since it became known that someone had stolen approximately $30,000 from the bank on May 12. Officials of the bank said that they had nothing to do with the arrest of the former teller. He was given, a hearing before United States Commissioner Roger Knox and released under bail. In a formal statement issued last night officials of the institution said a shortage in the paying teller's cash of $30,450 had been discovered May 12 and that $650 of this had been found the same day in the bank cellar. The directors of the bank and directors of the Wilkinsburg Real Estate and Trust Company, which owns stock in the First National, voluntarily paid $26,000 into the bank; charging the difference between this and the amount stolen to profit and loss. Officials said, since the discovery of the loss a thorough examination into the affairs of the bank was made and that no discrepancy had been found in the books or accounts of the institution. Clark had been employed by the bank for the past nine years.

In relating the incidents that took place the night the loss was discovered, the bank examiner said Clark had gone to the vault of the bank to get his currency and silver for the Saturday night business. He said after the books had been balanced, following the closing of the bank, the teller had reported that his keys, which had been left in the door of the vault, were missing and that the money had been taken. Mr. McIntosh said directors of the bank had every confidence in Clark, and that he had seemed to possess all the qualities desired in a man in his capacity. He said he was prompt, courteous, efficient and accurate, and had been well liked by patrons of the institution.

Efforts to find the owner of $5,500 in bills found Saturday, October 4, in Mitchell's Lumber yards, 603 Penn Avenue, Wilkinsburg, by William Donahuy, 10 years old and Albert Bradley, 6 years old, resulted in various opinions. Chief of Police Wallace R. Bishop asserted there were no marks of identification to prove the money part of the $30,000 stolen from the First National Bank five months ago, while Constable George Clark of the Thirteenth ward, who recovered $3,000 of the $5,500, and J.B. Peterson, cashier, are positive that the money belongs to the bank. Ownership of the money may be determined by a jury, according to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Bradley, parents of one of the boys who made, the discovery. They had employed counsel to look after their interests. According to the boys, the were playing "hide and seek" in the lumber yard. Donahuy said he crawled under a lumber pile to hide and came across a sack containing what he thought were coupons which he distributed among his companions.

On June 23, 1920, the two boys who found $5,350 in a lumber yard were awarded a verdict in common pleas court against the First National Bank which claimed the money was stolen from the bank. The jury disagreed and the two boys received $5,546 including interest on the money which the bank retained for several months.

On May 13, 1920, Frank O. Clark was acquitted of a charges of abstracting funds from the bank and embezzlement by a jury in United States District Court. The case began May 3rd before Judge Charles P. Orr. Mr. Clark testified mainly in his own behalf and 28 witnesses were called by the government.

On Monday, May 19, 1930, The First National Bank of Wilkinsburg became a unit of the Peoples-Pittsburgh Trust Company chain with resources well over $200,000,000. The Wilkinsburg institution, having resources of over $7,500,000, was the tenth bank affiliated with the Associated Banks. A.K. King, president, said the merger would cause no change in officers, directors or personnel and that the bank would continue under the same name. The bank, located at Penn Avenue and Wood Street, was organized In 1892 with capital of $50,000. It now had capital, surplus and undivided profits of over $700,000. The affiliation was approved unanimously by the board which included F.L. Graf, J.S. Hooper, E.R. Kregar, John F. Miller, H.W. McIntosh, A.J. Puffingburg, S.L. Smith, Frank H. Davis, A.K. King, S.C. McConahey, W.S. Van Dyke, and D. Gregg McKee. The officers were, John F. Miller, chairman; A.K. King, president; Lucas E. Finney, vice president; Kenneth Black, cashier; and G. Paul Moore, E.F. Stroud, and F.M. Collins, assistant cashiers. The Peoples-Pittsburgh Trust Company, ranked among the 50 largest trust companies in the United States, controlled the Peoples-Pittsburgh Trust Company, First National Bank at Pittsburgh, Peoples-Pittsburgh Trust Company, East End Branch; Oakland Savings & Trust Company, Peoples Trust Company of Pittsburgh. Metropolitan Savings Bank & Trust Company, Dormont Savings & Trust Company, Terminal Trust Company, Peoples-Pittsburgh Trust Company, Squirrel Hill Branch; and the First National Bank of Wilkinsburg.

On Monday June 16, 1930, the First and Central National Banks merged and opened for business as the First National Bank of Wilkinsburg. The banks were consolidated the previous week and were now a part of the associated group of the Peoples-Pittsburgh Trust Company with 15,000 depositors and resources of over $10,000,000. Business was being conducted at the First National, 701 Penn Ave., Wilkinsburg.

In August 1933, plans went ahead rapidly for the opening of the new bank to replace the restricted First National Bank of Wilkinsburg at a meeting of stockholders and depositors. The meeting took up the procedures involving the transfer of funds from the comptroller-operated bank to the new institution to be known as the First National Bank at Wilkinsburg. With formalities virtually completed, leaders in the bank reorganization movement said that the new bank would soon be open and ready for business probably by late September, thus making available more than half of the $4,000,000 frozen in the restricted bank. The First National, although the largest bank in Wilkinsburg, with 17,000 depositors, failed to resume general business following the banking holiday. The reorganization was made possible through the raising of a capital structure of $250,000. This amount was oversubscribed by Wilkinsburg citizens. The meeting in the auditorium of the Wilkinsburg High School was presided over by Thomas M. Allen, general chairman. Among the speakers were J.C. McQuiston. George R. Craig, W.H. Guffey and Joseph T. Miller. Dr. Gordon in July declared that the only plans for reopening of banks which will be considered were those which guarantee complete restoration of impaired capital and enough cash on hand to meet any emergency. State bank examiners for the previous two months had been examining the reorganization plans.

On November 15, 1933, Wilkinsburg's new bank, successor to the closed First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, opened for business, freeing more than $2,000,000 in frozen deposits. Celebrating the opening, depositors met with directors and officials of the bank in Wilkinsburg High School. Thomas M. Allen, general chairman of the depositors committee, which was mainly responsible for the organization of the new bank, introduced W.H. Cheffey, who presided. Each of the 11 directors of the new bank, The First National Bank at Wilkinsburg, were introduced and short talks were made by L.P. Noble, president; L.E. Huseman, vice president, and C.G. McKee, assistant cashier. George P. Craig, attorney for the bank, explained that each of the 12,000 depositors would be notified by postal card when to appear to receive a 50 per cent payment.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10-$20 Proof, approved May 3, 1892. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Archives

1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of Kenneth Black, Cashier and A.K. King, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,334,200 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1892 and 1933. This consisted of a total of 190,051 notes (121,604 large size and 68,447 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	3x10-20	1 - 2820
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1033
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1260
1902 DB/PB	3x10-20	1261 - 1460	Type uncertain
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1461 - 26548
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 8640
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 2108
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 3639
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 320

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1892 - 1933):

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

Wilkinsburg, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkinsburg,_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://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., Mar. 31, 1892.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Apr. 20, 1892.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Apr. 26, 1892.
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Jan. 14, 1914.
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Jan. 10, 1917.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Sun., July 13, 1919.
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburg, PA, Tue., Oct. 7, 1919.
The Kane Republican, Kane, PA, Wed., June 23, 1920.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Fri., May 14, 1920.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., May 19, 1930.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., June 16, 1930.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Aug. 29, 1933.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Nov. 15, 1933.