Flemington National Bank, Flemington, NJ (Charter 2331)
Flemington National Bank/Flemington NB & TC, Flemington, NJ (Chartered 1876 - Closed (Merger) 1996)
Town History
Flemington is a borough in Raritan Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County and in the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,581. Most of the borough is located in the Amwell Valley (a low-lying area of the Newark Basin) and the Raritan Valley (the South Branch of the Raritan River flows through the center of the borough). Northwestern portions of the borough sit on the Hunterdon Plateau.
Before European settlement, the land that comprises Flemington, as was all of Hunterdon County, was the territory of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. In 1712, as part of a land parcel of 9,170 acres, the Flemington area was acquired by William Penn and Daniel Coxe.
Flemington is surrounded by fertile farmland and early German and English settlers engaged in industries dependent on farm products. An example of early settlement families was Johann David and Anna Maria Ephland, who emigrated in 1709 from Germany through London to New York and settled on his 147.5-acre farm in 1717. They raised their seven children, and two from his previous marriage, on the farm that now makes up the core of Flemington.
On December 14, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, a party of British dragoons led by Cornet Francis Geary raided a store owned by Thomas Lowrey near the Presbyterian Church in Flemington to seize a supply of guns. On their return to Pennington, local militia led by Captain John Schenck ambushed them and killed their commander. This skirmish is now known as the Ambush of Geary.
In 1785, Flemington was chosen as the County Seat of Hunterdon. Fire destroyed the old courthouse in 1826 and the City of Lambertville made an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to have the seat relocated there. Flemington remained the County Seat and the Courthouse which stands today on Main Street was built.
What is now Flemington was originally formed as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1870, within portions of Raritan Township. It became a village as of June 11, 1894, still within Raritan Township. Flemington was finally incorporated as an independent borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1910, based on the results of a referendum held on April 26, 1910, and was formally separated from Raritan Township. The borough's incorporation was confirmed on April 27, 1931; the borough was named for Samuel Fleming and Flemington Castle was his home built in 1756.
On February 13, 1935, a jury in Flemington found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby boy. The Union Hotel, opposite the courthouse in which this trial took place, housed several journalists reporting on the event.
Flemington had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized April 21, 1876
- Chartered April 22, 1876
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into United Jersey Bank in Hackensack, NJ, February 24, 1996
On February 9, 1901, a fire started in the Henry Richards building on Main Street and soon spread to the Flemington National bank building adjoining and was beyond control before the firemen arrived. Franklin C. Burk's drug store, Ratti's fruit store, and James E. Farmer's shoe store were destroyed. All of the burned businesses were insured and the loss is estimated at $100,000. The second and third floors were occupied by Mrs. Nathaniel Boyd and Dr. W.W. Hawk; their furniture was destroyed. From the third story of the Richards building the flames spread to the banking house and burned out the lodge room and paraphernalia of the Knights of the Golden Eagle. The progress of the fire was checked here, but smoke and water did considerable damage to the first and second floors, the first being occupied as the banking room. The fire having started before the bank opened for business, the books and moneys were in the vault and were not damaged.
A fire in Marlboro, Monmouth County, a few weeks later destroyed the grocery stores of Joseph Butcher and William C. Hulse and the blacksmith shop occupied by Joseph Richmond. The fire was discovered around 5 o'clock on May 7, 1901 in Mr. Butcher's store. The old Marlboro town hall stood between Mr. Butcher's store and the store of Frank C. Burke; the hall was torn down preventing flames from spreading to Mr. Burke's store. The post office was located in Mr. Butcher's store, but all the mail was saved except stamps, valued at about $75, that were burned. It was thought that robbers set fires to hide the evidence of their crime. This theory was supported at the time as a hole had been drilled in the safe door and the safe door was open when it was found in the ruins after the fire. The thought was that an organized gang of burglars was operating through the county that set fires after looting buildings. Recent fires at Matawan, Long Branch and Freehold may have been caused by this gang.
Stockholders voted to add "and Trust Company" to the bank's title in April 1930. The Institution had been authorized to act in this capacity two years ago, but no action was taken at the time. It was also voted that shares of stock be issued at a par value of $20 instead of $100 as was formerly issued in order to provide a wider distribution of shares.
Official Bank Titles
1: The Flemington National Bank, Flemington, NJ
2: The Flemington National Bank and Trust Company Flemington, NJ (4/15/1930)
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,556,320 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1876 and 1996. This consisted of a total of 205,213 notes (175,904 large size and 29,309 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 8561 1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 9900 1: 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 8000 1: 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 8001 - 8146 1: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 17369 1: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1234 1: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 416 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1784 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 424 2: 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 4758 2: 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1403
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1876 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Peter E. Emery, 1876-1876
- John Lambert Jones, 1877-1891
- William Richards, 1892-1905
- John B. Case, 1906-1914
- Firman R. Williamson, 1915-1932
- Arthur Francis Foran, 1933-1935
Cashiers:
- Clarkson Christian Dunham, 1876-1891
- Nehemiah Dunham Stiger, 1892-1900
- Bergen Horace Berkaw, 1901-1920
- Nedwill Sutphin, 1921-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- New Jersey Bank Note History
- General information on Flemington (Wikipedia)
- General information on Hunterdon County (Wikipedia)
- General information on New Jersey (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Flemington, NJ, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
- Lancaster New Era, Lancaster, PA, Sat., Feb. 9, 1901.
- The Daily Register, Red Bank, NY, Wed., May 15, 1901.
- The Courier-News, Bridgewater, NY, Sat., Apr. 12, 1930.