Fourth National Bank, Atlanta, GA (Charter 5045)
Fourth National Bank, Atlanta, GA (Chartered 1896 - Closed 1929)
Town History
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, although a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 498,715 living within the city limits, it is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 38th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census. The population in 1890 was 65,533, growing to 270,366 by 1930.
By 1860, Atlanta's population had grown to 9,554. During the Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a strategic hub for the distribution of military supplies. In 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. The region surrounding Atlanta was the location of several major army battles, culminating with the Battle of Atlanta and a four-month-long siege of the city by the Union Army under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to retreat from Atlanta, and he ordered the destruction of all public buildings and possible assets that could be of use to the Union Army. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, and on September 7, Sherman ordered the city's civilian population to evacuate. On November 11, 1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Army's March to the Sea by ordering the destruction of Atlanta's remaining military assets.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt during the Reconstruction era. The work attracted many new residents. Due to the city's superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta had surpassed Savannah as Georgia's largest city.
Atlanta had 12 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 10 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 19, 1896
- Chartered June 26, 1896
- Assumed 12249 by consolidation September 30, 1922 (Ninth National Bank (No Issue), Atlanta, GA)
- Consolidated with 1559 on November 23, 1929 (Atlanta NB/Atlanta and Lowry NB/FNB, Atlanta, GA)
- Circulation assumed by 1559 (Atlanta NB/Atlanta and Lowry NB/FNB, Atlanta, GA)
Erastus Franklin Gould was born in Oswego County, New York. He later move to Minneapolis, where he became financially successful in the banking industry. In 1886, he moved to Atlanta. The following year, he helped found the Traders' Bank of Atlanta, which was chartered on October 24, 1887, and officially opened November 1, 1888. Other founders included Hugh T. Inman and Clifford Anderson. Gould had constructed the bank's headquarters in 1887 on Decatur Street. Known as the Traders' Bank Building, it was the first office-building skyscraper in Atlanta, rising 7 stories. In 1890, following the renaming of the Traders Bank, the building was known as the Gould Building.
In 1890, the American Trust and Banking Company began, following the purchase of the holdings of the Traders' Bank which was operating in the Gould Building. The initial capital stock was $500,000 and Captain James W. English was president; W.J. Van Dyke, vice president; Edward Pratt, cashier; and Mr. Jno. K. Ottley, assistant cashier. In July 1896, the bank became a national institution with the following officers: Captain English, president; James R. Gray, vice president; J.K. Ottley, cashier; and C.I. Ryan, assistant cashier. In 1919, Captain English resigned the presidency, accepting the chairmanship of the board, while Mr. Ottley became president and Mr. Ryan vice president. The capital stock was increased to $600,000 in 1907 and to $1,200,000 in 1920. In September 1922, there was a surplus of $1,800,000 and the undivided profits were $545,930.14.
On Tuesday, January 14, 1919, at the 23rd annual meeting of the shareholders, the bank reported loans and discounts $11,802,247.40, capital stock $600,000, surplus and undivided profits $1,264,6113.43, circulation $600,000 and deposits $18,031,911.94. Contracts were entered into to remodel and enlarge the banking quarters and the work was progressing satisfactorily. The officers were James W. English, chairman of the board; John K. Ottley, president; Charles I. Ryan and James D. Robinson, vice presidents; William T. Perkerson, cashier; Stewart McGinty, Frank M. Berry, Hatton B. Rogers, Julian Clayton, and T.W. Townsend, assistant cashiers; and Edward H. Daly, auditor.
On Monday, August 7, 1922, control of the DeKalb County Bank of Decatur was acquired by Hatton B. Rogers of Atlanta, a well-known banker and businessman. The stock had a par value of $100, a book value of $220, and was purchased by Mr. Rogers at $242.50. The bank's total resources were $237,397.43 as of the statement of June 1st. After conversion into a state and national institution, it would be absorbed by the Fourth National and operated as a branch.
By the end of 1922, the Fourth National established five branches. In addition to its main office at Five Points, branches were located at West End, Boulevard and Ponce de Leon, Decatur, Peachtree and North Avenue, and Euclid and Moreland. In the establishment of these branches, the Fourth National took over the Bank of West End and the DeKalb County Bank of Decatur and established branches at their former locations. The three north side branches were new institutions of modern architecture and design, while the remaining two were acquired by the purchase of state bank holdings and their conversion into a national bank, a necessary procedure as state banks could not be consolidated with national institutions. In May, stock of the Bank of West End was purchased and its name changed to the Fourth State Bank and its capital stock increased to $325,000. The DeKalb County Bank was made a branch of the new Fourth State Bank as were the three north side branches. The next step was the incorporation of the five branches as the Ninth National Bank of Atlanta and the merger of the Ninth National Bank into the Fourth National. Details of the merger were handled by Robert Strickland Jr., vice president of the Fourth National Bank, while Atlanta law firm of Brandon and Hynds attended to the legal processes. Deposits increased in 12 months from $18,677,292.61 on December 27, 1921, to $25,600,161.07 on December 27, 1922.
In January 1923, the directors re-elected were James W. English, chairman; Edward C. Peters, Charles A. Wickersham, W.T. Gentry, David Woodward, John K. Ottley, James D. Robinson, Charles I. Ryan, Harry L. English, J.R. Hopkins, Cator Woolford, Thomas P. Hinman, Robert N. Daniel, Edwin F. Johnson, Isaac Hughes, Lee Ashcraft, Thomas H. Schoen, W.T. Perkerson, Hatton B. Rogers, and L.W. Robert, Jr. The officers re-elected were James W. English, chairman of the board; John K. Ottley, president; Charles I. Ryan, James D. Robinson, Hatton B. Rogers, and Robert Strickland, Jr., vice presidents; W.T. Perkerson, vice president and trust officer; Frank M. Berry, cashier; Julian Clayton, Edward H. Daly, and Henry B. Longino, assistant cashiers; and Samuel J. Fuller, auditor.
The formation of the largest bank south of Philadelphia and in the 13 southern states, as a result of the consolidation of the Atlanta and Lowry National Bank and the Fourth National Bank, was announced Saturday, October 19, 1929, in a statement given to the press by John K. Ottley, president of the Fourth National, and T.K. Glenn, president of the Atlanta and Lowry. The new bank, known as the First National Bank, would have combined resources of $141,102,187, capital stock of $9,640,000, surplus of $8,340,000, undivided profits of $3,583,54, and deposits in excess of $101,000,000, making it by far the largest and strongest financial institution in the southeastern states. Directors of the Fourth National were: Edward C. Peters, Charles A. Wickersham, David Woodward, John K. Ottley, James D. Robinson, Harry L. English, Cator Woolford, Dr. Thomas P. Hinman, Lee Ashcraft, Thomas H. Daniel, Edwin F. Johnson, William T. Perkerson, L.W. Robert, Jr., George H. Lanier, J.J. Haverty, Ben S. Read, Robert Strickland, Jr., C. Clyde Williams, J.K. Orr, and Charles A. Bickerstaff.
Official Bank Title
1: The Fourth National Bank of Atlanta, GA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $16,640,620 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1896 and 1929. This consisted of a total of 2,091,710 notes (2,022,632 large size and 69,078 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 4x5 1 - 28165 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 23234 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 63500 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 40652 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 214036 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 136071 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 7441 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 3052 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 1020
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1896 - 1929):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- John King Ottley, 1896-1905
- Charles Ignatius Ryan, 1906-1917
- William Thomas Perkerson, 1918-1919
- Stewart McGinty, 1920-1921
- Frank M. Berry, 1922-1928
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Atlanta, GA, 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 Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 98, Jan. 1919-June 1919, p. 253.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Mon., Aug. 7, 1922.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Sun., Oct. 1, 1922.
- The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Fri., Dec. 29, 1922.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Tue., Jan. 9, 1923.
- The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Sun., Oct. 20, 1929.