German National Bank/Liberty NB, Covington, KY (Charter 1847)

The old Liberty National Bank building on the southeast corner of Sixth Street and Madison Avenue, ca2022. Courtesy of Google Maps

German National Bank/Liberty NB, Covington, KY (Chartered 1871 - Liquidated 1928)

Town History

1928 advertisement for the Peoples Savings Bank & Trust Company Covington, Kentucky.

Covington is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking and Ludlow to its west. Covington had a population of 40,640 at the time of the 2010 U.S. census, making it the largest city of Northern Kentucky and the fifth-most populous city in the state. It is one of its county's two seats, along with Independence.

When it was laid out in 1815, it was named in honor of Gen. Leonard Covington, who was killed at the Battle of Crysler's Farm during the War of 1812. In 1814, John Gano, Richard Gano, and Thomas Carneal purchased The Point, 150 acres of land on the west side of the Licking River at its confluence with the Ohio, from Thomas Kennedy for $50,000, and laid out the settlement of Covington the next year. The town was formally incorporated by the Kentucky General Assembly a year later and raised to city status in 1834.

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

Bank History

Organized July 1, 1871
Chartered July 13, 1871
1: Assumed 8564 by consolidation July 20, 1914 (Commercial National Bank, Covington, KY)
2: Liquidated March 31, 1928
2: Absorbed by Peoples Savings Bank and Trust Company, Covington

On Tuesday, January 8, 1918, the directors met at the bank and organized by electing these officers: George E. Engel, president; T.S. Hamilton, vice president; Polk Laffoon, vice president; Frank R. Evans, cashier; Fred Kruetzkamp and John C. Mindermann, assistant cashiers; and Richard P. Ernst, chairman of the board of directors. The directors elected at the annual meeting of the stockholders just prior to the organization were: Richard P. Ernst, T.S. Hamilton, Wm. Riedlin, J.T. Hatfield, H.A. Schroetter, H.W. Schleutker, Geo. M. Cayce, Geo. E. Engel, J.A. Downard, Polk Laffoon, H.W. Percival, Frank R. Evans, Frank D. Van Winkle, Maurice L. Galvin, and Harry Stern. Stockholders approved the resolution to change the name of the bank to The Liberty National Bank of Covington.

On Tuesday, June 16, 1914, the deal involving the combination of the Commercial National Bank and the German National Bank of Covington was closed after conference held by the Board of Directors of each bank. The entire business of the Commercial National Bank would he transferred to the German National Bank at 609 Madison Avenue. The German National Bank was one of the oldest and most substantial banks in the State. It had a capital stock of $250,000 a surplus of $121,000 and deposits amounting to $1,200,000. The Commercial Bank was practically new, only having been organized five years earlier. J.A. Downard was president and Conley Brown, cashier. It had capital of $100,000 and deposits amounting to $300,000. The capital stock of the resulting institution would be $350,000 and James C. Ernst would remain as president of the German National.

In January 1924, the officers were George Engel, president; T.S. Hamilton, vice president; Polk Laffoon, vice president; Frank R. Evans, cashier; John C. Mindermann, assistant cashier; Fred Kreutzkamp, assistant cashier; Senator Richard P. Ernst, chairman of the board The directors were: Richard P. Ernst, T.S. Hamilton, J.T. Hatfield, H.A. Schroetter, H.W. Schleutker, Geo. E. Engel, J.A. Downard, Polk Laffoon, H.W. Percival, Frank R. Evans, M.L. Galvin, F.D. Van Winkle, Jerome B. Respess, F.A. Pieper, W.H. Tabeling, George L. Hill, Clarence G. Cobb, F.F. Thorpe, and L.B. Wilson.

In January 1928, the officers of The Peoples Savings Bank & Trust Co. were Hon. Richard P. Ernst, president, L.B. Wilson, first vice president; Herbert Jackson, second vice president; F.H. Hugenberg, third vice president; and Joseph Cuni, secretary-treasurer and trust officer.

On March 5, 1928, stockholders approved the transfer of the business, property and assets of the Liberty National Bank to The Peoples' Savings Bank & Trust Company of Covington. The new institution would be known as the Peoples-Liberty Bank and Trust Company with resources of approximately $9 million. On Monday, April 2, 1928, all business would be conducted by The Peoples-Liberty Bank and Trust Co. in their offices on the southeast corner of Sixth Street and Madison Avenue (The Liberty National Bank Building). The officers were Richard P. Ernst, president; L.B. Wilson, George E. Engel, Fred H. Hugenberg, T.S. Hamilton, and Polk Laffoon, vice presidents; Frank R. Evans, cashier; and Joseph N. Cuni, trust officer.

Mr. George E. Engle died on Wednesday, June 27, 1951 at his home in Montgomery, Alabama. He served as president of the Liberty National Bank, formerly known as the German National and was for a number of years VP of the Peoples-Liberty Bank & Trust Co. following the merger. The latter bank was formed by L.B. Wilson and Senator Richard P. Ernst when they bought the Liberty National Bank and joined it with the Peoples Savings Bank. Mr. Engel was president of the Kentucky Bankers' Association 1924-1927. He was a former mayor of Ft. Mitchell and a 32d degree mason.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The German National Bank of Covington, KY

2: The Liberty National Bank of (1/18/1918), Covington, KY

Bank Note Types Issued

Original Series $1 bank note with pen signatures of James Spilman, Cashier and H. Feltman, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

Series of 1875 $5 bank note with pen signatures of James Spilman, Cashier and H. Feltman, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

1882 Brown Back $20 bank note with stamped signatures of George E. Engel, Cashier and Jas. C. Ernst, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $5,878,445 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1871 and 1928. This consisted of a total of 511,138 notes (511,138 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
1: Original Series	3x1-2	1 - 5100
1: Original Series	4x5	1 - 5495
1: Original Series	3x10-20	1 - 3200
1: Original Series	50-100	1 - 531
1: Series 1875	3x1-2	1 - 761
1: Series 1875	4x5	1 - 7702
1: Series 1875	3x10-20	1 - 3415
1: Series 1875	50-100	1 - 660
1: 1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 26040
1: 1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 5927
1: 1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 19000
1: 1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	19001 - 25660
2: 1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 43889

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1871 - 1928):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

George E. Engle signed notes as Vice President
There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Covington, KY, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covington,_Kentucky
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 Kentucky Post and Times-Star, Covington, KY, Wed., Jan. 9, 1918.
The Kentucky Post and Times-Star, Covington, KY, Wed., June 17, 1914.
The Kentucky Post and Times-Star, Covington, KY, Wed., Jan. 9, 1924.
The Kentucky Post and Times-Star, Covington, KY, Fri., Jan. 6, 1928
Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, KY, Tue., Jan. 10, 1928.
The Kentucky Post and Times-Star, Covington, KY, Mon., Apr. 2, 1928.
The Kentucky Post and Times-Star, Covington, KY, Thu., June 28, 1951.