Graham National Bank, Graham, TX (Charter 5897)

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1970 advertisement for the Graham National Bank.[1]

Graham National Bank, Graham, TX (Chartered 1901 - Failed (Merger) 1992)

Town History

Graham is the county seat and largest city of Young County, Texas. The site was first settled in 1871 by brothers Gustavus A. and Edwin S. Graham, primary shareholders in the Texas Emigration and Land Company of Louisville, Kentucky. The brothers moved to Texas after the Civil War, and after buying 125,000 acres in Young County, helped to revitalize the area, the population of which had become badly depleted during the war. During that same year as when Graham was settled, the Warren Wagon Train Raid occurred about 12 miles north of the city. In 1872, the Graham brothers purchased a local saltworks, established the town of Graham, and set up the Graham Land Office. The saltworks were not a profitable venture, as the salt was too expensive to ship, and were closed in a few years.

A post office opened in 1873, and after Young County reorganized the following year, Graham became the county seat. The town's newspaper, known as The Graham Leader and still in existence today, was first printed in 1876, the same year that the first temporary courthouse was built. Other businesses from these early years included a gristmill, sawmill, cotton gin, and brick kiln, two hotels, and several stores. On February 15, 1877, the city was the site of the organizational meeting of the group that became the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, created to police ranching and put a stop to cattle rustling. Founding officers included pioneer ranchers James C. Loving (son of Oliver Loving), Col. C. L. (Kit) Carter, and C.C. Slaughter.

By 1900, Graham had incorporated as a town, and railroad service began in 1903, through the Chicago, Rock Island & Texas Railroad, part of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific system. In 1921, the Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad, one of the Frank Kell and Joseph A. Kemp properties, extended its line into Graham from Newcastle. The WF&S was abandoned in 1954 and the Rock Island sold its line to the Texas Export Railroad in 1972, but was abandoned just two years later. The population of Graham grew slowly until 1917, when oil was discovered nearby; the population tripled from 878 in 1900 to 2,544 in 1920. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, it has a population of 8,732.

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

Bank History

  • Organized June 29, 1901
  • Chartered July 8, 1901
  • Opened for business August 18, 1901
  • Bank was Open past 1935
  • For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
  • Failed October 30, 1992. Received government assistance until closed.

On Monday, July 8, 1901, the comptroller of the currency authorized the Graham National Bank of Graham, Texas, to commence business with $50,000 capital. Cicero Smith was president with Charles Gay, cashier.[2] Work commenced in August on a stone building for the new bank.[3] In December, the Graham National Bank building was completed and was one of the handsomest bank building in Northwest Texas. The post office would occupy the rear room of the building fronting on Oak Street.[4]

In April 1917, R.F. Fowler, assistant cashier of the Graham National Bank, completed a miniature automobile which would accommodate three adults.[5]

In January 1918, W.A. Corbett was elected a director of the Graham National Bank to succeed F.P. Burch, deceased. All other officers were re-elected.[6]

In July 1920, the directors were Charles Gay, W.A. Corbett, R.J. Johnson, A.A. Morrison, and G.D. Hinson. The officers were Charles Gay, president; W.A. Corbett, R.J. Johnson, and G.D. Hinson, vice presidents; A.A. Morrison, cashier; and Mrs. H.D. Criswell, assistant cashier.[7]

In January 1921, Jack Nelson, formerly transit manager of the First National Bank of Wichita Falls resigned and accepted the post of assistant cashier of Graham National Bank.[8]

In March 1921, the Graham National Bank was a rapidly growing institution and had recently made plans for expansion to accommodate the increasing business resulting from oil development in the oil fields near Graham. Frank McDowell was president and H.D. Hemphill, until recently an officer in the City National Bank of Commerce, Wichita Falls, was the new active vice president. Porter Oakes of Wichita Falls was elected a director and vice president of the Graham National Bank. Mr. Oakes was a Wichita Falls businessman with oil interests in Graham and in Breckenridge. He was president of the Dispatch Petroleum Co. and an active oil operator and investment banker. Mr. Oakes said he would continue to live in Wichita Falls.[9]

In July 1921, W.O. Nelson, former vice president and cashier of the Graham National Bank was in the county jail in lieu of $2,000 bond awaiting action by the Federal Grand Jury. He was held on a charge alleging that he misappropriated funds of the bank. Nelson returned Friday from Los Angeles where he was arrested after a six week's search and fight over extradition for a month. The search for Nelson and another officer of the bank was started after alleged irregularities involving nearly $50,000 had been discovered.[10]

In September 1921, Frank McDowell, a fugitive from justice, was arrested in a New York City hotel and charged with embezzling about $35,406 from the Graham National Bank of which he was president. A hearing was set for September 12th.[11] With the exit of McDowell, the bank was reorganized and Walter Corbett was president; H.L. Tidwell and Virgil Tidwell, vice presidents; and H.D. Hemphill, cashier. The bank had capital of $100,000 and was looked upon as one of the strongest institutions of its kind in Texas despite earlier mis-leading reports. Mr. Hemphill sold his stock at a handsome profit.[12]

In December 1921, Frank McDowell, formerly proprietor of the McDowell store in Wichita and president and director of the Graham National Bank, was indicted by the federal grand jury. W.O. Nelson was jointly indicted with McDowell who was charged with embezzling $59,900 of the bank's funds. Nelson was charged with having aided, abetted and counseled McDowell in embezzling the funds.[13]

On March 27, 1924, Frank McDowell received a two year sentence in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas after he entered a guilty plea earlier in the day. Last June, W.O. Nelson was also convicted of embezzling funds and sentenced to 30 months after he had plead not guilty, fighting the case to a finish. A judgement of $7,500 was taken against McDowell's bondsmen in the March 1923 term when the defendant failed to appear in answer to his case.[14]

In January 1926, at the annual meeting of stockholders, the following officers and directors were re-elected: W.A. Corbett, president; R.V. Tidwell, active vice president; G.D. Hinson, vice president; H.L. Tidwell, cashier; Mrs. H.D. Criswell, assistant cashier; R.B. Whittenburg and A.A. Morrison, directors. The bank declared a 10% dividend.[15]

In June 1962, Mr. and Mrs. R.V. Tidwell observed their 60th anniversary. They were still active in civic affairs, church and school. Mr. Tidwell could be seen walking to and from the bank when the weather was good. R. Virgil Tidwell was born on a farm not far from Graham in October 1879. After finishing high school, he went to business college in Illinois. His first position was with the S.B. Street Company, then for a time he was in the lumber business. In 1921 he accepted the active vice presidency of the Graham National Bank and became its president in 1946. Mr. Tidwell said, "I'm always the first to arrive at the bank and the last to leave," he added with a twinkle, "some people can do a days job in 8 hours but it takes me 12." On June 25, 1902, R.V. Tidwell married Miss Beulah Wood, daughter of John H. Woods, pioneer of Young County.[16]

In February 1970, the officers were R.C. Turner, chairman of the board, Frank Atchison, president; Paul W. Jones, Norman Evans, vice presidents; Jimmy Underwood, cashier; Mrs. Betty Barrett and Mrs. Irene Baker, assistant cashiers. The directors were Frank Atchison, Harry Bettis, Roy A. Corbett, John T. Gilmer, O.L. Graham, Mary Maria Morrison, M. Boyd Street, R.C. Turner and advisory directors Frank Jennings and Joe Montgomery.[17]

On Thursday, August 4, 1988, the Graham National Bank became First City Texas. The bank was owned by First City Corp., a Houston-based bank holding company. Graham National joined First City in 1982 and was the only bank in the First City system still using its old name. In December 1968, the bank moved into facilities at 455 Elm Street in Graham. Glyn Gilliam was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Graham bank.[18]

On Wednesday, January 27, 1993, First National Bank of Olney, Texas, bought the First City Texas, Graham bank for $1.5 million. Ross McKnight, chairman of the board for Olney Bank Shares Inc., said his company received word from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that its bid was successful. First City Bancorporation, the largest bank in the nation to fail in 1992 was sold in pieces with its two biggest units going to Texas Commerce Bancshares. McKnight said the Graham bank did not actually fail, but was declared a failure when the First City Bancorporation failed. The Graham bank had assets worth $88 million as of November 30, 1992.[19]

Official Bank Title

1: The Graham National Bank, Graham, TX

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Date Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of R.F. Fowler, Assistant Cashier and Charles Gay, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com
1882 Value Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of Mrs. H.D. Criswell, Assistant Cashier and G.D. Hinson, Vice President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Plain Back $20 bank note with stamped signatures of H.L. Tidwell, Cashier and R.V. Tidwell, Vice President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 2 $20 bank note with printed signatures of C.P. Gregory, Cashier and W.A. Corbett, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $485,400 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1901 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 59,532 notes (31,884 large size and 27,648 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 - 450
1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 710
1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 725
1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 880
1882 Value Back 4x5 726 - 1325
1882 Value Back 3x10-20 881 - 1161
1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 2672
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 1653
1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 2192
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1212
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 350
1929 Type 2 5 1 - 3132
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1572
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 420

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1901 - 1935):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Graham, TX, 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. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Tue., Feb. 24, 1970.
  2. ↑ McKinney Weekly Democrat-Gazette, McKinney, TX, Thu., July 11, 1901.
  3. ↑ The Fort Worth Record and Register, Fort Worth, TX, Wed., Aug. 21, 1901.
  4. ↑ The Fort Worth Record and Register, Fort Worth, TX, Tue., Dec. 10, 1901.
  5. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Mon., Apr. 9, 1917.
  6. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Sun., Jan. 13, 1918.
  7. ↑ Fort Worth Record-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Sun., July 4, 1920.
  8. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Fri., Jan. 28, 1921.
  9. ↑ Wichita Falls Times, Wichita Falls, TX, Sun., Mar. 20, 1921.
  10. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Sun., July 31, 1921.
  11. ↑ Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, TX, Sat., Sep. 3, 1921.
  12. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Sun., Sep. 4, 1921.
  13. ↑ Wichita Daily Times, Wichita Falls, TX, Fri., Dec. 16, 1921.
  14. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Fri., Mar. 28, 1924.
  15. ↑ Wichita Falls Times, Wichita Falls, TX, Mon., Jan. 18, 1926.
  16. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Tue., June 19, 1962.
  17. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Tue., Feb. 24, 1970.
  18. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Fri., Aug. 5, 1988.
  19. ↑ Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, Thu., Jan. 28, 1993.
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