Halifax National Bank, Halifax, PA (Charter 5601)

2021 photo of the old Halifax National Bank building.

Halifax National Bank, Halifax, PA (Chartered 1900 - Merger 2009)

Town History

A sketch of Cashier C.W. Ryan and the bank from 1901.

Halifax is located in western Dauphin County on the east bank of the Susquehanna River.  It was incorporated as a borough on May 29, 1785 and is situated at the confluence of Armstrong Creek and the Susquehanna River. Fort Halifax was located along the river near the present borough. It was a temporary stronghold for the Pennsylvania colonial militia from 1756 to 1757, during the French and Indian War.

Halifax had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

• Organized Oct 1, 1900
• Chartered Oct 20, 1900
• Bank was Open past 1935
• For Bank History after 1935 see: FDIC Bank History website
• Merged into FNB of Marysville, PA (Charter 7353) Jan 1, 2009

In October 1900, the stockholders of the Halifax National Bank elected the following board of directors: Hon. Abram Fortenbaugh, John E. Nace, John H. Cumbler, G.W.D. Enders, and James M. Hoffman. The officers elected were: Hon. Abram Fortenbaugh, president; Charles W. Ryan, cashier; Isaac Lyter, teller. The new bank opened for business December 1, 1900. In January 1901, the same directors and officers were elected with the addition of G.W.D. Enders as vice president and John E. Nace as secretary.

On the morning of March 13, 1901, Cashier Charles W. Ryan was the victim of desperate robbers.  With drawn revolvers Henry Rowe and Weston Keiper held up the Halifax National Bank. Mr. Ryan attempted to push aside the guns and in the resulting struggle, he was shot fatally.

In April 1986, the Halifax National Bank and Mid Penn Bank, Millersburg agreed to merge. Reed Lebo was president of the Halifax bank and Eugene Shaffer was president of Mid Penn. The agreement called for Halifax shareholders to recover 27 shares of Mid Penn common stock for every share of Halifax stock. Halifax became a branch office of Mid Penn with all personnel retained. At the end of 1985, Halifax had assets of $21,843,000 and Mid Penn had $105,816,000. After completing the merger, Mid Penn had eight officers serving northern Dauphin, southern Northumberland and western Schuylkill counties.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Halifax National Bank, Halifax, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

Series 1882 Value Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of Percival S. Hill, Cashier and A.P. Fortenbaugh, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

Series 1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R.F. Landis, Cashier and W.T. Willits, Vice-President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

Series 1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of W.J. Seiders, Cashier and A.M. Smith, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $474,380 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 2009. This consisted of a total of 38,334 notes (31,808 large size and 6,526 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 - 2200
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1990
1882 Value Back	3x10-20	1991 - 3032
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 2720
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 674
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 160
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 1330
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 192

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

The Halifax National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 2009):

Presidents:

• Hon. Abraham P. Fortenbaugh, 1900-1918; Pennsylvania State Representative, 1874-1876
• Albert Morris Smith, 1919-1921
• Abraham P. Fortenbaugh, 1922-1923
• William Thomas Willits, 1924-1924
• Albert Morris Smith, 1925-1926
• Albert Morris Smith, 1928-1935

Cashiers:

• Charles W. Ryan, 1900-1901
• Isaac Lyter, 1901-1912
• Walter J. Seiders, 1913-1913
• Percival Smith Hill, 1914-1918
• Reed Ferguson Landis, 1919-1923
• Walter J. Seiders, 1924-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

• William Thomas Willits, signed as Vice President and was President in 1924.

Wiki Links

• Pennsylvania Bank Note History
• General information on Halifax (Wikipedia)
• General information on Dauphin County (Wikipedia)
• General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Halifax, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax,_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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
• Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Tue., Oct. 23, 1900.
• Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Fri., Jan. 18, 1901.
• Harrisburg Independent, Fri., Mar. 15, 1901.
• Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Sat., Apr. 5, 1986.