How to Add a new National Bank History page

Follow these instructions when you want to Add a new National Bank History page to this wiki.

Adding a National Bank History page

1. Before you ask to have a new National Bank History page created for a bank, you should try to have the following information ready:

• Bank Charter Number (also include the Bank Name, City, and State, to double-check the Charter#).
• Contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.
• Either a recent photo of the bank building (if it is still standing), or else another contemporary postcard/photo of the bank (this could be an interior view, or a 2nd building that the bank occupied, or a bank letterhead, etc). (Note: Google Maps/Street View is a good way to possibly get a recent photo of the old bank building, if it is still standing).
• A scan of a large size note from the bank with good signatures of the bank officers, and also a small size note (if issued).
• Text (and sources) for the Bank History section.
• We also try to have basic bio info (full name and birth/death dates) updated for all bank officers for that bank in the database, so we will have those Findagrave.com (or other bio) links available on the bank history wiki page.

Note: If you don't have all of the above information available, that's ok. You (or other users) can add missing images and update information later.

2. When you are ready to have the Bank History page created in the wiki, send an email with the above information to BankNoteHistory@gmail.com with a subject of 'New Bank History page'.

• Also include your full name and email address, so your account can be set up on the wiki website (if it is not already set up):
  • When your account is first set up on the wiki, you will receive an email asking you to change/set your login password (so watch your spam folder to make sure that email didn't get routed there).
  • When you set your login password, you will also need to confirm your email address by checking the Confirm Email Address checkbox down by your email address. When you receive that confirmation email, respond as requested, and your email address will be confirmed.
  • Once you have set your login password, and your email address is confirmed, you will be able to edit your new Bank History page as needed (and also place it on your Watch List, so you can be notified via email if another user makes a change to that page).
  • You can even edit any other Bank Histories or Banker Bio pages, if you have information to add...that's the great thing about wikis, they are community projects!

3. When the wiki administrator receives your email, they will use a utility to create the new Bank History page in the wiki.

• The following information will automatically be filled in from the Banks & Bankers Database:
  • Bank History Summary
  • Official Bank Title(s)
  • Bank Note Types Issued
  • List of Bank Presidents and Cashiers (with Findagrave.com or other bio links, if available).
  • Wiki Links (with links to the bank's State Home page and County Home page (if there is one), along with links to the Town, County & State Wikipedia pages for general information).
• They will also do the following:
  • Add the Bank History link to the What's New section of the State Home page.
  • Add the Bank History link to the relevant Bank Histories Index page on the wiki.
  • Update the Bank History link on any Banker Bio pages associated with that bank.
  • Link the new Bank History page to that bank in the Bank & Bankers Database.
  • Contact you to let you know the Bank History page is set up and ready to go.

4. After the administrator has created the new Bank History page in the wiki, you can edit that page to expand the Town History and Bank History sections, upload images, and 'clean up' the rest of the page as needed.

• The Town History section can easily be filled in with info from the town's Wikipedia page (which is linked down in the Wiki Links section). It is meant to be a very brief overview of when the town was founded and how big the town was (then and now).
• The Bank History section will already include the Bank History Summary from the Banks & Bankers Database. You can expand on that information as needed, either now or later. Be sure to list your sources down in the References section.
• Images can be uploaded using the Upload file sidebar link, or in the Visual Editor.
• Remember, this is a wiki, so a page doesn’t have to be perfect to start with! Additional Bank History information can be added over time, by you or other users, as it becomes available. Also, you don’t have to worry about making a mistake, or ‘breaking’ anything, since it is easy to undo any changes that have been made.
• We have recently upgraded the wiki software to the latest version. One of the new features is the Visual Editor, which works like a word processor (ie Microsoft Word), rather than directly editing the wiki source text like before. This makes it much easier for users to edit wiki pages and upload images. (Note: The 'old' way of editing using the Source Editor is still available when needed for more advanced editing).
• See this link for information on How to Edit a wiki page using the Visual Editor.
• For further information on adding content to this wiki, see the Help page.

NOTE: If this is your first Bank History to be added to the wiki, or you're not familiar/comfortable with editing wiki pages yet, you can go ahead and include any bank history text (and sources) in your email, attach the image files, and we will set up the full Bank History page for you.