Liberty National Bank, Roanoke, VA (Charter 11191)

A 1918 advertisement for the Liberty National Bank opening on June 8, 1918, at 116 W. Campbell Avenue, Roanoke.

Liberty National Bank, Roanoke, VA (Chartered 1918 - Closed 1920)

Town History

1926 advertisement for the Liberty Trust Company.

Roanoke is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanoke is approximately 50 miles north of the Virginia–North Carolina border and 250 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., along Interstate 81. At the 2020 census, Roanoke's population was 100,011, making it the most-populous city in Virginia west of the state capital Richmond. It is the primary population center of the Roanoke metropolitan area, which had a population of 315,251 in 2020. In 1910 the population was 34,874 growing to 69,206 by 1930.

Roanoke is known for the Roanoke Star, an 88.5-foot-tall illuminated star that sits atop a mountain within the city's limits and is the origin of its nickname, "The Star City of the South". Other points of interest include the Hotel Roanoke, a 330-room Tudor Revival structure built by N&W in 1882, the Taubman Museum of Art, designed by architect Randall Stout, and the city's farmer's market, the oldest continuously operating open-air market in the state. The Roanoke Valley features 26 miles of greenways with bicycle and pedestrian trails, and the city's location in the Blue Ridge Mountains provides access to numerous outdoor recreation opportunities.

Roanoke had 10 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 10 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

1920 advertisement for the Colonial National Bank located in the Terry Building.

• Organized June 6, 1918
• Chartered June 8, 1918
• Closed November 13, 1920
• Consolidated with 11817 November 13, 1920 (Colonial NB/Colonial-American NB, Roanoke, VA)
• Circulation assumed by 11817 (Colonial NB/Colonial-American NB, Roanoke, VA)

In April 1918, application was made to the treasury department for a charter for the Liberty National Bank of Roanoke with capital of $200,000. The officers stated that the entire capital had been subscribed and that business would probably start in May in the Shenandoah Life Building on Campbell Avenue, the Shenandoah Life Co. moving to the Angell Building, also on Campbell. The officers were Robert M. Garrett, Jr., president; M. Jacob Patsel and T.W. Fugate, vice presidents; John W. Penn, cashier; and Geo. A. Layman, assistant cashier. The directors were T.W. Fugate, E.A. Thurman, J.W. Gillaspie, M.S. Moore, and T.R. Tillett. It would consolidate with the Colonial national Bank November 15, 1920.

In December 1918, a syndicate composed of R.M. Garrett, Jr., TR. Tillett, T.W. Fugate, J.W. Gillaspie. R.F. Boxley, J.G. White, L.S. Wood and Elmore D. Heins purchased, the Williamson building on Jefferson Street and Church, Avenue, S.W. The building was occupied by Dalby's drug store, Graves-Humphreys hardware store, Wright real estate office, and Moir millinery store. The property had a frontage of 75 feet on Jefferson Street and 100 feet on Church Avenue. It was understood that the principal object of the purchase was to provide a home for the Liberty National Bank. The gentlemen making the purchase were all directors or stockholders of the bank. A corporation would shortly be formed by the purchasers to be known as the "Liberty Bank Building, Inc.” The Liberty National Bank, located at No. 116 West Campbell Avenue, was Roanoke's youngest financial institution, being less than six months old and had a paid-up capital of $200,000 with deposits of more than $300,000. The sale was made by the real estate firm of Weaver & Tillett, with offices in the Terry building.

In March 1920, the Liberty National Bank announced the election of J.B. Stringfellow, former national bank examiner for the district, to the presidency. Mr. Stringfellow resigned his duties to take effect April 1st after serving as a bank examiner for the past 9 years. The other officers were R.M. Garrett, Jr., (president, Roanoke Drug Co.), chairman of the board, J.B. Stringfellow, president; M.J. Patsel, (Patzel & Rector, druggists), vice president; J.W. Penn, cashier; and L.R. Tucker, assistant cashier. The directors were J.B. Stringfellow, R.M. Garrett, Jr., M.J. Patsel, J.W. Penn, F.D. Bolton, merchant and canner; C.H. Brady, real estate and insurance; Marshall H. Davis, secretary-treasurer, Davis-Stephenson Co.; J.L. George, dispatcher, N&W Railway Co.; D. Wm. Good, mgr., Virginia Canners' Exchange, and canner; G.R. Hash, Grand Piano Co.; W.D. Huff, Yost-Huff Co.; B.R. Ikenbery, farmer and canner; L.S. Jones, Roanoke Steam Laundry; Col. James D. Johnston, attorney-at-law; Isaac Levin, treasurer and general mgr., Blue Ridge Overalls Co.; G.A. Layman, city schools; E.S. Moore, supt. transportation, Norfolk & Wester; W.P. Mundy, president, Mundy Motor Co.; J.M. McNeles, real estate and insurance; O.D. Oakey, president, Roanoke Bridge and Iron Works; M. J. Schlossberg, president, Kann's, Inc.; E.A. Thurman, president, Thurman & Boone Co.; T.R. Tillett, real estate and insurance; and H.C. Webb, farmer and canner.

On August 16, 1920, the directors of the Colonial Bank and Trust Company announced that the comptroller of the currency had granted them permission to operate as a national bank and that a charter had been issued in the name of the Colonial National Bank of Roanoke.  The change from a state to a national bank was brought about without change in personnel in either officers of directors.  The Colonial Bank and Trust Co. was organized in 1910 and on December 31st of that year its resources were about $500,000. Its report of June 30, 1920, showed resources of over $2,000,000 with capital, surplus and profits aggregating $500,000. The growth of the bank during the past two years necessitated extensive alterations in its quarters in the Terry Building resulting in doubling its floor space and adding an additional vault for safe deposit boxes.  The officers of the Colonial National were:  R.H. Angell, president; W.W. Boxley, vice president; H.D. Guy, vice president; E.W. Tinsley, vice president and cashier; Geo. N. Dickinson and W.D. Hall, assistant cashiers.

On Wednesday, October 6, 1920, stockholders of the Colonial National Bank met and ratified the agreement with the Liberty National Bank which called for the merger of the two institutions. On Tuesday, stockholders of the Liberty National Bank met and voted in favor of the proposed merger. The merger was subject to the approval of the comptroller of the currency. Repairs and improvement were being made at the Colonial Bank and when completed, considerably more space would be available at that institution. The Liberty National would move into the Colonial bank. It had not been announced who would occupy the building used by the Liberty National. The consolidation was effected Saturday afternoon, November 13th, when a telegram was received by the officers of the Colonial National from John Skelton Williams, comptroller of the currency, authorizing the merger. Under the consolidation, the Continental would have 31 directors. At 5:15 p.m., packed snugly in a Hudson limousine with four secret service men, $900,000 in securities were whisked away from the little Liberty National Bank building. About 6 p.m. the work of moving papers, books and money finished. The currency was carried in a huge tub which required four men to lift into the automobile. The president, cashier and one of the directors of the Liberty National Bank assisted in carrying the currency into the vault of its new home. The last load consisted of the books of the Liberty bank which were piled up on the floor and in the seat of the limousine and guarded by one of the secret service men. The following were the newly chosen directors from the Liberty National: Marshall H. Davis, R.M. Garrett, Jr., G.R. Hash, B.R. Ikenbery, I. Levin, E.S. Moore, J.M. McNellis, O.D. Oakey, M.J. Patsel, J.B. Stringfellow, N.J. Schlossberg, J.W. Simmerman, E.A. Thurman, and T.R. Tillett. The directors of the Colonial bank were R.H. Angell, W.W. Boxley, J.T. Bandy, W.G. Baldwin, J.V. Boxley, Edward S. Barnitz, L.J. Boxley, Paul C. Buford, Lawrence S. Davis, J.H. Dunkley, H.D. Guy, D.R. Hunt, J.H. Marstellar, E.W. Poindexter, J.T. Strickland, J.T. Towels, and E.W. Tinsley. The consolidated bank would have capital surplus and profits of $850,000, deposits approximating $2 million and total resources of about $3 million.

In October 1920, a new charter was granted to the Liberty Trust Company with a capital of $500,000, to do a general banking and trust business. The officers named in the charter were R.H. Angell, president; D.M. Showwalter, secretary; J.T. Strickland, W.L. Andrews and W.W. Boxley, directors. The new business planned to occupy the Liberty National Bank building following the consolidation of the Colonial National Bank and Liberty National Bank.

Official Bank Title

1: The Liberty National Bank of Roanoke, VA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of L.R. Tucker, Cashier and J.B. Stringfellow, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $58,100 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1918 and 1920. This consisted of a total of 4,648 notes (4,648 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
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 1162

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1918 - 1920):

Presidents:

• Robert Metteau Garrett, Jr., 1918-1919
• James Broadus Stringfellow, 1920-1920

Cashiers:

• John W. Penn, 1918-1919
• Leonides Rosser Tucker, 1920-1920

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• Liberty National Bank, Roanoke, VA History (NB Lookup)
• Virginia Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Roanoke, VA, 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