Lowry National Bank, Atlanta, GA (Charter 5318)
Lowry National Bank, Atlanta, GA (Chartered 1900 - Liquidated 1923)
Town History
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, although a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 498,715 living within the city limits, it is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 38th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census. The population in 1860 was 9,554, growing to 270,366 by 1930.
In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad in order to provide a link between the port of Savannah and the Midwest. The initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the "zero milepost" was driven into the ground in what is now Foundry Street, Five Points. When asked in 1837 about the future of the little village, Stephen Harriman Long, the railroad's chief engineer said the place would be good "for one tavern, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and nothing else". A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later Thrasherville, after a local merchant who built homes and a general store in the area. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha. Later, John Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847.
Atlanta had 12 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 10 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized April 24, 1900
- Chartered May 1, 1900
- Succeeded Lowry Banking Co.
- Liquidated January 1, 1923
- Absorbed by Lowry Bank & Trust Co. of Georgia, Atlanta
The history of the Lowry National Bank began in 1861 in the produce store of Colonel Robert J. Lowry. He came to Atlanta from Greenville, Tennessee, when it was just an ordinary, but growing town. Colonel Lowry would sell the produce shipped by his father, W.M. Lowry, from Tennessee. The first Lowry bank established in Atlanta was located on Decatur Street, at the northwest corner of Pryor, the site later occupied by the Moore-Marsh building. At the time, Decatur Street was the center not only of business and commercial Atlanta, but of social and home life. The finest homes in Atlanta were then located on Decatur Street and many of Atlanta’s oldest citizens who occupied elegant homes elsewhere once lived there. Colonel Lowry continued in that business until after the war when he was joined by his father and they went into the wholesale grocery and banking business on Alabama Street. Shortly after this they purchased a building on the southwest corner of Alabama and Central Avenue, then Loyd Street, and in the early 1870s gradually eliminated the wholesale grocery business, and did only a banking business under the name of W.M. & R.J. Lowry, Bankers. About 1875, Joseph T. Orme, then a youth, became associated with the institution. They continued as private bankers until 1887 when a state charter was secured and the business was incorporated as the Lowry Banking Company. Its capital stock was $350,000 with a surplus of $70,000, at a time when business in Atlanta was in its infancy.
On Saturday, February 14, 1891, at the call of President John M. Green of the Commercial Travelers' Association, the committee on subscriptions met at his rooms in the Gate City Bank Building. The committee was composed of John M. Green, J.G. Oglesby, H.L. Atwater, Joel Hurt, Captain W.A. Hansell, C.D. Montgomery, and Dr. J.D. Turner. The report was unanimous that the commercial men of Atlanta would support establishing the Commercial Travelers' Savings Bank.
On October 28, 1891, the first regular meeting of the directors of the Commercial Travelers' Savings Bank met and elected the following officers: J.G. Oglesby, president; W.A. Gregg, vice president; A.L. Kontz, cashier; and John L. Hopkins & Sons, attorneys. The subscription to the capital stock was already about $300,000. The directors were John M. Green, C.I. Branan, C.S. Kingsberry, J.C. Kirkpatrick, J.D. Turner, D.O. Dougherty, J.F. Gatina, C.D. Montgomery, George P. Allen, H.L. Atwater and John L. Hopkins. The officers were also directors. In January, the directors accepted Mr. Oglesby's resignation and elected Mr. John M. Green to fill the position. Mr. Oglesby resigned due to his health, but remained a member of the board.
In August 1892, the Lowry Banking Company moved from its Alabama Street location to its new quarters in the Equitable Building, the first large fireproof office building constructed in the south. It was considered the finest and most up-to-date banking office south of Washington. Thomas D. Meador, then of the firm of Oglesby & Meador, wholesale grocers, began as active vice president. In 1900 the state charter was replaced with a national charter and the capital increased to $500,000 and the name changed to the Lowry National Bank. Some of Atlanta’s most substantial businessmen had been associated with the Lowry National Bank. Among the older names upon the board were J.H. Porter, president of the Merchants’ Bank; R.C. Clark of T.M. Clark & Co., and Joel Hurt, in addition to Colonel Lowry, Mr. Meador and Mr. Orme.
In March, 1893, the addition of a trust company with $500,000 capital was proposed and the benefits described by Joel Hurt. It was decided by the board of the Commercial Travelers' Savings Bank that at a proper time such an institution would be established. In order to secure good management, negotiations were commenced with Mr. J.T. Dargan, vice president of the Security, Mortgage and Trust Co. of Dallas, Texas, who had been very successful in inducing foreign and eastern capital to that state. Mr. Dargan agreed to take an interest in it. In October 1893, after making application to have its name changed to the Trust Company of Georgia, the Commercial Travelers' Saving Bank secured beautiful quarters in the Equitable Building on the Edgewood Avenue side, and would occupy the two large rooms to the right of the entrance. The trust company placed contracts for the vaults with the Mosler Safe Co. of Hamilton, Ohio and the order for furniture was placed with the Beutell Furniture Co. of Atlanta.
In January 1913, the board consisted of Thomas J. Avery, Thomas Egleston, Samuel M. Inman, Robert J. Lowry, John E. Murphy, Thomas D. Meador, J.H. Nunnally, Joseph T. Orme, Frederic J. Paxon, Ernest Woodruff, Mell R. Wilkinson, and three new members, Edward H. Inman, E.P. McBurney and Henry W. Davis. The name of Captain William G. Raoul who died since the January meeting was held, his place having not been filled. The officers were Robert J. Lowry, president; Thomas D. Meador and Joseph T. Orme, vice presidents; Henry W. Davis, cashier; E.A. Bancker, Jr., and H. Warner Martin, assistant cashiers. The bank had capital $1,000,000 and surplus of $1,000,000. In 1912, the bank underwent remodeling at a cost of $55,000. The furnishings of the new offices were of marble, bronze and steel. The floors, wainscotings and customers’ desks were of Georgia marble, the fixtures and upper grill work were of bronze and the furnishings through were of steel. Cork floors contributed to comfort and absence of noise in the offices. A private branch telephone exchange connected 20 interior stations so customers could converse with any department of the bank without delay. The bank equipment included eleven electric adding machines and every other modern device for facilitating its operations. In the basement reached by a marble staircase from the interior of the bank there was a modern safe deposit vault.
In January 1922, the directors were Thos. J. Avery, president, Avery & Co.; Mell R. Wilkinson, president, Ashcraft-Wilkinson Co.; John E. Murphy, vice president, Trust Company of Georgia; J.H. Nunnally, vice president, Lowry National Bank and chairman, Nunnally Co.; Frederic J. Paxon, Sec. & Treas., Davison-Paxon-Stokes Co.; E.P. McBurney, president, Mutual Loan & Banking Co.; Henry W. Davis, vice president, Lowry National Bank; Thos. K. Glenn, president, Atlantic Steel Co.; Wilmer L. Moore, president, Southern States Life Ins. Co.; Frank M. Inman, Inman & Howard; Chas. T. Nunnally, Nunnally & McCrea Co.; Frank Adair, vice president, Adair Realty & Trust Co.; W.R. Prescott, gen. agt., Hartford Fire Ins. Co.; H. Warner Martin, president, Lowry National Bank; J.H. Porter, attorney; R.W. Woodruff, vice president, The White Co.; Wm. Candler, secretary, Coca-Cola Co., R.E. Hightower, president, Thomaston Cotton Mills, Thomaston, Georgia; Jno. E. Talmadge, Jr., gen. mgr. Talmadge Bros. & Co., Athens, Georgia; and Wm. G. Smith, vice president, Southern Depts., American Railway Express Co. The officers were H. Warner Martin, president; Henry W. Davis, Jno. M. Ross, Evert A. Bancker, and J.H. Nunnally, vice presidents; Ernest W. Ramspeck, cashier; Harry H. Johnson, O.C. Bradford, Jr., Ernest A. Fowler, R.C. Henderson, Miss Jay Spencer Knapp, Fred McSwain, G.P. Sasser, assistant cashiers; J.R. Radford, Jr., auditor; and C.E. Allen, mgr., credit department.
On January 2, 1923, the consolidation of two of Atlanta's best-known financial institutions under the title of the Lowry Bank and Trust Company of Georgia became effective. The Lowry National Bank, established in 1861, and the Trust Company of Georgia, established in 1891, were now consolidated. Stockholders met and approved amended charters for the consolidation and change of name and for a change of capital from $1,000,000 to $2,500,000. The officers were Ernest Woodruff, chairman of the board; Thomas K. Glenn, president; H. Warner Martin, vice president and executive manager; John M. Ross, Evert A. Bancker, and J.H. Nunnally, vice presidents; Ernest W. Ramspeck, cashier; Harry H. Johnson, Ernest A. Fowler, O.C. Bradford, Jr., R.C. Henderson, Miss Jay Spencer Knapp, Fred McSwain, G.P. Sasser, assistant cashiers; J.R. Radford, Jr. auditor; C.E. Allen, manager of credit department. The officers of the trust, bond and real estate department were Wm. C. Wardlaw, vice president; James J. Goodrum, Jr. vice president and manager, bond dept., George B. Pendleton, secretary and treasurer; John K. McDonald, trust officer; Charles T. Hopkins, manager, real estate dept.; Albert Pritchard, asst. secy. and asst. treas.; and William L. Pomeroy, asst. trust officer. The directors were Frank Adair, Ivan Allen, Thomas J. Avery, William C. Bradley, J. Bulow Campbell, C. Howard Candler, William Candler, William E. Chapin, Robert D. Cole, Henry W. Davis, Thomas K. Glenn, John N. Goddard, Lee Hagan, James E. Hickey, R.E. Hightower, Dr. Thomas P. Hinman, Harold Hirsch, Edward H. Inman, Frank M. Inman, H. Warner Martin, Henry W. Miller, Wilmer L. Moore, Brooks Morgan, John E. Murpy, E.P. McBurney, Charles T. Nunnally, James H. Nunnally, Thomas B. Paine, Frederic J. Paxon, J. Carroll Payne, W.R. Prescott, J.H. Porter, Wm. G. Smith; John E. Talmadge, Sam Tate, Charles A. Wickersham, Mell R. Wilkinson, Charles R. Winship, Ernest Woodruff, and Robert W. Woodruff.
On January 28, 1924, additional details concerning the consolidation of the Atlanta National Bank and the Lowry Bank and Trust Company of Georgia were disclosed in a letter written by Thomas K. Glenn, president, to the stockholders of the Lowry Bank and Trust Company of Georgia. The two institutions would be merged under the name of The Atlanta and Lowry National Bank and not the Atlanta-Lowry National Bank as generally supposed. The institution would have invested capital of $11,000,000 with deposits exceeding $40,000,000. Stockholders of Atlanta National would receive a dividend of 50% on their present holdings and stock in the consolidated bank equal to the shares of stock they currently held. Stockholders in the Lowry Bank and Trust Co. of Georgia would receive a cash dividend equal to $13 per share and stock in the consolidated bank equal to the shares of stock currently held. Mr. Glenn explained that the trust company end of the business would be operated under the name, The Trust Company of Georgia; the stock in this company would be owned by the stockholders of the Atlanta and Lowry National Bank. The merger was effective on Monday, February 11, 1924. The main offices of the Atlanta and Lowry National Bank and the Trust Company of Georgia would be located in the Trust Company of Georgia building at Pryor Street and Edgewood Avenue which was being enlarged and remodeled. Branches of the Atlanta and Lowry National would be maintained at Whitehall and Alabama Streets and the Piedmont Hotel. The Trust Company of Georgia would maintain a branch in the Atlanta National Bank building.
Official Bank Title
1: The Lowry National Bank of Atlanta, GA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $12,119,240 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1923. This consisted of a total of 1,497,040 notes (1,497,040 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 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 36450 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 28020 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 100000 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 71934 1882 Value Back 4x5 100001 - 137957 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 71935 - 94818 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 45385 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 31630
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1923):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Joseph Thompson Orme, 1900-1907
- Henry William Davis, 1908-1914
- Hiram Warner Martin, 1915-1917
- Evert A. Bancker, Jr., 1918-1920
- Ernest Ward Ramspeck, 1921-1922
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Atlanta, GA, 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
- "Atlanta, the Metropolis of the South," The Franklin-Turner Co., Atlanta, 1907.
- The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 86, Jan. 1913-June 1913, pp 474-8.
- The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Thu., Oct. 29, 1891.
- The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Wed., Jan. 13, 1892.
- The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Wed., Mar. 29, 1893.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Tue., Oct. 31, 1893.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Fri., Jan. 10, 1913.
- The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Sun., Jan. 26, 1913. Includes two interior and an exterior view of the bank.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Thu., Jan. 5, 1922.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Tue., Jan. 2, 1923.
- The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Tue., Jan. 2, 1923.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Mon., Jan. 28, 1924.
- The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Thu., Feb. 7, 1924.