Merchants National Bank, Richmond, VA (Charter 1754)
Merchants National Bank, Richmond, VA (Chartered 1870 - Closed 1926)
Town History
Richmond is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 204,214; in 2020, the population grew to 226,610, making Richmond the fourth-most populous city in Virginia. The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state.
Richmond is at the fall line of the James River, 44 miles west of Williamsburg, 66 miles east of Charlottesville, 91 miles east of Lynchburg and 92 miles south of Washington, D.C. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64 and encircled by Interstate 295, Virginia State Route 150 and Virginia State Route 288. Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest, Chesterfield to the south, Varina to the southeast, Sandston to the east, Glen Allen to the north and west, Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast.
The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown from 1609 to 1611. The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737. It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780, replacing Williamsburg. During the Revolutionary War period, several notable events occurred in the city, including Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775 at St. John's Church, and the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson. During the American Civil War, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy.
The Main Street Banking Historic District is a national historic district located in downtown Richmond, Virginia.
Richmond had 11 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 11 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized December 7, 1870
- Chartered December 17, 1870
- Succeeded Thomas Branch & Co.
- Closed February 27, 1926
- Consolidated with 1111 February 27, 1926 (First National Bank, Richmond, VA)
- Circulation assumed by 1111 (First National Bank, Richmond, VA)
In December 1869, the office of the Central Presbyterian moved to No. 1015 Main Street, over the banking house of Thomas Branch, Esq.[5]
In December 1870, Thos. Branch & Co. announced that the banking business would be transferred to the Merchants National Bank of Richmond on January 1st. The commission business would continue and Thos. Branch & Co. would move next to the store under the Corn Exchange lately occupied by Ellett & Royster on Cary Street. Mr. Geo. A. Cunningham, formerly of Spencer & Cunningham, was admitted as a partner in the commission business. Thomas Branch accepted the presidency of the Merchants National Bank with Mr. John B. Morton, formerly of the National Bank of Virginia as cashier. The Merchants National received its charter on December 17, 1870, and started with subscribed capital of $200,000, and authorized capital of $1,000,000.[6]
In January 1875, the following directors were elected at the annual meeting of the Merchants National Bank: Thomas Branch, F.R. Scott, B.T. Johnson, C.L. Todd, Richard Irby, Archer Anderson, Z.W. Pickrell, W.J. Leake, W.J. Johnson, A.S. Buford, R.C. Morton, C.R. Barksdale, and G.B. Board.[7]
On Thursday, November 15, 1888, Thomas Branch, for years the head of the banking house of Thomas Branch & Co., died at his home in Richmond. Mr. Branch went to Richmond from Petersburg soon after the war and became identified with the banking business.[8] He was a Union man before the war and as a member of the secession convention, spoke and voted against the ordinance, but afterwards signed it.[9]
In 1914, the officers were John P. Branch, president; John Kerr Branch, vice president; Thos. B. McAdams, vice president and cashier; John F. Glenn, vice president; Geo. H. Keesee, A.C. Baylis, W.F. Augustine, J.R. Perdue, G. Jeter Jones, and Jno. C. White, assistant cashiers. The bank was an out-growth of the firm of Thomas Branch & Company of Richmond, established in 1867, which was in turn the successor of Thomas Branch & Sons of Petersburg established in 1838 by Thomas Branch, a native of Petersburg. Upon the death of Thomas Branch, his son, John P. Branch, was elected to the presidency. The qualities that marked the father as one of the ablest financiers in Virginia were passed on to the younger banker. The bank was fortunate in the selection of its present cashier, Thomas Branch McAdams, a grandnephew of the first president who not only enjoyed a wide popularity in his business relations, but also brought a natural banking ability to which he was justly heir. In 1901, one of the bank's broad initiatives was the establishment of its savings department that had grown to over 6,000 savings accounts. The bank was among the first in the South to form a foreign connection, creating a relation with the British Linen Bank, London. The Merchants National had for years made a specialty of handling the accounts of out-of-town banks, giving unexcelled collection facilities throughout the Virginias, Carolinas, Kentucky and Tennessee, placing it in direct communication with over 750 banks in the South. The strength of the bank was reflected in the market value of its stock which was about $1,000 per share. The work of John Kerr Branch, chairman of the executive committee, was instrumental in the selection of Richmond for the Fifth Regional Reserve Bank.[10]
In January 1923, Melville C. Branch of the firm of Thomas Branch & Co. was elected to the presidency of the Merchants National Bank to succeed John Kerr Branch, the election of the latter to the chairmanship of the board. The following directors were elected: John Kerr Branch, M.C. Branch, Fred W. Scott, Thomas B. Scott, Charles G. Wilson, James Caskle, Thomas B. McAdams, Garrett B. Wall, E.A. Rennolds, John Akin Branch, Legh R. Page, Thomas B. Yuille, M.E. Marcuse, Blythe W. Branch, E. Randolph Williams, and James T. Sloan. The directors re-elected Thomas B. McAdams, John Akin Branch, W.F. Augustine, G. Jeter Jones, and John C. White vice presidents. H.P. Gillespie and Lucien B. Thomas were advanced from assistant cashiers to assistant vice presidents; H. Hiter Harris, formerly assistant cashier, was made cashier and O.C. White, F.C. Lafferty and B. Roy Dudley, Jr., assistant cashiers. Melville C. Branch was born in Atlanta, Georgia, his father was a brother of the late John P. Branch. Coming to Richmond in 1895, Mr. Branch entered the employment of the banking house of Thomas Branch & Co., and in 1907 he became a partner in the firm. He was elected a director of the Merchants National Bank in 1910 and in 1920 was appointed vice president in charge of the trust department. Mr. Branch had been active in the work of reorganizing the cotton industries of the South. In 1920 he was chairman of the creditors' committee of the Blue Buckle Cotton Mills of Rock Hill, South Carolina, a subsidiary of the Jobbers' Overall Company of Lynchburg which failed that year.[11]
On Tuesday, January 26, 1926, a special meeting of stockholders was called the object being to consider and vote upon an agreement of consolidation entered into by the officers and directors of the First National Bank and the Merchants' National Bank of Richmond, to be consolidated under the name of First and Merchant's National Bank of Richmond. Not all business could be accommodated on the appointed day and another special meeting was scheduled for February 24, 1926.[12][13] The main office of the Merchants National was located at Eleventh and Main Streets with branches at 907 N. Boulevard and 1307 E. Brookland Park Blvd. The capital, surplus and undivided profits were over $2,400,000.[14]
On March 1, 1926, the Comptroller of the Currency approved the consolidation of the two Richmond banks, the First National, having capital of $2 million, and the Merchants National with capital of $1 million. They consolidated under the charter of the First National Bank and planned to conduct business under the name of the First and Merchants National Bank of Richmond with capital stock of $3 million.[15] At the end of 1926, the bank had resources of over $52 million.[16]
On January 1, 1927, William F. Augustine, vice president of the First and Merchant's National Bank became the vice president of the National Shawmut Bank of Boston, his resignation from the First and Merchants to take effect at the same time. Mr. Augustine had high positions in the Richmond Clearing House Association, the Virginia State Bankers' Association and the American Bankers' Association.[17]
Reuben Hancock Broaddus, retired vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank at Richmond, died Sunday at his home in Bowling Green. A native of King and Queen County, he attended Bowling Green Academy and was graduated from the University of Richmond. He began his banking career in 1904 as a runner for the Merchants National Bank, where he later advanced to positions of auditor, assistant cashier, and cashier. In 1918 he resigned as cashier of the Merchants National to become manager of the fiscal agency of the Federal Reserve Bank. He was appointed deputy governor of the bank in 1919 and vice president in 1936. He resigned in 1937.[18]
Official Bank Title
1: The Merchants National Bank of Richmond, VA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $3,682,450 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1870 and 1926. This consisted of a total of 373,932 notes (373,932 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 Original Series 4x5 1 - 5500 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 2400 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 3500 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 3766 Series 1875 50-100 1 - 1338 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 14250 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 16300 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 2342 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 2900 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2873 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 22240 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 17914
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1870 - 1926):
Presidents:
- Thomas Branch, 1871-1880
- John Patterson Branch, 1881-1914
- John Kerr Branch, 1915-1923
- Melville Campbell Branch, 1924-1925
Cashiers:
- John Brightwell Morton, 1871-1880
- John Foster Glenn, 1881-1905
- Thomas Branch McAdams, 1906-1916
- Reuben Hancock Broaddus, 1917-1917
- John Carey White, 1918-1922
- Henry Hiter Harris, Sr., 1923-1925
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Richmond, 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
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 89, July - Dec. 1914, p. 302.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 89, July - Dec. 1914, p. 304.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 89, July - Dec. 1914, p. 305.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 89, July - Dec. 1914, p. 305.
- ↑ The Central Presbyterian, Richmond, VA, Wed., Dec. 29, 1869.
- ↑ Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Thu., Dec. 29, 1870.
- ↑ Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Tue., Jan. 12, 1875.
- ↑ Virginia Free Press, Charles Town, WV, Thu., Nov. 22, 1888.
- ↑ The Washington Post, Washington, DC, Fri., Nov. 16, 1888.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 89, July - Dec. 1914, pp 302-6.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Wed., Jan. 10, 1923.
- ↑ The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Thu., Jan. 14, 1926.
- ↑ The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Wed., Jan. 27, 1926.
- ↑ The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Mon., Jan. 4, 1926.
- ↑ The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Tue., Mar. 2, 1926.
- ↑ The Richmond News Leader, Richmond, VA, Tue., Jan. 11., 1927.
- ↑ The Richmond News Leader, Richmond, VA, Fri., Dec. 31, 1926.
- ↑ The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, Mon. July 13, 1964.