NB of West Virginia, Wheeling, WV (Charter 1424)
NB of West Virginia, Wheeling, WV (Chartered 1865 - Closed (Merger) 1996)
Town History
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Wheeling was originally a settlement in the British colony of Virginia, and later the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Wheeling was where the creation of West Virginia was planned, and it was the first capital of the new state. Due to its location along major transportation routes, including the Ohio River, National Road, and the B&O Railroad, Wheeling became a manufacturing center in the late nineteenth century. After experiencing the closing of factories and substantial population loss following World War II, Wheeling's major industries now include healthcare, education, law and legal services, entertainment and tourism, and energy.
During the fall of 1769, Ebenezer Zane explored the Wheeling area and established claim to the land via "tomahawk rights". (This process meant to girdle a few trees near the head of a spring, and mark the bark with the initials of the name of the person who made the claim.) He returned the following spring with his wife Elizabeth and his younger brothers, Jonathan and Silas; they established the first permanent European settlement in the Wheeling area, naming it Zanesburg.
In 1787, the United States gave Virginia this portion of lands west of the Appalachians, and some to Pennsylvania at its western edge, to settle their claims. By the Northwest Ordinance that year, it established the Northwest Territory to cover other lands north of the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi River. Settlers began to move into new areas along the Ohio. In 1793, Ebenezer Zane divided the town into lots, and Wheeling was officially established as a town in 1795 by legislative enactment. The town was incorporated January 16, 1805. On March 11, 1836, the town of Wheeling was incorporated into the city of Wheeling.
As of the census of 2010, there were 28,486 people, residing in the city. This represents a gradual decline in population from the high in 1930 of 61,659.
Wheeling had six National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all six of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 23, 1865
- Chartered July 11, 1865
- In place of North Western Bank of Virginia
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Bank One, Wheeling-Steubenville, N.A. in Wheeling, WV, January 1, 1996
The Virginia Legislature established two banks in 1817, the North Western Bank and the Bank of the Valley of Virginia. On January 16, 1819, Governor James P. Preston authorized The Northwestern Bank of Virginia to commence banking operations. On St. Patrick’s Day 1839, the North Western Bank of Virginia opened a branch in Parkersburg [this bank would become the Parkersburg National Bank (Charter 1427)]
In 1852, John C. Campbell was president and Daniel Lamb, cashier. The bank had capital of $740,000 and was located on the southwest corner of Main and Monroe Streets.
Dr. John C. Campbell was admitted to the bar in 1821. In 1829 he was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney for Brooke County, an office he held until July 1852. Dr. Campbell was elected to the Legislature of Virginia in 1830 from Brooke County and was re-elected in 1832 and 1833. While residing in Brooke County, he was for some years President of the branch of the North Western Bank at that place. In 1849, soon after his removal to Wheeling, he was elected president of the North Western Bank, a position he filled for many years. At the outbreak of the war, Dr. Campbell entered the service as surgeon of what was then known as the 12th Virginia. He was appointed Judge Advocate General for the Department of West Virginia by Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton and would serve as such until the close of the war. In latter years he engaged in sheep culture on his farm in Ohio County, his flocks being some of the finest in the country.
Daniel Lamb, the oldest and one of the most eminent members of the Wheeling bar, was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, January 22nd, 1810. In April 1823, his parents left Connellsville and took up residence in Wheeling. Having acquired a good scholastic training, Mr. Lamb chose the law as his vocation in life. He was admitted to practice in 1837. In 1848 he was made the cashier of the North Western Bank, and occupied this responsible position until the institution was merged into another concern in 1863. After severing his connection with the bank, Mr. Lamb resumed his chosen profession. His marriage to Maria M. Clark, daughter of John Clark, at that time a prominent farmer of Belmont county, Ohio, was solemnized in 1837. Mr. Lamb had one son and three daughters living. The son, Gibson Lamb, was the cashier of the Bank of Wheeling, and was one of the ablest financiers in the Ohio valley. Daniel Lamb was a member of the Virginia constitutional convention in 1861, and took a firm and loyal stand for preserving the Union. He was a Republican and a member of the Society of Friends. A man of high attainments, modest to the last degree, and of the strictest integrity.
On Tuesday, January 21, 1862, at the election for directors of the North Western Bank, the following gentlemen were chosen: James W. Paxton, M. Reilly, J.C. Campbell, T.H. Mong, James Maxwell, and James Dalzell. In July 1862, the Graziers' Bank (late the Jeffersonville Branch of the North Western Bank of Virginia) reported capital $164,200, circulation $210,660, specie $28,089, deposits $15,711.89 and discounts $992,718.85.
In August 1865, James W. Paxton, president of the National Bank of West Virginia (late North Western Bank) returned from a visit to Richmond in connection with the affairs of the branch of the late North Western Bank at Jeffersonville, Tazewell County. After the war commenced, the branch bank changed its name to Graziers' Bank and its old notes circulating in West Virginia were left exclusively to the protection of the parent bank. They were taken up to the extent of some $165,000. The available assets of the branch amounted to upwards of $70,000 and included some $27,000 in gold.
In January 1880, the directors were Michael Reilly, A.S. Todd, Arthur Little, John Wagner, R.W. Hazlett, J.R. Hubbard, E.W. Oglebay, and Chas W. Brockunier. James Maxwell was president and John Wagner, cashier. The bank had capital of $200,000 and was located on the southwest corner of Main and Twelfth Streets.
In January 1885, Fairmont people were pleased to learn of the appointment of L.E. Sands to the position of assistant cashier. The directors were James Maxwell, Michael Reilly, E.W. Oglebay, John Wagner, R.W. Hazlett, J.R. McCourtney, and Chas. W. Brockunier. The officers were James Maxwell, president; E.W. Oglebay, vice president; John Wagner, cashier; and Lawrence E. Sands, assistant cashier.
In October 1887, the directors were August Rolf, Michael Reilly, E.W. Oglebay, John Wagner, R.W. Hazlett, J.R. McCourtney, and Chas. W. Brockunier. The officers were Earl W. Oblebay, president; Chas. W. Brockunier, vice president; John Wagner, cashier; and Lawrence E. Sands, assistant cashier.
In January 1895, the directors were August Rolf, R.T. Devries, E.W. Oglebay, John Wagner, R.W. Hazlett, J.R. McCourtney, and Lawrence E. Sands. The officers were Earl W. Oblebay, president; J.R. McCourtney, vice president; John Wagner, cashier; and Lawrence E. Sands, assistant cashier.
In October 1939, John C. McConnell was elected president. He had been connected with the bank for the past year and a half as executive vice president. I.M. Scott was chairman of the board and a president of the Wheeling Steel Corporation.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The National Bank of West Virginia at Wheeling, WV
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $8,989,080 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 749,766 notes (628,008 large size and 121,758 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 - 9250 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 2900 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 2500 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 1600 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 5339 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 13500 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 35300 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 35301 - 121913 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 14428 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 4104 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 7800 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 2766
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1935):
Presidents:
- James W. Paxton, 1865-1866
- Crispin Oglebay, 1867-1875
- James Maxwell, 1876-1884
- Earl William Oglebay, 1885-1925
- William Burris Irvine, 1926-1935
Cashiers:
- Gibson Lamb, 1865-1867
- John Wagner, 1868-1904
- Guy Allen Wagner, 1905-1907
- Baird Mitchell, 1908-1912
- Arthur Edgar Schmidt, 1913-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- Robert Tevis DeVries, Vice President 1906
- Lawrence E. Sands, Assistant Cashier 1885...1895 NOTE: A featured biography is available
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Wheeling, WV, 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
- Richmond Enquirer, Richmond, VA, Tue., Jan. 19, 1819.
- The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, Tue., Oct. 5, 1852.
- The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, Wed., Jan. 22, 1862.
- Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Thu., July 24, 1862.
- The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, Sat., Aug. 19, 1865.
- The Daily Register, Wheeling, WV, Mon., Jan. 5, 1880.
- The Daily Register, Wheeling, WV, Wed., Jan. 28, 1885.
- Wheeling Sunday Register, Wheeling, WV, Sun., Feb. 1, 1885.
- The Daily Register, Wheeling, WV, Sat., Oct. 15, 1887.
- The Daily Register, Wheeling, WV, Tue., Jan. 15, 1895.
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Fri., Oct. 27, 1939.