National Bank, Greensboro, NC (Charter 2322)
National Bank, Greensboro, NC (Chartered 1876 - Liquidated 1896)
Town History
Greensboro, formerly Greensborough, is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the United States, and the largest city in the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. Three major interstate highways (Interstate 40, Interstate 85, and Interstate 73) in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina were built to intersect at this city.
In 1808, Greensborough (the spelling before 1895) was planned around a central courthouse square to succeed Guilford Court House as the county seat. The county courts were thus placed closer to the county's geographical center, a location more easily reached at the time by the majority of the county's citizens, who traveled by horse or on foot.
Quaker migrants from Pennsylvania, by way of Maryland, arrived at Capefair (now Greensboro) in about 1750. The new settlers began organized religious services affiliated with the Cane Creek Friends Meeting in Snow Camp in 1751. Three years later, 40 Quaker families were granted approval to establish New Garden Monthly Meeting. The action is recorded in the minutes of the Perquimans and Little River Quarterly Meeting on May 25, 1754: "To Friends at New Garden in Capefair", signed by Joseph Ratliff. The settlement grew rapidly over the next three years, adding members from as far away as Nantucket, Massachusetts. It soon became North Carolina's most important Quaker community and the mother of several other Quaker meetings established in the state and west of the Appalachians.
After the Revolutionary War, the city of Greensboro was named for Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the American forces at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781. Although the Americans lost the battle, Greene's forces inflicted heavy casualties on the British Army of General Cornwallis. After the battle, Cornwallis withdrew his troops to a British coastal base in Wilmington.
At the 2020 United States census, its population was 299,035. In 1880 the population was 2,105, growing to 53,569 by 1930.
Greensboro had seven National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and six of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 18, 1876
- Chartered February 7, 1876
- Succeeded Bank of Greensboro
- Liquidated January 18, 1896
- Succeeded by 5031 (Greensboro National Bank, Greensboro, NC)
On Tuesday, January 18, 1876, the following named gentlemen met at the Bank of Greensboro to take steps toward the opening of a National Bank in Greensboro: James M. Winstead, M.D. Smith, Jed H. Lindsay, Julius A. Gray, L. McCulloch, D.P. Foust, Wilson S. Hill, Jesse H. Lindsay, Charles S. Winstead, R.F. Trogden, Ragan & Son, Wyatt Armfield, Samuel D. McLean, John C. Hunter, J.S. Ragsdale, H.R. Welborn, Eugene Morehead, Paul Coble, John S. Long, John M. Lindsay, Obed C. Anthony, Rev. P.H. Dalton, C.N. McAdoo, Lyndon Swaim, J.M. Odell, John A. Gilmer, and Alfred M. Scales. The capital was $100,000, all taken. The following gentlemen were elected Directors: Jesse H. Lindsay, Lyndon Swaim, J.M Winstead, W.S. Hill, J.M. Odell, W.I. Armfield, and Jed H. Lindsay. The Directors in a meeting held immediately after the adjournment of the stockholders' meeting elected the following officers: Jesse H. Lindsay, President, Lyndon Swaim, Vice President, Julius A. Gray, Cashier, and Neil Ellington, Teller.
On February 7, 1876, John S. Langworth, acting comptoroller of the currency, authorized The National Bank of Greensboro to commence the business of banking.
In February 1885, a reward of $500 was offered for the apprehension and conviction of the person who set fire to the bank building on the night of the 19 January. About 4 in the morning the alarm was sounded. The fire burned through the floor here and there for a space of two by five feet, part of the burnt space was covered by a carpet which was also partly burned. The fire was kindled in the cellar in which was stored the fuel, consisting of coal and wood.
In September 1888, Mr. W.S. Hill sold his lot on the corner of South Elm and East Washington Street to Mr. Julius A. Gray. Mr. Gray planned to erect shortly a splendid granite front building for the use of the National Bank of Greensboro.
In January 1890, at the annual meeting of the stockholders of the National Bank of Greensboro, the board of directors for last year was unanimously re-elected. The board consisted of the following persons: Julius A Gray, Lyndon Swaim, W.S. Hill, W.E. Bevill, L. McCulloch, J.M. Odell, and W.J. Armfield. The board of directors re-elected the same persons as officers of the bank as follows: J.A. Gray, president; Lyndon Swaim, vice president; Neil Ellington, cashier; M.S. Sherwood, teller; A.H. Alderman and W.E. Allen, bookkeepers; E.G. Albright, collector.
On January 18, 1896, the twenty-year charter of the National Bank of Greensboro expired by limitation and the same organization, chartered under the name of the Greensboro National Bank, succeeded it. The bank's officers remained unchanged, Mr. Ellington continuing as president and Messrs. J.M. Odell, W.E. Bevill, W.H. Ragan, W.J. Armfield, W.S. Hill, L. McCulloch and Neil Ellington, directors. The National Bank of Greensboro had a very successful career and its successor undoubtedly would make as good a record.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The National Bank of Greensboro, NC
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $476,660 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1876 and 1896. This consisted of a total of 95,332 notes (95,332 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 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 23833
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1876 - 1896):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- North Carolina Bank Note History
- General information on Greensboro (Wikipedia)
- General information on Guilford County (Wikipedia)
- General information on North Carolina (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Greensboro, NC, 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
- Greensboro North State, Greensboro, NC, Fri., Jan. 21, 1876.
- The Greensboro Patriot, Greensboro, NC, Wed., Mar. 29, 1876.
- The Wilmington Morning Star, Fri., Jan. 23, 1885.
- The Greensboro Patriot, Greensboro, NC, Tue., Feb. 3, 1885.
- Greensboro North State, Greensboro, NC, Thu., Sep. 13, 1888.
- Greensboro North State, Greensboro, NC, Thu., Jan. 23, 1890.
- The Greensboro Patriot, Greensboro, NC, Wed., Jan. 22, 1896.
- Duke University Libraries Digital Collections, duke:428848, accessed Oct. 20, 2022.