National City Bank, Saint Louis, MO (Charter 11989)
National City Bank, Saint Louis, MO (Chartered 1921 - Liquidated 1930)
Town History
St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which extends into Illinois, had an estimated population of over 2.8 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second-largest in Illinois.
The founding of St. Louis was preceded by a trading business between Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent and Pierre Laclède Liguest in the fall of 1763. St. Maxent invested in a Mississippi River expedition led by Laclède, who searched for a location to base the company's fur trading operations. Though Ste. Genevieve was already established as a trading center, he sought a place less prone to flooding. He found an elevated area overlooking the flood plain of the Mississippi River, not far south from its confluence with the Missouri and Illinois rivers. In addition to having an advantageous natural drainage system, there were nearby forested areas to supply timber and grasslands which could easily be converted for agricultural purposes. This place, declared Laclède, “might become, hereafter, one of the finest cities in America.” He dispatched his 14-year-old stepson, Auguste Chouteau, to the site, with the support of 30 settlers in February 1764. Laclède arrived at the future town site two months later and produced a plan for St. Louis based on the New Orleans street plan. The default block size was 240 by 300 feet, with just three long avenues running parallel to the west bank of the Mississippi. He established a public corridor of 300 feet fronting the river, but later this area was released for private development.
St. Louis was transferred to the French First Republic in 1800 (although all of the colonial lands continued to be administered by Spanish officials), then sold by the French to the U.S. in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. St. Louis became the capital of, and gateway to, the new territory. Shortly after the official transfer of authority was made, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. The expedition departed from St. Louis in May 1804 along the Missouri River to explore the vast territory.
St. Louis became a major port on the Mississippi River and from 1870 until the 1920 census, it was the fourth-largest city in the country. It separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics.
Saint Louis had 42 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 37 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 27, 1921
- Chartered July 1, 1921
- Liquidated April 14, 1930
- Absorbed by Franklin-American Trust Company, St. Louis
- The Life and Hard Times of Ed Mays (SPMC PM#225)
In 1920, Mr. B.F. Edwards invited Ed Mays, an accomplished Arkansas banker with an extensive resume including the American Exchange Bank of Leslie, to help organize the National City Bank of Saint Louis at 390 N. Seventh Street and then serve as the vice president. On July 12, 1921, The National City Bank of St. Louis invited the public to the opening of their new institution. B.F. Edwards was president and the bank was located at Seventh Street, between Locust and Olive. Officers were B.F. Edwards, president; E.A. Schmid and J.J. Dimmitt, active vice presidents; S.B. Jeffries, J.F. Mackey, and Ed. Mays, vice presidents; W.M. Stone, cashier and J.L. Crain, assistant cashier. The directors were: W.P. Anderson, president, Gideon-Anderson Lbr. & Merc. Co.; David A. Blanton, president, The Blanton Co.; J.C. Boyd, president, Boyd-Welsh Shoe Co.; M.P. Burroughs, president, Thatcher-Kerwin Glass Co.; Norman B. Champ, vice president, Champ Spring Co.; B.F. Edwards, president; A. Friedman, vice president, Friedman-D'Oench & Duhme; George E. Hackmann, Auditor of the State of Missouri; Sam B. Jeffries, Jeffries & Gorum, attorneys; J.F. Mackey, president, Centralia, Illinois National Bank; Ed. Mays, Mays Mfgr. Co.; John C. Muckermann, vice president, Polar Wave Ice & Fuel Co.; Louis Nolte, Comptroller of the City of St. Louis; H.M. Rea, secretary and treasurer, Southern Gem Coal Corp.; E.A. Schmid, vice president; Harry Sternberg, Baer, Sternberg & Cohen; J. Stiassny, treasurer Arkla Lbr. & Mfg. Co.; A.C. Stuever, proprietor, Highlands Fire Clay Co.; Sydney H. Thomson, president, Provident Chemical Works; A.B. Trombley, secretary and treasurer, Carr-Trombley Mfg. Co.[1]
In January 1928, stockholders elected Clarence R. Comfort, president of the Comfort Printing and Stationery Co. a new member of the board. Other directors were re-elected as follows: W.P. Anderson, Preston J. Bradshaw, Norman B. Champ, L.E. Demper, B.F. Edwards, E.A. Schmid, Jerome A. Sternberg, F.X. Hackmann, George E. Hackmann, V. Jacquemin, Jr., Sam B. Jeffries, J.A. Lewis, William T. Mellow, W.M. Stone, Joseph Streckfus, and Sydney Thomson. W.M. Stone, cashier was made vice president and cashier and J.A. Lewis, recently made a vice president of the bank, was re-elected.[2] On Monday, April 16, 1928, the National City Bank occupied its new quarters, the two-story structure at 716 Locust Street. The building which was originally constructed for banking purposes, was purchased by the institution last October for $300,000 and its interior was reconstructed. A safe deposit department was added to the new quarters. B.F. Edwards was president. Other officers were E.A. Schmid and J.A. Lewis, vice presidents; W.M. Stone, vice president and cashier; and V. Jacquemin, Jr., assistant cashier.[3]
On February 19, 1930, merger of the Franklin-American Trust Company and the National City Bank was approved by directors of the two institutions. The assets of the Franklin-American were $31,861,684 and National City $19,777,614 which would result in an undisputed ranking of fourth largest bank in St. Louis for the consolidated institution. The office of the Franklin-American on the southwest corner of Seventh and Olive Streets became the new headquarters. President B.F. Edwards of the National City Bank would become chairman of the new executive committee.[4]
On May 4, 1932, it was announced that B.F. Edwards, formerly chairman of the executive committee of the Franklin-American Trust Co. would become associated with A.G. Edwards & Sons at its offices at 409 North Eighth Street.[5]
Official Bank Title
1: The National City Bank of St. Louis, MO
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $6,654,670 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1921 and 1930. This consisted of a total of 992,228 notes (908,672 large size and 83,556 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 4x5 1 - 177197 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 49971 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 9194 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 3858 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 874
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1921 - 1930):
Presidents:
- Benjamin Franklin Edwards, 1921-1929 NOTE: a featured biography is available
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Missouri Bank Note History
- General information on Saint Louis (Wikipedia)
- General information on St. Louis County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Missouri (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Saint Louis, MO, 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
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Sun., July 10, 1921.
- ↑ St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Wed., Jan. 11, 1928.
- ↑ St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Sun., Apr. 15, 1928.
- ↑ The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Thu., Feb. 20, 1930.
- ↑ St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Thu., May 5, 1932.