National Commercial Bank, Cleveland, OH (Charter 7487)
National Commercial Bank, Cleveland, OH (Chartered 1904 - Liquidated 1921)
Town History
Cleveland is a city in Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in Northeast Ohio along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the U.S. maritime border with Canada and lies approximately 60 miles west of Pennsylvania.
The largest city on Lake Erie and one of the major cities of the Great Lakes region, Cleveland ranks as the second-most populous city in Ohio and 54th-most populous city in the U.S. with a 2020 population of 372,624. The city anchors the Cleveland metropolitan area, the 33rd-largest in the U.S. at 2.18 million residents, as well as the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton combined statistical area, the most populous in Ohio and the 17th-largest in the country with a population of 3.63 million in 2020.
Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River by General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city was named. Its location on both the river and the lake shore allowed it to grow into a major commercial and industrial center, attracting large numbers of immigrants and migrants. Cleveland is a port city, connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Its economy relies on diverse sectors that include higher education, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedicals. The GDP for the Greater Cleveland MSA was $135 billion in 2019.
The Civil War vaulted Cleveland into the first rank of American manufacturing cities and fueled unprecedented growth. Its prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes played an important role in its development as an industrial and commercial center. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland, and in 1885, he moved its headquarters to New York City, which had become a center of finance and business. In 1860 the population was 43,417, growing to 381,768 by 1900.
Cleveland had 29 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 28 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized November 8, 1904
- Chartered November 23, 1904
- Opened for business Dec 1, 1904
- Succeeded 807 (Commercial National Bank, Cleveland, OH)
- Succeeded 3272 (Mercantile National Bank, Cleveland, OH)
- Liquidated February 28, 1921
The Bank's early history can be traced back to the Commercial Branch Bank in Cleveland, organized in September 1845 as a branch of the State Bank of Ohio. It reorganized as the Commercial National Bank under a federal charter in 1865 and it became the National Commercial Bank in 1904.
On October 27, 1904, announcement was made of the merger of the Commercial National and the Mercantile National banks of Cleveland. The new national bank would be called the National Commercial Bank with capital stock of $1,500,000. The directors of both old banks would be included in the directorate of the new one.[1] On November 23, 1904, a charter was issued to the National Commercial Bank of Cleveland, capital $1,500,000, with J. Colwell, president; C.L. Murfey and W.P. Johnson, vice presidents; and L.A. Murfey, cashier.[2]
On December 31, 1920, four of Cleveland's largest banks were merged into an institution under a state charter. The banks consolidated were the First National Bank of Cleveland, the Citizens Savings and Trust Company, the Union Commerce National Bank of Cleveland, and the First Trust and Savings Company. The consolidated corporation was known as the Union Trust Company with capital and surplus of $30,000,000. With the approval of Superintendent Pontius, the trust company would soon take over two more Cleveland banks, namely the Woodland Avenue Savings and Trust Co., and the Broadway Savings and Trust Co. Authority was given to the Union Trust Co. to operate eight branch banks. Superintendent Pontius authorized the merger of the National Bank of Commerce of Toledo with the Guardian Trust and Savings Bank of Toledo under the name of the Commerce-Guardian Trust and Savings Bank with $1.5 million capital and resources of more than $25 million. The merger was effective on Saturday, January 1st, 1921. Like the Cleveland mergers, the resulting institution would be under state supervision which was the preference of a majority of banks, so the department of banks stated.[3]
On January 25, 1921, negotiations were completed for the Guardian Savings and Trust Company to take over the National Commercial Bank which would give Cleveland its third institution with upwards of $100 million in resources. Stockholders of the National Commercial would meet on February 24th to ratify the merger.[4]
The Guardian Savings and Trust Company, one of Cleveland's principal banks in the early 20th century, opened December 10, 1894 at W. 9th and Superior with capital of $500,000 and 4 employees. In 1898 Henry P. McIntosh became president. An "uptown" office in the Arcade was added in 1902 and 4 years later the growing bank erected a 12-story building at 322 Euclid Ave. Still expanding, the bank purchased the New England Building at 619 Euclid Ave. in 1914, which it enlarged and renamed the Guardian Bldg. Under President J. Arthur House, the Guardian acquired several local banks between 1919-21, including the historic National Commercial Bank. In the 1920s, Guardian established 19 branch offices and by the late 1920s it had 725 employees with over $140 million in deposits and $16 million in capital. The bank was also a web of 26 companies, including investment and real estate firms, and a number of questionable insider loans were made to its bank officers and directors. After the March 1933 bank holiday, the Guardian was ordered to liquidate and state authorities uncovered many of the illegal dealings. In 1934-35, Pres. House was convicted of misapplying bank funds and falsifying bank records; he served 2 years in prison. The final dividend was paid to depositors and creditors in 1950, and the Guardian's affairs were closed February 19, 1952.
On December 11, 1930, death ended the banking career of Lewis A. Murfey, 75, vice president of the Guardian Trust Company and a prominent figure in local financial circles for the past quarter century. Murfey died at his home in Cleveland. With his brother, Charles L. Murfey, also a vice president of the Guardian, they worked side by side in local financial institutions for 60 years and were known as the "deans of Cleveland banking." At the time of his death, Murfey was vice president of the Browning Crane Co., the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad Co.; and a director in the Cleveland Stone Co. and the Upson-Walton Co.[5]
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The National Commercial Bank of Cleveland, OH
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $6,522,200 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1904 and 1921. This consisted of a total of 521,776 notes (521,776 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 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 29000 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 86000 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 86001 - 101444
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1904 - 1921):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Cleveland, OH, on Wikipedia
- Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University
- 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