National Exchange Bank, Wheeling, WV (Charter 5164)
National Exchange Bank, Wheeling, WV (Chartered 1898 - Open past 1935)
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 December 16, 1898
- Chartered December 29, 1898
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Merged with The Wheeling Dollar Savings & Trust Co., March 1, 1949
The history of this institution dates back to 1874, operating under state law as the Exchange Bank. By 1899, having received charter 5164 and its new title, The National Exchange Bank of Wheeling, West Virginia, it surpassed all other national banks in the state in terms of deposits and general strength. On April 5, 1899, it reported capital of $200,000, a surplus fund of $20,000 and individual deposits of $1,204,000 with loans and discounts of $713,377. The national bank note issue started at $50,000. At the time, deposits were over $400,000 ahead of any other national bank in the state. The board of directors was made up as follows: J.N. Vance, president Riverside Iron Works; John Frew, business manager Intelligencer Publishing Co.; John Waterhouse of Waterhouse Bros., wholesale grocers; George E. Stifel, of G.E. Stifel & Co., dry goods; William Ellingham of Neil & Ellingham, wholesale grocers; William H. Frank, merchant tailor; W.E. Stone of Stone & Thomas, dry goods; John M. Brown, capitalist; and John L. Dickey, physician. President Vance is described as a man of large wealth and most honorable reputation, while Cashier Lawrence B. Sands is described as one of the best posted and most popular financiers of the south, identified with the banking business since 1877 and with the Exchange Bank since 1894. The Assistant Cashier, William B. Irvine is of high esteem in the community.
On December 29, 1948, the bank celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its starting business as a National Bank. In January, 1949, the Board of Directors unanimously accepted, subject to approval of shareholders, a merger with the Wheeling Dollar Savings & Trust. The Wheeling Dollar Savings & Trust Co. of 1315 Market Street was founded in 1870 and at the time of the proposed merger had resources in excess of $30 million with Samuel W. Harper as chairman of the board and H.E. Laupp as president. The National Exchange Bank of Wheeling had assets of nearly $11 million. The merger was completed on March 1, 1949. The Wheeling Dollar Savings & Trust Co. retained 15 of the National Exchange Bank employees including former president Louis J. Yaeger as a vice president of the Dollar bank.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The National Exchange Bank of Wheeling, WV
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $10,704,410 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1898 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 1,337,409 notes (1,090,356 large size and 247,053 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 23750 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 21100 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 38500 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 29200 1882 Value Back 4x5 38501 - 52580 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 29201 - 37303 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 83839 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 54017 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 20668 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 10250 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 2292 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 29356 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 14557 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 3880
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
The National Exchange Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1898 - 1936):
Presidents:
- James Nelson "Jet" Vance Sr., 1899-1912
- Lawrence E. Sands, 1913-1914
- John Lindsay Dickey, 1915-1928
- Joseph Randolph Naylor, 1929-1935
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Wheeling, WV, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeling,_West Virginia
- 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 Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, Sat., Dec. 31, 1898
- The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, Sat., July 1, 1899.
- Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, Sat., Jan. 15, 1949.
- Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, Tue., Mar. 1, 1949