Ohio Valley National Bank, Cincinnati, OH (Charter 3606)
Ohio Valley National Bank, Cincinnati, OH (Chartered 1886 - Liquidated 1904)
Town History
Cincinnati is a city in Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. With an estimated population of 2,190,209, it is Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 29th-largest, and with a city population of 309,317, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 64th in the United States. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was among the top 10 U.S. cities by population, surpassed only by New Orleans and the older, established settlements of the United States eastern seaboard.
The city's largest institution of higher education, the University of Cincinnati, was founded in 1819 as a municipal college and is now ranked as one of the 50 largest in the United States. Cincinnati is home to historic architecture with many structures in the urban core having remained intact for 200 years. In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as the "Paris of America", due mainly to such ambitious architectural projects as the Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel, and Shillito Department Store. Cincinnati is the birthplace of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States.
Two years after the founding of the settlement, Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory, changed its name to "Cincinnati", possibly at the suggestion of the surveyor Israel Ludlow, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati. St. Clair was at the time president of the Society, made up of Continental Army officers of the Revolutionary War who named their club for Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a dictator in the early Roman Republic who saved Rome from a crisis, and then retired to farming because he did not want to remain in power.
Cincinnati has many nicknames, including Cincy, The 'Nati, The Queen City, The Queen of the West, The Blue Chip City, and The City of Seven Hills.
Cincinnati had 25 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 25 of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Cincinnati also had 18 Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).
Bank History
- Organized December 4, 1886
- Chartered December 20, 1886
- Succeeded Espy, Heidelbach & Company
- Liquidated September 12, 1904
- Absorbed by 24 (First National Bank, Cincinnati, OH)
The Ohio Valley National Bank was the outgrowth of two private banking institutions. Hughes & Co., (formerly Hughes, Wright & Co.) organized the Union National Bank of Cincinnati (Charter 2549) and Espy, Heidelbach & Co. formed the Ohio Valley National Bank. James Espy, a native of Bedford, Pennsylvania, was in the Franklin Bank of Columbus, Ohio and came to Cincinnati in 1854 and formed a partnership with Eli Kenny and later with Philip and Louis Heidelbach. In 1885, Espy organized the Ohio Valley National Bank and became its first president, retiring in May 1904.
By December 1886, the paid-in capital of the bank was $500,000 with James Espy, President, Bernhard Bettmann, Vice President, Theodore Baur, Cashier; and David Wachman, Assistant Cashier. The Ohio Valley National Bank began business in December 1886 in the room formerly occupied by Espy, Heidelbach & Co., the lease there expiring July 1, 1887. The plan was to occupy the Citizens' National Bank which was moving to a new building and the Merchants National Bank planned to take the room vacated by The Ohio Valley National Bank. The first advertisements for The Ohio Valley National Bank give a location on the corner of Vine and Third streets. This is the location of the Burnet House, refurbished in 1885, although it's not clear if the bank was in that building.
In 1887, the paid-up capital was increased to $1,000,000 after consolidating with the Union National Bank with bank officers of James Espy, President; H.W. Hughes, Vice President; O.H. Tudor, Cashier; Theo. Baur, Manager Foreign Department; and D. Wachman, Assistant Cashier. The Directors were James Espy, R.B. Bowler, H.B. Morehead, H.W. Hughes, G.Y. Roots, Lee H. Brooks, Franklin Alter, Augustus Wessel, B. Bettmann, John A. Simpson, and C.B. Wright.
Starting in 1888, advertisements for the bank gave 73 West Third Street as its location. Today, there are only highway interchanges at 73 West Third Street, the former site of the Ohio Valley National Bank.
On Feb. 15, 1887, The Union National Bank consolidated under the name of the Ohio Valley National Bank with O.H. Tudor, formerly of the Union National becoming the Ohio Valley National's new cashier.
In the meantime, the Cincinnati National Bank (Charter 2922), which was organized by Joseph F. Larkin, absorbed the Exchange National Bank (Charter 2616) and in the fall of 1888 was in turn absorbed by the Ohio Valley National.
In 1904, with Mr. Espy's retirement and O.H. Tudor's untimely death leaving Mr. C.B. Wright practically alone in charge, everything was favorable for a merger with some other institution.
The merger of the First National and Ohio National Banks of Cincinnati was ratified at a meeting of the directors, late Thursday, August 4, 1904. The day before the president of the First National Bank, William S. Rowe, and President of the Ohio National Bank, Clifford B. Wright agreed to terms and that the Ohio National Bank would be absorbed by the First, going absolutely out of existence. The stockholders of the Ohio Valley National Bank would receive a share of the First National Bank stock for every share that they had in the Ohio Valley. In addition to this, the Ohio Valley shareholders would receive an extra dividend of not less than 15 per cent of the par value of their stock. There was a difference in the bank value between the two banks being in favor of the Ohio Valley.
Mr. Rowe stated that if any of the stockholders of the Ohio Valley desired to sell their interest, he would pay $200 for each share of the First National Bank that they would receive in exchange for their own stock, this price exclusive of the the extra dividend. It was further stated by Mr. Rowe that the First National would increase its capital $700,000 making the total capitalization of the bank $3,700,000. New First National Bank stock would be issued in exchange for the Ohio Valley stock. The combined resources of the two institutions amounted to $19,737,350 and would make the resulting First National Bank one of the largest in the middle west.
The First National Bank incorporated as a national bank in 1863 with a capital of $1,000,000, increasing to $3,000,000 in 1902. Early in 1903, the bank purchased the southeast corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets and erected on the site an 18-story building, the highest in the city at the time.
Clifford B. Wright acting as liquidating officer for the Ohio Valley National Bank, under special authority granted by the Comptroller of the Currency, informed stockholders that the meeting of September 12, 1904 for purpose of consolidation with the First National Bank resulted in 6,529 shares voting for the proposition and 471 shares not represented, with no votes opposed. After September 20, 1904 at the First National Bank, shareholders were advised to call in person to exchange their Ohio Valley stock, properly endorsed and witnessed, for First National stock plus a $17 cash dividend per share. Mr. Wright was also a new vice president of the First National Bank.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Ohio Valley National Bank of Cincinnati, OH
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,190,800 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1886 and 1904. This consisted of a total of 86,064 notes (86,064 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 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 8200 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 11872 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 2888
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1886 - 1904):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Ohio Bank Note History
- General information on Cincinnati (Wikipedia)
- General information on Hamilton County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Ohio (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Cincinnati, OH, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Wed., Dec. 8, 1886.
- The American Israelite, Cincinnati, OH, Fri., Jan. 14, 1887.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Mon., Feb. 14, 1887.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Wed., Feb. 16, 1887.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Mon. Feb. 10, 1896.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Sat., Apr. 12, 1902.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Thu., May 5, 1904.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Thu., Sep. 22, 1904.