Omaha National Bank, Omaha, NE (Charter 1633)
Omaha National Bank, Omaha, NE (Chartered 1866 - Closed (Merger) 1997)
Town History
Omaha is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 40th-most populous city, Omaha's 2020 census population was 486,051. Approximately 1.5 million people reside within the Greater Omaha area, within a 50 mile radius of Downtown Omaha.
Omaha's pioneer period began in 1854, when the city was founded by speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa. The city was founded along the Missouri River, and a crossing called Lone Tree Ferry earned the city its nickname, the "Gateway to the West". Omaha introduced this new West to the world in 1898, when it played host to the World's Fair, dubbed the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. During the 19th century, Omaha's central location in the United States spurred the city to become an important national transportation hub. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the transportation and jobbing sectors were important in the city, along with its railroads and breweries. In the 20th century, the Omaha Stockyards, once the world's largest, and its meatpacking plants gained international prominence.
Omaha had 15 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 12 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized December 14, 1865
- Chartered February 10, 1866
- Absorbed 4270 December 10, 1901 (National Bank of Commerce, Omaha, NE)
- Absorbed 9730 December 27, 1924 (Corn Exchange National Bank, Omaha, NE)
- Absorbed 2775 May 20, 1926 (Merchants National Bank, Omaha, NE)
- Absorbed 11829 January 9, 1930 (Peters NB (No Issue), Omaha, NE)
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into First Bank N.A. in Minneapolis, MN, June 1, 1997
Ezra Millard, after leaving the firm of Millard, Caldwell & Co., organized the Omaha National Bank with a capital of $50,000, holding the position of president and engaging Joseph N. Field as cashier. Mr. Field came to Omaha and signed the first currency of the bank but never really acted as cashier, that position being vacant until January 1867 when it was filled by J.H. Millard, brother of Ezra Millard. The bank began business on July 1, 1866, in a one-story frame building about 20X40 feet at the northwest corner of 14th and Douglas Streets. The banking room was separated by a board partition from a little room at the rear which was used as a directors' room by day and a bedroom for the watchman at night. The banking room had a counter of pine boards painted white. A large safe with a burglar-proof chest at the bottom stood at the rear of the room. The safe was not considered secure enough to guard from burglars and every night a large sum was taken to the establishment of Millard, Caldwell & Co. and left there over night. This was done until 1867 when the bank occupied its new quarters at Thirteenth and Douglas Streets, considered very commodious and elegant at the time.
In March 1868, Mr. A.U. Wyman, having resigned the office of Assistant Cashier of the United States Treasury at Washington, was elected assistant cashier of the Omaha National Bank. Mr. Ezra Millard remained president; and J.H. Millard, cashier.
In January 1882, four houses were engaged in banking in Omaha, the First National Bank and Omaha National Bank under national bank charters, the State Bank of Nebraska corporation chartered by the state, and the private banking house of Caldwell, Hamilton & Co. The deposits of the four banking houses in aggregate were over $5.6 million. The exchanges sold by the four over the past year were $67.8 million.
In 1882, the officers and directors erected an imposing and substantial new structure in Omaha, costing $115,000. Built of St. Louis hydraulic pressed brick with rich and ornamental terra cotta facing, it had a frontage of 66 feet on Thirteenth Street, a depth of 82 feet and was four full stories over a basement. The Western Union Telegraph Company occupied the basement for office purposes, their operating rooms were located in the fourth story. The Omaha Safe Depository occupied the lower portion of the bank vault. The vault was 9X10, the walls being of fire-proof masonry 30 inches thick resting on a solid rock foundation, lined with chrome steel 3-inches thick. The doors opened and closed automatically. The counting room of the bank took up the entire first floor. The officers were Joseph H. Millard, president; William Wallace, cashier; and A.J. Simpson, Guy C. Barton, S.H.H. Clark, and J.J. Brown, directors.
On April 15, 1885, articles of incorporation of the Omaha Loan and Trust Co. with an authorized capital of $500,000, were filed in the county clerks office. The business of the company would be the negotiations of loans on real estate and the purchase and sale of real estate and personal property. The incorporators were George A. Hoagland, Max Meyer, J.H. Millard, A.J. Simpson, Guy C. Barton, J.J. Brown, W.B. Millard, E.W. Nash, William Wallace, A.R. Converse, S.H.H. Clark, G.W. Lininger, Dewey & Stone, and Thomas L. Kimball.
In January 1887, the officers were J.H. Millard, president; A.U. Wyman, vice president; William Wallace, cashier; R. Carrier and E.E. Balch, assistant cashiers. The bank's capital was $500,000, surplus $250,000 and deposits 4,496,199.95. NOTE: Albert Uriah Wyman was appointed Treasurer of the U.S. by President Grant in 1877 and a second time by Chester A. Arthur in 1883.
On Tuesday, January 10, 1899, the following officers and directors were elected: J.H. Millard, president; William Wallace, cashier; R. Carrier and E.E. Balch, assistant cashiers; J.H. Millard, Guy C. Barton, Erastus Young, Oliver W. Mink, N.W. Wells, A.J. Simpson, J.J. Brown, E.W. Nash, and William Wallace, directors.
In January 1910, the officers and directors were J.H. Millard, president; Wm. Wallace, W.H. Bucholz, Ward M. Burgess, vice presidents; J. DeF. Richards, cashier; Frank Boyd, B.A. Wilcox, and Ezra Millard, assistant cashiers; K.C. Barton, J.E. Baum, Charles H. Brown, Isaac W. Carpenter, E.A. Cudahy, Louis C. Nash, and Arthur C. Smith, directors. In November 1910, the remodeling of the Omaha National Bank building was completed, taking ten months at a cost of $240,000. The interior fittings alone called for six carloads of marble, two carloads of steel furniture fittings; twenty cars were required to ship in the new vaults, three carloads of ornamental plaster were employed, one car of solid bronze for the cages, two carloads of cabinet work and one of other furniture. Architect George B. Prinz converted the first floor into one great room by removing the walls, yet still supporting nine stories of solid masonry while giving access to the elevators. The main bank quarters occupied the whole first floor with the exception of the corridor entrance. Solid bronze gates, 10 feet wide and 12 feet high, each weighing about two tons allowed one to pass from the corridor into the bank. Officers' and customers' spaces were provided with solid cast bronze entrance gates and wainscot in solid paneled mahogany, rising to a height of 7 1/2 feet. The new quarters provided 3 times the floor space compared to the old building on Thirteenth Street. Offices were distributed around the lobby, proving for easy access from any part of the room. At the left of the entrance, a department for women was one of the distinctive features. Tellers and bookkeepers served women exclusively, thus feminine customers would not have to stand in line with the men. Circassian walnut was used in finishing the ladies' room. The west side was taken up with receiving tellers' cages and bookkeepers' desks. A two-story book vault occupied the northwest part of the room. The cash vault stood in the center of the north space. Above was a ceiling light covering the north court between the winds of the building. The directors' room in the northwest corner had a paneled ceiling, decorated in relief plaster and color, the walls having been tinted a warm color finished with Circassion walnut. Brightness was added through the application of gold leaf on the ceiling. On the east side ran a counter screen stretching the length of the bank.
Constructed in 1888, the Omaha Building, was commissioned by the New York Life Insurance Company. It was designed by the nationally-known New York firm of McKim, Mead and White. In 1901 the Omaha National Bank purchased the building. The bank remodeled in 1910 and an eleventh floor was added in 1920.
The finest Italian Pavonazza marble of a cream color with dark veining was used for counters and patrons' tables. Everywhere it rested on a base of verde antique, a beautiful green marble from Greece. The flooring of the whole room was a Napoleon gray marble with border of verde antique and Hauteville. The hallway was wainscoted with English vein Italian marble and the trimmings of the safe deposit company were of the same material. This was a white marble, streaked with blue veins. The cash vault was covered with veined statuary, also in a warm cream colored Italian marble. The marble was imported and cut in Milwaukee. There was a cash vault and a two-story book vault on the main floor and four storage vaults and a safety deposit vault in the basement. Marble and a bronze clock embellished the exterior of the cash vault. The safety deposit department was located on the east side of the basement and could be entered either from the street or by a stairway from the main floor. Both cash vault and safety deposit vault had doors weighing twenty tons, the hinges alone weighing two tons. The door and was adjusted so one person could open it without effort. At present 2,500 boxes with room for 5,000 were found in the safety deposit vault. The entire bank was lit by the "Iseco Frink" concealed system installed by the International Supply and Export Company of St. Louis.
In March 1917, the officers were J.H. Millard, president; W.H. Bucholz, first vice president; Ward M. Burgess and B.A. Wilcox, vice presidents; Frank Boyd, cashier; and Ezra Millard, O.T. Alvison, and J.A. Changstrom, assistant cashiers. The bank was located at 17th and Farnam Streets and as of the March 5th report, had capital $1,000,000; surplus $1,000,000; undivided profits $171,463.33 and deposits $25,250,075.66. In May 1917, the directors elected Frank Boyd vice president and Ezra Millard was promoted to the position of cashier. The changes were due to the recent death of first vice president W.H. Bucholz. Walter W. Head, cashier of the German-American National Bank of St. Joseph, Missouri, would take the place of the late W. H. Bucholz as a vice president around July 1st. Edward Neale who had been in the collection department was promoted to assistant cashier.
In January 1918, the officers were J.H. Millard, president; Ward M. Burgess, Walter W. Head, B.A. Wilcox, Frank Boyd, vice presidents; Ezra Millard, cashier; O.T. Alvison, J.A. Changstrom, and Edward Neale, assistant cashiers. The directors were J.H. Millard, Arthur C. Smith, E.A. Cudahy, Jr., Louis C. Nash, B.A. Wilcox, Walter W. Head, Ward M. Burgess, Isaac W. Carpenter, Ezra Millard, and Randall K. Brown.
On June 2, 1920, Ezra Millard, cashier of the Omaha National Bank, died following an operation for appendicitis performed a week earlier. He was 43 years old and a nephew of Senator Joseph H. Millard, president of the bank. Mr. Millard was born in Omaha, the son of the late Ezra Millard, brother of Joseph Millard. He was a Harvard graduate and also attended a boys' school in Dresden, Germany. He was active in all civic affairs and the American Institute of Banking; he was a member of the Harvard University, Omaha, and Happy Hollow Clubs, and the Chamber of Commerce.
In February 1921, the officers were Joseph H. Millard, chairman of the board, Walter W. Head, president; Ward M. Burgess, Bert A. Wilcox, Frank Boyd, and W. Dale Clark, vice presidents; Otis T. Alvinson, cashier; John A. Changstrom, Edward Neale, assistant cashiers; Arthur C. Smith, Edward A. Cudahy, Jr., Louis C. Nash, Isaac W. Caprenter, Barton Millard, and Randall K. Brown, directors.
In January 1923, the Omaha Trust Company increased its capital stock from $200,000 to $400,000. The trust company was organized as an adjunct of the Omaha National Bank on April 2, 1919 by Walter W. Head, president of the bank. Mr. Head was president of the trust company and Guy C. Kiddoo, was vice president and trust officer. The transit department of the Omaha National Bank was moved to the second floor of the Omaha Building to permit the trust company to occupy the entire space on the basement floor. In addition to its regular trust duties, the company also had a mortgage, municipal and general securities department with forty employees. When it was organized it had three employees.
In January 1924, the officers were Walter W. Head, president; Bert A. Wilcox, Frank Boyd, W. Dale Clark, vice presidents; Otis T. Alvison, cashier; John A. Changstrom, Edward Neale, Justin V. Refregier, and Fred A Guggenmos, assistant cashier. Ward M. Burgess was chairman of the board, George Brandeis, Randall K. Brown, Charles C. George, Isaac W. Carpenter, Louis C. Nash, George J. Woods, and Edward A. Cudahy, Jr., directors. At the end of 1923, the bank had total resources of $31,823,965.08. The capital stock was $1,000,000, surplus and undivided profits $1,238,371.10, circulation $995,750 and deposits of $22,534,162.20.
In January 1929, Walter W. Head, president since 1920, was chosen president of the State Bank of Chicago. He was succeeded by W. Dale Clark, senior vice president. Mr. Head would become chairman of the board of the Omaha National. In Chicago, Mr. Head succeeded the late Ralph Van Vechten. The bank had been without a president since his death two years ago. The State bank of Chicago was founded in 1879 and had capital of $5 million, surplus of $8,204,000, deposits of $60,603,000 and resources of $75 million. In his new post Mr. Head would be associated with Philip K. Wrigley, head of the chewing gum company, and Edward J. Engel, vice president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad. Mr. Head was 51 years old. He was born in 1877 at Adrian, Illinois and educated at the Stanberry, Missouri, normal school. The taught school for five years and in 1903 became cashier of the DeKalb State Bank at DeKalb, Missouri. In 1906-07 he was a bank examiner for Missouri and in 1908 became cashier of the American national Bank of St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. Head came to Omaha in 1917 become vice president. He owned and operated 2,200 acres of farm land near St. Joseph. He married Della Thompson of Dekalb in 1900. The only child was Mrs. Raymond A. Baur of Omaha.
Mr. Clark, 36 years old, became the youngest bank president in recent Omaha history. He was a native of Nodaway County, Missouri and began with the First National Bank of St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1913, he became assistant cashier at Tarkio, Missouri. Two years later he went to Denver as cashier of the Stockyards National Bank. He came to Omaha in 1919 and became an assistant cashier at the Omaha National. He was elected vice president in 1921.
In November 1929, the Peters Trust Company, the oldest institution of the kind in Nebraska went into voluntary liquidation. Affairs of the Peters National Bank were not involved. R.C. Peters was well known for many years in connection with the development of lands in the west. Many millions of dollars had been loaned or invested under his direction in farms and other property. Falling values in land carried him down. On Friday, November 22, 1929, the Omaha National Bank had taken over the Peters National. The deal did not involve the Peters Trust Co., one of the largest trust companies in the state. M.D. Cameron, president of the Peters National and R.C. Peters, president of the Peters Trust would remain in charge of the trust company. H.H. Fish, Peters National director, was added to the Omaha National directorate. Vice president J.R. Cain, Jr., and W.S. Weston were named to similar position with the Omaha National. On July 25, 1930, W.S. Weston announced that all liabilities of the Peters National Bank had been paid and a dividend of 50% distributed to stockholders as the result of liquidation of the assets of the bank. Payments to creditors were completed on May 1st. The bank was merged with the Omaha National Bank last November.
In January 1933, Mr. Guy C. Kiddoo, vice president and trust officer of the Omaha National Bank until he went to Chicago in 1930, was promoted to vice president of the First National Bank of Chicago. When Mr. Kiddoo went to Chicago, he became vice president and active executive of several companies which were organized by Walter W. Head and his associates when Mr. Head was president of the Foreman State National Bank. The Foreman institution later was merged with the First National of Chicago with which Mr. Kiddoo became associated with in June 1931. He was made an assistant vice president 3 months later.
On August 2, 1937, James P. Lee gave up his post as cashier of the Omaha National Bank to become vice president of the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company. Better known as "Jimmy", he would be easily available to the public and the welcome sign would be out at all times. Speculation was that he would soon be made president succeeding Fred Hamilton and Mr. Hamilton would become chairman of the board, leaving all executive duties to Jimmy.
- 04/23/1984 Acquired Blair Bank, Inc. (11028) in Blair, NE.
- 08/07/1984 Acquired Commercial National Bank & Trust Company, Grand Island, Nebraska (15197) in Grand Island, NE.
- 04/22/1986 Changed Institution Name to FirsTier Bank, National Association.
- 09/01/1988 Acquired First National Bank & Trust Company of Fremont (5403) in Fremont, NE.
- 11/16/1990 Acquired Equitable FSB (29936) in Fremont, NE.
- 01/15/1993 Acquired Tri-County Bank & Trust (21191) in Bellevue, NE.
- 10/29/1993 Acquired FirsTier Savings Bank, F. S. B. (33115) in Omaha, NE.
- 04/01/1995 Acquired River City National Bank (25191) in Omaha, NE.
- 09/23/1995 Acquired FirsTier Bank, National Association (4443) in Omaha, NE.
- 02/20/1996 Changed Institution Name to First Bank National Association.
- 02/20/1996 Acquired FirsTier Bank, National Association (5471) in Scottsbluff, NE, (5448) in Norfolk, NE, and (5426) in Lincoln, NE.
- 02/20/1996 Acquired First Bank National Association (18327) in Omaha, NE.
- 06/01/1997 Merged and became part of First Bank National Association (5199) in Minneapolis, MN.
Official Bank Title
1: The Omaha National Bank, Omaha, NE
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $10,586,980 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1866 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 548,616 notes (527,832 large size and 20,784 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Original Series 4x5 1 - 7000 Territory Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 2000 Original Series 4x5 7001 - 7750 Original Series 4x20 1 - 2250 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 171 Series 1875 4x20 1 - 732 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 10585 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 13230 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 4509 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 16750 1902 Red Seal 50-100 1 - 3033 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 53330 1902 Date Back 50-100 1 - 5022 1902 Date Back 3x50-100 1 - 16404 1902 Plain Back 3x50-100 16405 - 18878 1929 Type 1 6x50 1 - 2591 1929 Type 1 6x100 1 - 873
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1866 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Ezra Millard, (Sr.), 1866-1883
- Joseph Hopkins Millard, 1884-1919
- Walter William Head , 1920-1928
- Wilber Dale Clark, 1929-1935
Cashiers:
- Joseph Nash Field, 1866-1866
- Joseph Hopkins Millard, 1867-1883
- William Wallace, 1884-1902
- Charles E. Waite, 1903-1905
- William Herman Bucholz, 1906-1909
- J. DeForest Richards, 1910-1916
- Frank Boyd, 1917-1917
- Ezra Millard, (Jr.), 1917-1920
- Otis Theodore Alvison, 1921-1930
- James Parker Lee, 1931-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Omaha, NE, 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
- The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 22, July 1867-June 1868, p. 752.
- The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 82, Jan. 1911-June 1911, pp 664-669.
- The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 107, July 1923-Dec. 1923, p. 1038.
- The Omaha Evening Bee, Omaha, NE, Sun., Jan. 1, 1882.
- Omaha Daily Bee, Omaha, NE, Thu., Jan. 1, 1885.
- Omaha Daily Bee, Omaha, NE, Thu., Apr. 16, 1885.
- Omaha Daily Bee, Omaha, NE, Sun., Jan. 2, 1887.
- The Omaha Evening Bee, Omaha, NE, Wed., Jan. 11, 1899.
- Evening World-Herald, Omaha, NE, Thu., Feb. 3, 1910.
- Omaha Daily Bee, Omaha, NE, Sun., Sep. 19, 1920.
- Omaha Daily Bee, Omaha, NE, Sun., Mar. 11, 1917.
- The Omaha Evening Bee, Omaha, NE, Thu., May 10, 1917.
- The Omaha Evening Bee, Omaha, NE, Sat., May 12, 1917.
- The Monitor, Omaha, NE, Sat., Jan. 5, 1918.
- Evening World-Herald, Omaha, NE, Wed., June 2, 1920.
- The Examiner, Omaha, NE, Sat., Feb. 26, 1921.
- Evening World-Herald, Omaha, NE, Fri., Jan. 12, 1923.
- The Examiner, Omaha, NE, Sat., Jan. 19, 1924.
- The Omaha Evening Bee, Omaha, NE, Wed., Jan. 9, 1929.
- The Omaha Morning Bee-News, Omaha, NE, Wed., Nov. 27, 1929.
- The Walthill Citizen, Walthill, NE, Thu., Nov. 28, 1929.
- Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, NE, Fri., July 25, 1930.
- Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, NE, Thu., Jan. 12, 1933.