Peoples National Bank, Charlottesville, VA (Charter 2594)
Peoples National Bank, Charlottesville, VA (Chartered 1881 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 46,553. In 1870 the population was 2,838, growing to 15,245 by 1930.
Charlottesville was the home of two U.S. presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. During their terms as Governors of Virginia, they lived in Charlottesville and traveled to and from Richmond, along the 71-mile historic Three Notch'd Road. Orange, located 26 miles northeast of the city, was the hometown of President James Madison. The University of Virginia, founded by Jefferson, straddles the city's southwestern border. Jefferson's home and primary plantation, Monticello, located 3 miles southeast of the city, is, along with the University of Virginia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, each attracting thousands of tourists from across the country every year.
An Act of the Assembly of Albemarle County established Charlottesville in 1762. Thomas Walker was named its first trustee. It was situated along a trade route called Three Notched Road (present day U.S. Route 250), which led from Richmond to the Great Valley. The town took its name from the British queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Charlottesville had eight National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and seven of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized November 17, 1881
- Chartered November 25, 1881
- Succeeded Peoples Bank
- Assumed 9246 by consolidation September 24, 1914, and its circulation (Albemarle National Bank, Charlottesville, VA)
- Assumed 6005 by consolidation January 11, 1917, and its circulation (Jefferson National Bank, Charlottesville, VA)
- Absorbed 11946 June 30, 1922, (Commerce NB (No Issue), Charlottesville, VA)
- Absorbed 8003 October 10, 1933, (Esmont National Bank, Esmont, VA)
- Bank was Open past 1935
On Tuesday, December 21, 1875, the new bank known as the Peoples Bank organized with the following directorate: S. Leterman, B.R. Pace, C.H. Harman, James T Durrett, R.G. Crank, W.A. Watson, Edward Coles, A.R. Blakey, W.C. Payne, George Perkins, A.J. Farish, J.A. Michie, H.C. Marchant, D.H. Stern, and L.R. Snead. On Thursday the directors met and elected C.H. Harman, president; W.W. Flannagan, cashier; and L.R. Snead, teller. The bank commenced operations on Monday, December 25th with a capital of not less than $20,000 nor more than $250,000.[4]
In May 1885, it was reported that W.W. Flannagan, cashier of the Peoples National Bank, was offered and had accepted the position of cashier of the Commercial National Bank of New York.[5]
In May 1895, Mr. W.T. Vandegrift of the Vandegrift Construction Company submitted plans for buildings to be erected in the spring by the Peoples National Bank and Leterman Brothers.[6]
In July 1896, the Peoples National Bank had paid-up capital of $50,000, surplus and undivided profits $44,815. The officers were John M. White, president; M. Leterman, vice president; John P. Harman, acting cashier; J.M. Robertson, secretary and assistant cashier; and L.R. Snead, teller.[7]
In December 1906, a telegram received on the 17th announced the death in a New York hospital of Charles H Harman, the eldest son of Peter Harman and brother of John P. Harman of the Peoples National Bank. Mr. Harman had achieved a very successful career as a businessman having been president of the Peoples Bank and chief promoter of the manganese mines at Crimola, Augusta County, and largely interested in real estate in New York and elsewhere.[8]
On August 18, 1914, stockholders of the Peoples National Bank were notified of a special meeting called for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23rd at their banking house on Main Street, Charlottesville, for the purpose of voting on the consolidation of The Albemarle National Bank of Charlottesville with the Peoples National Bank and on increasing the capital stock from $200,000 to $300,000 by the issue of 1,000 additional shares of par value $100; 200 shares to be offered to the present stockholders of the Peoples National at par, 800 shares to be offered to the stockholders of the Albemarle National Bank in proportion to their holdings at such prices as would make the proceeds from the sale to stockholders of the Albemarle National Bank equal the net book value of the assets of the Albemarle National Bank.[9] On September 24th, the amalgamation had been perfected and the consolidated institution retained the name of the Peoples National Bank, the oldest banking concert in Charlottesville. The bank would occupy the building of the Peoples National with capital of $300,000, surplus of $100,000 and total assets around $2.6 million.[10]
In January 1915, Mr. George R.B. Michie, president of the Peoples National Bank, appeared before the Council and secured unanimous consent from that body to erect a clock on the front of its building and to remove same to the new bank building planned for construction early in the spring. The clock would be 9 feet tall and project out about 4 1/2 feet from the building so as to be in full view. It contained cathedral chimes which would sound every 15 minutes.[11]
At 8:40 a.m. on August 21, 1916, the hoisting beam of a derrick on top of the new Peoples National Bank building, Third and Main Streets, broke and let a piece of lime stone cornice weighing 1 1/2 tons fall 40 feet. No one was injured. The face of the cornice was badly damaged. The broken beam measured 10 inches thick and was about 50 feet long.[12] In October 1916, the business world received a startling shock when it became known that the King Lumber Company had been place in the hands of receivers by Judge Archie D. Daltey of the Corporation Court. The business met with fair success until 1914 and had expanded by that time to the extent of having in that year contracts which aggregated $1,000,000. It had been engaged in the construction of government post office buildings, Y.M.C.A., bank and depot buildings in different portions of the United States and at the same time operating a planning mill at Charlottesville. Losses on a number of projects were realized with the reason given as the European war with narrowing of the building market and subsequent low bids by various contracting firms as well as the failure of sub-contractors to complete their work. The Peoples National Bank building was a local construction project with a remaining reserve of $2,613.75. Receivers of King Lumber were authorized to continue the construction of buildings under contract.[13]
Stockholders of the Peoples National Bank met on Tuesday, January 9, 1917, at their banking house on Main Street to vote on the consolidation of the Jefferson National Bank of Charlottesville and upon the increase of the capital stock from $300,000 to $370,000 by the issue of 700 additional shares of par value $100 to be offered to the stockholders of the Jefferson National Bank in proportion to their holdings at such price as to equal the net book value of the assets of the Jefferson National. The stockholders of the Jefferson National Bank met on the same date at their banking house on Main Street to consider the consolidation and liquidation of their bank.[14] The consolidation occurred on January 11, 1917. Total resources of the Peoples National Bank were now $2.5 million with capital and surplus $500,000 and deposits of $2.5 million.[15] The new directorate was composed of 25 of the leading professional and businessmen of the area as well as property holders of the city and county. The directors were H.M. Gleason, J. Goulay Martin, Geo. R.B. Michie, C.W. Allen, W.M. Lile, C.M. Bolton, Jno. S. White, Jas. B. Wood, R.H. Wood, C.H. Walker, B.F. Dickerson, L.T. Hanckel, E.D. Tayloe, W.W. Waddell, Thos. J. Michie, T.E. Powers, R.A. Watson, E.L. Carruthers, J.J. Boaz, A.V. Conway, A.T. Dulaney, R.F. Marshall, J.L. Newcomb, E.F. Robey, and B.I. Wood. The officers were Geo. R.B. Michie, president; H.M. Gleason and Jas. B. Wood, vice presidents; W.W. Waddell, cashier; and H.A. Dinwiddie, assistant cashier. It was stated that practically all of the employees of the Jefferson National Had been given places with the consolidated Peoples National.[16] On January 31st, it was reported the board of directors of the enlarged Peoples National Bank had completed the staff changes incidental to its merger and had made some deserved promotions in its working force. They were as follows: Mr. Harmon Dinwiddie the efficient teller for many years had been promoted to assistant cashier; Mr. E.P. Perry, head bookkeeper in the peoples for a long time was promoted to paying teller; and Mr. Bradley Peyton had been chosen as manager of the Savings Department.[17]
On Tuesday, January 11, 1921, at the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Commerce Bank and Trust Company, the following directors were elected for the ensuing year: A.S. Bolling, W.O. Fife, Nat Burnley, Howard Winston, T.H. Daniel, H.A. George, A.G. Carter, A.L. Stevens, Woods Stockton, C.E. Blue, Guy F. Via, E.R. Newman, M.C. Elliott, and McLane Tilton. Later the directors met and re-elected McLane Tilton, president; Guy F. Via, vice president; and Thos. B. Behrendt, cashier. The only change was the addition of Howard Winston to the board. Mr. Winston was formerly registrar of the University of Virginia.[18] The Commerce Bank & Trust Co. was located at 111 East Main Street, Charlottesville.[19] In February the Commerce National Bank of Charlottesville applied to the comptroller of the currency for a national bank charter with $100,000 capital. This would be a conversion of the Commerce Bank and Trust Company. McLane Tilton was the correspondent.[20] On March 16th, the comptroller of the currency granted a charter to The Commerce National Bank of Charlottesville. Except for the change in the title, there were no other changes in officers, directors and stockholders, the latter comprising 60 prominent and successful businessmen of the city. The real estate and insurance departments of the trust company would be conducted by a separate corporation, the Commerce Realty & Insurance Corp., in charge of Shelton S. Fife, manager, with an office in the bank.[21] Mr. Tilton was president of the Commerce Realty & Insurance Corp.[22]
On Tuesday, January 11, 1921, the Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville reported $500,000 increase in deposits, $670,000 increase in loans and a 12% dividend with $23,000 set aside for reserve. The directors were re-elected as follows: C.W. Allen, J.J. Boaz, E.I. Carruthers, A.V. Conway, B.F. Dickerson, A.T. Dulaney, H.M. Gleason, Jno. S. Graves, L.T. Hanckel, W.M. Lile, R.F. Marshall, J.G. Martin, T.J. Michie, T.E. Powers, E.D. Tayloe, M. Timberlake, R.A. Watson, B.I. Wood, J.B. Wood, R.H. Wood, J.S. White, G.R.B. Michie, and W.W. Waddell. Mr. H.R. Boswell was newly elected to the directorate.[23]
On Friday, June 30, 1922, the boards of directors of the Commerce National Bank and the Peoples National Bank met and perfected arrangements for the transfer of the business of the Commerce National Bank to the Peoples National Bank at the close of business. Mr. T.B. Behrendt, cashier of the Commerce National Bank, would be at the Peoples National Bank to meet the customers of the Commerce National and attend to their wants.[24] The report of condition dated June 30, 1922 showed total resources of $191,367.59 with capital stock paid in $100,000, Surplus $5,500, and individual deposits subject to check $66,124.91.[25]
By order of the comptroller of the currency, the conservatorship of Esmont National Bank located in Esmont, County of Albemarle, was terminated on the 19th of April, 1933 at 3 o'clock p.m. and the assets and control of the affairs would be returned to its board of directors for the purpose of transferring its assets to the Peoples National Bank, Charlottesville. H.P. McCary was conservator of the Esmont National Bank.[26] Depositors received 100 cents on every dollar with interest on savings deposits. All outstanding checks drawn on the Esmont National would be honored by the Peoples National Bank.[27]
During the night of November 28, 1940, James W. Clark, cashier of the Crozet branch of the Peoples National Bank died suddenly at his home at Crozet. He was a native of Petersburg and was 54 years of age.[28]
On Saturday July 26, 1958, The Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville became locally available in Orange County at the Peoples National Bank Gordonsville Office through the merger with the National Bank of Gordonsville. The Gordonsville office retained the same staff, officials and location of the former National Bank of Gordonsville with O.B. Omohundro, vice president and manager and Henry Q. Cowherd, assistant vice president and assistant manager. The former board of directors of the National Bank of Gordonsville continued as the Executive Committee administering the affairs of the Gordonsville branch. The merger provided the people of Orange County the largest banking resources available locally as well as broader banking services, including complete trust services.[29]
In July 1962, the Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville merged with the First National Bank of Shenandoah in Page County.[30]
- Earlier mergers had been with banks in Gordonsville, Stanardsville, Louisa and Elkton. It also had a branch at Crozet and four branch offices in Charlottesville in addition to the home office.
- Citizens National Bank of Orange in 1960
- Citizens-Waynesboro Bank & Trust Co. in 1961
The name of the bank was changed in 1962 from the Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville to the Peoples National Bank of Central Virginia to reflect the broader scope of its operating area. It was the largest of the three banks with headquarters in Charlottesville and was the only one which had been merging with smaller banks in recent years.
On Thursday, January 10, 1963, John S. Alfriend, chairman of the board of National Bank of Commerce of Norfolk and W.S. Hildreth, chairman of the board of Peoples National Bank of Central Virginia, announced plans for the formation of a new statewide banking institution to be known as the Virginia National Bank, subject to approval by shareholders and appropriate authorities. The board of directors of both banks approved the consolidation of Virginia's third and seventh largest banks at separate meetings on Wednesday. The new bank would have capital in excess of $27 million, resources of approximately $350 million and would rank second in size among all Virginia banks. It would operate 32 offices in 12 Virginia communities. Executive management would be divided between top officers of the two existing institutions. John S. Alfriend would become chairman of the board and chief executive office while both W.S. Hildreth and R. Cosby Moore, presently president of the National Bank of Commerce, would become vice chairman of the board. W. Wright Harrison, president of Peoples National would become president of the new bank. Other officers and employees of both banks would continue in their present capacities. Under the terms of the consolidation agreement, the $5 par value shares of each bank would be exchanged on a share for share basis for stock in the Virginia National Bank which would also have a $5 par value. Virginia National Bank would have 1,372,421 shares of common stock. There were 800,000 shares of National Bank of Commerce stock and 572,421 shares of Peoples National stock. The book value per share of the stock of both banks was approximately the same.[32] On Wednesday, April 3, 1963, stockholders of the National Bank of Commerce of Norfolk and stockholders of the Peoples National Bank of Central Virginia voted heavily in favor of the proposed consolidation of the two banks into one new bank to be known as the Virginia National Bank. W. Wright Harrison, president of the Peoples National Bank with a branch in Orange would be president of the new Virginia National Bank. He told stockholders that approval by the comptroller of the currency was expected within 10 days and the target date for the actual consolidation of the two banks was the close of business on Friday, April 26th.[33]
All of the banks in Norfolk now had entered into mergers or been acquired by holding companies since the General Assembly changed the banking laws in 1962.[34]
The Charlottesville Board of the Virginia National Bank was composed of W.S. Hildreth, chairman and vice chairman of the board, Virginia National Bank; N.C. Bailey, manager, Merchants Peoples Co., Inc.; Mason S. Byrd, senior vice president, Virginia National Bank; William T. Dettor, president, Dettor, Edwards and Morris; James F. Dulaney, president, Charlottesville Oil Co., Inc.; M.R. Ford, president, Ford Hardware Inc.; Harry Frazier, Jr., Charlottesville; K.K. Knickerbocker, vice president, Cardwell Securities; Ivey F. Lewis, dean emeritus, University of Virginia; John R. Morris, Jr., physician; Charles P. Nash, professor of law, University of Virginia; Hunter Perry, president, Priddie Oil and Gas Co.; John B. Rogan, president, The Thomas Jefferson Corporation; J.B. Stombock, attorney-at-law; E. Thornton Tayloe, independent investor; James B. Twyman, physician; Homan W. Walsh, Charlottesville; William H. White, Jr., professor of law emeritus, University of Virginia; Harvey L. Williams, president, C.H. Williams & Co., Inc.[35]
Official Bank Title
1: The Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville, VA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $5,695,190 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1881 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 462,845 notes (297,512 large size and 165,333 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 2486 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 1300 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 9900 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 9901 - 25800 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 44792 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 16458 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 3670 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 34289 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 10276
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1881 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Charles H. Harman, 1882-1884
- George Perkins, 1885-1886
- Richard Thomas Walker Duke, (Sr.), 1887-1888
- Benjamin R. Pace, 1888-1894
- John M. White, 1895-1912
- George Rust Bedinger Michie, 1913-1935
Cashiers:
- William Walker Flannagan, 1882-1884
- Charles H. Harman, 1885-1888
- Benjamin Collins Flannagan, 1888-1896
- Jaquelin Marshall Robertson, 1897-1909
- William Wirt Waddell Sr., 1910-1918
- Harman Anderson Dinwiddie, 1919-1934
- Thomas Baker Behrendt, 1935-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Peoples National Bank, Charlottesville, VA History (NB Lookup)
- Virginia Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Charlottesville, VA, 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 Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA. Thu., May 31, 1923.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Sat., July 25, 1896.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Fri., Jan. 12, 1917.
- ↑ Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Tue., Dec. 28, 1875.
- ↑ Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Tue., May 12, 1885.
- ↑ Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Thu., May 2, 1895.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Sat., July 25, 1896.
- ↑ The News and Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Thu., Dec. 18, 1906.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Thu., Aug. 20, 1914.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Fri., Sep. 25, 1914.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Fri., Jan. 15, 1915.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Mon., Aug 21, 1916.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Tue., Oct. 17, 1916.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Wed., Jan. 3, 1917.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Fri., Jan. 12, 1917.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Fri., Jan. 12, 1917.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Wed., Jan. 31, 1917.
- ↑ The World-News, Roanoke, VA, Fri., Jan. 14, 1921.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Mon., Jan. 17, 1921.
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Tue., Feb. 8, 1921.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Fri., Mar. 18, 1921.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Tue., July 12, 1921.
- ↑ The World-News, Roanoke, VA, Fri., Jan. 14, 1921.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Fri., June 30, 1922.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Fri., July 7, 1922.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Sat., Apr. 22, 1933.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Wed., Apr. 26, 1933.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Thu., Nov. 28, 1940.
- ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., July 24, 1958.
- ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Wed., Jan. 9, 1963.
- ↑ Suffolk News-Herald, Suffolk, VA, Sun., May 24, 1964.
- ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Jan. 10, 1963.
- ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Apr. 4, 1963.
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, VA, Fri., June 14, 1963.
- ↑ The News-Virginian, Waynesboro, VA, Sat., May 4, 1963.