Persis Daniel Houston (Nashville, TN)
Persis Daniel Houston (March 30, 1874 – September 15, 1956)
Biography
- Name: Persis Daniel Houston
- Birth: March 30, 1874 Lewisburg, TN
- Death: Sept 15, 1956 Nashville, TN
- Spouse: Margaret Louise Robinson (m.1894) (1874-1968)
- American Bankers Association President 1940
Persis Daniel Houston, (II) was born March 30, 1874 in Lewisburg, Tennessee. P.D., as he was known, began his banking career as a clerk at the Peoples Bank of Lewisburg, TN in 1891. He was promoted to Assistant Cashier in 1894 and held that position until 1906. In 1906, F. O. Watts, then President of the First National Bank of Nashville (charter 150), talked P.D. into organizing the First Savings Bank and Trust Company in Nashville with him. P.D. became manager and Cashier of that bank. In 1912, First Savings Bank merged with Fourth and First National Bank of Nashville (charter 1669 at the time) and P.D. became Vice-President of both banks. On his 1918 draft card, he listed his occupation as "coal operator" for the Phoenix Coal Company of Drakesboro, Kentucky, where he no doubt held an ownership stake.
P.D. stayed at Fourth & First National Bank until 1918, when he and Paul M. Davis purchased the American National Bank of Nashville, charter 3032, and he then was elected President of American National Bank. P.D. served as President of American National until 1927, when he became Chairman of the Board, and Paul Davis became President. P.D. Houston stayed Chairman of the Board until he retired in 1948. In 1940 he served as President of the American Bankers Association. P.D. Houston died of a heart attack on September 15, 1956, at his home in Nashville. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, in Nashville.
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, P. D. Houston was involved with the following bank(s):
- Fourth National Bank/Fourth and First NB, Nashville, TN (Charter 1669): Vice-President 1911-1918
- American National Bank, Nashville, TN (Charter 3032): President 1918-1927
References
- Bio info from Greg Culpepper post on the Facebook NBN Collectors Group, January 22, 2021.
- Additional bio info from Ancestry.com & Findagrave.com https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143835248/persis-daniel-houston
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
- The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 102, Jan. 1921-June 1921, pp 842.