Second National Bank, Vincennes, IN (Charter 4901)

The Second National Bank of Vincennes, Indiana, ca2020. It is located on the corner of Second and Main Streets. Courtesy of Google Maps

Second National Bank, Vincennes, IN (Chartered 1893 - Closed 1919)

Town History

The George Rogers Clark Memorial, Vincennes, Indiana, ca2020. Courtesy of Google Maps

Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. Founded in 1732 by French fur traders, notably François-Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes, for whom the Fort was named, Vincennes is the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Indiana and one of the oldest settlements west of the Appalachians. Vincennes served as capital of the Indiana Territory from 1800 until 1813.

In 1800 Vincennes was made capital of the new Indiana Territory. In 1801, William Henry Harrison was only 27 years old when he was appointed Governor of the Indiana Territory. He was given the powers of an emperor over what now comprises the states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, and later over the Louisiana purchase as well. He was authorized to adopt on his own initiative civil and criminal laws, arbitrarily to create counties and townships, to appoint civil officials and militia officers below the grade of general and to issue without supervision or countersigning land grants giving absolute title. Harrison erected his house, Grouseland, in 1804 and it remained his home until the War of 1812 took him away from Vincennes. It occupied a site of 300 acres on the banks of the Wabash on the outskirts of the city. From it he directed the affairs of the Indiana Territory and Louisiana purchase, so the building had the deserving name of "White House of the West." Originally, it was surrounded by a grove of stately walnut trees where Harrison held his famous parleys with the Indians, including the one with the intrepid Tecumseh in 1810.

Vincennes University was established in 1801 as Jefferson Academy. It is the oldest college of higher learning in Indiana. Purdue Polytechnic Institute maintains a satellite campus in Vincennes in a partnership with Vincennes University.

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, located in Vincennes, Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash River at what is believed to be the site of Fort Sackville, is a United States National Historical Park. President Calvin Coolidge authorized a classical memorial and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the completed structure in 1936.

According to the 2010 census, the population of Vincennes was 18,423, a decrease of 1.5% from 18,701 in 2000. In 1890 the population was 8,853, increasing to 17,564 by 1930.

Vincennes had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

A view of Second Street looking northeast from Main ca1908. The Second National Bank of Vincennes pictured at left, was built in 1876 for the Vincennes National Bank (Charter 1454). The Second National Bank acquired the building after the Vincennes National went into receivership in 1892.

Organized April 12, 1893
Chartered May 26, 1893
Closed October 23, 1919
Consolidated with 3864 Oct 23, 1919 (German National Bank/American NB, Vincennes, IN)

In December 1890, Captain Allen Tindolph brought a libel suit against R.E. Pursell, editor of the Sun, a Democratic paper of Vincennes. An article that appeared November 4 charged the present postmaster, the plaintiff in the case, with stealing letters for political purposes.

In March 1893, the charter for the Second National Bank of Vincennes was expected soon. Allen Tindolph was the promoter pushing the bank to completion. On May 26, the certificate was issued authorizing the Second National Bank with capital of $100,000. Allen Tindolph was president and George W. Donaldson, cashier.

On July 27, 1894, Captain Tindolph, aged 52, president of the Second National Bank and the Citizen’s electric street railway died. The deceased was postmaster of Vincennes under Harrison and established the free delivery system in Vincennes. He was a prominent republican and capitalist and for many years, he was engaged in steam boating on the Wabash.

On February 12, 1907, the comptroller of the currency announced that R.E. Purcell succeeded W.B. Robinson as president. R.E. Purcell was a prominent democrat, an ex-state senator and for a number of years editor of the Vincennes Sun. He regretted that he had to leave the newspaper.

In March 1911, the comptroller of the currency announced the following changes of officers: J.T. Boyd, president, in place of R.E. Purcell; H.J. Boeckmann, vice president; J.F. Hall, cashier in place of the J.T. Boyd; K.J. Crackel, assistant cashier in place of J.F. Hall.

On October 27, 1919, the largest bank merger in southern Indiana in many years became effective when the American National Bank, the Second National Bank and the Citizens Trust Company joined forces. It was announced some time ago that it was the intention to merge the three institutions, but because the approval of the federal reserve was necessary, the details were not completed until last week. Under the merger, the Second National Bank moves its headquarters to the new building now occupied by the American National Bank. This building was completed recently at a cost of almost $400,000. The Citizens Trust Company, under the law, will have independent quarters and will occupy the Second National building. The American National Bank of Vincennes, after the consolidation, would have total resources of $6,000,000, capital stock $325,000, surplus $325,000 and undivided profits $61,000. The American National Bank was chartered April 4, 1888, under the name of the German National Bank.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Second National Bank of Vincennes, IN

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with SN 1 and pen signatures of G.W. Donaldson, Cashier and Allen Tindolph, President. Courtesy of NBNCensus.com

A total of $1,033,690 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1893 and 1919. This consisted of a total of 124,304 notes (124,304 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 - 13200
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 4500
1882 Date Back	4x5	1 - 4137
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 2963
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 4100
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	4101 - 6276

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1893 - 1919):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Vincennes, IN, 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
Richard Day and William Hopper, "Images of America--Vincennes," Arcadia Publishing, 1998.
The South Bend Tribune, South Bend, IN, Wed., Dec. 31, 1890.
The Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, IN, Fri., Mar. 24, 1893.
The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, IN, Sat., May 27, 1893.
Evansville Courier and Press, Evansville, IN, Sun., July 29, 1894.
Princeton Daily Clarion, Princeton, IN, Thu., Jan. 10, 1907.
Evansville Courier and Press, Evansville, IN, Feb. 13, 1907.
The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN, Tue., Mar., 28, 1911.
Princeton Daily Clarion, Princeton, IN, Tue., Oct. 28, 1919.