Third National Bank/Third NB & TC/Citizens Third NB & TC, Greensburg, IN (Charter 2844)
Third National Bank/Third NB & TC/Citizens Third NB & TC, Greensburg, IN (Chartered 1882 - Receivership 1934)
Town History
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Indiana. The population was 12,312 at the time of the 2020 census.
Greensburg was laid out in 1822. The founder, Thomas Hendricks Sr.'s wife being a native of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, caused the name to be selected. Col. Thomas Hendricks was a veteran of War of 1812.
The historic Wilderwood house built by the Union Army Civil War Brevet Brigadier General Colonel John T. Wilder sits on 1.13 acres at 446 East Main Street (Greensburg, Ind.). This fine house built in 1893 is listed on the register of historic places. It features a widow's walk or roofwalk designed by General Wilder for his wife Martha Jane Stewart. The first post office at Greensburg opened in 1823, but the name of the post office was spelled Greensburgh until 1894.
Greensburg had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized December 4, 1882
- Chartered December 21, 1882
- 2: Assumed 1890 by consolidation December 31, 1930 (Citizens National Bank, Greensburg, IN)
- 3: Assumed circulation of 1890
- 3: Conservatorship March 21, 1933
- 3: Receivership February 26, 1934
The Third National Bank was organized December 4, 1882, by John E. Robbins, S.A. Conner, T.M. Hamilton, A. Reiter, E.B. Swem, M.L. Miers, Charles Zoller, James DeArmond, James Hart, W.W. Bonner, Louis Zoller, Cortez Ewing and others. The first president was John E. Robbins and Cortez Ewing was cashier for the first four years and was succeeded by Walter W. Bonner who held the position for 11 years until his death in 1927 when he was succeeded by Ozro J. Butler. Charles Zoller succeeded John E. Robbins as president and Morgan L. Miers I followed Mr. Zoller upon his death. The capital of the bank was $50,000 in 1882 and in 1884 was increased to $75,000 and in 1898 it was doubled to $150,000. From 1882 to about 1895 this bank was in the north room of the DeArmond Hotel. From there it was moved to the south side of the square where it remained until a fine new building was erected in 1918.
The name of the Third National Bank was changed in 1927 to include the Trust Company. The bank at the same time added an insurance department.
In January 1930, the officers were Morgan L. Miers, president; George P. Shoemaker, vice president; O.J. Butler, cashier; W.E. Koenigkramer and G.W. Adams, assistant cashiers. J.H. Christian, Jr. was manager of the insurance department. The directors were Messrs. Miers, Shoemaker and Butler, and Charles Zoller, W.C. Woodfill, Dr. I.M. Sanders, Earl Robbins, J.P. Thomson, Mason Murphy, Otis A. Deem, Stanton Guthrie, Ed Pumphrey, Orion McLaughlin, L.D. Branden, Hal T. Kitchin C.R. Howe, John C. Smith and Henry A. Dravis. The Citizens Third National Bank & Trust Co. was centrally located right in the heart of the business district.
On December 11, 1930, stockholders of the Citizens National Bank of Greensburg met at the banking house at No. 103 East Main Street and voted to approve the agreement to consolidate with the Third National Bank and Trust Company. J.H. Christian was president of the Citizens National.
In January 1931, out of the 1,500 shares representing the $150,000 stock in the new Citizens Third National Bank, 1,263 were represented, or more than 80%. The temporary organization as to directors was ratified by the shareholders, the following eleven directors who had been serving were unanimously elected: Morgan L. Miers, J.H. Christian, Locke Bracken, Hal T. Kitchin, C.J. Loyd, F.D. Bird, I.M. Sanders, E.D. Power, Stanton Guthrie, George W. Magee, and Arthur C. Woodward. The officers elected were Morgan L. Miers, president; J.H. Christian, vice president and chairman of the board; Locke Bracken, cashier; O.J. Butler, manager, trust department; Anna L. St. John and Hal T. Kitchin, assistant cashiers. The adjustments between the two bank buildings occasioned by the use of the Third National building for banking purposes and the Citizens building for trust and insurance headquarters were about completed. It was necessary to make more room for 480 safety deposit boxes moved from the Citizens which when added to the 612 alread at the Third made 1,092 boxes available. The total resources of the bank approximated $1,700,000 and the capital and surplus $1,800,000.
In March 1933, Locke Bracken received notice of his appointment as conservator of the Citizens Third National Bank & Trust Company. Business resumed on March 23rd with deposits accepted held in trust and subject to withdrawl at any time.
On February 6, 1934, release of approximately 40% or $250,000 in frozen deposits of the Citizens Third National Bank was promised with opening of the new Decatur County National Bank, Charter 13988. Authority to open the new institution which succeeded the Citizens Third was granted by J.F.T. O'Connor, comptroller of the currency. John H. Parker was president of the new bank and Hal T. Kitchen, cashier. The directors were Dr. P.C. Bentle, Otis A. Deem, Stanton Guthrie, Mr. Kitchen, Walter B. Lowe, Raymond J. Magee, Mr. Parker, Earl E. Robbins, and Dr. I.M. Sanders.
Official Bank Titles
1: The Third National Bank of Greensburg, IN
2: Third National Bank and Trust Company of (5/2/1927), Greensburg, IN
3: Citizens Third National Bank & Trust Company of (12/31/1930), Greensburg, IN
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,185,610 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1882 and 1934. This consisted of a total of 95,054 notes (76,748 large size and 18,306 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2910 1: 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2700 1: 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5000 1: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 5001 - 12031 2: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 1546 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1222 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 418 3: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1109 3: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 302
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1882 - 1934):
Presidents:
- John E. Robbins, 1883-1895
- Charles Zoller, 1896-1912
- Morgan Lewis Miers, 1913-1931
- Dr. Ira M. Sanders, 1932-1933
Cashiers:
- Cortez Ewing, 1883-1886
- Walter William Bonner, 1887-1927
- Ozro J. Butler, 1928-1930
- John Locke Bracken Jr., 1931-1933
Other Bank Note Signers
- Frank Roscoe Robbins, Vice President 1927
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Indiana Bank Note History
- General information on Greensburg (Wikipedia)
- General information on Decatur County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Indiana (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Greensburg, IN, 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
- Greensburg Daily News, Greensburg, IN, Sat., Nov. 1, 1930.
- Greensburg Daily News, Greensburg, IN, Tue., Dec. 9, 1930.
- Greensburg Daily News, Greensburg, IN, Wed., Jan. 14, 1931.
- Greensburg Daily News, Greensburg, IN, Tue., Apr. 14, 1931.
- The Republic, Columbus, IN, Thu., Mar. 23, 1933.
- The Times, Munster, IN, Tue., Feb. 6, 1934.
- The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN, Tue., Feb. 6, 1934.