Union National Bank, Lewisburg, PA (Charter 784)
Union National Bank, Lewisburg, PA (Chartered 1865 - Closed (Merger) 1979)
Town History
Lewisburg is a borough in and the county seat of Union County, Pennsylvania, located 30 miles south by southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. Found in central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River Valley on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, Lewisburg is home to Bucknell University and is near the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. It is the county seat of Union County. Its 19th-century downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lewisburg is the principal city of the Lewisburg, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, and is also part of the larger Bloomsburg-Berwick-Sunbury, PA Combined Statistical Area. The population was 5,158 as of the 2020 census.
Lewisburg was founded in 1785 by Ludwig Derr. A settler of the area (since as early as 1763–1769), Derr had purchased several tracts of land from the William Penn family and other neighboring land owners, the largest of which was known as "The Prescott". Having been on the land for such a long time, Derr had befriended the local Native Americans of the area. His relationship with these indigenous peoples was so well founded that, even as many of the other local settlers' homesteads were routinely sacked by Native Americans, Derr's lands remained free from attacks. Subsequently, in 1784, he worked with Samuel Weiser to lay out his combined land tracts, and create Derrstown. The post office was named Lewisburgh when it was established in 1796; in 1893, the name was shortened to Lewisburg.
Lewisburg had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 28, 1865
- Chartered February 7, 1865
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Central Counties Bank in State College, PA, June 1, 1979
On February 16, 1860, the Committee on Banks reported with amendments to bill to incorporate the Dime Savings Institution of Lewisburg. H.P. Sheller was the president and treasurer and John H. Goodman was vice president. On August 24, 1860, trustees elected were: T.S. Black. L. Sterner, John H. Goodman, H.P. Sheller, Philip Billmeyer, Charles Penny, James McClure, John Crossgrove, and Martin Dreisbach. The Dime Savings Institution received its national charter on February 7, 1865.
On January 9, 1866, the following were elected directors: Johnson Walls, Philip Billmeyer, W.C. Duncan, Charles Gundykunst, Peter Beaver, Martin Dreisbach, Joseph M. Nesbit, William Jones, John H. Goodman, Levi Sterner, W.M. Vanvalzah. H.P. Sheller was cashier.
On November 20, 1868, Mr. Samuel Sheller showed the Lewisburg Chronicle the remains of a $20 bill on the Union National Bank of Lewisburg. It had been deposited with a large number of notes in a same in a railroad car which was burned and all the notes charred to cinders. The Redemption Bureau of the Treasury Department set to work to resuscitate the remains to a recognizable condition. The remains of each note were delicately separated from the pile and pasted upon a slip of paper for scrutiny and when satisfactorily identified, forwarded to the banks where they were issued.
On January 16, 1877 the following officers were elected: Wm. Jones, president; Hugh P. Sheller, cashier; Samuel C. Sheller, teller. Owing to the ill health of Peter Beaver, Esq., he declined to be a candidate for re-election.
On May 10, 1878, The Union National Bank of Lewisburg was suspended. Examiner Young was placed in charge of the bank. The suspension was believed to be only temporary resulting from the mismanagement of the cashier. Mr. Sheller was nearly 75 years of age and was regarded by all as honest. It was thought that he had not squandered or mis-appropriated the funds of the bank, but that kindness to debtors and carelessness caused the deficit.
In August 1878, Mr. Sheller was removed and was arrested and placed in jail. Bail demanded was $20,000 which he could not meet. The bank was able to reopen and the directors secured the services of the Hon. W.C. Duncan for president and John K. Kremer as the new cashier.
On July 12, 1882, Comptroller of the Currency, H.W. Cannon, extended the corporate existence of the Union National Bank until the close of business on January 28, 1905.
In March 1899, the bank purchased the Jones property adjoining the Post Office and planned to build a handsome and substantial brick and stone structure.
On January 28, 1905, Comptroller of the Currency, Wm. B. Ridgely, extended the corporate existence of The Union National Bank of Lewisburg until close of business on January 28, 1925.
On January 11, 1921, the directors elected were William R. Follmer, H.C. Wolfe, William M. Dreisbach, John P. Ruhl, R.E. Snodrass, F.M. Simpson, William Leisser, Jr., M.O. Fairchild, Geo. B. Miller, H. Eyer Spyker, and Leroy T. Butler.
In January 1931, the directors elected were F.M. Simpson, J.P. Rulh, H. Eyer Spyker, R.D. Snodgrass, A.J. Steese, C.C. Lesher, Cloyd Steininger, Walter K. Rhodes, Charles W. Hower, J.L. Reitz, and Leroy T. Butler.
On January 12, 1943, the directors re-elected were Frank M. Simpson, John P. Ruhl, Leroy T. Butler, R.E. Snodgrass, Cloyd, Steininger, Charles W. Hower, J.L. Reitz, Dr. Melville D. Nesbit, C. Elmer Moyer, and Raymond B. Kline. The officers elected were Prof. Simpson, president; Mr. Ruhl, vice president and Leroy T. Butler, cashier and Trust Officer.
In January 1979, the Central Counties Bank of State College, Pennsylvania made application to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for consent to merge with the Union National Bank of Lewisburg. William Slear was president of the Union National. The merger was approved and became effective at the close of business, May 31, 1979. With the merger, Central Counties Bank had 26 offices in five counties with total assets in excess of $360 million.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Union National Bank of Lewisburg, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,623,550 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1979. This consisted of a total of 140,287 notes (124,436 large size and 15,851 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 600 Original Series 4x5 1 - 1900 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 2240 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 1305 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 1876 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 6656 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2300 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 4900 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 4901 - 14232 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1708 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 440 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 2329 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 634
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1979):
Presidents:
- Johnson Walls, 1865-1867
- Eli Coulter Slifer, 1868-1869
- Peter Beaver, 1870-1876
- William Jones, 1877-1878
- William Cook Duncan, 1879-1890
- Dr. Levi Rooke, 1891-1894
- William David Himmelreich, 1895-1897
- Jacob Thompson Baker, 1898-1908
- Col William R. Follmer, 1909-1923
- Henry C. Wolfe, 1924-1924
- Frank Morton Simpson, 1925-1935
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- Henry Eyer Spyker, Vice President (1925)
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Lewisburg (Wikipedia)
- General information on Union County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Lewisburg, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewisburg,_Pennsylvania
- 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 Sunbury Gazette, Sunbury, PA, Sat., Feb. 25, 1860.
- Lewisburg Chronicle, Lewisburg, PA, Fri., Sep. 7, 1860.
- The Sunbury Gazette, Sunbury, PA, Sat., Sep. 8, 1860.
- Northumberland County Democrat, Sunbury, PA, Fri., Jan. 19, 1866.
- The Sunbury Gazette, Sunbury, PA, Sat., Nov. 21, 1868.
- Lewisburg Chronicle, Lewisburg, PA, Thu., Jan. 18, 1877.
- The Tribune, Scranton, PA, Fri., May 10, 1878.
- The York Dispatch, York, PA, Sat., May 11, 1878.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Mon., May 13, 1878.
- Northumberland County Democrat, Sunbury, PA, Fri., Aug. 9, 1878.
- Milheim Journal, Milheim, PA, Thu., Aug. 22, 1878.
- Lewisburg Chronicle, Lewisburg, PA, Thu., Mar. 12, 1885.
- Miltonia, Milton, PA, Fri., Mar. 10, 1899.
- Lewisburg Chronicle, Lewisburg, PA, Sat., Feb. 4, 1905.
- Lewisburg Journal, Lewisburg, PA, Fri., Jan. 14, 1921.
- Lewisburg Journal, Lewisburg, PA, Thu., Jan. 15, 1931.
- The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA, Wed., Jan. 13, 1943.
- Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Thu., Apr. 19, 1979.