Wellsville National Bank, Wellsville, PA (Charter 8498)

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The old Wellsville National Bank located at 299 Main Street. Courtesy of Google Maps, ca2023

Wellsville National Bank, Wellsville, PA (Chartered 1907 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Above, holdup victims Assistant Cashier Mrs. Effie Z. Gladfelter and her son, Keith, a teller, shown in the bank vault following the 1961 holdup. Below, the Wellsville National Bank.

Wellsville is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, located about 14 miles northwest of York and 8 miles southeast of Dillsburg. It is part of the York–Hanover metropolitan area. The population was 299 at the 2020 census. In 1900, the population was 296, declining to 268 by 1930.

Wellsville had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

  • Organized November 27, 1906
  • Chartered January 4, 1907
  • Opened for business January 10, 1907
  • Bank was Open past 1935
  • Absorbed by the Bank of Hanover and Trust Company in 1970

In January 1907, the bank's charter was received from the comptroller of the currency and the bank began business Thursday morning, January 10th. The stockholders elected the following directors for the year: J. Frank Lerew, Dr. A.C. Hetrick, E.L. Apple, J. Milligan, W.H. Owen, Mitchel Ferrance, William Smith, William Morthland, Aaron G. Smith. The directors elected the following officers: Dr. A.C. Hetrick, president; E.L. Apple, vice president; J. Milligan, cashier; Russell Klinedinst, teller.[1]

On Tuesday, January 14, 1913, stockholders elected the following directors: A.C. Hetrick, C.C. Kimmel, J. Milligan, Seright Nell, A.G. Smith, William M. Smith, Peter Ferrence, Mitchell Ferrence, and W.H. Owens. The officers elected were Dr. A.C. Hetrick, president; C.C. Kimmel, vice president; Russel D. Klinedinst, cashier; and E.J. Gerber, teller.[2] On September 11, 1913, stockholders elected C.C. Kimmel of Mount Top president of the bank to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dr. A.C. Hetrick.[3] W.H. Owens was elected vice president, the position formerly held by Mr. Kimmel and Russel Klinedinst, the cashier, was elected a member of the board of directors.[4]

On Tuesday, January 9, 1917, Joseph Milligan, formerly president, stepped down due to the urgency of other business. W.H. Owens was elected to succeed him. The election of the new president was the only change in the make-up of the board of directors. The board consisted of W.H. Owens, president; A.G. Smith, vice president; L.E. Beck, secretary; E.J. Gerber cashier; Peter Ferrence, E.E. Nesbit, Seright Nell and Joseph Milligan. William Weirman was made bookkeeper.[5]

On Tuesday, January 13, 1920, stockholders elected the following board of directors: W.H. Owens, A.G. Smith, L.E. Speck, C.Z. March, Rush Zeigler, E.E. Nesbit, and William Bentz. The board organized by the election of W.H. Owens, president; William Bentz, vice president; L.E. Speck, secretary; and E.J. Gerber, cashier.[6]

On Saturday, October 20, 1928, the new Wellsville National Bank just completed at a cost of $22,000 was opened to the public for inspection. Souvenirs were distributed on opening day. The building was one-story, 28 by 50 feet, built on the site of what was formerly the Wellsville Whip Manufacturing Company purchased from the Hetrick estate, opposite the old bank. H.E. Quickel of Dover was the contractor and Hess Brothers did the masonry work. The walls of the bank were of natural stone. The large vault was built and installed by the York Safe and Lock Company. The officers were L.E. Speck, president; Rush Zeigler, vice president; E.W. Gladfelter, cashier; and Paul Bubb, teller. The board was composed of the following: L.E. Speck, Rush Zeigler, S.K. Pfaltzgraff, L.C. Apple, F.W. Traver, A.G. Smith and S.B. Meisenhelder. The committee which supervised the building was T.E. Speck, S.K. Pfaltzgraff and L.C. Apple.[7]

In January 1936, Rush Zeigler was re-elected president of the Wellsville National Bank. L.C. Apple was elected to the vice presidents position. E.W. Glatfelter was retained as secretary and cashier; P.D. Bubb as teller, and S.B. Meisenhelder as attorney. The stockholders re-elected five directors: Rush Zeigler, L.C. Apple, Joseph Gochenour, F.W. Trave and Reuben Detter.[8]

On Monday morning, August 2, 1943, Lloyd C. Apple, 57, died at his home in Wellsville. Mr. Apple was president of the Wellsville National Bank and a member of Eureka lodge, No. 302, F.&A.M. of Mechanicsburg. He was an automobile dealer for the past 28 years.[9]

In January 1961, Russell S. Golden was named to the post of second vice president left vacant the previous year by the resignation of F.A. Traver. Officers re-elected were Roy W. Smith, president; Joseph Detter, vice president; E.W. Gladfelter, cashier and secretary; Mrs. Effie Z. Gladfelter, assistant cashier; and Keith H. Gladfelter, teller. Stockholders re-elected these directors: Joseph Detter, Russell S. Golden, F.L. Krall, and E.W. Gladfelter.[10] On Friday, March 24, 1961, three men held up the Wellsville National Bank, escaping with $3,600. They were captured by state police within 25 minutes. About 2:30 A.M., three men identified as Charles William Brown, 28, of Chicago; Joseph Kenneth Quinnan, 29, Halstead, Pa.; and Gilbert Huston Murr, 31 of Martinsburg, West Virginia; broke into the bank in tiny Wellsville northwest of York. Just before 9 A.M. bank teller Keith Gladfelter of East Berlin came to work and the gunmen armed with a .22 caliber rifle held him up and tied him and assistant cashier Effie Z. Gladfelter with adhesive tape, then rifled cash drawers. They fled toward York on State Route 74. Trooper Brian McDevitt spotted them on the road and alerted the York sub station and police cars were directed to head off the getaway car. The escape car was trapped on the Old Canal road about five miles north of York.[11] Captain Richard D. Gray said the three met in Chicago seven months ago and had been in Central Pennsylvania for the past several days casing banks.[12][13] Mr. Gladfelter was a World War II veteran awarded the Purple Heart with 50 combat missions in a Flying Fortress over Europe.

Effective May 15, 1965, H. Elliott America, executive vice president and cashier of the Wellsville National Bank resigned. He said he would be succeeded as cashier by Eugene F. Jones who had been serving as vice president. America would continue as a member of the board of directors.[14]

In September 1967, a federal grand jury at Scranton was investigating the activities of two York County bank officials, Gordon S. Miller and H. Elliott America, vice president and cashier of the Wellsville bank. Miller was a stockholder and former president of the Wellsville bank. The Comptroller of the Currency's examination report of August 2, 1963 found an unwarranted concentration of out-of-territory loans brought into the bank by Miller and America, placing the bank in an illiquid position. According to this report, Miller had not informed other bank directors that bank drafts were not being immediately recorded when issued for loan proceeds and that the bank was under-capitalized. Judge William J. Nealon refused a motion of Miller and his wife, Frances G., which sought to have the sale of assets of Wellsville National Bank to the Bank of Hanover and Trust Co. set aside.[15]

Indictments were handed down in August 1968 charging Miller with the misapplication of more than $204,000 of the bank's money.[16] The indictment contained 30 counts. The Wellsville bank became a branch of the Bank of Hanover and Trust Company in 1967.[17]

On Monday, February 17, 1969, Judge Nealon presided for an arraignment of Miller. It was the third attempt to arraign the former bank president. At two previous ones, he showed up without counsel. He was represented by Attys. Carlon M. O'Malley, Sr., and J. Julius Levy of Scranton. Atty. Levy asked that the trial be set back sufficiently for him to study the indictment.[18] On December 30, 1970, the Government rested its case against Miller after calling its 19th witness. The witness, Michael C. Kearn of Pine Grove, a retired senior national bank examiner, who was appointed conservator of the Wellsville bank on January 28, 1967.[19] On Friday, January 15, 1971, the federal jury in Harrisburg convicted Miller in 18 counts of misapplication of funds of the Wellsville National Bank. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Walker and Julius Altman handled the Government's case.[20] Motions were quickly filed for a new trial or arrest of judgment by Attys. O'Malley and Levy.[21]

Official Bank Title

1: The Wellsville National Bank, Wellsville, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $5 bank note with stamped signatures of E.W. Gladfelter, Cashier and L.E. Speck, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of E.W. Gladfelter, Cashier and L.E. Speck, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com
1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of E.W. Gladfelter, Cashier and L.E. Speck, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $277,600 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1907 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 33,886 notes (25,232 large size and 8,654 small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments
1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 150
1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 140
1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 1250
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1000
1902 Plain Back 4x5 1251 - 3550
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1001 - 2468
1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 588
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 434
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 128
1929 Type 2 5 1 - 1008
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 580
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 166

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1907 - 1935):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

  • No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Wellsville, PA, 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
  1. ↑ The York Dispatch, York, PA, Sat., Jan. 12, 1907.
  2. ↑ The Sentinel, Carlisle, PA, Thu., Jan. 16, 1913.
  3. ↑ Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Mon., Sep. 15, 1913.
  4. ↑ The York Daily, York, PA, Sat., Sep. 13, 1913.
  5. ↑ The York Gazette, York, PA, Wed., Jan. 10, 1917.
  6. ↑ The York Dispatch, York, PA, Tue., Jan. 13, 1920.
  7. ↑ York Daily Record, York, PA, Fri., Oct. 19, 1928.
  8. ↑ News Comet, East Berlin, PA, Fri., Jan. 17, 1936.
  9. ↑ The Gazette and Daily, York, PA, Tue., Aug. 3, 1943.
  10. ↑ York Daily Record, York, PA, Wed., Jan. 11, 1961.
  11. ↑ The Plain Speaker, Hazleton, PA, Fri., Mar. 24, 1961.
  12. ↑ The Levittown Times, Levittown, PA, Fri., Mar. 24, 1961.
  13. ↑ York Daily Record, York, PA, Sat. Mar. 25, 1961.
  14. ↑ The York Dispatch, York, PA, Sat. May 15, 1965.
  15. ↑ The Gazette and Daily, York, PA, Mon., Sep., 25, 1967.
  16. ↑ The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, Sat., Aug. 17, 1968.
  17. ↑ York Daily Record, York, PA, Sat., Aug. 17, 1968.
  18. ↑ The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA, Wed., Feb. 19, 1969.
  19. ↑ The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, Thu., Dec. 31, 1970.
  20. ↑ The Tribune, Scranton, PA, Sat., Jan. 16, 1971.
  21. ↑ The Tribune, Scranton, PA, Thu., Jan. 21, 1971.
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