First National Bank, Atlanta, TX (Charter 4922)

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Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.
Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Atlanta, TX (Chartered 1893 - Closed (Merger) 1994)

Town History

At center is a picture of the First National Bank in Atlanta, Texas after the 1936 robbery.  At upper left is Miss Evelyn Enid whose presence of mind and courage gave Cashier R.P Dunklin (at lower left) time to trip the burglar alarm and flee from the bank to shout for help.  City Marshal Homer F. Carter, upper right is shown holding the gun that Chapman dropped when he was shot.  The gun had only one shell remaining that had not been fired.  At the lower right is Assistant Cashier J.E. Manning who was also in the bank at the time of the robbery and with others was forced to lie on the floor behind the teller's cage. At far right is Charles Chapman, escaped Arkansas convict, wounded in the attempted robbery.  Photos by Le Doux.
At center is a picture of the First National Bank in Atlanta, Texas after the 1936 robbery.  At upper left is Miss Evelyn Enid whose presence of mind and courage gave Cashier R.P Dunklin (at lower left) time to trip the burglar alarm and flee from the bank to shout for help.  City Marshal Homer F. Carter, upper right is shown holding the gun that Chapman dropped when he was shot.  The gun had only one shell remaining that had not been fired.  At the lower right is Assistant Cashier J.E. Manning who was also in the bank at the time of the robbery and with others was forced to lie on the floor behind the teller's cage. At far right is Charles Chapman, escaped Arkansas convict, wounded in the attempted robbery.  Photos by Le Doux.

Atlanta is a city in Cass County, northeastern Texas. U.S. Route 59 bypasses the city to the west, leading north 25 miles to Texarkana and southwest 14 miles to Linden. Texas State Highway 77 passes through the southern side of the city, leading southeast 10 miles to the Louisiana border and northwest 13 miles to Douglassville. Texas State Highway 43 passes through the center of Atlanta and leads south 47 miles to Marshall. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the city had a population of 5,675, which decreased to 5,433 in 2020. In 1910 the population was 1,604.

Atlanta was established in 1872 with the building of the Texas and Pacific Railway and was named for Atlanta, Georgia, former home of many early settlers; a post office was opened that same year. Atlanta, Texas is now the second largest Atlanta in the nation. Other "Atlantas" exist in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and elsewhere. Atlanta, Texas is known as "Hometown, USA".

Atlanta had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, The First National Bank (Charter 4922) and The Atlanta National Bank (Charter 7694), and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

  • Organized May 13, 1893
  • Chartered May 25, 1893
  • Succeeded Citizens Bank
  • Bank was Open past 1935
  • For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
  • Merged into First NB of Hughes Springs, TX, January 3, 1994

On May 14, 1893, the First National Bank of Atlanta was organized by Col. J.G. James of Austin, Texas, with a paid up capital of $50,000. The following officers and directors were elected: John G. James, A.B. Hinkle, W.A. Williams, H.A. O'Neal, W.A. Howe, J.D. Johnson, L.F. Allday, J.T. Chamblee and T.F. Howe. The officers were H.A. O'Neal, president; J.G. James, first vice president; A.B. Hinkle, second vice president; J.W. Campbell, cashier; and W.A. Howe, assistant cashier.[1] In November, changes were A.C. Smith, vice president, in place of W.A. Howe, and B.F. Ellington, cashier in place of J.W. Campbell.[2]

In March 1906, the comptroller of the currency was advised of the following change for the First National Bank of Atlanta: J.T. Chamblee, vice president.[3]

On June 6, 1934, two bandits robbed the First National Bank of $10,000 and locked four men in the bank vault, kidnapped V.A. Clements, assistant cashier, and escaped. A photo of Charlie Chapman, Arkansas bandit and badman was positively identified as being that of the leader of a duo who looted the First National Bank of Atlanta. The identification was made by V.A. Clements, cashier and Wilmer Hughes, bookkeeper. Chapman's companion was believed to have been Heine Henderson, who made a bloody escape from the Angola Prison in Louisiana. Officers were searching the Sulphur River bottoms of Miller County for the desperados. At 2:45, the two bandits entered the bank and took it over. One remained on guard while the younger man rifled cash drawers. The gunmen forced Clements to enter the vault and open a small safe containing diamonds and negotiable securities. They then forced him to carry the loot to a maroon sedan and enter it. The machine left at a moderate rate of speed in the direction of Shreveport. Clements was released unharmed one mile from the city and returned to spread the alarm. Meanwhile the trapped men had freed themselves from the vault by means of a screwdriver. A check revealed the bandits obtained $3,025 in cash, liberty bonds valued at $1,800, and diamonds amounting to $3,500.[4]

In November 1934, I.L. Southerland, 20, and Ovid Mathis, 25, both of Little Rock, Arkansas were convicted of robbing the First National Bank of Atlanta. Witnessed for the defense testified the pair were in Shreveport at the time of the robbery. Southerland was given 50 years and Mathis was sentenced to 30 years for participating in the holdup.[5]

On Saturday, October 24, 1936, a Cass County jury after deliberating an hour found Charlie Chapman guilty of attempting to rob the First National Bank of Atlanta on August 31st, and sentenced him to 60 years in the penitentiary. The state had demanded the death penalty. Defense attorneys immediately filed motion for an appeal. Five witnesses for the state told of the robbery and how Chapman and two others met blazing guns in the hands of citizens when they attempted to escape with $900 in loot. Cashier Paul Dunklin escaped through a rear door when Chapman and O.H. Lindsey entered the bank and forced customers and employees to raise their hands. Estel Manning, Wilmar Hughes, and Miss Elsie Jackson, were witnesses for the state. Cashier Dunklin spread the alarm and citizens swarmed from stores and other business establishments to meet the robbers as they emerged from the bank. A rifle bullet wounded Chapman in the shoulder. Lindsey was captured after a short chase. Buddy Sadler, third member of the convict trio which had left a trail of violence through East Texas in a week of freedom, started the gunmen’s automobile and escaped. He was captured several days later. Chapman and Lindsey escaped from an Arkansas prison.[6] The defense offered no testimony at the conclusion of the state’s case. Chapman pleaded guilty when arraigned. His counsel, in a surprise move reversed the plea. Courtroom gossip said this was done to furnish basis for an appeal if the death penalty were given.[7] 

On October 30, 1936 three escaped Arkansas convicts were sentenced for the attempted bank robbery of the First National Bank of Atlanta.  A jury heard Louis (Buddy) Sadler's plea of guilty and returned an agreed verdict of 25 years in the penitentiary.  O.H. Lindsey was sentenced to 75 years and Charlie Chapman to 60 years.  Sheriff Q.T. Hardegree said Lindsey and Chapman had decided not to appeal.  The state demanded death for both. Sheriff Hardegree would take the convicts to the state penitentiary at Huntsville.[8][9]

Chapman was sent to Huntsville. He was born December 29, 1898 in Mississippi and had a reputation of being one of the most clever and dangerous bank robbers. He had numerous escapes to his credit and was assumed to have engineered many bank robberies with which he was never charged. On July 9, 1937, he escaped from the Eastham State Prison Farm. In December 1937, FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover asked the public for assistance in the widespread search for a stocky little man who, if captured alive, might open prison doors for two Texas convicts. Sought was Irving Charles Chapman, 39, who along with nine other prisoners fled Eastham State Prison Farm on the morning of July 8.[10] Chapman held the key as to the guilt or innocence of I.L. Southerland, 37 and Ovid Mathis, 28, both of Little Rock, serving terms for the robbery of the Atlanta bank in June 1934. U.S. District Attorney Steve King of Beaumont said he had Chapman's statement that it was he, not Southerland and Mathis who robbed the bank on that date. Chapman hinted he robbed the bank again in order to clear Southerland and Mathis.[11][12]

Chapman and the other convicts used two rifles in their break from Eastham farm. A guard was wounded and J.D. Reed, prisoner was slain. The fugitives wounded a farmer who resisted their attempt to steal his automobile. Later they held up the Trinity City Marshal, took his automobile and at Alto exchanged that machine for another seized from three state highway patrolmen. Special FBI agents joined other officers in the pursuit over Texas and Oklahoma, but Chapman and his companions, Fred Tindol and Roy P. Traxler, both dangerous outlaws, eluded capture. On July 15, the three kidnaped Bair H. Markham Jr. near Ada, Oklahoma who was later released. Tindol and Traxler were caught off guard by two citizens who they had abducted and Tindol was killed and Traxler wounded.[13]

On January 4th, 1938, Chapman was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list as Mississippian, 38, sentenced for bank robberies in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas and escaped from the penitentiaries in all three states.[14]

On November 9, 1938, pardoned after serving four years for bank robbery, I.L. (Doc) Southerland and Ovid Mathis returned home, happy and ready for work. They were released from the Texas penitentiary when Governor Allred granted them conditional pardons with the announcement there was serious doubt as to their guilt. Southerland and Mathis had always maintained they were guiltless of the crime and had produced witnesses to prove they were in Shreveport at the time of the 1934 robbery. The trial record showed conflicting testimony as to identification of them as the robbers.[15]

On February 22, 1942, Chapman was killed in a shootout with the FBI near Philadelphia, Mississippi.[16][17]

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Atlanta, TX

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of B.F. Ellington, Cashier and A.C. Smith, President.
1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of B.F. Ellington, Cashier and A.C. Smith, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Date Back $10 bank note with stamped signatures of J.G. King, Cashier and R.P. Dunklin, President.
1902 Date Back $10 bank note with stamped signatures of J.G. King, Cashier and R.P. Dunklin, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of R.P. Dunklin, Cashier and T.R. Richey, President. This is a replacement note.
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of R.P. Dunklin, Cashier and T.R. Richey, President. This is a replacement note. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,017,310 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1893 and 1994. This consisted of a total of 81,844 notes (67,200 large size and 14,644 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 3x10-20 1 - 1770
1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 805
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 4000
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 4001 - 14225
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1518
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 412
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 2449
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 615

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1893 - 1994):

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

  • Atlanta, TX, 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 Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, Wed., May 17, 1893.
  2. ↑ The Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, Tue., Nov. 14, 1893.
  3. ↑ The Fort Worth Record and Register, Fort Worth, TX, Mon., Mar. 5, 1906.
  4. ↑ The Marshall News Messenger, Marshall, TX, Thu., June 7, 1934.
  5. ↑ Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX, Sun., Nov. 4, 1934.
  6. ↑ The Times, Shreveport, LA, Tue., Sep. 1, 1936.
  7. ↑ Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX, Sun., Oct. 25, 1936.
  8. ↑ The Times, Shreveport, LA, Tue., Sep. 1, 1936.
  9. ↑ Abilene Reporter-News, Abilene, TX, Sat., Oct. 31, 1936.
  10. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Fri., Dec. 17, 1937.
  11. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Fri., Dec. 17, 1937.
  12. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Sun., Feb. 13, 1938.
  13. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Fri., Dec. 17, 1937.
  14. ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Wed., Jan. 5, 1938.
  15. ↑ Lubbock Morning Avalanche, Lubbock, TX, Thu., Nov. 10, 1938.
  16. ↑ Hattiesburg American, Hattiesburg, MS, Tue., Feb. 24, 1942.
  17. ↑ The Times, Shreveport, LA, Tue., Nov. 8, 1938.
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