First National Bank, Bridgeville, PA (Charter 6636)
First National Bank, Bridgeville, PA (Chartered 1903 - Receivership 1934)
Town History
Bridgeville is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
The village that eventually became Bridgeville acquired its name because of the first bridge built at the crossing of Chartiers Creek at the south end of what is now Washington Avenue. The area was originally named St. Clair Township in 1763, and the southern part was split off as Upper St. Clair Township in 1806. For nearly 100 years, Bridgeville was a village within Upper St. Clair Township, known for its one bridge over Chartiers Creek where people frequently met to trade goods. An old saying, "Meet me at the bridge," provided an obvious name for the village that began to develop north of the bridge around 1830.
Mining operations began in the 1880s, prompting growth. Bridgeville was officially incorporated as a borough on July 27, 1901, from Upper St. Clair Township. The population was 4,804 at the 2020 census. In 1910 the population was 1,983 growing to 3,939 by 1930.
Bridgeville had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and one of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 5, 1903
- Chartered February 21, 1903
- Conservatorship March 23, 1933
- Receivership September 20, 1934
On Tuesday, March 17, 1903, the First National Bank of Bridgeville with capital $50,000 and surplus $12,000, opened its doors for business. The bank was conveniently located on Pike Street. The directors were W.W. Poellet, John M. Boyce, T.A. Warrensford, J.D. Meise, G.M. Alexander, Dr. J.S. DeMuth, George Rollings, S.C. Cover, and J.C. Parsons. The officers were G.W. Poellet, president; John M. Boyce, vice president; and John M. Heany, cashier.[1]
On Tuesday, October 29, 1918, John Zangrilli, aged 23 and cashier of the First National Bank of Bridgeville, died in his home at 611 Baldwin Street. He was born in Pittsburgh and was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Bankers' Club of Pittsburgh.[2] On December 6, 1918, two robbers, at the point of revolvers, held up the acting cashier of the First National Bank of Bridgeville, and a clerk, escaping with between $18,000 and $19,000 of which $15,000 was reported to be in cash. The robbery occurred a few minutes after F.A. Petrone of 153 Wabash Avenue, West End, acting cashier, and Paul McGann of 400 Wabash Avenue, bookkeeper, opened the bank. President J.H. Lutz of the bank said the loss was covered by insurance and the bank would not be affected by the robbery. County detectives at noon took Petrone and McGann to the office of the district attorney in Pittsburgh for further questioning. According to President Lutz, the story told him by Petrone and Mc Gann was that the two had arrived in Bridgeville about 8 o'clock, 15 minutes behind their regular time, because their train was late. They opened the side door of the bank leading into the foreign department They were followed by a woman who asked to have a check cashed. The vault had not been opened and she was asked to come later. Shortly after the departure of the woman, Petrone began to open the vault. As he was doing so, a well-dressed man approached the cashier's window. He covered the two bank officials with a revolver and then compelled Petron and McGann to go into the directors' room where Petrone was forced to tie McGann. Forcing Petrone back into the bank proper, the confederate appeared with a satchel. While one man covered Petrone the other went through the vault which had already been opened by the acting cashier. Petrone was then tied by one of the robbers and left lying on the floor, while the two bandits disappeared. McGann was the first to remove his bonds, and he then untied Petrone. Rushing out into the street, McGann saw Edith Warrensford, an employee of the bank, standing at Station street and Washington Avenue a short distance away. He beckoned to her and told her the bank had been robbed. Miss Warrensford thought it was a joke and would not believe the story. She and McGann then entered the bank and found Petrone who repeated the tale. Petrone’s hands were cut by the rope. McGann had been employed at the bank for only two days. Petrone had been employed at the bank for five years.[3]
On May 2, 1919, Frank A. Petrone, 21 years old of the West End, and C. Edward Allison, 20 years old of South Bend, Indiana, who robbed the First National bank of Bridgeville on December 6th, last, entered pleas of guilty to robbery in criminal court before Judge Thomas J. Ford. The robbery was planned by the two to cover a shortage of over $10,000 in the accounts of Petrone who was acting cashier. Petrone took $12,500 the night before. County detectives were soon convinced that it was an inside job and arrested Petrone who confessed a few days later. Allison was arrested afterward in South Chicago, Indiana.[4] Judge Ford imposed a sentence of not more than 10 nor less than five years in the Western Penitentiary on Petrone, and not more than five, nor less than two and one half years in the penitentiary on Allison.[5]
In September 1919, a Federal investigation into the books of the First National Bank of Bridgeville was begun. Frank A. Petrone, the former cashier of the bank, was called as on of the witnesses. A grand jury investigation of John M. Heany and the directors of the First National Bank became known when Federal Prosecutor E. Lowry Humes filed a petition to compel the presentation of books and documents of the bank at the investigation. Among the documents presented were the stock certificate book of the Upper St. Clair Land Company, all deeds and mortgages of the same, all canceled checks and notes held by J.C. Parsons, George W. Peollot, N.M. Heany, T.A. Warrensford, Robert Patterson, and J.D. Sweeney, and all accounts and books showing transactions between the bank and the land company.[6] Indictments charging conspiracy to misappropriate money, funds and credit of a national banking institution were returned against John M. Heany, Frank M. Heany, Norman C. Heany, Robert Patterson, S.A. McFarland, and J.C. Parsons by the United States Grand Jury for the Western District of Pennsylvania in session in Erie.[7]
In December 1920, the trial of Frank Heany and Norman C. Heany was begun in Federal Court on a charge of violating the national banking laws.[8]
On June 21, 1921, Judge W.H.S. Thomson in United States District Court handed down an opinion win which he over-ruled motions to quash the indictment against John M. Heany, cashier, and Robert Patterson, S.A. McFarland and J.C. Parsons, directors of the First National Bank of Bridgeville, and Frank Heany and Norman C. Heany.[9]
On April 25, 1922, the action against the Bridgeville bank officials was nolle prossed. The indictment charged that between December 14, 1914, and June 15, 1918, the men conspired to misapply funds of the bank in that notes made payable to the bank were sold to J.C. Parsons for a nominal consideration.[10]
On the afternoon and evening of October 20, 1923, friends of the First National Bank were invited to inspect the new, enlarged banking rooms and celebrate the bank's 20th anniversary.[11] The officers were J.H. Lutz, president; T.A. Warrensford, vice president; E.J. Weber, cashier. The directors were J.P. Hoffman, J.H. Lutz, Casper P. Mayer, T.A. Warrensford, F.C. Mayer, J.J. Wallace, and E.J. Weber. The bank showed resources of $401,992.90 in January 1918 and over $1,101,000 on October 15, 1923, a gain of about $700,000. A complete foreign and steamship department was managed by Ferruccio Ronchetti.[12]
In March 1927, the officers were J.H. Lutz, president; T.A. Warrensford, vice president; E.J. Weber, cashier. The directors were the three officers and J.P. Hoffman, F.C. Mayer, and C.P. Mayer.[13]
In May 1929, Ferruccio W. Ronchetti, formerly with the First National Bank, was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of embezzling $33,621.65 of the banks funds.[14] In July after pleading guilty, Ronchetti, 47, was sentenced to three years in the Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia. "I lost the money speculating in the stock market," Ronchetti confessed. He embezzled the money between June 1926 and December 1928 by lowering the deposits of clients in the bank's records.[15]
On November 20, 1933, the United States Grand Jury indicted Edwin J. Weber, former vice president and cashier of the First National Bank of Bridgeville on a charge of embezzling $18,185.71.[16] On November 23, Weber pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Federal Judge F.P. Schoonmaker to three years in a federal penitentiary.[17]
On August 27, 1934, The Bridgeville National Bank opened, making available $400,000 to depositors of the First National Bank of Bridgeville which closed in the March 1933 crisis. The reorganized bank was headed by Dr. Dante Piggosi with C.L. Holman, formerly with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in Cleveland, as cashier.[18]
In December 1935, a new dividend of 8% was authorized by the comptroller of the currency. John J. Dougherty, receiver, stated the payment would raise to 68% the amount returned to depositors in the First National Bank.[19]
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Bridgeville, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,191,200 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1903 and 1934. This consisted of a total of 149,105 notes (125,296 large size and 23,809 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 - 3060 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2298 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 4750 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 3300 1902 Plain Back 4x5 4751 - 15661 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 3301 - 10305 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 1958 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1114 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 284 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 2316 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1175 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 182
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1903 - 1934):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- John McClelland Heany, 1903-1916
- William D. Strain, 1917-1917
- John McClelland Heany, 1917-1917
- John Zangrilli, 1918-1918
- Frank A. Petrone, 1918-1918
- Edwin John Weber, 1919-1932
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Bridgeville, 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
- ↑ The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Wed., Mar. 18, 1903.
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., Oct. 31, 1918.
- ↑ The Daily Republican, Monongahela, PA, Sat., Dec. 7, 1918.
- ↑ The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Fri., May 2, 1919.
- ↑ The Daily Republican, Monongahela, PA, Sat., May 3, 1919.
- ↑ The Pittsburgh Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Fri., Sep. 19, 1919.
- ↑ The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Mon., Sep. 22, 1919.
- ↑ The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Wed., Dec. 8, 1920.
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., June 22, 1921.
- ↑ The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Wed., Apr. 26, 1922.
- ↑ The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Thu., Oct. 11, 1923.
- ↑ The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Tue., Oct. 16, 1923.
- ↑ The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Mar. 23, 1927.
- ↑ Altoona Tribune, Altoona, PA, Tue., May 14, 1929.
- ↑ Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., July 9, 1929.
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Nov. 21, 1933.
- ↑ The Plain Speaker, Hazleton, PA, Fri., Nov. 24, 1933.
- ↑ The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Sun., Aug. 26, 1934.
- ↑ The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., Dec. 19, 1935.