First National Bank, Clayton, MO (Charter 12333)
First National Bank, Clayton, MO (Chartered 1923 - Closed (Merger) 2021)
Town History
Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the St. Louis County courthouse. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. In 1920 the population was 3,028 growing to 9,613 by 1930.
Clayton is one of the St. Louis region's primary business districts and the second largest after downtown St. Louis. The city boasts roughly 46,000 daytime employees (estimate from 2021) and is home to a large and diverse group of the region's Fortune 500 headquarters, blue chip companies, law firms, and banks.
Clayton had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized March 3, 1923
- Chartered March 10, 1923
- Succeeded Trust Company of St. Louis County, Clayton, MO
- Licensed after the banking holiday on March 25, 1933
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into The Central Trust Bank in Jefferson City, MO, October 1, 2021
The Trust Company of St. Louis County with headquarters at Clayton was organized in October 1902. James E. Hereford, attorney, was elected president of the new institution and the secretary was Edward J. Wilke. The capital was $200,000 with an additional $200,000 surplus.
About April 1st, 1906, Fred J. Hollocher resigned the circuit clerkship of St. Louis County to accept a more lucrative position with the Trust Company of St. Louis County, succeeding the late Edward J. Wilke.
In November 1922, Ed. Mays, president of the Missouri National Bank and vice president of the National City Bank, purchased controlling interest in the Trust Company of St. Louis County. Mays convinced the board of directors to separate the general banking business from the trust services and use the company's $120,000 surplus to organize the First National Bank of Clayton. Mays would serve as president of the newly chartered bank until 1928, then selling his interest to A.C.F. Meyers, president of Lafayette South Side Bank & Trust Co. in Luxemburg, St. Louis Co.
In July 1927, the First National Bank of Clayton declared a semiannual dividend of 10%. Likewise, the Trust Co. of St. Louis County, an affiliated institution also declared a 10% dividend. Ed. Mays was the president of both the First National Bank, the Wellston Trust Co., and the Trust Company of St. Louis County.
In January 1928, after 21 years, F.J. Hollocher resigned as executive vice president and manager of the First National Bank and the Trust Company of St. Louis County. He planned to retire from business and to divide his time between his homes in Clayton and Florida. The new officers of the bank were Ed Mays, president; W.C. Johnson, Christ Ruehl and Joseph McAtee, vice presidents; W.D. Lindeman, cashier; and Edward Eble, assistant cashier. The board of directors was composed of T.F. Guthrie, W.C. Johnson, Joe Ledbetter, W.D. Lindeman, Ed Mays, Joseph C. McAtee, Chris Ruehl, and Fred W. Wipke.
In January 1929, Christ Ruehl was elected president to succeed Ed Mays who sold his interest in the bank. Ruehl resigned as president six years ago after four years in office. Fred W. Wipke was elected vice president. All other officers were re-elected.
On March 25, 1933, The First National Bank of Clayton which closed on March 4th when the bank moratorium was declared, reopened for unrestricted business. A license for the reopening was issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Walter D. Lindeman, president of the bank, said the capital had been strengthened by the addition of $150,000 in preferred stock of which $120,000 was subscribed by directors and depositors, the other $30,000 was subscribed by Clayton businessmen.
On February 8, 1938, John L. Boland, president of the First National Bank announced George E. Gates, former teller, was short $5,869 from ten accounts at the bank. Boland said Gates was discharged when it was learned he was betting on horse races and that the shortage was not disclosed until after his dismissal on January 8th. Gates was arraigned before United States Commissioner John A. Burke on a charge of embezzlement. Bates pleaded guilty on March 31st and was sentenced in April to serve 18 months in prison.
In March 1943, the Trust Co. of St. Louis County retired from business voluntarily with all assets taken over and liquidated by the Land Title Insurance Co. of St. Louis which would absorb all of its officers and employees. Ralph L. (Doc) Schwenck, secretary of the Trust Co., was named a vice president of the Land Title Insurance Co. In 1928, a controlling interest in the Trust Co. was bought by the Land Insurance Co., but continued to operate it as a separate concern even though most of its activity was confined to the title field. Headed by Frederick Essen and James M. Rohan, the Land Title Co. maintained offices at 717 Chestnut St. and in Clayton at 9413 Forsythe Boulevard.
On May 18, 1946, John A. Boland retired as president and Charles A. Shaw, vice president, was named his successor. Boland was a director of the Trust Co. of St. Louis County until its facilities were taken over by the First National Bank in 1923. He became vice president of the latter institution in 1933 and president in 1935. Assets of the bank during his tenure rose from $1,800,000 in 1935 to a present total in excess of $6,300,000. Shaw was president of Shaw and Francis, Inc., Clayton real estate firm and served as mayor of Clayton for seven years until 1940. New officer positions announced were Al J. Ruch, vice president and cashier for 9 years, who became executive vice president, and Herbert W. Ziercher, attorney, elected vice president and counsel. Ziercher was president of the St. Louis County Bar Association.
In September 1946 St. Louis County banks made a triple shift in occupancies when the Clayton National Bank transferred its property at 7817 Forsythe Blvd. to St. Louis County National Bank which in turn sold the building to the First National Bank of Clayton after that bank had sold its 50-52 Central Ave. location to the St. Louis County National Bank. The Clayton National and the St. Louis County National Bank agreed to consolidate under the title of St. Louis County National Bank, leaving their 7817 Forsythe Blvd. building vacant which the new organization sold to the First National Bank of Clayton for $110,000. The building at 50-52 South Central Ave. sold for $85,000. Opening of the new quarters for the First National Bank was set for Monday, October 7th, with a reception from 7-9 PM at the new address at 7817 Forsythe Blvd. The change from its previous location at Central and Carondelet Avenues was the bank's first move in its 43-year history.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Clayton, MO
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $797,700 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1923 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 101,005 notes (60,024 large size and 40,981 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 9080 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 5926 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 3930 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1974 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 566 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 1454 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 587 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 120
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1923 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Edmund Monroe Mays, 1923-1928 See also biography (link in sources): Paper Money #225 (SPMC) pp 153-168.
- Christian Ruehl, 1929-1929
- Walter Daniel Heinrich Lindeman, 1930-1934
- John Louis Boland, 1935-1935
Cashiers:
- Frederick Joseph Hollocher, 1923-1923
- Walter Daniel Heinrich Lindeman, 1924-1929
- Edward F. Eble, 1930-1932
- Carl F. Brinkman, 1933-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- F.J. Hollocher signed notes as Vice President
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Missouri Bank Note History
- General information on Clayton (Wikipedia)
- General information on Saint Louis County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Missouri (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Clayton, MO, 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
- Horstman, Ron, "The Life and Hard Times of Ed Mays," Paper Money #225 (SPMC) pp 153-168.
- The St. Louis Republic, St. Louis, MO, Tue., Oct. 21, 1902.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Sun., Apr. 1, 1906.
- Columbia Missourian, Columbia, MO, Sat., Nov. 4, 1922.
- St., Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Sat., July 2, 1927.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Sun., Oct. 2, 1927.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Sun., Jan. 15, 1928.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Tue., Oct. 16, 1928.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Thu., Jan. 10, 1929.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Sat., Mar. 25, 1933.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Sun., July 14, 1935.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Sun., July 14, 1935.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Sun., Jan. 26, 1936.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Tue., Feb. 8, 1938.
- Jefferson City Post-Tribute, Jefferson City, MO, Fri., Apr. 29, 1938.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Fri., Mar. 19, 1943.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, Sun., May 19, 1946.
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO, Sun., Sep. 15, 1946.
- The St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, MO, Sat., Oct. 5, 1946.