First National Bank, Hartford, AL (Charter 7592)

This should be a contemporary postcard, photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Hartford, AL (Chartered 1905 - Still in business (January 2022))

Town History

The First National Bank of Hartford, Alabama, ca2020. Courtesy of Google Maps

Hartford is a city in Geneva County, Alabama, incorporated in 1896. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located 21 miles east of Dothan and 71 miles north of Panama City, FL. At the 2010 census the population was 2,624, up from 2,369 in 2000. In 1910 the population was 1,159.

Hartford had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and one of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized January 16, 1905
Chartered February 2, 1905
Succeeds Burford & Co. (Private)
Opened for business March 6, 1905
Bank was Open past 1935
For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
This bank is still in business as FNB Hartford, AL (January 2022)

On December 6, 1904, the application of L.E. Burford, J.H. Hodges, J.R. Alford, J.J. Hughes and L.M. Bashinsky to organized the First National Bank of Hartford with $30,000 in capital was approved by the comptroller of the currency. The bank was organized on January 16, 1904 with Colonel L.M. Bashinsky of Troy the likely president and Mr. W. H. Bishop, cashier. Demand for the bank stock indicated that the low price of cotton did not have a depressing effect on the Hartford area. On January 24, the stockholders elected the following directors: J.R. Alford, L.E. Burford, K.Z. Hendrick, J.J. Hughes, W.H. Bishop and L.M. Bashinsky. The directors met and elected L.E. Burford, president; J.J. Hughes, vice president; and W.H. Bishop, cashier. On February 2, 1905, the comptroller of the currency authorized the bank to begin business.

On November 3, 1933, two hours after it received the case, a Geneva County Jury returned a verdict of guilty against Jack Sharp, charged with the murder of Oscar Jerkins, Hartford, Alabama patrolman, and fixed his punishment at life imprisonment. Sharp had taken the stand to deny the slaying of Jerkins and to testify that he had not been in Hartford the night of the slaying. The State contended that Sharp, Jack Curtis and Cecil Sheehan shot Jerkins as a preliminary step in their attempt to rob the First National Bank, of Hartford.

On August 7, 1933, Oscar Jerkins, 37, night marshal for Hartford, Alabama was killed by one of three unidentified men, but officers were perplexed as to a motive.

Two members of the gang, which numbered about six in all, were arrested for a post office robbery in Mobile, and Jack Curtis was implicated with them but escaped. The gang, now reduced to Sheehan, Curtis and Sharpe shifted to Birmingham. At Birmingham, Sheehan, "the brains" conceived the plan to loot the First National Bank of Hartford where he believed they could obtain between $17,000 and $20,000, in cash. Sheehan went down to Hartford four times to lay out the job, the last time about four days before the Sunday on which Jerkins was killed. Early Sunday they stole a truck and made the trip in that and another car, with Sheehan and Sharp riding in the truck and Curtis and B. F. Settle, riding in the car. Arriving at Hartford, Sheehan and Settle waited at the automobile while Sharp and Curtis got out. Then Sheehan and Settle heard shots, Sheehan took the truck and left, but Settle waited with the car for Sharp and Curtis and they started back to Birmingham, going by Enterprise and Elba. They had a flat tire after passing Elba and went into Troy on the rim. Before reaching Troy, they threw away the pistol. While the quartet was in Birmingham, they discussed the slaying and read newspaper accounts. It was at this time that Sharp made the statement to his confederates that he did not kill Jerkins, but that the officer “committed suicide" by reaching for his gun instead of putting his hands up as Sharp ordered.

While the men were in Birmingham, the Birmingham police received a "tip" by telephone that the four men were responsible for Jerkins' slaying. A raid of the home of Sheehan at Hartselle resulted in the finding of a small arsenal. Officers went to the home of Sheehan, where they broke in the door, only to be confronted by Curtis with drawn pistol ready to fire. Curtis, faced with a shotgun, was ordered to throw his pistol on a bed. Sheehan, Curtis and Sharp were taken into custody. While at Sheehan's home, the "gang" was planning to rob a bank at Decatur. Several hundred dollars in currency, most of which had been issued by a Mobile bank, was found with the suspects.

With the three men in custody, police turned to seeking Settle, who was apprehended on October 10, unknown to his companions. Settle broke down and confessed to the entire affair. Settle said he did not make the trip with the intentions of "killing anyone." Having turned state's evidence in the case, Settle came to Geneva County with officers and went over the actual scene, pointing out all details of the crime. He led the officers to within 25 feet of where the pistol was thrown away. Officers took the gun to Birmingham to a ballistics expert who had been given the bullet that killed Jerkins. The expert was ready to testify that the bullet came from the gun that was found. Settle's part in aiding the officers to unravel the slaying was not known to the other gang members who made the trip to Hartford and were on trial. Settle was taken to court in Geneva as a surprise witness and his story of the crime and the implication of Sharp, Curtis and Sheehan was a "bombshell" to the defense.

Oscar Jerkins did not know it, but he prevented the robbery of the First National Bank of Hartford. The gang was implicated in other robberies in Alabama and Decatur would have been next. They likely worked outside the state as well. Unfortunately, he lost his life that night in August.

Official Bank Title

1: The First National Bank of Hartford, AL

Bank Note Types Issued

An image of a large size note is needed.

1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Q.J. Borland, Cashier and T.A. West, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $298,200 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1905 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 24,233 notes (16,892 large size and 7,341 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	3x10-20	1 - 620
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1670
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1671 - 3603
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 766
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 180
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 1381
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 284

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1905 - 1936):

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

Hartford, AL, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
The Birmingham News, Birmingham, AL, Tue., Dec. 6, 1904.
The Elba Clipper, Elba, AL, Thu., Jan. 19, 1905.
The Elba Clipper, Elba, AL, Thu., Jan. 26, 1905.
The Decatur Daily, Decatur, AL, Mon. Aug. 7, 1933.
The Huntsville Times, Huntsville, AL, Mon., Aug. 14, 1933.
The Dothan Eagle, Dothan, AL, Thu., Nov. 2, 1933.
The Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL, Fri., Nov. 3, 1933.