First National Bank, Smithton, PA (Charter 5311)
First National Bank, Smithton, PA (Chartered 1900 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Smithton is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The population was 399 at the 2010 census. In 1910 the population was 784, peaking at 790 in 1920.
Around 1801 a mill, known as Smith's Mill, was built at the location which became Smithton Borough. The town was incorporated as a borough in 1901. Smithton's early industry was in coal mining, coke ovens, and the transportation of goods produced in the valley of Jacobs Creek. By 1906, four schools were located at Smithton, with 4 teachers serving 144 students. William B. Jones (grandfather of actress Shirley Jones) founded The Jones Brewing Company at Smithton in 1907. The company brewed Stoney's Beer in Smithton until 2002, when the brewing operation was moved to Latrobe.
Smithton had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized April 3, 1900
- Chartered April 27, 1900
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Absorbed by First National Bank of McKeesport (Charter 2222), May 30, 1953
In March 1900, the comptroller of the currency approved an application for authority to organize the First National Bank of Smithton, capital, $25,000.
Early on Monday, November 11, 1901, burglars dynamited the vault of the First National Bank of Smithton, Westmoreland County, but were frightened away before they succeeded in getting the safe open. They got $4.50 and left of $17,000 behind.
In June 1903, William S. Van Dyke was chosen secretary of the Real Estate Trust Company, succeeding Robert J. Davison who went to the Home Trust Company. He was well-known as a banker in the Western end of the state and for many years was the head of the banking firm of Van Dyke, Weimar & Taylor in West Newton, one of the largest banking institutions in Westmoreland County which consolidated about 3 years ago with the First National Bank of West Newton. He was now vice president of the First National Bank of Smithton and vice president of the Anchor Savings Bank. Mr. Van Dyke was a member of the Legislature from Westmoreland County.
On Thursday evening, February 2, 1928, many persons attended the opening of Smithton's new First National Bank. Souvenirs were also given out with a box of candy to the women and a cigar to the men, while the children were given pennies. The bank was built during the past year under the superintendency of H.S. Sherbondy, a local building contractor. It was located on Peer Street in the central business section of town. The new building had a frontage of 32 feet and depth of 40 feet and was two-stories high. It was constructed of Ohio rough surface brick, raked joints and with stone trimming. The interior was well-lighted in the day by means of large plate glass windows and at night by beautiful electric lighting fixtures. The officers were J.K. McDonald, cashier; Miss Hazel Smith, assistant cashier and Miss Clara Ropp, teller and bookkeeper. The directors were F.M. Williams, president; R.H. Wolfe, vice president; J.K. MacDonald, J.U. Williams, H.S. Sherbondy, A.W. Croushore, and Claud J. Smith.
On July 29, 1931, three masked men held up the Smithton First National Bank and escaped with about $1,000. The bandits scooped up the money which had just been placed in the teller's cage, entered the vault, and when two directors and the cashier came in, fled through a rear window. Hazel M. Smith, assistant cashier, and teller Grace Luppold had been in the bank 30 minutes arranging papers and books and placing currency in the cages. "Two men entered and stuck guns in our backs", Miss Smith said. "Go ahead and take all the money you want," she said, "but don't shoot us!" The robbers were young, between 22 and 25, and shabbily dressed. Marius Pittavino, a merchant, Henry Sherbondy, a farmer, and J.K. McDonald, cashier saw the bandits leap through an open window and run to an auto. An accomplice was at the wheel. The car sped toward Scottdale. Police said it was possible the bandits had spent the night in the bank. Persons passing the bank said they saw the men running towards their car, a green Oldsmobile sedan with Ohio license.
On Tuesday, January 13, 1953, the directors were Hugh H. Jones, Dr. A.H. King, Marius Pittavino, Amel Powley, J.V. Vanderscott, J.B. Pollack, and Dr. Harold Snowden. The officers were Hugh H. Jones, president; Marius Pittavino, vice president; William C. Knox, executive vice president and cashier; Grace E. Luppold, assistant cashier.
M.A. Cancellier went to work in 1935 at the little bank on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Walnut Street in McKeesport of which his father-in-law, Charles R. Shaw, was president. He worked as file clerk, messenger, assistant bookkeeper, bookkeeper, teller and in the note department handling commercial loans. He became an assistant cashier in 1942 and was named president Oct. 23, 1952. The Western Pennsylvania National Bank's expansion can be traced almost to the day that Cancelliere became president. He had provoked some interest among board members of the First National Bank of McKeesport in the First National Bank of Smithton, an institution with $3.5 million in total resources. "If you approve acquisition of the Smithton bank you'll be approving more than acquiring one bank. You'll be approving a policy of expansion. If we don't expand, our territory will diminish and it's questionable if we'll do more than stand still. In that case management would be better off to be absorbed by a bigger bank and our future growth would be limited. It's a matter of survival." On May 30, 1953, seven months after Cancelliere had become president of the McKeesport bank, the Smithton bank was acquired. By 1962 Western Pennsylvania National Bank (WPNB), the name adopted in 1956 by the McKeesport bank, was third largest in Western Pennsylvania, ninth in the state and 139th in the nation.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Smithton, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $269,420 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 21,595 notes (18,472 large size and 3,123 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 - 1190 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1170 1882 DB/VB 3x10-20 1171 - 1310 Type uncertain 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 1311 - 1632 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 1796 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 376 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 114 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 138 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 45
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- Irwin Smith, Vice President 1915...1916
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Smithton (Wikipedia)
- General information on Westmoreland County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Smithton, 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
- Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Mar. 27, 1900.
- Tyrone Daily Herald, Tyrone, PA, Thu., Nov. 14, 1901.
- Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., June 18, 1903.
- The Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA, Mon., Feb. 6, 1928.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., July 29, 1931.
- The Daily Republican, Monongahela, PA, Tue., Apr. 14, 1953.
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Nov. 7, 1962.
- The Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA, Thu., Jan. 15, 1953.