First National Bank, Westfield, NY (Charter 504)

The Saint Peter's Episcopal Church founded in 1830.

First National Bank, Westfield, NY (Chartered 1864 - Liquidated 1884)

Town History

Westfield, established in 1828, is a town in the western part of Chautauqua County, New York. The population was 4,896 at the 2010 census. Westfield is also the name of a village within the town, containing 65% of the town's population.  The area was first settled in 1802 by James McMahan, formerly of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. McMahan established a mill near the mouth of Chautauqua Creek, where it empties into Lake Erie. The mill was later dismantled in advance of the War of 1812 to prevent it falling into the hands of the British. Today some of the millstones from McMahan's mill rest outside the Patterson Library in Westfield village.  The Barcelona Lighthouse was constructed in 1829 to overlook Barcelona Harbor and aided sailors on Lake Erie until being deactivated in 1859. It was the first lighthouse in the world to be powered by natural gas.

In 1897, the founder of Welch's Grape Juice, Charles E. Welch, moved his company to Westfield from New Jersey to take advantage of the ideal climate for the cultivation of grapes, particularly of Concord grapes. The region soon became noted for the growing of grapes for both wine and grape juice.

Westfield had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Westfield also had two Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).

Bank History

• Organized Jul 15, 1864
• Chartered Aug 25, 1864
• Liquidated Jun 1, 1884
• Succeeded by 3166 (National Bank, Westfield, NY)

In May, 1848, John N. Hungerford became cashier of the state-chartered Bank of Westfield, owned by his brother, Sextus H. Hungerford, who served as its president. John learned the banking business during this period. In July 1864, Sextus Hungerford sold the Bank of Westfield to the newly formed First National Bank of Westfield, capitalized at $100,000.00, where he became a director.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Westfield, NY

Bank Note Types Issued

Original series $5 bank note with pen signatures of C. P. Skinner, Cashier and Francis B. Brewer, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $220,000 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 1884. This consisted of a total of 35,360 notes (35,360 large size and No small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
Original Series	3x1-2	1 - 2000
Original Series	4x5	1 - 3250
Original Series	3x10-20	1 - 1500
Series 1875	3x1-2	1 - 160
Series 1875	4x5	1 - 910
Series 1875	3x10-20	1 - 1020

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

First National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 1884):

Presidents:

• Francis Beattie Brewer, 1864-1874
• Levi Alburn Skinner, 1875-1875
• Edward A. Skinner, 1876-1883

Cashiers:

• Levi Alburn Skinner, 1864-1866
• Edward A. Skinner, 1867-1869
• Charles Patterson Skinner, 1870-1883

Other Bank Note Signers

• There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

• New York Bank Note History
• General information on Westfield (Wikipedia)
• General information on Chautauqua County (Wikipedia)
• General information on New York (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Westfield, NY, 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