First National Bank of Braddock, PA (Charter 13866)
First National Bank of Braddock, PA (Chartered 1933 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 10 miles upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 Census.
The borough is named for General Edward Braddock (1695–1755), commander of American colonial forces at the start of the French and Indian War. The Braddock Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne (modern day Pittsburgh) from the French led to the British general's own fatal wounding and a sound defeat of his troops after crossing the Monongahela River on July 9, 1755. This battle, now called the Battle of the Monongahela, was a key event at the beginning of the French and Indian War.
The borough was incorporated on June 8, 1867. The town's industrial economy began in 1873, when Andrew Carnegie built the Edgar Thomson Steel Works on the historic site of Braddock's Field in what is now North Braddock, Pennsylvania. This was one of the first American steel mills which used the Bessemer process. As of 2010, it continues operation as a part of the United States Steel Corporation.
Braddock had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized November 25, 1933
- Chartered December 8, 1933
- Succeeded 2799 (The First National Bank of Braddock)
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Merged with the First National Bank of McKeesport with name change to Western Pennsylvania National Bank, July 16, 1956
In June 1933, The First National Bank of Braddock and its parent institution, the Braddock Trust Company, both unlicensed and numbered among the banks of Allegheny County in which $40,000,000 had been tied up since the national banking holiday, planned to reopen for unrestricted operation as soon as reorganization details were complete. For weeks plans for re-opening of these banks, particularly the First National, have been before banking authorities, but their acceptance has been delayed. Re-opening of these banks will free the accounts of more than 9,000 depositors and make available $2,500,000 which has been tied up more than three months. The corporate structure of the First National Bank of Braddock and the Braddock Trust Company was an unusual one. All the stock of the First National, under supervision of the United States Comptroller of the Currency, was owned by the Braddock Trust Company, which was supervised by the State Banking Department. It was said that the only reason the Braddock Trust Company was not licensed at the end of the banking holiday was because of the corporate tie-up with the First National. The banks did business over the same counters, and to have one institution unlicensed and the other licensed might have worked to the disadvantage of the depositors.
Reorganization plans for the First National called for an issuance of $75,000 of common stock to be sold at a price which will bring in addition to this amount $50,000 for the surplus account. When the common stock had been subscribed, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation would subscribe to $75,000 in preferred stock, thus providing additional capital to the extent of $200,000. Rising security markets have added more than $350,000 to the bank's assets. When the new stock was subscribed, the plans call for the transfer of liquid assets to the new organization. Depositors of First National would have about 70 per cent of their total deposits available the day the reorganized bank begins operations. It was believed also that 100 per cent of the accounts of depositors in the Braddock Trust Company would be available at the same time.
On September 9, the Comptroller of the Currency approved the reorganization plan. The new bank would have a capital of $150,000, a surplus of $30,000 and undivided profits of $7,500. The capital would be represented by 7,500 shares with a par value of $20, being sold at a premium of $5 a share.
On December 1, 1933, directors and officers of the new First National Bank at Braddock were approved by the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank officials. Opening of the new bank was expected soon. The new bank included 1,100 stockholders, and for that reason an unusually large directorate was named. Approximately $1,000,000 would be released to depositors in the old First National Bank of Braddock upon opening of the new bank. New officers were: president, Henry J, Wagner; vice president, Fred H. Meyer; executive vice president, E.C. Striebich; cashier, Thomas M. Watt. Directors: Wagner, Meyer, Dr. Chris Gardner, F.A. Bishoff, F. DeWilt Zurner, Malcolm Goldsmith, Dr. L.Q. Calihan, C.B. Guttridge, John J. Schwerha, William C. Roderus and D.H. DeMardo.
On January 12, 1949, Thomas M. Watt was elected president to succeed Henry J. Wagner who was named chairman of the board. P.C. Bridges, assistant cashier, was made a vice president and E.T. Striebich was re-elected vice president. Thomas C. Quinn, assistant cashier was elected cashier while Robert N.P. McDonough and William A. Roderus were chosen assistant cashiers.
In June 1956, Preliminary approval of the merger of the First National Bank of McKeesport and the First National Bank of Braddock was granted by the comptroller of the currency. M.A. Cancelliere was president of the McKeesport bank and Thomas M. Watt, president of the Braddock institution. The McKeesport bank planned to change its name to the Western Pennsylvania National Bank. Stockholders of both institutions voted on the consolidation on July 10th. The combined banks had total resources of $105 million with the Braddock bank contributing $11 million. On July 16, the Western Pennsylvania National Bank (WPNB) announced its new name and the 11th community office to join the family; it was formerly the First National Bank of Braddock. WPNB had branches in Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington Counties.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: First National Bank of Braddock, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $203,450 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1933 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 25,065 notes (No large size and 25,065 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 14790 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 7600 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 2675
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1933 - 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
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Braddock (Wikipedia)
- General information on Allegheny County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Braddock, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braddock,_Pennsylvania
- 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, Fri., June 23, 1933.
- New Castle News, New Castle, PA, Sat., Sep. 9, 1933.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Oct. 4, 1933.
- The Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Pittsburgh, PA, Fri., Dec. 1, 1933.
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., Jan. 13, 1949.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., June 7, 1956.
- The Daily American, Somerset, PA, Mon., July 16, 1956.