Kingston National Bank, Kingston, PA (Charter 14023)
Kingston National Bank, Kingston, PA (Chartered 1934 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Kingston is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. It is located on the western bank of the Susquehanna River opposite Wilkes-Barre City. Kingston was first settled in the early 1770s; it was later incorporated as a borough on November 23, 1857. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,182, making it the most populous borough in the county.
The community has a rich history in American education. It is said that the first public school in Pennsylvania was erected in Kingston (in the 1770s). The borough is also home to the Upper School of Wyoming Seminary, a prestigious college preparatory school founded in 1844. During the first year, it enrolled 31 students (17 boys and 14 girls). Today, Wyoming Seminary's historic campus hosts roughly 450 students.
Kingston witnessed a population boom after the construction and operation of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad. The borough is named after Kingston, Rhode Island. The first election for the community was held on December 15, 1857. Ruben Jones was elected burgess and justice of the peace. Some of the first council members elected included Bestor Payne, Marshall G. Whitney, Reuben Marcy, Thomas Pringle, and Richard Hutching.
Coal mining was a chief industry in and around Kingston prior to the Knox Mine Disaster. The 1959 tragedy essentially shut down the mining industry in and around the borough. In June 1972, Kingston was devastated by the flooding of Hurricane Agnes. The hurricane wreaked havoc on Kingston and neighboring Wilkes-Barre, causing a state of emergency. The natural disaster earned national attention and a visit from President Richard Nixon, who recruited Wyoming Seminary graduate Frank Carlucci (Nixon's head of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) as a point man to oversee flood recovery efforts. Kingston had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 23, 1934
- Chartered February 23, 1934
- Conversion of The Kingston Bank and Trust Company
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Converted to a state charter on April 8, 1970 and renamed State Bank of Eastern Pennsylvania
Edward M. Rosser (1869-1940) was the first president of the Kingston National Bank and a president of the Forty Fort State Bank. He was one of Wyoming Valley's most eminent figures in business, finance and community progress. Mr. Rosser served as treasurer of the boroughs of Kingston and Edwardsville and the school district of Kingston for more than a quarter of a century. He also served as president of Hoyt Library Association and was a trustee of the Wyoming Seminary and Nesbitt Memorial Hospital Association. He was a director and assistant treasurer of Kingston Coal Company. Mr. Rosser was born at Ystrad Rhondda, Wales on October 27, 1869 and was brought to the United States and Kingston by his parents when he was two years old in 1871. His father was a superintendent of the Kingston Coal Company.
Forty Fort State Bank opened for business March 19, 1927. It was preceded on the west side by the Deposit and Savings Bank & Trust Co. in 1919. Forty Fort Bank was the first bank in the area to microfilm checks.
In August 1927, stockholders of the Kingston Bank & Trust Company and West Side Trust Company voted on a proposal to merge the two institutions. E.M. Rosser and Attorney B.W. Davis of Kinston Bank and C.F. Hess and Attorney Donald O. Coughlin of West Side were arranging the details.
On August 24, 1927, the State Department approved the merger. Harold Tippett was treasurer of the West Side Trust Co. and became the cashier of the new combined Kingston Bank and Trust Company with capital of $1.5 million. The bank opened under one roof at the Kingston Bank & Trust Company location on the corner of Market and Chestnut Streets. The headquarters of the West Side Building & Loan Association and the West Side Mortgage Company were also in the new bank.
In March 1933, the Kingston Bank & Trust Company was authorized to reopen following the banking holiday. In January 1934, E.M. Rosser, President, notified stockholders of a special meeting to vote on a proposition to convert the bank into a National Association under the name of the Kingston National Bank of Kingston. This was done and the national bank charter was granted and Kingston's oldest and largest banking establishment opened on February 26, 1934 as the newest national bank. Kingston National had resources of $7,571,235 and a surplus of $1,507,535. It was organized in 1896 when Daniel Edwards, Head of Kingston Coal Company saw the need for a bank on the West Side and was foremost in organizing the Deposit and Saving Bank of Kingston of which he became the first president. In October 1919, the name was changed to Kingston Bank and Trust Company and it operated in the Market Street building until 1926 when a new building was erected on Wyoming Avenue. On August 22, 1927, the West Side trust Company, located on Kingston Corners, merged with the Kingston Bank and Trust Company, making it the largest bank on the West Side. E.M. Rosser was associated with the bank practically since its beginning. When Mr. Preston, first cashier died a few months after organization, Mr. Rosser was named cashier. When Daniel Edwards died, Mr. Rosser was elected to the presidency. He started life as a breaker boy for Kingston Coal and worked his way up to where he held an excellent state-wide reputation as a banker.
In January 1970, directors informed shareholders of a plan to convert the bank to a state charter and a meeting scheduled for February 27 to vote on the proposal. The officers were Harold M. Cooper, president; T. Newell Wood, vice president; Thomas J. Corrigan, vice president and cashier; Joseph G. Bednarick, John H. Ellis, Raymond A. Podskoch, and Marion B. Sinkove, assistant cashiers; Miriam Lloyd, secretary, Eleanor Hardinsky, assistant secretary, and Arthur L. Jones, trust office. On April 8, 1970, The Kingston National Bank became the State Bank of Eastern Pennsylvania with Harold M. Cooper, president.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Kingston National Bank, Kingston, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $867,150 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1934 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 118,602 notes (No large size and 118,602 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 - 80022 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 30456 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 8124
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1934 - 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 Kingston (Wikipedia)
- General information on Luzerne County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Kingston, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston,_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
- The Wilkes-Barre Record, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Fri., July 22, 1927.
- The Evening News, Harrisburg, PA, Wed., Aug. 24, 1927.
- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, The Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Mon., Aug. 29, 1927.
- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, The Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Mon. Jan. 15, 1934.
- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, The Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Mon. Jan. 26, 1934.
- The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA, Mon., July 15, 1940.
- The Wilkes-Barre Record, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Mon., July 15, 1940.
- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, The Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Fri., Jan. 30, 1970.
- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, The Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Wed., Apr. 8, 1970.
- Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre PA, Mon., June 9, 1980.