Liberty National Bank & TC, Louisville, KY (Charter 14320)
Liberty National Bank & TC, Louisville, KY (Chartered 1935 - Closed (Merger) 2003)
Town History
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city, although by population density, it is the 265th most dense city. Louisville is the historical county seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
Named after King Louis XVI of France, Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark, making it one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachians. With the nearby Falls of the Ohio as the only major obstruction to river traffic between the upper Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico, the settlement first grew as a portage site. It was the founding city of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which grew into a 6,000-mile system across 13 states.
Today, the city is known as the home of boxer Muhammad Ali, the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the University of Louisville and its Cardinals, Louisville Slugger baseball bats, and Fortune 500 company Humana. Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, the city's main commercial airport, hosts UPS's worldwide hub.
Louisville had 18 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 18 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 7, 1935
- Chartered February 4, 1935 - Notation on Organization Report: February 4, 1935, was date the first bonds were deposited
- Bank with highest charter number that issued National Bank Notes
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Changed name to Bank One, Kentucky, N.A. September 11, 1995
- Merged into JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Columbus, OH, May 15, 2003
The German Insurance Company
Liberty Bank & Trust Company was organized 1854 under an act of the State Legislature with the name of the German Insurance Company. It did both a banking and insurance business. It was started with an original capital of $55,000 and deposits grew steadily until they amounted to more than $16,000,000 when it converted to a national bank in 1935.[3] On May 31, 1872, the German Insurance Company discontinued its banking business, transferring the accounts to the German Insurance Bank. The fire insurance business of the company continued with F. Reidhar, president; and J.J. Fischer, secretary. The German Insurance Bank's directors were F. Reidhar, Philip Winkler, Julius Von Borrles, Geo. P. Doern, Jacob Schlaftt, John H. Ropke, and Louis Eckstenkepiper. The German Insurance bank received a charter on March 14, 1872,[4] and planned to open on June 1st with F. Reidhar, president; and J.J. Fischer, cashier. The bank was located on North side Market Street between Second and Third, Louisville and it had capital of $300,000.[5]
In March 1918, four financial institutions in the Falls Cities announced that the word German had been eliminated from their titles. The companies were the German Insurance Bank, to be known as the Liberty Insurance Bank; the German Insurance Company, to be known as the Liberty Fire Insurance Company; the German Security Bank, to be known as the Security Bank; and the German-American Bank & Trust Company of New Albany, to be known as the American Bank & Trust Co.[6]
In January 1926, all members of the boards of directors for the Liberty Insurance Bank and the Liberty Fire Insurance Company were re-elected. The directors were Henry Almstedt, Fred Forcht, John E. Huhn, Fred W. Kelsker, Sol Levy, Edward F. Peter, Charles Scholtz, Jr., O.H. Wathen and A.P. Winkler. James T. Duffy and F. Joseph Herrmann were added to the directorates. Wilbur C. Fisher was elected assistant trust officer and the following officers were re-elected by the directors: A.P. Winkler, president; J.E. Huhn, R.M. Fible, Jr., F.C. Dorsey, and Edward F. Kohnhorst, vice presidents; W.S. Kohnhorst, cashier; R.G. Bickel, Joseph W. Wrocklage, W.A. Millican, Otto C. Ernst, W.L. Borgerding, W. Frazer Dunlap, D.J. Moriarty, and A.H. Frenke, assistant cashiers; F.H. Strobel, auditor; and W.S. Kammerer, trust officer.[7]
In June 1928, John E. Huhn, president of the Liberty Insurance Bank announced that the capital stock would be increased from $500,000 to $1,000,000 on July 2d and the name would change to the Liberty Bank & Trust Company. The surplus would be raised from $1,250,000 to $2,000,000 at the same time. Stockholders were permitted to subscribe for the new issue at $200 a share on the basis of share-for-share of their holdings. The value of the right to buy new stock was placed at $300 per share. Of the $200 received for each share of new stock, $100 would go to the surplus. In order to make the surplus double the capital stock, $250,000 was taken from the undivided funds and placed in the surplus. This move allowed the bank to hold its coveted title of an honor-roll institution, a position it had maintained for many years. The Liberty Fire Insurance Company would continue as a separate corporation in the same building with the same directorate and general management of the bank.[8]
On Monday, January 1, 1934, Merle Robertson, vice president, was elected president of the Liberty Bank and Trust Company, succeeding John E. Huhn who resigned as president and as a director. Mr. Huhn was re-elected president of the Liberty Fire Insurance Company and resigned from the bank in order to allow him to devote all his time to the insurance work. Mr. Robertson came to Louisville a year ago and was formerly connected with banks in Englewood, New Jersey, New York City, and Boston.[9]
The Liberty National Bank and Trust Company
On January 8, 1935, the comptroller of the currency, J.F.T. O'Connor, authorized the Liberty National Bank & Trust Company of Louisville to commence the business of banking.[10] [NOTE: The comptroller of the currency awarded charters upon the deposit of bonds, not before. Based on the notation in the organization report, it appears that there was a delay in the receipt of the bonds so the date of charter was revised to February 4. 1935.] This was a conversion of the Liberty Bank & Trust Company. The institution arranged for a change in the capital structure which placed $750,000 new money into the bank. Payment of the new capital had been assured by subscriptions and the plan called for the issuance of $500,000 preferred stock, "A" which the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) arranged to buy. The purchase was approved by the Secretary of the Treasury and would give the bank $1,500,000 preferred Stock "A" in the hands of the RFC at a dividend rate of 4% until February 1, 1935 and 3 1/2% for the next five years, and 4% thereafter. Preferred stock "B" would be a 5% cumulative stock, convertible into common stock share for share and the issuance would be offered to present holders of common stock in the bank. The issue would consist of 100,000 shares with a par value of $2.50 for a total of $250,000. The plan also called for reduction in the par value of common stock from $10 a share to $2.50, reducing the total common stock from $1,000,000 to $250,000. This was offset by the new money through the sale of preferred stock. The new setup gave the institution sound capital of $2,000,000 in addition to surplus and undivided profits. Mr. Merle E. Robertson, president, stated the recapitalization enabled the bank to write off every loss estimated by the national banking department, giving the institution an excellent ratio of sound capital structure to deposits which "should point to a new era in the bank's history."[11]
On Monday, January 21, 1935, it was announced that officers and directors were re-elected at meetings of directors and stockholders. The officers re-elected were Merle E. Robertson, president; F. Joseph Herrmann, chairman of the executive committee; I.M. Fible, Edward F. Kohnhorst, W.S. Kohnhorst, and F.C. Corse, vice presidents; W. Ashby Millican, vice president and cashier; Rodgers L. Wyckoff, E.G. Barker, Innes W. Dobbins, Jr., A.H. Franke and William J. Raeuchle, assistant vice presidents; W. Frazer Dunlap, John A. Reeb, Joseph W. Wrocklage, H.A. Scheer, Edward M. Eisenbeis, and Ernest S. Clarke, Jr., assistant cashiers; W.C. Fisher, assistant vice president and trust officer; and Fred H. Strobel, auditor. Ralph G. Strother was elected assistant vice president and P. Booker Robinson was given the rank of assistant cashier. The directors all re-elected were George C. Weldon, chairman; Theodore Ahrens, James T. Duffy, R.M. Fible, Mr. Herrmann, Fred W. Keisker, Emanuel Levi, Mr. Robertson, Charles Scholtz, Jr., Ben H. Schrader, and O.H. Wathen.[12] The main office was located at Market Street at Second and the bank operated 8 branches.[13]
Official Bank Title
1: Liberty National Bank and Trust Company of Louisville, KY
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $250,000 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1935 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 25,000 notes (No large size and 25,000 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 10 1 - 25000
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1935 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Liberty National Bank & TC, Louisville, KY History (NB Lookup)
- Kentucky Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Louisville, KY, 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
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Sun., Jan. 18, 1925.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Tue., Dec. 31, 1918.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Wed., Jan. 9, 1935.
- ↑ Tri-Weekly Kentucky Yeoman, Frankfort, KY, Thu., Apr. 11, 1872.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Sat., June 1, 1872.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Sun., Mar. 3, 1918.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Tue., Jan. 5, 1926.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Sun., June 17, 1928.
- ↑ The Winchester Sun, Winchester, KY, Tue., Jan. 2, 1934.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Sun., Jan. 13, 1935.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Wed., Jan. 9, 1935.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Tue., Jan. 22, 1935.
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Sun., Jan. 20, 1935.