|
SEARCH MY WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA WEBSITES
OTHER FAMILIES (o_f) of McDonald PA
and surrounding areas
Washington County PA
Are these folks your family?
Businesses and Industries
in McDonald PA
Looking Back
Write up about Employees of First National Bank McDonald PA
From 1-28-1954 McDonald Record-Outlook
First National Bank article from McDonald PA Record-Outlook newspaper of Jan. 28, 1954:
McDonald First National Bank Was Second Oldest in County
The First National Bank of McDonald, which has had the distinction of being
the second oldest National Bank in Washington county, was taken over Monday
by the Peoples First National Bank and Trust Company, Pittsburgh.
In the early 1880s, the town of McDonald was a coal mining center with a
population of 1,000 or 1,200 persons. In 1889 the Royal Gas Company drilled
two wells, one which showed the signs of oil, on the MCDONALD Brother's farm
near Primrose, (now owned by W. F. VEGELER) and the other on the John N.
MCDONALD heirs farm. The latter well was drilled to the Gordon sand, and W.
P. LOGAN, president of the Royal Gas Company, was present to see the well
brought in. He was disappointed to find no oil in the Gordon sand, but
ordered the drillers to continue to the fifth sand. If he had not done this,
the discovery of oil in McDonald might have been delayed for many years.
When the fifth sand was reached, after a shot, the well produced 60 barrels
of oil a day. This started the big McDonald oil excitement of the early 90's.
In February 1892, some of the town's citizens decided that it was essential
to have a bank, since McDonald was large oil field at that time and a large
volume of business was being transacted. These interested citizens met
together and made application for a charter. Charter No. 4752 was assigned
tot he bank by the Banking Department an the same number has been retained
ever since.
The bank organized and stock in the amount of 500 shares was subscribed for.
People of McDonald were not familiar with the banking business, and for this
reason considerable of the stock was sold to outsiders. The first
certificate of stock was issued to William I. BERRYMAN of Washington, and it
is interesting to note that a considerable amount of the stock which was
subscribed for at that time, still remains in the same families, having been
handed down through two and even three generations.
The stockholders who bought the stock at the time the bank opened paid
$100.00 per share for it, and since then they have received $1,012.00 per
share in dividends. Since the bank has been placed in voluntary liquidation,
the owners of this stock will receive approximately $1,000.00 per share.
The bank organized and opened for business June 15, 1892, in the building
which stood in the exact location of the present McDonald Newsstand. The
land was purchased from Cyrus FERGUSON, who at that time operated a hotel in
the block were the VALENTOUR building and the Moose building, and the Grand
Theater are now located. The hotel was surrounded by a lawn, and faced on
Barr street
When the GLADDEN building was erected in 1892 on the corner of West Lincoln
avenue and South McDonald street, provision was made for a banking room and
the bank moved into this building. This room was not adequate to handle the
large volume of business, and in 1920 a new building was erected on the
corner of West Lincoln avenue and North McDonald street. This building still
houses the bank.
At the organization meeting in 1892, Edward MCDONALD
[photo link] was elected president, G. S.
CAMPBELL [photo link] , cashier, and Miss Ida V.
STEEN [photo link], assistant cashier. Mr. MCDONALD was an 1884 graduate of Washington and Jefferson college, and until
this time, had operated a thoroughbred Shorthorn Cattle business with his father under the name of John N. MCDONALD and Son.
Mr. CAMPBELL had been a clerk in SAUTERS' store for a number of years and
was also in the Insurance business for himself. Miss STEEN had been a clerk
in the County Courthouse, and had been recommended for the position by
Patrick HOEY who was a director of the bank and knew Miss STEEN personally,
having been Recorder of Deeds and Mortgages in Washington. Miss STEEN was a
graduate of the Washington Female Seminary.
It is interesting to note that at the time the bank celebrated its 50th
anniversary in 1942, Mr. MCDONALD, Mr. CAMPBELL, and Miss STEEN still held
the same offices to which they had been elected when the bank opened, and
that during the 50 years none of the three had had a serious illness or
operation, nor had any of them been hospitalized for any considerable length
of time.
The first Board of Directors was composed of Edward MCDONALD, Samuel
STURGEON, W. B. MOORHEAD, J. D. SAUTERS, David CAMPBELL, Samuel SHANE, J. R. GLADDEN, John A. HUNTER and Patrick
HOEY.
The first depositors in the bank were Thomas BARRETT and Benjamin LEWIS,
both of whom were teamsters in the oil field. The amount of deposits at the
close of the first day was $6,938.00 and at the close of the first six
months deposits totaled $97,000.00. At the time of the last call by the
Comptroller of the Currency, on December 31, 1953, the bank showed deposits
of $5,000,000, Capital, $50,000; Surplus, $200,000; Undivided Profits,
$150,000; and Reserve Funds of $120,000. The First National Bank has long
been recognized as one of the strong financial institutions in Washington
County.
At the time the bank was opened, W. B. MOORHEAD was elected vice president,
and at he death he was succeeded in turn by J. D. SAUTERS, Samuel SHANE, Mel
S. MOORHEAD, and John C. FARRAR. J. N. MCDONALD was elected to the board in
1902 and was elected additional vice president in 1912. He succeeded his
brother, Edward MCDONALD, as president of the bank upon the death of the
later in August, 1949. Upon the death of G. S. CAMPBELL July 31, 1944,
Wallace W. KELSO was elected cashier and in 1949 became a member of the
board. Ralph E. ALLISON was elected assistant cashier in 1944. Raymer E.
LINS and Edward F. GLADDEN have been assistant cashiers since 1946. Miss
STEEN retired January 1, 1947, and at present is residing in Washington.
The bank, which is now known as the McDonald Office of the Peoples First
National Bank and Trust Company, will provide expanded banking and trust
department facilities at the same location and the customers will be served
here by the same officers and employees who have served them in the past.
Mr. MCDONALD plans to retire, and after caring for numerous personal
business matters which he has been neglecting, plans to travel. He will
however, serve on the advisory board. W. Wallace KELSO will be assistant
vice president in chare at the bank, and his assistants will be Raymer E.
LINS as assistant treasurer and Ralph E. ALLISON and Edward F. GLADDEN as
assistant secretaries. At the teller windows will be Mrs. Frank J. NATION
and Mrs. Mabel WEIR, while the bookkeeping department will be staffed by
Mrs. Warren COLUMBIA, Mrs. Wayne BROCKMAN and Mrs. Robert EBEL. The
stenographic duties will fall to Miss Mary DEAROLPH, Mrs. James LOFFERT and
Mrs. Marjorie FRAZEE.
Index to First National Bank
First National
Bank Buildings
First National
Bank Employees
Write Up
about First National Bank Employees
J. D. SAUTERS and G. S. CAMPBELL 1907 First National
Bank
Addison Verner CAMPBELL, son of G. S. CAMPBELL
(McDonald-3 campagna to campbell)
* See Town-Talk
section for a more information on the history of McDonald Pa.*
MCDONALD PA LINKS
Index to McDonald
PA Folder 1 | Business-Industry | Advertisements
| Fashion
| History
| Location - Scenes |
Town
Drawings | Major
Life Events | Military
| News and Glances
| Obituaries
| People-Biographies
| Politicians
- Politics | Reunions
| Schools | Sports
| Worship-Churches
| Index
to McDonald PA Folder 1 | Index to McDonald
PA Folder 2 a Collection of 3,000 marriage licenses / wedding notices | Divorce
Notices
Sign
McDonald PA Guestbook1
|
![Edward MCDONALD [photo link] was elected president](images/mcdonald-edward_jan-28-1954-mcdonald-pa_record-outlook.jpg){kind=link}
![G. S. CAMPBELL [photo link] , cashier](images/campbell-g-s_jan-28-1954_mcdonald-pa-record-outlook.jpg){kind=link}
![Miss Ida V. STEEN [photo link], assistant cashier](images/stern-ida-v_jan-28-1954_mcdonald-pa-record-outlook.jpg){kind=link}