Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1909-01-28
ABOUT BANKS AT
JEFFERSONVILLE
Some Interesting Facts and Traditions in Connection With
the Banks That Were in This Town Prior
to the Civil War.

ooiO dinOunI Oh Oata connected with the
business conduct of this bank, but feel
that we should stop here for the present
and write something about other banks.
JEFFERSONvILLE SAVINGS BANK.
1t is strange that we have met no one
who recalls the fact that there was an
other bank at Jeffersonville in 1852. 1t
was the Jeffersonvile Savings Bank.
and was only bank of discount and de-
posit- 1t had capital, by limitation,
of 100000 and with the following Of
ficers and directors:
Officers:-Cashier or Treasurer. Ad-
olson A. SPOTS; Secretary, William o.
Yost.
Directory:-Thomas Peery, Rees T.
Bowen, A. A. Spots, Granville Jones,
William Cox, William o. Yost, John C.
Hopkins.
The records of this bank have been
lost to the world, if they ever exist
ed, and we can find no data to show
when 1t was started or when it passed
out OF existence. The officers and di-
rectors were men who were prominent
in the affairs of the county and town.
and it is strange that so little record is
left of the bank.
TRANS ALLEGHANY BANK.
In 1858 another bank was established
at Jeffersonville under the title of
Trans Allegheny Bank 1t was a
branch of bank of the same name
then doing business at Wheeling. and
was a bank of issue, discount and
deposit. We are unable to find out a
great deal about the operations of this
bank. From what we can learn one of
the Floyds was its president; and Thos.
II. Gillespie, father of Geo. w. Giles
pie, ESQ.,, was its cashier. The then
handsome house which is the old and
east side part of Jeffersonville Hotel
was built and used as the bank building
of the Trans Allegheny. From the be-
, ginning of business the bank met with
strong opposition and hostility from the
Northwestern Bank of Virginia. We
are told that no opportunity was lost by
the friends of the latter bank to cripple
3 the resources of the Trans Allegheny.
) Its notes that were in circulation were
gathered in by the agents of the North
, Western Bank in as large quantities as
} possible and were presented at the
counter of the Trans Allegheny Bank
with the demand that they be redeemed
in specie. The cashier, Mr.. Gillespie.
was kept constantly busy and worried
procuring specie to meet these demands.
The game was shrewd one, and was
played until the Trans Allegheny con-
cluded to wind up its affairs and aban.
don the business. Its life was brief,
perhaps about two years.
oRAzIFRs BANK OF VIRGINIA.
AS we have stated at a previous point
in this article the Northwestern Bank
of Virginia at this place was forced to
discontinue business, because of inability
to have business or other communica-
tion with the parent bank at Wheeling,
Early in the year 1869 a bank was or
gadized with the title of Graziers Bank
of Virginia which took the business and
occupied the building of the Northwest
ern Bank of Virginia. There is very
little record left of this bank, and we
take it for granted that its life was
ephemeraL Maj. w. P. Cecil was pres
, ident of the bank and John A. Kelly
I was its cashier. We find nothing to
, enlighten US as to who constituted the
directors. When the work of tearing
down the High School building was
/ commenced a few weeks ago the old
vault of the Northwestern Bank was
! opened and masses of old papers and
books were found therein. Among
these papers we came across certif-
cate for twenty shares of stock in the
J Graziers Bank of Virginia. The Ger,
ti6cate was issued to Ebenezer S. How
ard, of Tazewell county, Va, for
: twenty shares of stock in the said bank,
and is signed by W. P. Cecil, Prest.,
, and Jno. A. Kelly, Cash. The certif-
cate was issued March 22nd, 1862, and
it bears the imprint of I'D. A. St. Clair,
3 Printer, Wytheville, Va" Mr.. St. Clair
then had the reputation, which he long
} afterwards held, of being one Of the
3 finest job printers in the United States,
a This piece of work, gotten out during
4 the war, is fine specimen of the typo.
4 graphical art.
r We accidently picked up in the old
q vault from the mass of papers the fol-
( lowing paper:
Southwestern Bank of Virginia,
= "Wytheville, March q, 1862.
: John A. Kelly, Cashier of the Ora.
o ziers Bank Of Virginia at Jeffersonville
has this day deposited ION special de.
n posit) in this Bank sundry parcels Of
n gold which at his request have count
It ed and find they contain in the aggre
IS gate Twenty-eight Thousand Dollars
He also left on special deposit two pack
:. ages Of money purporting to contain a