CHAPTER XIV

A STORY OF SUCCESS -- C. B. DUNBAUGH & COMPANY -- BATES COUNTY BANK -- BATES COUNTY SAVINGS BANK -- BUTLER NATIONAL BANK -- F. J. TYGARD AND W. F. TYGARD -- RAILROADS AND BUILDING OF TOWNS -- BANKS AND TRUST COMPANIES -- LOAN CENTER -- THE MISSOURI STATE BANK -- THE WALTON TRUST COMPANY -- THE FARMERS & MANUFACTURERS BANK -- ADRIAN BANKING COMPANY -- THE FARMERS BANK -- THE FARMERS BANK OF BATES COUNTY -- BANK OF ROCKVILLE -- BANK OF AMSTERDAM -- BANK OF AMORET -- THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF HUME -- THE COMMERCIAL STATE BANK -- STATE BANK OF HUME -- FARMERS BANK OF ROCKVILLE

The financial history of Bates county is interesting. It is really a thrilling story of successes, blotted by only three tragic failures. It is usually thought that the progress and prosperity of the banking institutions of the country, or of a county, are certain indices of the growth, progress and prosperity of the commercial pursuits and industrial creative forces of the adjacent sections; that successful banks mean successful clientele. At first view this seems to be true; but whether true or not, the thoughtless herd accept it, and for the purpose of this story the presumption is permitted to stand without argument or denial.

Just fifty years ago the first banking institution was organized and opened for business in Bates county. It was the C. B. Dunbaugh & Co.'s private bank and was established in Butler in 1868. After a brief and checkered career it closed its doors in 1870. There are people still living who remember its sad ending. Money was lost, but no bloodshed resulted from its failure.

The next banking institution was organized in Butler in 1870, with Lewis Cheney as president and F. J. Tygard as cashier, and it was called the Bates County Bank. Three years later it changed into the Bates County National Bank.

The third bank was the Bates County Savings Bank, organized, also, in 1870, with E. P. Henry as president, William Page vice-president, and Joseph E. Wilson as cashier. This bank was purchased and absorbed by the Bates County National in 1873. There were no more banks organized anywhere in the county until 1881; so that the Bates County National had the whole field to itself for nearly eleven years. Then the Butler National Bank was organized in August 1881, with Booker Powell as president, Thomas W. Childs as vice-president, and William E. Walton as cashier. Some years later it became the Missouri State Bank as we have it today. It ought to be stated here that some time in the nineties, the Bates County National reverted to the Bates County Bank under the state law but later once more became a National bank, and continued as such until its unexpected and tragic failure in September of 1906. F. J. Tygard had been its president for many years. Soon after the failure he was indicted in the Federal court, tried, convicted and sentenced to the Federal prison at Leavenworth, where he served most of the term, was pardoned, returned to Butler, a broken old man, for a short time, and was admitted later to the Memorial Home in St. Louis where he was supported by the Grand Lodge and where he died soon afterward; his body was returned to Butler and laid to rest beside his wife who had preceded him some time before the bank failure. The failure of this bank carried down the Rich Hill Bank of which W. F. Tygard, a brother of F. J. Tygard, was president and he removed to Oklahoma and soon afterward died a sudden and mysterious death -- some of his friends hinting at suicide; however that may be we know not, and state it merely as "talk."

With the coming of the railroads to the county and the establishment of villages and towns and the city of Rich Hill, banks -- all of them state banks, with one exception, the First National of Adrian -- multiplied rapidly until today there are fifteen banks in the county, and one more in process of organization. In addition to the banks proper there are two large and prosperous trust companies with banking powers.

For a county like Bates, almost wholly devoted to farming and stock growing, this is a remarkable showing. Indeed, Butler has come to be the loan center of a wide territory of the best farming and stock growing country west of the Mississippi, our trust companies covering all southwestern and northern Missouri, eastern Kansas and a large part of Oklahoma.

It is impossible to enter into details touching all of our banking institutions; but in order to show their growth, progress and prosperous condition, the following statements which are made by the banking officers of the county, are submitted. The figures are well worth studying and they tell their own story. It is truly a marvelous showing for a county of about 25,000 people, mostly engaged in agriculture, or mixed farming, without large manufacturing industries, or mining operations on a large scale, we give them in the order, as nearly as may be, of their organization:

was opened for business December 20, 1880. The promoters of this bank were C. H. Dutcher, William E. Walton, Luther Shobe, John Deerwester, Dr. T. C. Boulware, A. H. Humphrey, all of whom formed the first board of directors of the bank. The total capitalization of the bank upon its organization was $35,000, fully paid in. The first officers of the bank were: Luther Shobe, president; C. H. Dutcher, vice-president; William E. Walton, cashier. The present capitalization of the Missouri State Bank is $50,000. The surplus and undivided profits are $38,000. The present officers are: J. B. Walton, president; John Deerwester, vice-president; Jesse E. Smith, cashier.

Bates county, Missouri, commenced business August 19, 1896, with a capital of $55,000. William E. Walton, president; T. J. Wright, vice-president; Frank Allen, secretary. Directors: C. H. Dutcher, William E. Walton, T. J. Wright, H. H. Pigott, J. Everingham, J. R. Jenkins, John Deerwester, W. W. Trigg, T. C. Boulware. Booker Powell, C. R. Radford, F. M. Voris. In 1918 the capital stock is $250,000 and surplus and undivided profits $185,000. Officers: J. B. Walton, president; G. M. Hargett, first vice-president; Frank Allen, second vice-president; W. J. Nix, secretary; Freeman Walton, treasurer. Directors: J. B. Walton, William E. Walton, Frank Allen, J. W. Choate, John Deerwester, C. H. Dutcher, G. M. Hargett. Paul Levy, C. A. McComb.

was opened for business September 21, 1882. Capital stock paid in, $25,000. First officers: J. C. Ferguson, president; J. J. Francisco, vice-president; E. F. Swinney, cashier; and W. W. Ferguson, assistant cashier. Present officers: W. W. Ferguson, president; John D. Moore, vice-president; J. W. Jamison, cashier. Present directors: W. W. Ferguson, John D. Moore, J. W. Jamison, George Templeton and E. N. Hurst. January 1, 1918, the capital stock paid in was $25,000; surplus, $25,000; undivided profits. $32,127.88; deposits, $404,885.58. E. F. Swinney, the first cashier of this bank, is now president of the First National Bank of Kansas City. W. W. Ferguson, E. F. Swinney and Geo. Templeton are the only original organizers that are living. W. W. Ferguson has been in the banking business longer than any one in the county except William E. Walton.

Missouri was organized in 1883 with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars and the following officers: H. Moudy, president; J. Scudder, cashier; and John Murphy, H. Moudy, A. J. Satterlee, J. Scudder, H. F. Wilhite, H. L. Fair, J. N. Bricker, and F. J. Taggard, stockholders, seven of whom were directors. Of the eight original stockholders, three are now living, namely: H. Moudy, H. L. Fair, and H. F. Wilhite. Mr. Moudy and Mr. Fair reside at Adrian and Mr. Wilhite is a resident of Lordsburg, Los Angeles county, California. This financial institution was first started in 1882 as a private bank and did not organize as the Adrian Banking Company until one year later. June 2, 1885 the capital stock was increased from ten thousand dollars to fifteen thousand dollars and since that time there has been a further increase to twenty-five thousand dollars, which in itself speaks well for the efficient management of the bank. The present officers of the Adrian Banking Company are, as follow: M. V. Owen, president; D. F. Andes, vice-president; D. B. Reist, cashier; and W. W. Ricketts, assistant cashier; and M. V. Owen, D. F. Andes, J. M. Reeder, G. L. Argenbright, and D. B. Reist, directors. This bank is one of the strong, sound financial institutions of Bates county, of which all are proud, and its remarkable success from the very beginning is undoubtedly due to its wise management by gentlemen of superior business ability, whose integrity, as well as financial standing, is far above question. The following is a statement of this bank February 28, 1918: Resources, loans: $279,205.62; bonds: $6,209.04; real estate: $6,000; furniture and fixtures: $2,500; cash and due from banks: $156,063.66; total: $450,293.68; liabilities, capital: $25,000; surplus: $25,000; undivided profits: $2,462.12; deposits: $397,831.56; total: $450,293.68.

was organized on February 3, 1887, Charter No. 363, and is one of the oldest established financial institutions in the county. This bank was organized by William E. Walton, president emeritus of the Walton Trust Company, of Butler, Missouri. W. M. Campbell was the first president; R. M. Ewing, vice-president; J. Everingham, now deceased. Dr. T. C. Boulware. J. P. Edwards, and L. W. Jones, now deceased, directors. F. M. Allen served as assistant cashier under William E. Walton for the first year. Judge John H. Sullens was the next cashier, followed by W. A. Ephland, who was succeeded by W. S. James, who served until J. D. Doolittle took charge of the bank in 1911. Prior to becoming cashier of the bank, Mr. Doolittle served as president, succeeding W. M. Campbell in 1909. The capital stock of the Farmers Bank is $15,000; surplus fund is $6,000; undivided profits, $2,518.69; with total resources of $102,500 at this writing, January 1918. The present officers are as follow: H. A. Rhoades, president; J. G. Doolittle, cashier; H. A. Rhoades, J. G. Doolittle, H. G. Davis, E. E. Laughlin, Bertha E. Doolittle, directors.

according to its name, was promoted by farmers, D. N. Thompson being the principal promoter and the principal owner of the stock at the time the bank was organized. He had associated with him J. K. Rosier, Dr. J. Everingham, J. J. McKee and others. The bank opened for business in 1889 with the following board of directors: D. N. Thompson, J. K. Rosier, J. Everingham, John Steele, T. W. Silvers, J. J. McKee, Dan McConnell, Charles Sprague and E. D. Ripp. This management continued until 1906, when the controlling interest of the bank passed into the hands of Duvall Brothers, of Butler, Missouri, when W. F. Duvall in January 1906, was elected cashier. W. F. Duvall remained cashier until the following year, when he was elected president and Homer Duvall was elected cashier, who have continued in these respective offices down to the present time.

The Farmers Bank was started with a capital stock of $20,000. In January 1906, capital stock was $50,000, and surplus $10,000, and the deposits at this time about $200,000. The board of directors at the time of the change of management of the Farmers Bank in 1906, were as follow: E. A. Bennett, J. J. McKee, O. A. Heinlein, Clark Wix, J. W. Choate, Frank Holland. F. N. Drennon, W. F. Duvall and Joseph M. McKibben. During the following eight years, from 1906 to 1914, the bank added $40,000 to its surplus, and on December 1, 1914, was passed as a roll of honor bank, by reason of having its surplus equal to its capital.

At the present time, January 1918. W. F. Duvall is the president, O. A. Heinlein, vice-president; Homer Duvall, cashier; H. H. Lisle, assistant cashier; with the following additional directors: J. J. McKee, Frank Holland, T. S. Harper, J. B. Duvall and Dr. T. W. Foster. The present capital of the bank is $50,000, surplus $50,000, and undivided profits, $10,000. Its deposits are over one-half million dollars.

was opened for business October 30, 1890. Principal promoters: George W. Burford, S. M. Doyle, J. C. Laughlin, Fred Fix, L. Hegnauer. First board of directors: J. C. Laughlin, Fred Fix, J. B. Durand, G. W. Robinson, S. M. Doyle, S. Hoffman and G. W. Burford. Present officers and directors: J. E. Hook, president; Charles Fix, vice-president; W. E. Heyle, cashier; C. Hegnauer, director; Lydia Sunderwirth, director. Capital, $10,000; surplus, $10,000; undivided profits, $15,000.

was opened for business January 24, 1892. Principal promoters were: E. A. Emerson, H. P. Nickel, W. J. Bard, John McKee and John Morwood. First board of directors were: E. A. Emerson, H. P. Nickel, W. J. Bard and John McKee. Capital stock $10,000. President, H. P. Nickel; vice-president, W. J. Bard; and cashier, E. A. Emerson. Present officers: John McKee, president; William Henderson, vice-president; G. H. Pahlman, cashier; M. Pahlman, assistant cashier. Capital $10,000. Surplus $10,000.

opened for business at nine o'clock the morning of October 23, 1902 with the following officers: H. M. Gailey, president; Pierce Hackett, vice-president; and A. L. Duff, cashier. The board of directors composed of the following: H. M. Gailey, Leo Hassig, C. F. Hall, John Lyle, W. R. Jones, E. A. Bennett and C. H. Hutchins. At the close of the first day's business their statement showed capital stock half paid up, $5,000: cash and exchange, $8,994.50; deposits, $3,994.50. The present board comprises James Rush, Leo Hassig, G. B. Bohlken, C. F. Hall, J. B. Hamilton, G. M. Garner, John Dykman, T. S. Grimsley and R. R. Hamilton, with the following officers: James Rush, president; G. B. Bohlken, vice-president: R. R. Hamilton, cashier. Capital stock fully paid, $10,000; surplus, $5,000; deposits, $147,000. The stock is owned entirely by home people, twenty-three in number, and no one person holding over ten shares. This does away completely with the possibility of a one-man bank.

was organized and began business May 4, 1903. This bank was organized by J. C. Biggs, its present cashier, with a capital of $10,000. Associated with Mr. Biggs in the organization were W. B. Waytes, who served as the first president of the bank; S. R. Humphrey, as vice-president: and H. C. Curtis, W. C. Foster, who with the preceding named gentlemen served as the board of directors. For the past fifteen years the bank has continued to do business at the original location in the brick building located on the northwest corner of the public square in Hume. Mr. Humphrey died in October 1913 and he was succeeded by C. E. Horton. Mr. Waytes died in 1915 and his successor was W. C. Foster, who became president of the bank. The present officers are: W. C. Foster, president; C. E. Horton. vice-president; J. C. Biggs, cashier; J. P. Adams, assistant cashier. The foregoing with E. N. Martin, W. L. Thompson, and R. W. McConnell now constitute the board of directors. The latest statement of the financial condition of the Commercial Bank gives assets as follow: Capital stock, $10,000; surplus, $5,000; deposits, $130,000. The yearly statement of annual deposits given as taken from the bank's records for the month of November show the steady and consistent growth of the Commercial Bank. The deposits were as follow for each current year beginning with November of 1903 and continuing for the same month in each succeeding year; 1903, $18,332.31; 1904, $22,785; 1905, $35,298; 1906, $84,785.60; 1907, $105,604.15; 1908, $77,991.55; 1909, $83,961; 1910, $102,611.29; 1912, $117,048.63; 1913, $80,540.78; 1914, $81,315.90; 1916, $81,080.59; 1917, $130,000.

was organized and opened for business in March 1907. The principal promoters were: A. M. Clark, Kansas City, Missouri; John T. Wilson, W. C. Stonebraker, J. M. McKibben, C. A. Lane, and who were the first board of directors. Capital stock as organized was $25,000. Officers were: A. M. Clark, president; W. C. Stonebraker, vice-president; John T. Wilson, cashier. Present officers are: R. N. Montgomery, president; W. W. Cheverton. vice-president; Gus Kienberger, cashier; S. M. Davis, assistant cashier.

This bank was organized in 1911 and under the present management the concern is proving to be a financial success. This bank was opened for business in 1912 with a capital of $10,000. The organizers were: Dr. Botts, R. M. Duncan, J. T. Lee, J. M. Thompson, and H. L. Curtis. The company erected a fine brick building and fitted the interior with modern fixtures and a splendid vault. The bank has enjoyed a steady growth in strength and patronage since its organization and now has total resources of over $90,000. The present officers are: R. M. Duncan, president; Dr. Botts, vice-president; H. L. Curtis, cashier. The board of directors include the foregoing officers and Messrs. Lee and Thompson.

was opened for business July 10, 1913. The principal promoter was J. C. Wyatt, Carthage, Missouri. First board of directors: J. N. McDavitt, T. W. Gray, Leroy Wyatt, R. Steiner, G. Hirshi, W. W. Trail, W. A. Lyons, Theo. Marquardt. Capital stock, $10,000. First officers: J. N. McDavitt, president; R. Steiner, vice-president; Leroy Wyatt, cashier. The present officers are: J. N. McDavitt, president; August Fischer, vice-president; E. C. Wilson, cashier; M. G. Wilson, assistant cashier. Capital stock, $10,000; surplus, $1,000; profits, $710.