Burgettstown National Bank - Burgettstown, PA

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: national
Bank ID: 2408
Charter Number: 2408
Start Date: May 1, 1925*
Location: Burgettstown, Pennsylvania (40.382, -80.393)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: 51584aad

Response Measures

None

Receivership Details

Depositor recovery rate: 75.5%
Date receivership started: 1925-05-14
Date receivership terminated: 1937-08-13
OCC cause of failure: Governance
Share of assets assessed as good: 48.8%
Share of assets assessed as doubtful: 24.9%
Share of assets assessed as worthless: 26.2%

Description

Articles report the Burgettstown National Bank was closed/suspended (references to closure in May, tied to collapse of John Bell's interests and to the insolvency of the Carnegie Trust Company in April 1925). A receiver (Benjamin L. Rosenbloom) was appointed and later filed suit against directors (articles from Jan 1927). There is no explicit description of a depositor run in the provided articles, so this is classified as a suspension leading to permanent closure.

Events (4)

1. February 4, 1879 Chartered

Source: historical_nic

2. May 1, 1925* Suspension

Cause: Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details: Closure/suspension occurred shortly after the insolvency of the Carnegie Trust Company and the collapse of John Bell's coal and banking interests, suggesting bank-specific adverse problems tied to Bell's interests.
Newspaper Excerpt: was closed in May, following the of the Bell interests.
Source: newspapers

3. May 14, 1925 Receivership

Source: historical_nic

4. January 14, 1927 Receivership

Newspaper Excerpt: Benjamin L. receiver of the Burgettstown National Bank of Burgettstown ... filed an equity suit ... yesterday filed an equity suit ... against John Bell and five others ... who served with the board of directors of the bank before it was closed in May.
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (4)

1. January 14, 1927 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh, PA

Article from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 14, 1927

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Article Text

Burgettstown Bank Receiver Sues Bell and Five Directors Various Acts of Negligence in Institution's Management Charged. Benjamin L. receiver of the Burgettstown National Bank of Burgettstown, Washington county. yesterday filed an equity suit in the District Court against United States John Bell, convicted coal operator who and five others and banker. served with Mr. Bell of it closed in the bank before orders of the on the collapse of of following currency They are charged the Bell interests. of negligence in with various acts of the affairs of the the management bank. are T. P. The other defendants E. McLee R. and Thomas C. G. Pate filed for the The suit was Linn. Alexander Cooper by Attorhey is with of who Bloom & Bloom of law firm of the as Mr. Bell of Mr. board of directors of the of the bank. bill of comin the The the losses suffered asks that of the bank in consequence by the loans and action of the through the vances and determined board be that decree be the court. entered by adjudging the, defendants separately liable to pay jointly and the full amount of the the petitioner together with the alleged terest. Says Losses $200,000. in the bill involve The losses is alleged that directors various the board of bonds in times purchased to amounts coal comand more Bell held panies that John and on numerous trolling in. of directors occasions the they had purterchanged the bonds of other coal for Bell was interest that Mr. asks in the bill receiver be issued that to answer the asks that bill. Mr. account and money of the made of all the bank was gettstown violation of the duties gently and in by or of the defendants of the defenunder the direction bonds mentioned in the dants in the bill. various loans, the In citing the in the bill that the since 1920 been defendants of various acts of guilty of the affairs of in the management the bank.

2. January 14, 1927 The Pittsburgh Post Pittsburgh, PA

Article from The Pittsburgh Post, January 14, 1927

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Article Text

Burgettstown Bank Receiver Sues Bell And Five Directors Benjamin L. Rosenblooom. receiver of the Burgettstown National Bank of Burgettstown, Washington county. yesterday filed an equity suit the United States district court against John convicted banker and coal operator and five others who served with directors of the bank before was closed in May, following the of the Bell interests. The other defendants are Weaver, Lee Scott. W. E. Mc. Curdy, Pate and Thomas Linn. The suit filed for the receiver by Attornay Alexander Cooper Bell the of the board of was president

3. February 27, 1933 Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph Pittsburgh, PA

Article from Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, February 27, 1933

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Article Text

BELL FUNERAL grandfather. John Bell, settled near Carnegie in 1768 His father died when he was aged and his mother died six years later leaving four orphan children Mr Bell was schooled in the Carnegie district and. at the age of 17. went to work in store at Hickory, Washington County. With the money advanced him by William Hill, who was attracted to him. Bell, then 21. acquired an interest in a flour and grist mill in Carnegie. sold out 12 years later to become chief clerk to Hill, who had been elected Treasurer of Allegheny County. COUNTY TREASURER In 1890 Bell, then 36, was elected County Treasurer on the Republican ticket. to succeed Hill, and held the from 1891 to 1893 With his term of office expired. he made vice president of the Freehold Bank, of which he president a few years after In 1902. when the Freehold Bank was consolidated with the Colonial Trust Company. Bell retained the presidency of the former institution, and was elected vice president of the latter. He was chosen president of the Colonial Trust in 1916, still holding presidency of the Freehold Bank. In 1901 he organized the Carnegie Trust Commpany and became its president, position he held until the state closed the bank, April 27, 1925 He also was former the First National Bank of Carnegie and the Burgettstown Nation Bank (which suspended business shortly after the Carnegie Trust Company became insolvent) and the Colonial Trust Company. Freehold Bank and Grove City National Bank Mr. Bell played prominent part in the development of the 'Panhandle' coal field He had purchased at various times approximately 50,000 acres of coal lands in that region. extending from and Hickory in the east. to the Ohio River at Wellsburg. W Va., on the west. He became president of the Carnegle Coal Company and its subsidiary, the Carnegie Dock and Fuel Company 1914. In 1923 he effected the consolldation with the Carnegie Coal Company of a number of his other coal interests, the Harmon Creek Burgettstown. Verner. Tasa and the Salkeld Coal companies, and became the owner of the entire consolidated interests. which was capitalized at $20,000.000 and controlled more than 20,000 acres of coal lands in the "Panhandle" region. with 12 deep mine and five stripping operations having an output of 6,000,000 tons per annum. The Carnegie Dock and Fuel Company had docks at Duluth, Minn. and Superior Wis. with n handling capacity of 500.000 tons yearly Bell had numerous and other varied in the Pittsburgh district. and in Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky and elsewhere He was large to all wartime drives and issues In the Red Cross drive in Pittsburgh he was one of the large subscribers and personally worked on all cam- CHURCH WORKER He was an elder in the United Presbyterian Church of Carnegie, and he held the distinction of having held the superintendency of the Sabbath school for nearly 40 years During the World War members of the church and its Sabbath school organization distrib- uted fund of thousands of dollars to families in Carnegie, He was prominent in national affairs of the United Presbyterian Church, being a member of the United Presbyterian Theological Seminary Board and the Board of Publication. As chairman in Allegheny County of the New World movement. sponsored by the church. Bell personally subscribed worked for the cause, Mr Bell was chairman of the board of management of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, member of the Duquesne Club, treasurer and trustee of Elizabeth Magee He leaves son, John A. Bell, Jr., of Edgeworth. Pa.: two daughters, Mrs. Mary Bell Jones, of Pittsburgh, and Mrs. R. Craig Ferguson. of Redwood City, Cal sister. Mrs. Howard White. Los Angeles, and 10 grandchildren.

4. February 10, 1934 The Daily Herald Monongahela, PA

Article from The Daily Herald, February 10, 1934

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Article Text

DIRECTOR Former Receiver Executive Director of County Relief. Disapproving proposals that activities of Washington Greene Counties be consolidated Paul Keenan, Waynesburg, the Washington County Emergency Relief Board. meeting yesterday Washington, elected Harry Wilson of 501 East Beau street, Washington, its executive director. Wilson, until recently receiver the Avella, Burgettstown and Hickory National Banks and resident of the county for the past five will take the place Robert H. Stroud, who resigned upon quest after two relief workers had been killed an automobile accident at Ligonier while en route home from party. Haviland, acting executive director, will resume his duties supervisor of investigators. The election of Wilson unanimous, the Board being of the opinion man of executive perience and without local political alignments needed for the sition. Cole, district supervisor of the State Board, attended the recommended consideraof the plan for the consolidation Greene and Washington counties into one district and der director The Board unanimously opposed this proposal, holding that such consolidation not now feasible. They said might possible for accounting and other minor details but that the amount of work in this counmade imperative that local director from this county should in charge of work here. Nomination persons additional investigators made to the State Board Harrisburg. These additional vestigators were recently authorizand the names of those selecttaken from lists file with local committee. It proposed distribute these investigators throughout the county to keep down traveling expense. The additional investigators were allowed to the county in order clear quickly as possible vestigation of all county the State board that supervisor be named distribute in this county surplus food which will assigned the county by the Federal Relief Committee. Yesterday's meeting was presid- over by Roy Carson, chairman, and was attended by James Wray, Will H. Watson. Reese and Taylor