Z 2017.000 First National Bank of Greenville (Washington County, Miss.) Minutes

The First National Bank of Greenville in Washington County, Mississippi, was created as a private banking house in 1873 by Major James Engle Negus, Jr., and Wade Hampton III. After being elected to the senate of South Carolina in 1880, Hampton left the firm, and Henry Tillinghast Ireys joined Negus to form the Bank of Negus, Ireys, and Company. This partnership was dissolved by mutual consent in 1886, and Negus operated the bank under the name of The Merchants Bank for over one year. On July 28, 1887, the bank was officially chartered as the First National Bank of Greenville, Mississippi. Upon its founding, the bank operated with capital stock of $100,000. It was the fourteenth national bank to be chartered in the state, and the First National Bank began issuing currency in September of 1887.

The original location of the First National Bank was on the corner of Main and Walnut streets in Greenville, but in 1904 the bank was moved about two blocks to the northeast corner of Poplar and Main streets. Neoclassical in style, the new building was designed by the architectural firm of Barber and Kluttz of Knoxville, Tennessee.

The First National Bank was one of the three national banks in Mississippi, of the original fourteen, that survived the Great Depression without absorption or liquidation. In 1924, the First National Bank had $2,017,163 in total assets and $1,582,781 in deposits, and by 1941 it had $2,432,814 in total assets and $2,298,767 in deposits. Between 1957 and 1971, the First National Bank was enhanced by several additions, including a drive-through window. In 1984, the bank ceased to exist as the First National Bank of Greenville when it merged with the Grenada Bank. At that time, the First National Bank was the only independently owned bank in Greenville, holding assets of around one hundred five million dollars. Before its merger, the First National Bank was one of three national banks in Mississippi on the roll of honor of national banks.

James E. Negus was born in Mound Brook, New Jersey, in 1842, and he moved to Greenville, Mississippi, in 1870. He was president of the First National Bank from its founding until his death in March of 1903. Negus and his wife, Louisa Mosby McAllister, a native of Washington County, Mississippi, had four children: Wade Hampton, Carrie Bell, William Engle, and Susan Engle Negus.

Born on October 10, 1877, Wade Hampton Negus graduated from the Alabama Polytechnic School at Auburn with a bachelor of science degree. After his fathers death, Negus became the next president of the First National Bank. In October of 1903, Negus married Katherine Lindsey of Frankfort, Kentucky, and they had two daughters: Katherine Lindsey and Louise McAllister Negus. Wade Hampton Negus remained bank president from 1903 until his death on March 21, 1946.

The minutes of the First National Bank of Greenville are contained in one bound, paginated volume, and they record annual shareholders and monthly directors meetings and occasional amendments to bank bylaws. They also include a letter dated 1919.

The volume begins with the annual shareholders meeting on January 11, 1916. The minutes were recorded in January of each year throughout the volume, and they primarily consist of financial summaries of the past year and an election of a board of directors for the new year. The bank chairman and secretary signed the minutes at each meeting. The last account of these meetings in the volume is on January 13, 1925.

The monthly directors meetings also begin on January 11, 1916. There were occasional special directors meetings, and at times a quorum was not present for a regular meeting, necessitating an adjournment until the next meeting. Most of the directors meetings covered a range of bank business, from specific financial problems to general accounts of the interests of the bank. There was an election of officers during the first meeting of each new year, filling the positions of bank president, vice-president, cashier, and assistant cashier. The bank president, Wade Hampton Negus, and the secretary signed the minutes at each meeting. The last set of minutes recorded for the directors meetings was on December 31, 1925.

1. Minutes. 1916-1925. 2 items.