Farmers Bank of Southwest Virginia Records 1924

Access and use

Location of collection:
Wytheville Community College
F.B. Kegley Library
Wytheville Community College
Smyth Hall, Room 103
1000 East Main Street
Wytheville, VA 24382
Contact for questions and access:
POC: William A. “Bill” Veselik
Phone: (276) 223-4876
POC: George Mattis
Phone: (276) 223-4744
Fax: (276) 223-4745

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of a bank examiner's report prepared by B. J. Woodward and R. M. Charlton, employees of the Virginia State Corporation Committee Banking Division, on September 1924. The examiners reviewed records of the Farmers Bank of Southwest Virginia on 15 and 16 September 1924. In this report, the examiners found several discrepancies; the summary of the examiner follows:

"In short, without recording word for word my questioning of the President, he confessed to me that he had taken, used (stolen) all Mr. Simmerman's money. I asked him (the President) if he had any idea how much money Mr. Simmerman should have in this bank; the amount he told me corresponded almost exactly with the balance as shown by the pass book."

"This enormous shortage renders the bank absolutely insolvent. To protect the depositors against loss, I wrote up an indemnifying bond for two hundred thousand dollars and caused it to be signed by eleven of the twelve directors. The total worth of these directors is about one million dollars."

Biographical / historical:

The Farmers Bank of Southwest Virginia was founded in June 1873 with William Terry as its first president and $50,000 of capital stock. On 1 January 1931 it merged with First National Bank of Wytheville to become the First National Farmers Bank of Wytheville

Clarence M. Trinkle (1868-1935), the son of Elbert Sevier Trinkle and brother of Gov. Elbert Lee Trinkle, attended Hampden-Sydney College before completing a degree at Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York. He moved to Wytheville where he was involved with various businesses and banking enterprises. He eventually became President of the Farmers Bank of Southwest Virginia, a position that he resigned on 23 September 1924 after irregularities reported in the examiner's report became public. A $200,000 bond based on deeds of trust on property owned by Trinkle was taken out to reassure depositors. The bank records were "fully audited" and on 3 October 1924, the new president, R. L. Peirce, issued a newspaper notice that "full settlement has today been concluded of all obligations and liabilities of C. M. Trinkle and the bank's resources are unimpaired."

Acquisition information:
Donated by Ruth Ann Chitwood in 2001 as part of the W. R. Chitwood Collection.
Physical description:
3 items.