The Citizens National Bank of Anderson, South Carolina

The Citizens National bank of Anderson
County:	Anderson	Charter Number:	9104
Picture Coming Soon
Opened:	April 1908	Closed:	April 1928
The Citizens National Bank of Anderson opened as a state bank, The Citizens Bank, in 1900. Anderson, being one of the more populous cities of the upstate, surprisingly never had more than one national bank operating at any one time, although a handful of state banks were always open. The Citizens Bank obviously realized the opportunities that nationalizing brought and did so in 1908 while DP McBrayer and JF Shumate were president and cashier respectively. The Citizens National Bank was always sure to remind the residents of Anderson of their national status through their advertisements of the day which touted having “Uncle Sam” on their side. The Citizens National Bank of Anderson was one of the few banks in Anderson County not significantly affected by the post World War I recession. In 1928 Citizens National liquidated and became a branch of The South Carolina National Bank. It was located at 103 East Whitner Street, and today houses county offices. In terms of national bank notes, The Citizens National Bank is the more available of the two Anderson national banks; however, it is far from common. Fortunately for collectors the first note the bank issued was saved by DP McBrayer. This note was a 1902 red seal $5 note with the serial number 1B. The note made its way to collectors in the 1980s and it has since been donated to the state history museum in Columbia where it resides today. The bank also issued 1902 blue seals of which only a handful are known to have survived redemption. If you have an image of the bank or any currency the bank issued, please contact me. I would love to hear about it.
First President:	DP McBrayer	First Cashier:	JF Shumate
David Pinckney McBrayer Sr. 10/17/1864 – Cleveland County, NC 09/21/1920 – Anderson, SC David P Brayer Sr. had little formal education, having grown up on a farm in rural North Carolina. However, that certainly never kept him from learning; by the age of twenty he was on his way to becoming a cotton tycoon in the South. Although DP McBrayer was the first president of The Citizen National Bank of Anderson, he certainly made more of a name for himself in the Mills of the area. During his life he was president of at least four different cotton mills, Toxaway, Riverside, Pendleton, and Jackson, all in Anderson County. He had a seat on the New Orleans Cotton Exchange; and it is said that he knew every farmer worth knowing between Anderson and New Orleans. Sadly, David Pinckney McBrayer was on his train route between the above two cities when the train derailed while he was shaving, causing him serious injury that lead to his death in 1920.
James Franklin Shumate 1/23/1871 – Ware Shoals, SC 6/23/1935 – Anderson, SC James F Shumate left his roots in Laurens County early in life to move to what would become his life-long home of Anderson. He began his professional career with the mercantile firm CP Jones Company. He got his first taste of banking when he joined The Citizens National Bank as its first cashier of its national era. He would hold that position until Citizens became a branch of the South Carolina National Bank in 1928 at which point he was made executive vice-president and branch manager. Like so many other men of the upstate, Shumate also always had various board and regulatory positions with several cotton mills throughout his business career.
Other People Associated with the Bank:
This is an image of the inside of The Carolina National Bank of Anderson. It never issued currency, but the image was too great not to include.