James H. McBirney
| James H. McBirney | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 1, 1870 Cloghjordan, County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Died | June 8, 1944 (aged 74) Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Nationality | Irish-American |
| Occupation | Banking, philanthropy |
| Known for | Founded National Bank of Commerce in Tulsa, Oklahoma |
James Hugh McBirney (1870-1944) was an Ireland-born Oklahoma banker and bank organizer.
Born in County Tipperary, Ireland, McBirney emigrated to the United States with his family when he was about five years old. The family settled in southern Kansas, where his father, Hugh McBirney, served as a Methodist minister. James grew up in Kansas and moved to Oklahoma Territory in time to participate in an 1883 land run, but failed to win the plot of his choice. Armed with only a public school education, he entered the banking business. In 1897, he was offered a job in the newly organized Bank of Tulsa, rising to the position of Vice President. He organized his own Bank of Commerce in Tulsa in 1904, which he renamed in 1911 as the National Bank of Commerce.
James Hugh McBirney,was born in Cloghjordan, County Tipperary, Ireland, on March 1, 1870. He was the eldest son of the Reverend Hugh McBirney D.D., and Susan Mark McBirney. His father was a Methodist minister. James had five siblings: Robert A., Anna, Sam P., Lea and Caroline,The family moved to the United States and settled in southern Kansas. when James was about five and a half years old.
It appears that James' formal education consisted only of public school, because his biography makes no mention of attending college. In 1883, he came to Oklahoma Territory to participate in the Cherokee Outlet Land Run. He claimed a tract of land in what would eventually become Enid, Oklahoma, but lost it when officials discovered that the tract had already been surveyed and reserved for public use. In 1895, Janes moved to the area of Indian Territory that would become Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
He was hired by the Bank of Columbus in Columbus, Kansas, first as a janitor in 1889, then was soon appointed bookkeeper. After working in Columbus for three years, he moved to the same position in the C. M. Condon and Company Bank (later named the Condon National Bank) in Coffeyville, Kansas, where he worked for two years. In 1897, he moved to Tulsa to work for the Tulsa Banking Company (TBC). He became vice president of the TBC in 1904.
When controlling interest in TBC passed to a group of non-Tulsans, James decided that he would organize a bank that had local control. On February 4, 1904, James, his brother Sam P. McBirney, Lee Clinton and T. E. Smiley, organized the Bank of Commerce. In 1911, the business reorganized with a federal charter and was renamed National Bank of Commerce.
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