George T. Tremble.—Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Ellsworth county who occupies a more enviable position in banking and financial circles than the man whose name heads this review. It is not alone because of the brilliant success he has achieved, but on account of the straightforward business policy he has ever followed that places Mr. Tremble among the leading bankers of Kansas. He was born near Green Bay, Brown county, Wisconsin, February 12, 1870, the son of Martin E. and Saram M. (Cook) Tremble. The elder Tremble was a native of Keysville, Clinton county, New York, a lumberman who owned mills at Big Suamico, Wis., with wholesale and retail lumber yards at Racine, Wis. He also owned a line of lumber schooners and was regarded as one of the successful and wealthy lumbermen in a notable lumber country, until his death in 1882. Mrs. Tremble passed away in 1875, when George Tremble was still a child and upon the death of his father he went to live with an uncle, David S. Beach, of Marshall, Mich. The boy received his early education in the public schools of Marsall, graduating from the high school in 1888. That summer he came to Kansas determined to cast his lot with the Sunflower State and make his fortune in the West. Locating at Wilson, Ellsworth county, he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the Wilson State Bank, but in 1889 returned to Michigan on account of the death of his uncle. Having come to see that a good education was the best equipment for the battle of life Mr. Tremble entered the literary department of the University of Michigan, graduating with the class of 1894. The same year he returned to Kansas and was elected the cashier of the Central National Bank of Ellsworth in July, and served in this capacity until 1908, when he was elected president of the institution, succeeding B. S. Westfall, and is still serving as the executive head of the bank.

The Central National Bank is one of the strong banking houses of Kansas. Money could not buy the place it holds on the roll of honor. It stands first in the city of Ellsworth; first in the county of Ellsworth; fifth in the State of Kansas; and 357th among the 7,500 National banks in the United States; and of the 300 National banks within the State only twenty-three are in such condition and so substantial as to be entitled to positions on the roll of honor, where this bank has been placed by the determination and executive ability of its officers. In 1912 the bank had a capital of $50,000; surplus of $125,000, and deposits of $625,000. It was established in 1885 as the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, the principal owners being C. F. McGrew, president; J. W. Powers, cashier, and G. W. Clawson. A year later a National charter was taken out, under which the bank still operates. The presidents of the bank have been as follows: C. F. McGrew, January to July, 1886; G. W. Clawson, July, 1886, to January, 1889; M. P. Westfall, January, 1889, to May, 1891; H. Rammelsberg, 1891 to 1894; B. S. Westfall, 1894 to 1908 and George T. Tremble since that date. The cashiers during this period have been: J. W. Powers, 1886 to 1887; E. H. Tenney, 1887 to 1888; M. K. Brundage, 1888 to 1889; B. S. Westfall, 1889 to 1894; G. T. Tremble, 1894 to 1908, and B. L. Gardiner since 1908. From the first opening of its door the bank has been regarded as a substantial institution, having some of the strongest and best residents of the county on the board of directors, who are as follows: G. F. Tremble, president; E. D. Schermerhorn, vice-president; B. L. Gardiner, cashier; Frederick Melchert, of Lorraine, Kan., a retired farmer; F. A. Meryweather, capitalist; J. R. McLavrin, capitalist, and Joseph Kalina, Sr., a retired man of Ellsworth. Mr. Tremble is also president of the Frederick State Bank, vice-president of the Bank of Holyrood, and a director in the Wilson State Bank and Citizens' State Bank, of Dorrance, Kan. He is president of the Ellsworth Oil and Development Company, and treasuerer[sic] of the Ellsworth Salt Company. In politics he is an Independent, but has served three terms as mayor of Ellsworth, and during his term in office was instrumental in securing the refunding of the bonded indebtedness of the city, amounting to about $130,000. While he was mayor the new water works and pumping plant were constructed at a cost of $12,000. Mr. Tremble is a very capable business man and banker; he is a large landowner and one of the progressive and enthusiastic boosters of Ellsworth and Kansas. In Masonry he has attained the Knight Templar and Scottish Rite degrees; is a member of Aldemar Commandery of Ellsworth. Wichita Consistory and Isis Temple Shrine, of Salina. On June 1, 1904, Mr. Tremble married Mary, the daughter of the late Col. Edward C. Culp, one of Salina's prominent citizens. The family consists of three children: Edward Culp, born April 21, 1906; Martin Eggleston, born May 3, 1907, and George T., Jr., born May 3, 1908.