George W. Hawk

GEORGE W. HAWK, cashier and manager of the Parsons Commercial Bank, has served in that capacity since 1878, and is one of the foremost business men of the city of Parsons, Labette county, Kansas.

Mr. Hawk was born in Fayette county, Ohio, in 1843, and was six years of age when taken by his parents to Illinois, in 1849. He was reared in Champaign county, Illinois, and in 1861 enlisted in Company I, 25th Reg., Ill. Vol. Inf. He first served in the Army of the Cumberland, - participating in the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge,- and was with General Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta; later he was in the Army of the Southwest. His military service lasted thirty-nine months, and he bore throughout an honorable record. After the close of the war he attended school for one year, in Chicago, and subsequently taught school for a year. He was then employed as deputy county treasurer of Champaign county for three years. He next entered the First National Bank of Champaign, where he was engaged for two years, after which he removed to Parsons, Kansas. In 1872 he entered the First National Bank of Parsons, and continued with that institution until 1878, having worked his way up to the position of assistant cashier. The Parsons Commercial Bank was reorganized in 1878, and E. H. Edwards was made president; H. A. Wade, vice-president; and George W. Hawk, cashier and manager. The bank was formerly known as the Parsons Savings Bank, and was organized, in 1874, by J. J. Pierson, H. A. Wade and others. The capital stock was fixed at $50,000 and still remains at that figure, with a surplus of $30,000. Mr. Hawk has continued as cashier and manager since its reorganization, and much credit is due to him for its present prosperous condition, which stamps it as one of the most stable banks of the county.

Mr. Hawk was united in marriage, in 1875, to Linna J. Hodges, of Parsons. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, and has taken the Knight Templar's degree. He is a Republican, in politics, and was city treasurer from 1886 to 1901, and treasurer of the board of education from 1883 to 1901. He is an enterprising and progressive citizen, and has been active in his support of many enterprises tending to develop the city.