1886 - 1973
Banker.
William H. Courtney was born during 1886 in Clay County, Kentucky. In 1913, he entered banking as the first Cashier of the First National Bank of Whitesburg, Kentucky. Around 1919, Mr. Courtney came to Lexington to join the Phoenix & Third National Bank and in 1925 he was selected as President of the Phoenix National Bank and Trust Company. In 1929 after the merger, he was elected President of the new First National Bank and Trust Company. After leading the bank through the Depression and World War II, Mr. Courtney retired from active management in January 1953, becoming the Chairman of the Board. He remained a director until the time of his death in 1973.
Mr. Courtney was also very active in civic organizations. During the Depression, he was a member of the Advisory Loan Board of the Reconstruction Finance Authority and a director of the Federal Reserve Board, Cincinnati Branch. During the Second World War, he was a member of the War Finance Committee of the Fourth Federal Reserve District and co-chairman of the Kentucky War Savings Bond Committee. Mr. Courtney was also a founder of the Keeneland Association (serving as Treasurer during the 1930s). He was also a director of the Lexington Water Company, Kentucky River Coal Company, Lafayette Hotel Company, Lexington Industrial Foundation and Lexington Chamber of Commerce.
