Welcome and congratulations, how long is this canoe? Can you supply any pictures of the canoe along with the serial numbers and surrounding areas from each end? The suggestions at the link below may help. The build record for number 58001 shows a 16 foot long canoe with closed gunwales that shipped to Wilmington, Delaware in 1920. The one for 68001 shows a 17 foot long canoe with open gunwales that shipped to Chicago, Illinois in 1922. Neither of these seem likely to be showing up in a Rhode Island estate today.
Many old wooden canoes and boats have a serial number on both inside stems and a decal or tag with the manufacturer's logo on the bow deck. The number is usually stamped on the top of the lower part of the stems. The inside stems are the long curved pieces of wood that form the ends of the canoe. You want to look on the part that extends out from under the decks on the bottom of the floor inside the hull. The serial numbers are stamped in each end of the canoe so check both if a single digit is not clear. These numbers in the stern of boats are occasionally on the edge of the center...