Early canvas canoe information

[Benson Gray]

Outstanding, this clearly establishes that Gerrish started out building canvas canoes using the birch bark process in 1875. The link below may have more about the "Swedish Nails" that were mentioned if anyone is curious. Great stuff,

Benson

Glasgow Boat Nail 175mm, Galvanized

The Glasgow Boat Nail is a reproduction of a boat nail that used to be made by Mustadfors Bruk in Västra Götaland, Sweden. Used throughout Scandinavia for traditional boat building and restoration projects, also called an Oakwood Nail, Ekspik, or Timmerspik. Boat Nails have a long-tapered shank...

tremontnail.com

 

[MGC]

Zach, that is an amazing find. There is so much "meat" in that one article. It's a bit mind blowing. As you note, the remaining question is when did he start using a form?

 

[1905Gerrish]

Zach, that is an amazing find. There is so much "meat" in that one article. It's a bit mind blowing. As you note, the remaining question is when did he start using a form?

It's interesting reading the article. The word form is used a few lines down in the construction paragraph and rightfully, so I guess. It's just not the form that we are used to seeing belly up. By reading this article and the others that I found it seems that building on " form" wasn't as big of a deal as putting canvas on a canoe? The innovation is the canvas part as found in the newspaper articles. Nothing draws attention to building upside down of a form from what I have found or by others. I guess thinking about this from a consumer standpoint, not having to repair the leaking and damaged birchbark of the day draws more attention than how the builders build.

Zack

 

[Michael Grace]

Very interesting. I particularly like the detailed description of the construction method, essentially the same as birch bark construction. They write, "The Commercial, being interested in anything which may interest its readers, visited the canoe-shipyard and talked with Mr. Gerrish..." Given that a newspaper likely publishes rapidly, presumably their observation of bark-style construction was in 1882 even though Daniel Herald had patented his metal-clad building form in late 1871. So perhaps it may have been at least a decade before a similar form was used to build cedar-canvas canoes. Morris claimed that 5 years later (1887), cavas canoes were still being built using this early method, and that it was then that his factory began building on a solid form (reviewed by Howard Herman-Hasse in WCJ #228, Fall 2022). In a later catalog, Morris seems to take credit for development of the "modern" cedar-canvas canoe. If these claims are accurate, then maybe Gerrish continued building in the bark style for at least 12 years before adopting the solid form method of construction?

 

[Worth Gretter]

I notice that 12 yards, i.e. 36 feet of canvas were used to cover an 18 foot canoe, so the canvas was double the length of the canoe.
Perhaps they had a seam along the line of the keel, which would help to create the shape of the canoe.
And maybe the canvas available at that time wasn't wide enough.

 

[Roger Young]

My apologies for only having been intermittently engaged in these discussions over the past several months, and for not having responded to several points or questions put. Personal issues intervened. I have gone back and reviewed some things I missed, and might have commented on.

There was earlier discussion about possible Indigenous influences on the Chestnut brothers when originating their canoes. Benson noted that Ken Solway mentions in his book that there was a Malecite source, possibly Peter Joseph, whereas Roger MacGregor was uncertain whether the Chestnuts had ever met Peter Joseph. A recent happening has, I believe, put to rest any question of doubt about such influence and solidified the certainty of just such a friendly relationship.

On December 5th this year, the auction house of Waddington's, Toronto, offered for sale three Maliseet (Malecite) paddles, dated 1898/99; one was inscribed "WM T Chestnut" while the other two were inscribed "Ida", his wife. The paddles were hand made by a master carver; Waddington's did not ascribe a maker's name, but the connection and familiarity are definitely established. See photos attached.

Secondly, Glenn MacGrady took issue with some of my input on the use of canvas coverings in early canoe construction, and posed several questions, many concerning dates. I belatedly offer some answers in explanation. I first hasten to point out that I was referring to the application of canvas, textile and birch veneer coverings to all-wood canoe hulls, not to those of ribbed/plank construction. It is now much more clear to me the relevant importance of this distinction in the case as put by Glenn. My regrets if I clouded the discussion. My comments were in relation mostly to the experiments in canvas applications to wooden canoe hulls as made by John Stephenson, in 1878/9 and slightly earlier by Daniel Herald in 1871. Those dates are established by registered Patent records. I had also related the tale of George Stephenson (son of John) taking with him the old man's intellectual property knowledge when he went south to New York and New England. John Stephenson was one of the first to build "board canoes" in the Peterborough area, beginning about 1858. After perfecting his board and batten style, then inventing his "Vertical Rib" and "longitudinal cedar strip" canoes, Old John sold his patents and canoe-making enterprise in 1883 to Col. Rogers, who founded Ontario Canoe Co. George had worked with his father, learning the trade for some of this time. John stayed on at Ontario Canoe in a supervisory manner for its first few years; George stayed on as a builder, but in 1885 was lured away by J R Robertson, who took him to Auburndale, MA, where he worked with H V Partelow and others before moving to Maine. Apparently, he was introduced to or also met J H Rushton and more. Gerry Stephenson (1938-2003), grandson of old John, wrote about his grandfather's work in an occasional paper prepared for the Peterborough Historical Society. In it, he mentioned having personally seen several of his grandfather's "Vertical (Patent) Rib" style canoes bearing canvas coverings, as described in the 1879 patent. This was surprising to many, because the fairly scarce examples known don't seem to show up (or show evidence of ever being) covered in canvas. The full collection of Gerry's historical information is preserved at the Trent Valley Archives.

I had also made mention (and provided photos) of two of the four 30" cedar plank samples made by Old John. These are ribbed canoes, albeit the ribs are quite wide with relatively narrow spacing between. Three of the four are covered in 1" wide extremely thin birch bark veneer. It is my firm belief that these were made as "patent demonstration" pieces. I suggest they date to the late 1870's. It is certain that they can be no later than 1892 because one of them is referred to in correspondence from that time. It is a bit curious that they are of ribbed/plank construction, given that Stephenson's 1879 patent application deals mainly with his "Vertical Rib" canoe, which these models are not. (The "Vertical" or "Patent Rib" canoe is one layer of tongue and groove ribs running transversely from gunnel to gunnel and held in place by only 5 longitudinal elements - keel/keelson, the two gunnel rails and two internal bilge stringers.) And the covering on 3 of the models is birch veneer, not canvas. However, textiles and bark veneers are described in the patent application as a means invented to 'leakproof' wooden canoes; that was the essence of what Stephenson was seeking to achieve and what he was seeking recognition for.

Overall, it seems that many different folks in numerous places and at varying times were each trying to build a better, drier canoe. It was a very competitive world, and we have all benefitted from their enterprise and efforts. Thanks to those who have added to the discussions herein. Makes for a fun and enlightening read. Cheers all.

 

[Benson Gray]

maybe the canvas available at that time wasn't wide enough

This appears to be the true. Page 258 of the Report Upon the Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Countries at the link below includes a "price-list for the quarter ending June 30, 1879" from "the largest importers of cotton goods to this market" with widths ranging from 24 to 32 inches.

Benson

Report Upon the Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Countries

books.google.com

​

 

[Worth Gretter]

Benson, I did the math on all the widths of "cotton T-cloth". They all came in between 5 and 6 ounces per square yard, so definitely lighter than today's canvas options.

 

[Benson Gray]

Agreed, but this does indicate the sizes of looms available to make canvas. A better source of canvas information from that period may be located with additional research. Thanks,

Benson

 

[fernieite]

Man, there's been a lot of interesting historical information in this thread! No doubt many hours have been spent combing through libraries and webpages, books, newspapers, magazines, catalogues, etc.
Thanks for all of your hard work in doing this research, gents!

 

[Dan Miller]

"Birch will never be replace by canvas, fir it bends in prettier forms."

Another tidbit from the November 26, 1885 issue of Forest and Stream. Another pointer to the use of canvas as a replacement for bark to around 1875.

 

[Benson Gray]

The "Jack Darling" mentioned in this article was probably Jonathan "Jock" Darling from Lowell. He was a colorful character who is described in the article at the first link below. . The Maine Registers from 1890 to 1897 listed him as a canoe builder in Lowell. He was also listed in the New England Business Directory and Gazetteers during 1890 and 1896. He was successful enough to get a very fancy grave stone as shown in the second link below.

Benson

Jock Darling: The Notorious “Outlaw” of the Maine Woods

Jim Vickery began work on this article shortly before he died in 1997. He had been researching Jock Darling for several years, and at my urging he set down his thoughts on the “old outlaw” under an arrangement by which he would compose the article on one of his infamous "yellow pads,” and I...

digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu

Jonathan “Jock” Darling (1830-1898) - Find a...

67 Years 4 Months 18 Days

www.findagrave.com

 

[Benson Gray]

Chris Pearson recently mentioned another interesting data point for this discussion. Tappan Adney made a model of a canvas canoe built in the birch bark style. This can be seen on page 33 of Bark Canoes: The Art and Obsession of Tappan Adney by John Jennings as shown below.

Benson

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[1905Gerrish]

Chris and I had a private conversation about the joinery concerning the thwart/rail construction. The cross-lap type joint can be seen on this canoe which I have never seen before in a native build. Always a full mortise. Is anyone aware of another example of this type of construction in a full-size canoe of native origin? The dating of the 1890's is very accurate as many wood-canvas builders adopted this construction trait. The latter part of the 1890's many builders seemed to move onto this weaker and slower process and started bolting seats and thwart under the rails. I have a few in my collection with the cross-lap construction.

Zack

 

[Benson Gray]

Is anyone aware of another example of this type of construction in a full-size canoe of native origin?

The Ranco at the Peabody Essex Museum from 1895 may show this although the pictures aren't great. The link below has more details.

Benson

Post in thread 'Joseph Ranco, canoe builder'

Apr 3, 2020

Steve Cayard has generously shared some pictures of a bark canoe built by Joseph Ranco at the Peabody Essex Museum as shown below. Their records have it dated as 1895 but it may be older. This is what Steve and Castle McLaughlin from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University call the "Transitional Penobscot River" style since it has elements of canvas canoes which are not normally found in bark canoes. This one has a stern seat that is very similar to the White style for example. Steve also said "The 'Indian Canoe Landing' in Kennebunkport is definitely a...

• Benson Gray

 

[Howard Herman-Haase]

Gerrish's First Canvas Canvas

Thank you Zack for sharing this article "Canvas Canoes." I agree with Benson that we now know that Gerrish's earliest canvas canoes were built like birch bark canoes, what I have referred to as Gerrish-style canoes because he is the earliest known builder. (I am not wedded to this term, but I think we should come to consensus on what to call these unique canvas canoes, for future discussions. maybe "birch-built canvas canoes").

I would like to share some additional information and thoughts their significance. This post will look at Gerrish's first canvas canoe, which according to "Canvas Canoes," he built in 1875. I think even on its face this is a credible claim because it comes directly from Gerrish and was made only seven years after the event. The fact that Gerrish also used the year 1875 as a starting point for his career in both surviving catalogs also highlight its importance. Even Morris indirectly referenced this year as the beginning of the Maine canvas canoes in the introduction to his 1900 Catalog! But the clincher for me was the discovery that the preliminary survey of the Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railway, and Mr. A. Hilton's trip with Gerrish across Sebec Lake "in the first canvas canoe he ever built" could not have happened in 1872 as suggested in Thompson's 1904 article "Onawa in Seventy-Two" (See Wooden Canoe, Issue 209. p.5.).

The Reports of the Commissioners of Fisheries, indicate that the Sebec Land-Locked Salmon Breeding Works, the official name of "the hatchery," which Gerrish and Hilton visited during their trip, did not exist in 1872; it was built in 1873 and started operations in 1874. More importantly, railroad records indicate that the original charter for the Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railway was issued on February 22, 1876, and any preliminary survey would have been performed sometime after the charter.



In fairness to Thompson, he did sound somewhat doubtful about the date, "Mr. Hilton, how long ago was it that we were on that preliminary survey of a railroad from Milo up to the Merrill slate quarry? why, say! It was back in '72 wasn't it?"
It is also noteworthy that in the article Hilton said the trip occurred in the spring, this new information supports does not contradict the 1875 date, but on the contrary, supports a very logical sequence of events; Gerrish built his first canvas canoe in 1875, and the preliminary survey and the trip to Lake Onawa took place in spring 1876, not too long after the February 22, 1876 charter.

Gerrish's account in "Canvas Canoes" in 1882 and Hilton's in 1904 agree that Gerrish's decision to use canvas came after experimentation with metal canoes. Gerrish claims he made one of zinc and one on galvanized iron, and according to Hilton, Gerrish "took him on the river in a canoe he had built with galvanized iron" before they embarked on their trip! Hilton also stated that Gerrish's canvas canoe was "constructed as such craft now are, although it had not the graceful lines which now mark the canvas craft so popular in useful in woods journeys of today (in 1904)." Although Hilton remembered the first canoe as being less graceful than a wood-canvas canoe of 1904, he apparently did not understand how it was built, or how birch-like construction might have compromised its symmetry. Nonetheless, Hilton thought the "canoe was effective for the purpose of [the] trip, and served them well."
The story that the first canvas canoe was still in use at Sebec Lake by Ansel Crockett is a wonderful detail which does say something about the canoes durability. Ansel G. Crockett ran excursion boats on the Lake for over forty years; starting with horse powered boats and then later with steamboats, and appears regularly in local newspapers. is a testament to the durability of even his earliest canvas canoe. (See A Notable Event for detailed account boats on Sebec Lake during the Nineteenth Century including inormation on Ansel Crockett)

Although many later sources claim that the idea for using canvas instead of birch bark came from the emergency use of canvas or cloth to patch a damaged bark canoe, neither of these eyewitness accounts indicate that Gerrish's decision to use canvas was influenced by canvas patches, or other canvas canoes. In fact, Hilton reports that neither of them had ever a canvas canoe before Gerrish's. I have not found any credible reports of canvas patching of birch barks this early, and Hubbard’s Guide to Moosehead Lake never mentions canvas patches in its discussion of repairing birch-bark canoes. Stories about patching turn up later, so it possible that the idea of canvas patches was inspired by the Gerrish-style canoes, not the other way around. One of the most detailed accounts, which actually mentions Gerrish, is included below.


So as it turns out, thanks to a lot of good work by a lot of dedicated people we now know more about Gerrish's first canvas canoe than we could have ever imagined possible!

 

[Howard Herman-Haase]

Other Early Builders of Gerrish-style Canoes

Although we have convincing evidence that Gerrish built the earliest known birch-built canvas canoe in 1875, it would be five years before a description of one of his canvas canoes appeared in the local news. (Below. Please excuse my search highlighting!)


(Local Matters, Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, 20 may 1880)

It is interesting that the canoe order mentioned in the description is from Sebec Lake. We now know that his first canoe was being used there by Ansel Crockett, so the sale may have been the result of a direct encounter with that canoe. These direct encounters with actual canoes seems to have been the primary driver for sales during this period at this time.


(The Industrial Journal, 4 April 1886, Newspapers.com).

Apparently, Gerrish was already experimenting with other canvas boats in 1880. The "Queer Boat" described below sound like it may have been and early Peapod with a special twist.


(A Queer Boat, Commercial, 12 June 1880, p1.)

During the intervening years between Gerrish's first birch-built canvas canoe and the two canvas boats described in 1880, the canvas canoes of two other Maine builders were mentioned in surviving documents . The earliest birch-built canvas canoe described in the literature was built by a "Yankee" on Moosehead Lake in 1878.


(Moosehead Lake Notes, Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, 18 July 1878)

Neither the name nor the location of the “Yankee” builder are included in this description, so some have attributed this canoe to Gerrish, which in my opinion is highly unlikely. Although many of Gerrish's canoes would end up at Moosehead Lake, there is no evidence that he built canvas canoes at the Lake. He had already moved to Bangor and was likely busy setting up his shop at 18 Broad, which opened that very year, 1878. A much more likely suspect for this "Yankee" is George Kirkpatrick of Greenville. A column called “Do you Remember?” from 1931 includes the following query, "When George Kirkpatrick built the first canvas canoe used on Moosehead?" (Do you Remember, Piscataquis Observer, 11 June 1931). Unfortunately, the column did not provide answers, but I suspect the canoe described above is the first canvas canoe. on Moosehead Lake. It is also likely that the canoe builder George Patrick of Greenville described in 1885 was in fact George Kirkpatrick, and that the author may have confused him with a guide named George Patrick from Greenville who appears in the literature around that time.


(Piscataquis, Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, 18 July 1885)

Kirkpatrick is listed in the New England Business Directory as a canoe builder between 1887-1890 and the Maine State Yearbook 1888-1894. Just before his death in 1893 Kirkpatrick was described as follows,


(Sun Journal_Lewiston Maine_20 July 1893.)

It appears that Kirkpatrick's estate was sold at auction in 1895. I have not looked at town records, but it sounds like he had quite a bit of land.



The other builder of birch-built canvas canoes mentioned was Jock Darling, whom a "Sport" visited at the end of fishing trip in September of 1879 and found him building a canvas canoe.

(Syseledobsis and Passadumkeag, Forest and Stream, 18 May 1880 )

A long and interesting article on Nicatous Lake and Its Surroundings, points out that Darling spent a lot of time at his Camp Nicatous where "there are plenty of canoes on hand, Mr. Darling employing his leisure time in building them, using either birch or canvas as may be desired."



Although these canoes would become popular among indigenous builders and continue to be built into the 1920s in some areas, there are only two additional known "Yankee" builders of birch-built canvas canoes; Hilbert Colson, at Great Pond, Hancock County who built canvas canoes "like a birch" (Bark Canoes, Forest and Stream, 30 September 1886 p. 196) and B. N. Morris at Veazie, who built three canvas covered canoes "after the principle of the birch-bark canoes, of loose ribs and planking with a tight skin of canvas" in 1887 before adopting the method of the solid-planked shell. (Morris, B. N., Morris Canoes, The Fort Hill Press, Samuel Usher, Boston, ca1907, p.2.)

I have included a map, to which I have added the known "Yankee" builders of birch-built canvas canoes, their locations, the date they started building. "Canvas Canoes" claims that Gerrish's first canvas canoe was "novelty that drew a great deal of attention" and the dates and locations of the builders could certainly support the conclusion that subsequent builders were inspired by Gerrish's canoe (or the canoe of another earlier builder), but the actual transfer of information and knowledge about the canoes, if any, remains unknown.
(Annotated detail from 1960 U.S. Geological Survey map the Maine in the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center, Boston Public Library)

 

[1905Gerrish]

Lots of interesting info you have shared. The " A Queer Boat " articles has me thinking this sounds like the beginning of the Salmon Peapod's design. I have not seen any relevant dating on when these boats were invented or by whom. 1880 is a bit earlier than what I suspected.

 

[1905Gerrish]

Gerrish's First Canvas Canvas

Thank you Zack for sharing this article "Canvas Canoes." I agree with Benson that we now know that Gerrish's earliest canvas canoes were built like birch bark canoes, what I have referred to as Gerrish-style canoes because he is the earliest known builder. (I am not wedded to this term, but I think we should come to consensus on what to call these unique canvas canoes, for future discussions. maybe "birch-built canvas canoes").

I would like to share some additional information and thoughts their significance. This post will look at Gerrish's first canvas canoe, which according to "Canvas Canoes," he built in 1875. I think even on its face this is a credible claim because it comes directly from Gerrish and was made only seven years after the event. The fact that Gerrish also used the year 1875 as a starting point for his career in both surviving catalogs also highlight its importance. Even Morris indirectly referenced this year as the beginning of the Maine canvas canoes in the introduction to his 1900 Catalog! But the clincher for me was the discovery that the preliminary survey of the Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railway, and Mr. A. Hilton's trip with Gerrish across Sebec Lake "in the first canvas canoe he ever built" could not have happened in 1872 as suggested in Thompson's 1904 article "Onawa in Seventy-Two" (See Wooden Canoe, Issue 209. p.5.).

The Reports of the Commissioners of Fisheries, indicate that the Sebec Land-Locked Salmon Breeding Works, the official name of "the hatchery," which Gerrish and Hilton visited during their trip, did not exist in 1872; it was built in 1873 and started operations in 1874. More importantly, railroad records indicate that the original charter for the Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railway was issued on February 22, 1876, and any preliminary survey would have been performed sometime after the charter.

View attachment 58471

In fairness to Thompson, he did sound somewhat doubtful about the date, "Mr. Hilton, how long ago was it that we were on that preliminary survey of a railroad from Milo up to the Merrill slate quarry? why, say! It was back in '72 wasn't it?"
It is also noteworthy that in the article Hilton said the trip occurred in the spring, this new information supports does not contradict the 1875 date, but on the contrary, supports a very logical sequence of events; Gerrish built his first canvas canoe in 1875, and the preliminary survey and the trip to Lake Onawa took place in spring 1876, not too long after the February 22, 1876 charter.

Gerrish's account in "Canvas Canoes" in 1882 and Hilton's in 1904 agree that Gerrish's decision to use canvas came after experimentation with metal canoes. Gerrish claims he made one of zinc and one on galvanized iron, and according to Hilton, Gerrish "took him on the river in a canoe he had built with galvanized iron" before they embarked on their trip! Hilton also stated that Gerrish's canvas canoe was "constructed as such craft now are, although it had not the graceful lines which now mark the canvas craft so popular in useful in woods journeys of today (in 1904)." Although Hilton remembered the first canoe as being less graceful than a wood-canvas canoe of 1904, he apparently did not understand how it was built, or how birch-like construction might have compromised its symmetry. Nonetheless, Hilton thought the "canoe was effective for the purpose of [the] trip, and served them well."
The story that the first canvas canoe was still in use at Sebec Lake by Ansel Crockett is a wonderful detail which does say something about the canoes durability. Ansel G. Crockett ran excursion boats on the Lake for over forty years; starting with horse powered boats and then later with steamboats, and appears regularly in local newspapers. is a testament to the durability of even his earliest canvas canoe. (See A Notable Event for detailed account boats on Sebec Lake during the Nineteenth Century including inormation on Ansel Crockett)

Although many later sources claim that the idea for using canvas instead of birch bark came from the emergency use of canvas or cloth to patch a damaged bark canoe, neither of these eyewitness accounts indicate that Gerrish's decision to use canvas was influenced by canvas patches, or other canvas canoes. In fact, Hilton reports that neither of them had ever a canvas canoe before Gerrish's. I have not found any credible reports of canvas patching of birch barks this early, and Hubbard’s Guide to Moosehead Lake never mentions canvas patches in its discussion of repairing birch-bark canoes. Stories about patching turn up later, so it possible that the idea of canvas patches was inspired by the Gerrish-style canoes, not the other way around. One of the most detailed accounts, which actually mentions Gerrish, is included below.
View attachment 58518

So as it turns out, thanks to a lot of good work by a lot of dedicated people we now know more about Gerrish's first canvas canoe than we could have ever imagined possible!

Howard above mentions the Sebec Land-Locked Salmon Breeding Works. The information I am sharing is a letter written by the foreman of the works, H.L Leonard, the famous bamboo rod maker dated July 16, 1875 to William Moulton currently residing and working at the fish works. It is in a personal collection of my friend who shared it with me and a SME on fly rods and Maine fishing tackle. This is page 2 and 3 of a 4 page letter. A bit difficult to read but I interpret it as follows starting at the left middle paragraph. This clearly establishes another 1875 timeline and a working relationship with Leonard. Certainly, a strong case of circumstantial evidence that Leonard educated Gerrish on rod making and would take these business practices to Bangor in the coming years.

"I think that Gerrish is the one that was up at fish works last May will be up to relieve you soon. I think he will decide tonight if he can make canoes & rods & trap just the ........ for the place. I don't know what terms can be made for him. I don't want the responsibility of the thing when I go up there. I want to go for fun and ..... ..... I don't know any more that I can say about it at present. The price is able (?) to decide.

Zack

 

[MGC]

The government was looking for folks to read historical cursive documents. You may have a new career path.
I believe it's all to decide......
It could be "just the kind for the place" although his s and e tend to have a similarity, and n's are sloppy and inconsistent.
It's "for fun and *** first".......