Gerrish's Financial Supporters

[Benson Gray]

Rollin Thurlow has shared the story that Frank Hinckley “assisted Mr. Gerrish financally and otherwise in the first enterprise of revolutionizing canoes” as reported in the Bangor Daily Commercial newspaper on January 5th, 1942. This made me wonder if there was any close family connection to Ernest L. Hinckley who helped finance Edwin M. White's canoe business. I didn’t find one but it seems to have been a common name. Edwin’s brother’s first wife was named Susan M. Hinckley but she doesn’t seem to be closely related to the other two either.

Mr. Gerrish must have been very personable because in 1903 he got some additional financial support from George Gardner Grennell who left him $25,000 in his will. A Moosehead lake guide named Edward G. Masterman also got an large amount of property which was worth even more. This was reported in the New York Times on September 16th and the Maine Woods newspaper on September 25th as shown below. George seems to have been quite an unusual character. He was born in 1837 and named Lawrance A. Benson then changed his name to George G. Grennell in 1875. His largest bequest was $200,000 to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. His brother Benjamin L. Benson contested the will because he was only left $1000. I wonder how this all came to be and what the resolution was in the end.

Benson

 

[1905Gerrish]

Benson, I came across this bit of information written by Jeff Hatton. I actually had a good conversation with him a couple weeks back. He is a very well know name in the collectable fly rod world, author and has a traveling fly rod show. There is more that elaborates on this theory in the " Classic Fly Rod Forums". I see no link from where the canoe business got started but the theory discussed certainly could have stated him in business overall before he started making canoes.

 

[dtdcanoes]

A small world it is. Bob Hinckley was a fraternity brother at Bowdoin in 1960 and a track star as I recall. He was a very congenial , handsome sort, just a great guy. He was a son of Henry and later took control of the family business. The Gerrish and Hinckley families were close with many attending the little all men's school. Another fraternity brother , Dick Pulsifer began building the Hampton boat , a last -forever , beautiful utility craft. We are blessed to have to this day the Maine boat building tradition with Rollin close by. I have a pair of JR Williams boats that share the cane wrapping at the decks, additional ribs at the stem ends and the fine double chamfering of side and top gunnel caps seen on the Ranco and Gerrish boats. An amazing history and a feast with no end for Benson and the many of us he brings along.
All goes well and it it is not over yet.
Dave