Interesting coincidental(?) PGCA Research Letter Provenance.

[Dean Romig]

Looking at a For Sale ad today on the forum here I noticed something that made me say to myself “Hmmmm…, could it be?”
Something here looked kind of familiar so I looked up a letter on the first Parker I ever bought, back in 2002 or so.

Let’s compare notes:

The first is my 1899 12 gauge DH ordered by GR Humswell of So. Danville, ME.

Next is from the research letter on the gun posted for sale and ordered by a GR Hummewell of Auburn, ME (formerly Danville, ME) see the AI research I did on South Danville in 1899.

It is my opinion these are typographical errors either by reading the sometimes cryptic information in the Parker Bros. books or by the gentleman creating the research letter from available data, and that these two who ordered two different Parkers nine years apart are one and the same gentleman.

Pretty interesting stuff I think.


.

[edgarspencer]

I don't believe in coincidence. Got to be the same astute gentleman.

[Dave Noreen]

Ordering a gun to go to someone else, was Geo. R. Humswell/Hunnewell a dealer in the area?

[Dean Romig]

It almost seems so Dave. I did a cursory search but will look further as time allows.





.

[Alex Brushwein]

Seems most likely to be a Mr. George Richard Hunnewell. Looks like he owned a farm and ran a feed company for some time during the early 20th century. I found reference to a hang tag for a G. R. Hunnewell Fur Co, also out of Auburn. Corroborating that was an old postcard with a black and white image of a fireplace mantle full of fox furs located to the Hunnewell Farm in Auburn, ME. An archived blueprint also exists on the Maine memory network webpage of “an architecture commission for G. R. Hunnewell at an unknown address in Auburn, ME, 1906”. Quite a nice house for the time. I found this all to be very interesting since Auburn is my hometown. The internet is a funny place. Not the first time he has come up here: https://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?p=398685 .

[Dean Romig]

Wow Alex - Great sleuthing!

I bought my 1899 DH from Kittery Trading Post in Kittery, Maine so it’s a fair guess that mine didn’t stray far from ‘Auburn’ either.
I had looked at that beautiful Trojan at Cabela’s in Scarborough back then.

So I guess we can conclude that Mr. George R. Hunnewell was indeed a retailer and traded in Parker shotguns along with other farm implements.

And this from a quick check just now, Hunnewell Farms still exists to this day about 10–15 miles east of ‘Danville’ Maine (now Auburn, Maine).

.

[Dean Romig]

My first experience shooting and hunting with a Parker was the one I borrowed from a school friend back in about 1960 when I was twelve. It had been his grandfather’s Trojan and his grandfather had lived in Saco, Maine… I wonder if Mr. Hunnewell originally sold that gun too.

I’ll need to get the serial number from it and check with Chuck.





.

[Dean Romig]

I wrote a story about that old Trojan I used when I was 12-14.
My friend Dave had moved to the Boise area because of a transfer he requested when he worked as a lineman for a telephone company.

This is the last paragraph of that story.

.

[Dean Weber]

Ordering a gun to go to someone else, was Geo. R. Humswell/Hunnewell a dealer in the area?

Here is a letter ordered by person 1, delivered to person 2, and the bill to be sent to person 3. I wish I could order Parker guns and have the bill sent elsewhere......:)

[Dean Romig]

Chuck had been reading this thread and texted me privately that Trojan 167347 was originally sold to Iver Johnson in Boston in 1914.





.

[Gerald McPherson]

Dean have you tried Find a grave?

[Dean Romig]

No I haven’t… good suggestion Gerald, thanks.





.

[Gerald McPherson]

https://www.hunnewellfarm.com/

Check out the barn date built and date.

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Gerald - Odd that the Hunnewell Farms in the link is in Massachusetts and the one in question is in Maine. They both have the same name but I wonder if they are/were associated with each other??





.

[Gerald McPherson]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/search?firstname=George+&middlename=Richard&lastname=Hunnewell&birthyear=&birthyearfilter=&deathyear=&deathyearfilter=&location=Maine%2C+United+States+of+America&locationId=state_23&bio=&linkedToName=&plot=&memorialid=&mcid=&datefilter=&orderby=r&page=1#sr-39791612

Bet this is him.

[Dean Romig]

Guaranteed that’s him! Thank You!

.

[Gerald McPherson]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51951240/amsbury-southard-alexander
And here is the buyer.

[Gerald McPherson]

Dean; Looks like the farm you posted is now an old chicken farm with partly destroyed houses via satellite.