question
 

i have a 10 ga parker brothers shotgun made in 1901 . on the silver plate on the stock the name on it is howard f. welsh. my question is has any body ever hear of this fellow. i presume he was the orginal owner of gun. any input appreciated. thanks charlie ps good hunting to all

I "Googled" him and several people by that name came up, the 1st was a mining engineer living in Brooklyn in 1897/98.

Do you know what grade gun it is? If not post it here and we can most likely help look it up. It might be a good idea to order a research letter, as it may offer clues to the original owner. See reasearch letter link on thsi site.

Howard F. Welsh, Mining engineer, born in Syracuse, NY in August 1868, graduated from Columbia School of Miines in 1890. Later located in Bodie, California in 1900 and then Butte, Montana in 1910. What is the serial number of the Parker?

Records from Presbyterian Church Shelter Island,New York
Ophelia Read, b. 1870: m. Howard F. Welsh.
http://www.archive.org/stream/histor...lgoog_djvu.txt

June 12, 1890 Howard F Welsh receives Degree in Civil Engineering New York College of Mines
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...609C94619ED7CF

Howard F. Welsh Reports to Attorney General Montana 1903
Howard F. Welsh is Coal Mine Inspector which seems to tie back to New York College of Mines

http://www.archive.org/stream/bienni...4mont_djvu.txt

http://www.zubalbooks.com/results.js...20581&offset=0

A Howard F Welsh fathers a female child in Texas 1943
http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/hid...3/hidab43f.txt



The above are a few references from Google for "Howard F. Welsh" search

Only one page of information comes up, so it may be promising

Looks like a Howard F. Welsh was born in 1870 Shelter Island New York.
Graduates from College of Mines in 1890 and became a coal mine inspector in Montana


Probably a different Howard F. Welsh who has female child in Texas 1943 as the New York guy would have been 73 years old then.

So, you have possibilities in New York, Montana and Texas

The New York/Montana connection seems to fit the vintage of your gun.

All that said, it could be somebody totally different but this was a fun diversion.

Cheers,
Jack

I hunted Sage Grouse around Bodie, California, on Labor Day weekend 1971. The hunting was probably better when Howard was there!!!

Sage Grouse in Alberta in the '60's Dad with VH 145522 Me with the heaviest shotgun I've ever carried (Savage 755A Auto)
Still have these guns and the rest of Dad's guns

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/cpg1..._Grouse001.jpghttp://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/cpg1...use_1960_s.JPG

Thanks for pics Jack, I hope to get a chance to hunt those big birds some day.

the serial no is 114634 of the gun. i think it is a ph grade not for sure. it has 32 inch twist steel barrels.may be this will help to find out about gun and howard f welsh. thanks charlie

A little more for our Mr. Welsh
Appears to be outdoor enthusiast - camping club, canoe club; so reasonable to be a Parker guy. Full name: Howard Farrington Welsh

http://www.archive.org/stream/deltau...tgoog_djvu.txt