Big Old Leather Container Mystery?

mojjax · Dec 26, 2010

I got this big old leather container at a barn sale last summer . It's 6 feet 4 inch high , felt lined .
I can't quite make out the first name of the FOOTE guy - ?RAETUS ....maybe ERAETUS

I wonder who Gordan K. White is ?

how old is this thing ?
What might have been in it ? A telescope , skis , survey transit

?

any ideas ?

NHBandit · Dec 28, 2010

I think you IDed it correctly yourself. It's a "big old leather container" :laughing9:

Could be used for maps, fishing rods, your favorite baseball bat, etc. I'm partially not joking. It's kind of like asking what a suitcase is for. It's for whatever YOU put in it. It's a very cool case though and if I saw one like it for sale somewhere I'd probably have to have it. Made before the age of plastic & cardboard and a very cool reminder of times past when things were made to last.

Kenosha Kid · Dec 28, 2010

mojjax said:
I wonder who Gordan K. White is ?

The only R. L. White I've found so far is a listing for a 4th generation home builder, started in 1903, in Hulls Cove, ME (not that far from Wiscasset...might be related?):

http://www.rlwhiteandson.com/

A map of 1830 Essex County does show a White Farm (look SW of Wenham Pond); however, the 1872 map no longer shows it:

1830: http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_p...1830&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1830&pageprefix=

1872: http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_p...1872&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1872&pageprefix=

This is the address/phone of the Beverly Town Clerk's office, if you want to see if they have any info on Gordon K. white:

Beverly Town Clerk
191 Cabot Street
Beverly, Massachusetts 01915
Phone: (978) 921-6015

The Beverly Farms Cemetery shows no record for the last name White.

Wiscasset, ME shows an R.L. White (1887-1961) buried there:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...y=4&GSst=23&GScnty=1218&GSgrid=&df=all&GSob=n

I found no records at that site for any Gordon K. White.

mojjax · Jun 12, 2014

I found this in our local newspaper archives -

To the Editor:

Dear Lincoln County News Staff and Readers,

A Chicago researcher, I'm currently working on a project that includes Erastus Foote Jr., born in Wiscasset in 1851. After moving to Chicago in 1868, he opened the Dearborn Foundry Co. in 1873. Foote was president of this Chicago business until he retired and returned to Wiscasset in 1914. Upon his death in 1932, he was buried in Wiscasset. The Wood-Foote house remains standing in the town.

Despite research and contacts with Chicago and Maine archival organizations, I've been unable to locate his photo. If any of your readers have an Erastus Foote Jr. photo, we'd be thrilled. Of course, the reader would be credited and receive a copy of the research.

Thank you very much,

Diane Gonzalez, Historian

gonzomeno@sbcglobal.net

mojjax · Jun 12, 2014

So I wrote to her -

Hi Diane ,
I saw your query about Erastus Foote in the Lincoln County News
archives . I don't have a picture of him , but I do have a large
leather container with his name stenciled on the side - It says "
ERASTUS FOOTE , WISCASSET , ME . "

The container is 6 feet four inches tall & about 7 inches in diameter
. It dates to the mid 1800's .
I am curious what Erastus may have used this container for ? Did it
contain large maps ? Or maybe fishing poles ?
It also has Railroad shipping labels on it . There is also a tag on a
string with the name " Gordon K. White , Beverly Farms , Mass "

I bought it at a barn sale in Nobleboro , a few years ago . Nobleboro
is about 12 miles from Wiscasset .

If you would like me to send you a few pictures of the container , let
me know .

Best wishes ,
Scott

mojjax · Jun 12, 2014

She wrote me back -

Hi Scott,

This is very exciting news. Since that newspaper query I have received a photo of Erastus via two of his relatives who answered the notice. It is late for me tonight to go into detail, but I was an editor of a history of a fishing club in northern Wisconsin where Erastus was president. Wanted to add a photo of him to the story.

My family and I traveled from Chicago to Wiscassett several times with no luck of locating a descendant or photo. Then I contacted three local papers with a query to readers. One family member responded from Texas & another in New Zealand.

This weekend we've house guests so it will be next week before I can respond in detail, but I can share the "Elusive Erastus" as I fondly called him photo. I'm sure his descendants wouldn't mind. I've become so fond of Erastus over they years that we searched for info and photos of him.

The leather case you have was likely for fishing poles as he was an avid fisherman at Coleman Lake in northern Wisconsin and then in St. Augustine, Fl.

Thanks for your reply. I'm so excited, & can't wait to e-mail you more info and to phone the fishing club author to relate your e-mail details.

Diane

TomPA · Jun 12, 2014

For sure a fly rod travel tube. I was given an exact duplicate of the one you have from a wealthy angler who traveled the world fishing. I've also been in the fly fishing business for 35 years and have seen them before. They were very popular in England years ago. I guess the possibility exists that it could have also been used for something else.