According to Charlie's earlier post, George Varney was reportedly born July 13, 1854. That would make him 55 years old in May of 1910, which seems to
coincide with column 7 of the census. At that age, their children would likely have been in their 20's or 30's and could have left the nest by then.
I'm enjoying where all of this has been going, even though the topic has grown much broader than my original inquiry. I love all of the other information about Varney, and I don't want to discourage more research and sharing about the rest of his life in this thread. In fact, most of the rest of the story becomes relevant to his tenure at Montague, in some way.
Allow me to re-focus back to my initial requests, just for a moment - 1) Varney's tenure at the Montague City Rod Company (MCRC), and 2) his influences on the design and making of rods while he was there.
1) George Varney's tenure at MCRC - In the course of this discussion, we have established only one stake in the ground, as far as George's tenure at the MCRC. George was at the "Rod Shop" in Montague City in 1910 as a "Rod Maker", per the 1910 census.
He was apparently living in Montague City in May of 1929, when he applied for a patent for the making of round rods. Curiously, the patent is not in the company's name, but in George's and George Brann, of Bangor, Maine. This does not tell me that he was working at MCRC in 1929. Actually, it leads me to believe he was either on his own, or working with Mr. Brann in some capacity. Unless there is some assignment of this patent to MCRC, connecting the patent to them, the patent has no direct relevance to MCRC, and does not make a direct connection between Varney and MCRC in 1929.
At this point, the 1929 Varney round rod patent is still a loose end, in my opinion, and possibly a connection to another chapter in his life, outside of MCRC.
I'm going to throw this out as pure speculation - What if George I. Varney left the Montague City Rod Company in 1927? During a merlot induced haze, I came up with 7 points to support this wild theory, thanks to the catalysts of Jeffkn1 and Charlie. If that's the case, who was George Varney working for/with after 1927, and who takes his place at Montague?
2) George Varney's influence while at MCRC - Our Gnome and Dennis have shared some impressive examples of marked Varney rods. These are the first actual pictures I've seen of marked Varney rods. For me, each of these rods is a BIG piece to the puzzle of Varney's influence. I don't want to derail this discussion, and I'm hoping it has not run its course, but I would love to see more examples of marked Varney rods, especially those that appear to have the original wraps. My hope is that more solid, marked examples of his work will help me, and anyone else interested, to identify other unmarked rods with similar features as rods with potential Varney influence. Maybe I should start a separate topic as a display of Varney rods.
. . . Rex
TheMontyMan
I'm enjoying where all of this has been going, even though the topic has grown much broader than my original inquiry. I love all of the other information about Varney, and I don't want to discourage more research and sharing about the rest of his life in this thread. In fact, most of the rest of the story becomes relevant to his tenure at Montague, in some way.
Allow me to re-focus back to my initial requests, just for a moment - 1) Varney's tenure at the Montague City Rod Company (MCRC), and 2) his influences on the design and making of rods while he was there.
1) George Varney's tenure at MCRC - In the course of this discussion, we have established only one stake in the ground, as far as George's tenure at the MCRC. George was at the "Rod Shop" in Montague City in 1910 as a "Rod Maker", per the 1910 census.
He was apparently living in Montague City in May of 1929, when he applied for a patent for the making of round rods. Curiously, the patent is not in the company's name, but in George's and George Brann, of Bangor, Maine. This does not tell me that he was working at MCRC in 1929. Actually, it leads me to believe he was either on his own, or working with Mr. Brann in some capacity. Unless there is some assignment of this patent to MCRC, connecting the patent to them, the patent has no direct relevance to MCRC, and does not make a direct connection between Varney and MCRC in 1929.
At this point, the 1929 Varney round rod patent is still a loose end, in my opinion, and possibly a connection to another chapter in his life, outside of MCRC.
I'm going to throw this out as pure speculation - What if George I. Varney left the Montague City Rod Company in 1927? During a merlot induced haze, I came up with 7 points to support this wild theory, thanks to the catalysts of Jeffkn1 and Charlie. If that's the case, who was George Varney working for/with after 1927, and who takes his place at Montague?
2) George Varney's influence while at MCRC - Our Gnome and Dennis have shared some impressive examples of marked Varney rods. These are the first actual pictures I've seen of marked Varney rods. For me, each of these rods is a BIG piece to the puzzle of Varney's influence. I don't want to derail this discussion, and I'm hoping it has not run its course, but I would love to see more examples of marked Varney rods, especially those that appear to have the original wraps. My hope is that more solid, marked examples of his work will help me, and anyone else interested, to identify other unmarked rods with similar features as rods with potential Varney influence. Maybe I should start a separate topic as a display of Varney rods.
. . . Rex
TheMontyMan
Can't
wait to see the rest of the rod(s)!!!
