Waterman Scandals
by Dr. Ron Dutcher - First Published on Pentrace.com

Lewis E. Waterman is often heralded as the King of Fountain pens. It was his three-channel feed that allowed fountain pens to write without skipping for the first time. Today nearly all fountain pens continue to use a three-channel feed with little change in the last 100 years. If this makes Waterman king, so be it, but no royal family is complete without a scandal and the Waterman’s had a few.

Lewis E. Waterman died in 1901, leaving the company to his nephew, Frank D. Waterman. Frank worked hard to increase the Waterman control over the market in the early 1900’s and the Waterman glory years were under his reign.
Frank Waterman found time to run for Mayor of New York under the Republican ticket in 1925. He lost by an embarrassing margin to Democrat Senator James J. Walker. This was back when yellow journalism and mud-slinging were the name of the game. Waterman’s main theme was subway expansion, and he carried a shovel with him when me made speeches. Walker attacked Waterman, calling him a bigot, citing letters with the Waterman stationary, rejecting applicants if they were not Protestant. These letters were more than likely forgeries, since Waterman indeed had several Jewish employees, but the letters worked to smear Waterman in the eyes of the working class. Waterman was a frustrated man, he wouldn’t even kiss his wife for reporters while leaving the voting booths.

The family scandal began when Frank’s son Elisha Waterman, began a relationship with Evelyn Audrey Allen against his fathers wishes. I haven't been able to find anything about her other than the newspaper articles referring to her as a "Canadian Beauty." Frank threatened to disown his son if he continued the relationship, and in 1923, Elisha chose love over being an heir to the Waterman empire.
Frank didn’t make idle threats; he kept his word and cast his son out and cut off all his funds. No one in the pen industry dared to give Elisha a job and he barely managed to feed his family during the depression years. He worked as a newspaper reporter for a while, and then as the depression wore on he worked as a dishwasher. Some of the time he could find no work at all.

The father and son never spoke to each other again, not even at the funeral of Frank’s wife in 1928. When Frank himself died on May 10th, 1938, he willed his son a scant $100. If Frank could have had his way, the story would have ended there.
The story didn't end there, however. Lewis Waterman placed a clause in his
will, stating that if Elisha outlived his father, then he would take control
over the trust fund. There was nothing Frank could do about that. At that
time the fund was worth over $5,000,000. Elisha's lawyers were uncontested
when the laid claim to it. The trust fund also gave Elisha controlling stock
in the Waterman Company, so the board of directors was forced to bring
Elisha back into the company and bestow the title of Vice President upon
him. Frank D Waterman Jr., Elisha's younger brother, was President. I
wonder how the two got along. Probably not too well, Elisha resigned in
1941, just three years later.

Selected Bibiliography
NY Chronicle Telegram 13 August 1925
Helena Independent 16 May 1938
Helena Independent 7 June 1938