Ernest Blaney Dane (1868-1942)
President of the Brookline Trust Company & the Boston Symphony Orchestra
He was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and attended Hopkinson's School, Boston, before graduating from Harvard (1892). He became associated with a trustee's office before circa 1905 when he opened his own office at 6 Beacon Street, which he maintained until his death. In 1913, he became President of the Brookline Trust Company, and he was also President of the Earnshaw Knitting Company. He was President of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a trustee of the New England Conservatory of Music, and he served on the board of Governors of the Harvard Club of Boston.
He was a Director of the Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company; Earnshaw Publications, Inc.; the Greater Boston Community Fund; the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company; the Northern Texas Electric Company; the Tampa Electric Company; the Merchants National Bank of Boston; the Tamarack Mining Company; the Isle Royale Mining Company; and, the Punta Allegre Sugar Company. His philanthropic associations saw him serve in various capacities with the Boston Floating Hospital, the Milk and Baby Hygiene, the Home For Aged Women, the Danvers State Hospital and the Garland School. He was a trustee of the Provident Institution for Savings, Treasurer of the Massachusetts Society for Social Hygiene and Treasurer of the Massachusetts Forestry Association.
In 1905, he was elected a member of the Brookline Tree Planting Committee and was its Chairman for thirty-four years. He was a Selectman (1912-23 and 1926-28), and several times declined the chairmanship. He distributed several hundred Thanksgiving baskets to underprivileged families in Brookline for 30+ years, and during WWI he was Chairman of all war activities in Brookline, including the Red Cross and Liberty Loan campaigns.
He was a Director of the Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company; Earnshaw Publications, Inc.; the Greater Boston Community Fund; the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company; the Northern Texas Electric Company; the Tampa Electric Company; the Merchants National Bank of Boston; the Tamarack Mining Company; the Isle Royale Mining Company; and, the Punta Allegre Sugar Company. His philanthropic associations saw him serve in various capacities with the Boston Floating Hospital, the Milk and Baby Hygiene, the Home For Aged Women, the Danvers State Hospital and the Garland School. He was a trustee of the Provident Institution for Savings, Treasurer of the Massachusetts Society for Social Hygiene and Treasurer of the Massachusetts Forestry Association.
In 1905, he was elected a member of the Brookline Tree Planting Committee and was its Chairman for thirty-four years. He was a Selectman (1912-23 and 1926-28), and several times declined the chairmanship. He distributed several hundred Thanksgiving baskets to underprivileged families in Brookline for 30+ years, and during WWI he was Chairman of all war activities in Brookline, including the Red Cross and Liberty Loan campaigns.
He was a member of the Harvard and New York Yacht Clubs, and the owner of the 240-foot steam yacht "Vanda" (1928), well-known along the New England and New York coast. In 1903, he married one of the Standard Oil heiresses, Helen Folsom Pratt, with whom he had two sons. They lived (see images) between "Roughwood" in Brookline, "Glengarrif" in Seal Harbor, Maine, and another summer home at Center Harbor, New Hampshire.
