Roland Savage Dayton, Preacher, Farmer, Blacksmith, Allegany County Commisoner & Gunsmith.

 Roland Savage Dayton, Gunsmith, Blacksmith, Farmer, County commissioner, and preacher, was born in 1815. In the 1850 census, he lived just two doors down from Gunsmith Frederick Sheetz's residence in Sheetz Mill, Hampshire County, Virginia, present-day Headsville Mineral County, West Virginia. He probably learned the gunsmith trade in the Sheetz shop. By 1860, he was living in McCoole, Maryland, and remained there until his death on August 1, 1900. 

                                                                              

                                                                  Roland Savage Dayton

The two featured half-stock percussion rifles below were made and signed by Dayton. We have seen eight rifles that Dayton made, half of which were full stocks. All of them were original percussion. All but one had both a patchbox and a capbox. Both of the rifles below have 38-inch barrels that have not been cut. One is a 40 caliber and the other 36. 

                                                                                

Rifles of The Feather

                                                               Barrel Signed R S Dayton

                                                                  Patchbox Signed, R S D

Rifle # 2 Below

                       Only Known Original Iron Triggerguard on a Hampshire County Rifle. 

Barrel Signed R S D

 Capboxes Below From Other Signed Dayton Rifles

Roland was an Allegany County commissioner in the mid-1860s.  

                                                                                 

 

                                                                                   

Roland was also a Methodist preacher. After the Civil War, the Methodist church at Headsville did not have a preacher, so Roland would walk from McCoole, Maryland, to preach. His Obituary states that he preached 6,000 sermons. He and his wife Nancy had 15 children. At his death in 1900, they had 66 grandchildren and 56 great-grandchildren. His obituary was published in newspapers across the United States. 

                                                                               

                                                                   Kansas City Star   

                                                                                 

                                                                  Baltimore Sun

                                                                              

                                                                      Roland S Dayton

                                                              Dayton Cemetery 21 Bridge

                                                                     McCoole Maryland

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Adam Greenawalt Gunsmith Pendleton County West Virginia

 Adam Greenawalt was born in Pendleton County in 1799.  Adam was the son of George Greenawalt and Barbra Lough.  Adam married Mary Ann Sites in 1829. 

We were excited to see this flintlock rifle attributed to Adam Greenawalt. It could easily pass for one made by the Evick's of Franklin, Pendleton County. We have not yet found any records that reveal where Adam learned the gunsmithing trade, but this rifle is a pretty good indicator that he may have worked with Adam Evick.  Greenawalt is listed as a gunsmith in the 1850 & 1870 census.  He was probably making rifles as early as the 1820s.  The Greenawalts had a son, Jacob, born in 1832, who served in the 46th Virginia Infantry during the Civil War. We have not found any information on Jacob working as a gunsmith. 

While we have seen at least a dozen rifles made by the Evicks, this is the first rifle made by Adam Greenawalt we have seen.   This flintlock rifle is stocked in beautiful tiger-striped maple and has a 44-inch long barrel rifled in 36 caliber. Has an engraved brass patch box with a push button lid release at the toe of the rifle.  Engraved brass sideplate and toeplate. There is decorative engraving on top of the barrel surrounding the rear & front sight. There is also punch mark decor at the muzzle surrounding the bore.  The rifle is signed on top of the barrel A G between the rear sight & breech. 

We hope that more rifles signed by Adam will be discovered. If you own one, we would like it if you could share photos. This rare maker deserves more study, and we would appreciate factual information on him. 

                                                              Click Images for large View

Signed A G Top of Barrel Between Rear Sight & Breech

                                                            44-Inch-Long Octagon Barrel

                                                             Engraved Brass Sideplate

Flintlock

                                Push Botton Patchbox Lid Release in Engraved Brass Toeplate

Engraved Brass Patchbox

                                    Decorative Punch Marks Surrounding Front Brass Sight

Punch Marks & Engraving 

                                                                               36 Caliber

                                                                                     

                                                             1850 Census Listed as Gunsmith

                                                                                     

        1870 Census Listed as Gunsmith

Adam died in 1870 and is buried in Greenawalt Cemetery in Kline, West Virginia. As with all of our posts, this one is a work in progress; we will update it as we find more information. We hope you all enjoyed this rifle and the history of Adam Greenawalt, another wonderful craftsman from our past and great state of West Virginia. 

Thanks to the owner of this fine rifle for sharing photos with us.  Without owners sharing with us, we cannot share with you. 

Pendleton County

BMS & JDM

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French W Thornhill, Virginia Gunsmith, Ohio Merchant & Statesman

A well-used, nearly two-hundred-year-old long rifle bearing the characteristics of those crafted in the Valley of Virginia and the surrounding hills of Western Virginia is the subject of this post.  The maker's name engraved on the barrel is F W Thornhill. 

                                                                      

 This is the first Thornhill rifle we have seen, and we had no knowledge of him.  Our quest for the rifle maker's identity led us to search all the reference books on early Virginia and West Virginia gunsmiths and consult with experienced collectors and long rifle historians. Despite the initial lack of information on Thornhill, our research eventually led us to the discovery of our maker, French W. Thornhill. 

French W. Thornhill was born in 1804 in Culpepper, Virginia, the son of Reuben and Catherine (Payne) Thornhill. In the 1810 Federal Census, the Thornhills lived in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Virginia.  

After finishing school at 16, French briefly studied law and then medicine. At seventeen, he ended his medical education to study the art and mysteries of gunsmithing.  French apprenticed with Alexander McGilvray Gunsmith of Harrisonburg, Virginia, and remained in the McGilvray shop for nearly ten years. (1)

                                           Click for Larger Image

                                                                        

The four-petal flower finial brass patch box, with one large piercing in the finial panel and a push-button lid release, was quite popular with makers in Virginia. Alexander McGilvray frequently used the brass trigger guard with a tight curl on the spur and the long cheekpiece. 

                                                                             

                                                                           

Tight Curl Trigger Guard Spur & Long Cheek Piece 

Alexander McGilvray

                                            Gunsmiths of Virginia

                                                                            

 

                                                                            

                                45 Caliber 42 Inch Long Rifled Barrel

1828, French married Sarah Wolfenbarger in present-day Pocahontas County, West Virginia.  His brother Reuben Jr. married Sarah's sister, Nancy.  French was a buyer at the 1828 estate auction of Andrew S Warwick of Clover Lick, Pocahontas County. The sale consisted of blacksmith tools, vises, bellows, etc. 

                                                               

                               Andrew S Warwick Estate Sale

In 1830, French & Sarah migrated to Coshocton, Ohio.  French and his brother were manufacturing bricks.  After a couple years of sickness and poor health, he moved to West Carlisle and started a mercantile business. He spent thirty years in the mercantile business and being a politician. In 1836, he was elected to the House of Representatives for Coshocton. (1)

                                                                          

                                                                  1865

July 9, 1867, Coshocton Democrat

1868

Rockingham Register

 In 1842, his wife Sarah died. In 1843, he married Eleanor Renfrew. In 1844, he was elected to the state senate. He also served as a justice of the peace and, in 1875, was appointed a probate judge by the governor.  The newspaper article below provides more on his elected offices and life in Ohio. 

                                                                             

                                Democrat Standard January 1, 1892

                                                                      

                                Cincinnati Enquirer December 26, 1891

                                       

Please contact us if you have a signed rifle made by French W Thornhill. It is possible that he signed some guns, F.W.T. As of now, this is the only known surviving rifle. Hopefully, more will surface.

(1)  The Biographical Encyclopedia of Ohio of the Nineteenth Century 1876 by Charles Robson, 1876. See pages 163 & 164. 

Thanks to James Whisker for the use of photo from Gunsmiths of Virginia

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BMS & JDM