Lord Dunmore's War French Trade Fusil

 This 1750 French Trade Gun was owned by  Henry Cook. It descended through the Cook family, and according to family history, Henry Cook carried it in the  Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. Henry was a private in the Augusta County Militia serving under Captain Nallie. Later, he served in Captain Thomas Hill's Company of the 7th Virginia Regiment.

This circa 1750 French trade gun started out as a flintlock hunting gun, commonly traded among Indians, trappers, and colonists alike. Due to their ease of handling and light weight, they were highly desirable.   The forestock was cut back to allow the use of a bayonet. In the percussion era, this flintlock was converted to the percussion ignition system. This was a prevalent treatment beginning in about 1830.  Originally, the front sight would have been set back 4-5 inches from the muzzle.  The muzzle was shortened, probably due to damage, removing the bayonet lug. During its life in percussion, the barrel may have been shortened at the breech.  The percussion caps of that era were very corrosive, and it is common for heavily used percussion guns to have the breech shortened due to corrosion weakening the breech section to the barrel. This gun has seen at least 130 years of use. Possibly in other wars and certainly for hunting and homestead protection.  In recent years, it has been converted back to flintlock with a contemporary French-style lock that fits the original lock mortise perfectly.  The octagon-to-round smooth-bore barrel is 45.5 inches, 60 caliber. We are fortunate that this historical piece has survived.

 More info on Henry Cook

                                               Happy 250th America 

William Loy Rifle

 The photos of this rifle we are sharing with you today were recently shared with us by the owner.  The rifle is a percussion rifle made in Hampshire County in the 1800s. Stocked in tiger stripe maple.  The barrel is octagonal, 7/8 inch across the flats, 42 inches in length, and .36 caliber. This style patchbox was used frequently in Hampshire County from 1830 to 1850.  Zebulon Sheetz was the first maker in Hampshire County to use this design, followed by George Young and Jacob Sheetz. This rifle is not signed by the maker, but has been attributed to Zebulon Sheetz.  We believe that Zebulon Sheetz first saw this patchbox design on a Simon Lauck rifle and copied the design, with some minor changes.  Lauck was an early gunsmith from Winchester, Virginia.  

                                                                                    

                                                                            

 You can see the name William Loy neatly engraved on the brass sideplate. This is most likely the original owner's name or the name of the person for whom the rifle was built.  The current owner of this rifle attributes it to William Loy of Hampshire County, born in 1785 and died in 1860.  This William Loy was a veteran of the War of 1812, as was Zebulon Sheetz. It is likely they were acquainted.  William was a shingle maker in Hampshire County for many years. It is said that he made shingles under a certain tree and requested to be buried there. William Loy's grave is on Ford Hill Road near Augusta, WV.  

                                                                                     

Thanks to the owner of this rifle for sharing with us, JDM & BMS

John Evick

Gunsmith  John Evick was born in 1804 in Pendleton County, West Virginia.  His father, Adam Evick, and brother, William, were gunsmiths who built rifles in Franklin. We have seen several rifles made by both Adam & William, but very few made by John.  

John married Sophia Ruleman in 1827.   In the 1840 census, John is in Pocohantas County, and in 1843, there is one record that indicates he is living in Randolph County.  By 1850, he was listed as a gunsmith in Wood County.  In the 1860 census, he is listed as a gunsmith in Boyd County, Kentucky, situated just across the Ohio River from West Virginia and Ohio.  In 1868, his wife, Sophia, died and was buried in Lawrence County, Ohio.  We have not found John in the 1870 census, but in 1880, he is listed as sick & old age, and living with his son Henry in Lawrence County, Ohio.  

The following rifle, which is shared with us, is signed on top of the barrel in script, John Evick. The rifled barrel is approximately 50 caliber and measures 42 inches in length. Due to the bright sunlight and glare on the day we took photos, we are posting these photos in black & white.  We appreciate the owner for sharing with us.  

                                                                             

                                                                                   

                                                                                    

                                                                                  

                                                                             

                                                                                  

                                                               THE END

Cornelius Iman

 Cornelius Iman was a gunsmith in Scheer, Grant County, in the mid- to late 1800s.  He was born in Pendleton County in 1830.  In 1853, he married Hannah Kimble.  In 1862, he joined the Union Army, 7th Regiment (The Bloody Seventh).  He was discharged a little over a year later due to illness.  He died in 1885 and is buried near Scheer.  This place is likely where he lived and practiced the gunsmith trade. 

In the 1850 Hardy County census, Cornelius is living at home with his parents.  Grant County was created from Hardy County in 1866. Hardy County was created from Hampshire County in 1786.  In the 1860 Hardy County census, Cornelius is listed as a gunsmith.  In the 1870 and 1880 Grant County census, he is listed as a gunsmith. 

We have not discovered who he learned the trade from, but his rifles tend to follow the style and architecture of Hampshire County rifles.  However, he did not strictly adhere to that school in all of his work. One thing unique to most Iman's rifles we have seen is the patchboxes of his own designs.  He did not use the typical acorn finial Hampshire County rifle of that era. His engraving was limited and straightforward. One thing he did repeat on his rifles was a single circle engraved around screw heads on the brass furnishings.  He liked using a two screw tang, which was not as common in this area as in other places. 

The following two-half-stock percussion rifles are attributed to Iman.  The first rifle has been in the same family since it was made.  This family lived in Scheer.  This rifle was made late in Iman's career, possibly as late as the 1880s.  The patchbox is crude, not nearly as neat as those on Iman's earlier rifles.  It is possible that this was a later addition. The two screw tang was used by Iman on all of his rifles I have seen to date; this was not typically used by other makers in this vicinity. The side plate is of a similar design to that used in the finial of the patchbox in some of his rifles. The profiles of the stock are nearly a duplicate to the Cornelius Iman rifle on page 136, Gunsmiths of West Virginia. Many of Iman's rifles employed this style, which is similar to that of the Hampshire County Rifles made after 1840.  The one thing that we have not seen on other rifles made by Iman is the long cheek piece. Hopefully, someone will have a signed Iman rifle with this same feature. This rifle has a beautiful black finish that has not been cleaned or disturbed. It is nice to see this, and I wish we saw more rifles being left in the black.  I am sure it provided much game for the family for many years. 

                                                      Page 136 Gunsmiths of West Virginia 

Patchbox from a signed Cornelius Iman rifle. 

          The second rifle, and the one below, is another half-stock percussion rifle that is attributed to Cornelius Iman.  This rifle features a nicely designed brass patchbox with five piercings. The capbox on the cheekside with the star piercing in the finial panel is a nice touch.  If you enlarge the brass furnishings on this rifle, you will notice Iman's straightforward and relatively simple engraving.  

                                                               Remnants of patch grease

                                                                                   

                                           Top panel of a patchbox from a signed Iman rifle
 

                                                                   Riddle Percussion lock

                                             For more on Corenlius and his rifles, Click Here

Also see Cornelius Edward Iman (1830-1885) - Find a Grave Memorial

Thanks to the owners of these rifles, who allowed us to share them with you. 

Thanks to James Whisker for allowing us to use his photos.

                                                                             FB

Zebulon Sheetz

                                                                                     

Zebulon Sheetz was the youngest son of Henry Sheetz of Shepherdstown.  Henry and his brother Phillip were gunsmiths during the American Revolution.  Zebulon's brothers, Frederick, Otho, Thomas, & Henry Jr., were gunsmiths in Hampshire County beginning in 1793. In the town of Fort Ashby, present-day Mineral County. 

Zebulon worked with his brothers until about 1820, when he set up his own shop on Cold Stream Road near Capon Bridge. In 1835, he migrated to Monticello, Indiana, becoming one of the founders. Zebulon died there in 1868. 

                                                                                 

                                                       South Branch Intelligencer 1835

                                                          Also see Zebulon Sheetz

                      Thanks to Alan Wood Collection for use of the picture of Zebulon Sheetz

                                                                                     FB

Native American, Old Trapper Blanket Rifle

 “ Native American” guns—barrels shortened  &  brass tacks and straps of rawhide wrapped and bound around the wrist and the barrel & forestock.  Some of these are legit pieces of Native American or frontier usage.  Some of these are present-day embellishments added to a plain-looking or abused antique muzzle-loading gun to enhance their appeal to the Native American artifact collector.  Almost all of them are antique-manufactured arms.

It is a known fact that some  Native Americans decorated their rifles with brass tacks, as many original old photos show.  They also shortened their rifles as short rifles were much handier on horseback. 

Here is a percussion rifle made in Hampshire County in the mid-1800s. It has been shortened to an overall length of 30 inches, with a rifled .40 cal.  barrel reduced to  18 inches.  Hampshire County Rifles in unaltered conditions have barrels from 38 to 44 inches. The stock has been cut at the butt, and naturally, the forestock has been cut. 

                                                                         

                                                                            

This rifle originally had a standard percussion lock but was converted to this back-action percussion lock. Why? Was that back-action lock the only one they had?  Possibly at the same time, the barrel was cut at the breech.  The front sight and front ramrod pipe are in their original location. The muzzle has the original decoration as seen on many old longrifles. One thing of note is that this rifle has been shot a lot in this current shortened configuration, as the loss of steel and pitting on the barrel breech indicate much use of early corrosive percussion caps.  The rear sight would have been added after the barrel was shortened. That is possibly a later addition, as some historians claim Native Americans had little or no use of sights.  

                                                                                 

                                                                                

                                                                    

We pulled a tack to identify its period of manufacture. It is a mid-1800s brass tack.

The crudely made grease hole still has remnants of patch grease. The stock is broken all the way through at the center of the lock mortise. It is stabilized by the side plate, metal trigger guard, and a recently added metal strap under the lock. The trigger guard was hammered out of a piece of metal. The trigger appears to be forged. The wood added in front of the lockplate, covering the void in the original lock mortise, resulting from installing the back-action lock, could be a modern repair.

Was this rifle used by Native Americans or even a blanket rifle carried by some old-time trapper?  We will study this rifle more and get input from other American Long Rifle students before we conclude. One thing is for sure: this rifle has had years of hard use and abuse. When this little rifle left Hampshire County in the mid-1800s, it was a long, slender thing of beauty, proudly carried by one of our ancestors, similar to Evan P Ward rifle below. 

                                                                      

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   Folks may tire of the old adage, " If this gun could talk," so we changed it to " These guns do talk." 

                                             Hope you enjoyed this, John & Mark

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