French W Thornhill

A well-used 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 engraved name 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

                                 200-Year-Old F W Thornhill Rifle

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.  Thornhill may have worked in Pocahontas County after his marriage. A bit of information puts French in Pocahontas County; he was a buyer at the 1828 estate auction of Andrew S Warwick of Clover Lick, Pocahontas County. The sale consisted of several 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 moved several times, spending 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

 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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