Fabulous Baker Boys

[smshea]

Ok, Ok Horrible move!  But seriously, I ran across this last night and wondered if any of the more Research oriented among us (That would not be me ) have read this before and if so, what are your thoughts.   

Subject: Robert and Caleb Baker-1st Gunsmiths-Lancaster County?
 Post Date: January 02, 2012 at 11:25:00
 Message URL: http://genforum.genealogy.com/pa/lancaster/messages/2358.html
 Forum: Lancaster County, PA Genealogy Forum
 Forum URL: http://genforum.genealogy.com/pa/lancaster/


 This is Baker researcher Jan Swart. There seems to be some question as to who was the first gun maker in Lancaster County of the Pennsylvania-Kentucky long rifle. It appears that my direct ancestor, Robert Baker and son Caleb Baker, appear to be the first documented gun makers. Robert first applied to make guns in 1719 on the Pequea and Susquehanna River in an area that was Chester County and then became Lancaster County after 1729. Robert Baker died interstate, his administration papers dated September 13, 1728 in Chester County, Pa. Caleb, being part owner of the business, took over and operated the mill until 1741, when he sold his land to Jacob Good. (Source: Chester County-Robert Baker Estate Admin #321) After this, all the Baker bros, including Caleb moved themselves and families to Amelia County, VA by 1742.


August 15, 1719

Dear Brother, (meaning Isaac Taylor )
Whereas Robert Baker a smith of this town has bought Colonel French's land on Sesquehanna and Pequea, he tells me that being minded to build a mill on Pequea for boring logs that he needs an addition of two or three perches of ground on a corner of Pequea next to the barrens (as he describes it) which he may be obliged with by paying thee for running the line.
by loving brother, Jacob Taylor (Taylor Papers-Historical Society Building in Philadelphia #2930- pg 11-Landis)

This also from Samuel Dyke of Lancaster County, Pa:
“…a report given to the Kentucky Rifle's Association in 1972. It seems that the Association had employed Mr. Samuel Dyke (of Lancaster County, Pa) to do some research for them. They wanted him to see if he could find out the person or persons responsible for making the first Pennsylvania Rifles or what was sometimes called the " Kentucky Rifle."

Mr.Samuel Dyke in his report states; "We feel as though these early gunsmiths came into Chester, Pennsylvania, or New Castle, Delaware, from abroad and migrated up the Susquehanna River to where the Pequea flows into it and set up shop for making guns." He goes on to say that Robert Baker came into Lancaster County Court on August 15, 1719 and asked permission to erect a gun-boring mill at the mouth of Pequea Creek on his land. Permission was granted. Robert Baker and his son Caleb set up their gunshop and operated it until 1728.”

In his book, A New Index, Lancaster County, PA Before the Federal Census, Clyde Grett says this in his notes, based on over fifty years of research in Lancaster County that:
Baker, Robert & Sons: - “Robert Baker and son are the first proven gun makers we know.”

So who did others think were the first Lancaster gunsmiths?"

According to The Pennyslvania-Kentucky Rifle- A Lancaster Legend by J.Wayne Heckert and Donald Vaughn:

“Local folk wisdom and the oral tradition claim that one Martin Meylin (Mylin) made the first Lancaster rifle. Tax records of 1716 reveal a Martin Milin, yet it is impossible to
substantiate if this is the man assumed to be a gunsmith. Daniel Rupp's History of Lancaster County (1844) mentions a "boring mill" on Mylin's Run that was brought to his
attention by descendant Abraham Mylin in 1842.

Curiously, however, inquires over the past several decades have failed to identify Meylin as a gunsmith. Substantiation, in this respect, requires that an individual’s name be associated with gunsmithing or barrel making through original deeds, wills, court, tax, church, military, or other colonial record

Coincidentally, they found that the first documented gunsmiths were contemporaries and neighbors of Meylin; so, regardless of the controversity, we are focused on the same neighborhood and same time frame - Pequea Valley 1719.

In 1719, two brothers, Robert and Samuel Baker, purchased acres near the confluence of the Pequea Creek and the Susquehanna River. In the following year Robert bought his brother's shares. Robert and his son Caleb operated a gunshop on this site. On August 15, 1719, the Bakers petitioned Jacob Taylor, the Penns' Provincial Secretary, for approval to dam the Pequea and erect a shop for making and "boaring" gun barrels. Two years later permission was granted to mine and refine ore on the site. The ore was smelted into billets of pig iron in a Catalan forge and then reheated and forged into bar iron strips known as "skelps." These were later reheated and forged into gun barrels.

The Bakers are believed to be the first of a growing number of gunsmiths to erect shops in early Lancaster. By the time of the Revolutionary War, over 80 gunbuilders worked within the county.”End

So Martin Meylin was a gunsmith. Yet no documentation shows that he was the first gunsmith in the area. The first “documentated” gunsmiths were our Bakers.
Why have no Baker guns been found? It appears that there were many gun makers in Lancaster County in the 1700’s, so thousands of arms were produced here. The answer might be in this. An order was issued to all counties of Pa in the period of the Revolutionary War through the local Committee of Safety to visit each resident to appraise, evaluate and purchase or just take all arms found. These weapons then were issued to troops. The bulk of these pre-Revolutionary War weapons have been lost.

the National Geographic Society that was published in June of 1978, page 760. The entire article was about the state of Pennsylvania as a whole, so the Society only sent the section that pertained to “The Kentucky Rifle. The article says:”
“You find innovations, it sometimes seems wherever you turn in Pennsylvania. John W. Aungst, Jr. administrator of the Lancaster County Historical Society, pointed out two innovations that played a large role in shaping the infant United States.


“The Kentucky Rifle originated in this area,” he said. “Quite a few Lancaster County gunsmiths turned them out, but Robert Baker and his son, Caleb, were probably the first. They set up shop in 1719.”

He reached for one of the handsome, long barreled weapons leaning against the wall in a corner of his office, and hefted it.

“The old European rifles hurled an ounce or so of lead in the general direction of the target. Not very accurate. But this Kentucky Rifle was lighter, used much less powder, and fired a smaller ball at a higher speed. A good marksman could hit his target at 200 yards or more. Yes, this gun played a big role in opening the West. And it was still in use when the Civil War came along.” END

It is interesting to note that the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA SENATE BILL No 895 Session of 2009 passed the following:

“The Pennsylvania Rifle is hereby designated as the official firearm of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” One of the reasons they cited was because WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Rifle was the first truly American firearm and, due to its exceptional accuracy and range, was considered the greatest achievement in the development of firearms during the 18th century;


 


 

[mkeen]

One of the problems with the earliest gunsmiths in Lancaster County is the lack of records. This is to be expected because it was the frontier of Pennsylvania in the early 1700's. The second problem is no one looks at the the primary sources, only secondary sources. If the primary sources are used they are often misquoted to facilitate the author's own agenda.

First, the record in the Taylor papers states that Robert Baker a smith of this town (meaning Philadelphia because the letter is written by Jacob Taylor who is the surveyor general based in Philadelphia) has purchased Colonel French's land on the Susquehanna and Pequea and wants to build a mill on the Pequea for boaring. The spelling is boaring and there is no mention of logs, guns or building a dam.

There is no 1716 tax record from the area, the first is in 1718 and no occupations appear on the early tax records except for one or two individuals with the same name and one might be identified as smith. If an individual owns land their occupation is not given on deeds and a lot of other public records. They are classified as yeoman. After about 1770 you start to see occupations more frequently but this is only for the individuals with little or no land. If you own a fair sized farm your secondary occupation is never mentioned and a lot of people did have a second occupation besides farming. The only early Lancaster County gunsmith I have seen identified on a deed as a gunsmith is Joel Ferree.

On most of the work done about the early gunsmiths of Lancaster County only 50% is correct. The trick is figuring out which 50%. I'm working on an article about the Mylins and just finished an article on Christian Hess, a Mennonite gunsmith working from about 1745 until 1790 in Lancaster County and he lived only two miles from the Mylins. Hopefully a synopsis of the article on Christian Hess will appear in the KRA bulletin. The article will be published this month in Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage. Although Christian is a known gunsmith there is really no information about his gunsmithing and no guns are known. Working on identifying early gunsmiths on a frontier is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, unless you have a really big magnet!

Martin

[spgordon]

Hey Martin,

The March 11, 1776 deed that transfers land in Manheim Township from Michael Rudicil to John Henry and Jacob Dickert (on which they built a boring mill) refers to "John Henry & Jacob Dickert both of the Borough of Lancaster...Gunsmith."

Scott

[mkeen]

Hey Scott:

My information on very few mentions of gunsmiths or any occupation in public records is for 1770 or earlier. Also if you read the Henry and Dickert deed they are only renting the land in Manheim Township from Rudisill, they never purchased it. I think about 1804 Dickert no longer rents the land and the boring mill and all improvements made by Dickert becomes the property of Rudisill. Dickert and Henry were residents of the Borough and did not own large farms and could not be classified as yeoman, therefore their occupations were listed. Many individuals with specialized trades are never listed as such. I recently transcribed and translated a notebook in Pennsylvania Dutch about building a house in Lancaster County in 1833. From the translation it becomes apparent the writer is an auger maker, a specialized trade that was never mentioned for the individual. He was never even listed as a blacksmith, but he did own 150 acres.

Martin

[mkeen]

During the period of the early gunsmiths in Lancaster County (1710-1760) land is cheap. Most people purchase a sizable piece of land and end up being classified as a yeoman on deeds. On the tax lists their occupation is not given because they are land owners. All of this greatly complicates the search for the earliest gunsmiths.

Martin

[spgordon]

Right you are about the renting.

My general point was in response to your statement that "the only early Lancaster County gunsmith I have seen identified on a deed as a gunsmith is Joel Ferree": Henry and Dickert are identified on this 1776 deed as gunsmiths. (Or at least one is: the singular "gunsmith," if that was transcribed correctly, is odd.) It seems to me that, if Joel Ferree is an "early Lancaster County gunsmith," so is John Henry, who was at work in Lancaster by 1765 and perhaps earlier. John Henry is also listed on a tax list (undated: likely 1765) as a gunsmith. This list is in the Lancaster County collection at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania & is not, I think, included on the microfilm at LCHS that has the various county (and borough) tax lists.

I understand your point that if individuals owned land they would likely not have occupations listed alongside their names on tax lists--and so those gunsmiths who owned land (and lived outside of Lancaster borough) would likely not be identified on such lists by their trade.

The only others listed on this 1765 tax list as "gunsmith" are Dickert (spelled Dickard), Wm. Foulks, and Matthias Reasor (spelled Razor). The most interesting thing about the list is that Moses Henry, John and William's youngest brother, is listed as a freeman. He would be repairing guns at Fort Pitt by 1766.

Scott

[mkeen]

Scott

Joel Ferree is mentioned on a deed as a gunsmith much earlier than 1765. I will have to find the one deed. In 2010 I was at an a local auction where a number of Ferree and LeFevre deeds were sold. The one deed was unrecorded and listed Joel Ferree gunsmith. I bid it up pretty high put did not get it. If he had been an ancestor I would have gone higher but there were even earlier family items I was more interested in. The unrecorded deed is mentioned in a later recorded deed. These deeds make Joel Ferree an earlier gunsmith than is commonly recorded.

I will admit I have not looked at every Lancaster County deed and I'm sure there are some early ones that might list a gunsmith. Christian Hess, a gunsmith from about 1745 to 1790 is only listed on his will and 6 of the 23 releases from his estate as a gunsmith. The will is the only record from his lifetime that lists him as gunsmith, everything else lists him as a yeoman or nothing at all.

For whatever reason, occupations start to be listed more after 1770 in Lancaster County.

Martin

[creelgriffin]

I have what I believe to be one of if not the oldest existing 1st original sniper rifles in America or the world.  I bought it at a gun show several years ago.  It is a .395 caliber straight bore grove,  [No twist}  The first recorded snipers that I am aware of was Roberts Rangers during the French and Indian War.  [1753]  It was a flintlock converted to a caplock some time after 1820, [When caplock was invented by Another American, DUCK HUNTER]  It has an octogon barrel and is very thick walled like a modern day bull barrel or target rifle.  It has C. Baker stamped on the hammer plate.  Now after reading about the Bakers and Calib in particular, I am pretty sure that this rifle is somewhere between 280 to 299 years old.  I also have the original sheath and part of the original ramrod.  The wood is very different kind of zebra stripped.  Awesome gun and piece of American [and World] history.

[n stephenson]

I have what I believe to be one of if not the oldest existing 1st original sniper rifles in America or the world.  I bought it at a gun show several years ago.  It is a .395 caliber straight bore grove,  [No twist}  The first recorded snipers that I am aware of was Roberts Rangers during the French and Indian War.  [1753]  It was a flintlock converted to a caplock some time after 1820, [When caplock was invented by Another American, DUCK HUNTER]  It has an octogon barrel and is very thick walled like a modern day bull barrel or target rifle.  It has C. Baker stamped on the hammer plate.  Now after reading about the Bakers and Calib in particular, I am pretty sure that this rifle is somewhere between 280 to 299 years old.  I also have the original sheath and part of the original ramrod.  The wood is very different kind of zebra stripped.  Awesome gun and piece of American [and World] history.

Sir, welcome to the forum, I`m sure I speak for many here , when I ask if you will post pictures of your rifle . Thanks Nate

[Eric Kettenburg]

Just as an interesting note, since much of the above discussion revolves around deeds, I'll throw this out there into the public sphere:

A Lancaster borough indenture dated Dec. 28, 1751 specifically notes "...Henry Mull of the borough of Lancaster in the county of Lancaster in the Province of Pennsylvania Gunsmith..."

A slightly later indenture dated May 9, 1755 specifically notes "...Henry Mull late of the borough of Lancaster Gunsmith..."

These documents revolve around property being seized and/or sold to pay debts, Mull having already moved from the borough.  The 1751 document states that he obtained the property in 1744.

There has been some family genealogical research into Henry Mull (not by me) and while I have not verified all of it as of yet, it appears that Henry Mull is Johan Heinrich Moll who arrived aboard the Samuel in 1737.  He is believed to have been born @1716 in Wurttemberg.

Maybe not the "earliest" gunsmith in Lancaster, but for sure, a very early one.  Unfortunately, although he had a fairly long working career (York Co. after the move from Lancaster) and his son Ludwig was also a gunsmith, there is no known signed work of Henry Mull of which I'm aware.

I also have been hot on the trail of a potential familial relationship between Henry Mull and Johannes Moll but to date there remain a few missing pieces of the (very confusing) puzzle.  There was a Johannes Moll in Lancaster by 1738.  That's a story for another day.

[JTR]

I have what I believe to be one of if not the oldest existing 1st original sniper rifles in America or the world.  I bought it at a gun show several years ago.  It is a .395 caliber straight bore grove,  [No twist}  The first recorded snipers that I am aware of was Roberts Rangers during the French and Indian War.  [1753]  It was a flintlock converted to a caplock some time after 1820, [When caplock was invented by Another American, DUCK HUNTER]  It has an octogon barrel and is very thick walled like a modern day bull barrel or target rifle.  It has C. Baker stamped on the hammer plate.  Now after reading about the Bakers and Calib in particular, I am pretty sure that this rifle is somewhere between 280 to 299 years old.  I also have the original sheath and part of the original ramrod.  The wood is very different kind of zebra stripped.  Awesome gun and piece of American [and World] history.

Sir, welcome to the forum, I`m sure I speak for many here , when I ask if you will post pictures of your rifle . Thanks Nate

Yes, I'd love to see pictures of it as well!!
John

[rich pierce]

Point of ignorance for me is the relationship between boring mills and gunsmiths.  I often see where establishing a boring mill is taken as evidence of being a gunsmith.  Seems to me establishing a boring mill is just more likely to be recorded than building a rifle or 10.  I find the whole thing confusing, unless or until an established gunsmith establishes a mill, presumably to meet needs of an expanding manufactory.

Possible assumptions about the relationships between boring millers and gunsmiths:

Gunsmiths establish boring mills but make guns too.  But if I was a gunsmith making 20 rifles a year I’d probably not start a boring mill for 20 barrels a year.

Boring mill owners provide barrels for gunsmiths who are already working.  There is local demand for their barrels, or within reasonable transport distance.  They may or may not have time, training, or financial incentive to build guns.

Gunsmiths who build up their business to a large size might establish a mill to facilitate large production and propel their gun building business.

[JCKelly]

Whereas Robert Baker a smith of this town has bought Colonel French's land on Sesquehanna and Pequea, he tells me that being minded to build a mill on Pequea for boring logs that he needs an addition of two or three perches of ground on a corner of Pequea

Does this really mean boring LOGS or is their some confusion with barrels? I might imagine bored logs to be useful as water pipes.
I might also imagine some confusion in reading 18th century Penna Dutch writings,  between boring logs and boring barrels. 

Have I had too much Xmas cheer?

[DaveM]

Eric - I had done a little digging regarding Johannes Moll in 1738 Lancaster a month or so ago.  I did not find much online, probably the same stuff you found.  I did find this tidbit about a daughter he had, if you had not seen it.  Apparently his daughter was born only 4 mos after Johannes married Susannah Heintzmaenn assuming it is the same Johannes - which seems highly likely.

•   Trinity Lutheran Church Lancaster PA:  Birth 1738, Johannes Moll had a daughter Anna Maria b 13 Dec 1738 bp 25 Dec 1738. One of the sponsors at her baptism was Anna Maria Emich, "but on account of her minority, her mother Dorothea Emich stood in her place."

Did Johannes in Allentown have a daughter by this name?  may be a clue.

I also saw a mortgage reference apparently to the same deed you reference from Henry Mull and wife Mary to a Susanna Connolly.

[Goo]

Footnotes it's all about footnotes ......

[DaveM]

I think I found something else very interesting for johannes Moll but I’ll post later - too busy w/ xmas celebrations!

[Eric Kettenburg]

Dave - yeah, same guy marries Susanna H in August 1738, child Anna Maria born in December.  Then he drops off the planet.  I found a reference to a death record in Lancaster 1750s for a 'John Moll' but I bought a copy of it and it is not the same man.  So my current theory is Johannes Moll arrives in 1731 on the Britannia, listed with women and children at 15 y.o.  No parents on board.  Marries this girl in Lancaster in 1738 (she arrived with family on Hope Galley in 1734), has a child, then at some point I think his wife and child died.  Gets land up in Rockland near Angstadts by early 1750s (was still Lancaster Co. at that point, wasn't it?), probably had hard time of it since not much gunsmithing demand then early 1760s moves over to Allentown where the demand for guns is really picking up.  I think Lydia Rinker was his second wife and considerably younger than him.  Bob Smalser had an interesting hypothesis re: Moll's marriage to Lydia Rinker and her father Abraham having some type of relationship with Moll.  I think it made sense.

Very interested in anything else you may find!

Also to get back on track, would like to see a pic of this rifle mentioned by the op.

[creelgriffin]

Attn Jan Swart, Baker Researcher.  First time I posted on this website about My old C. Baker rifles, I did not have a picture of it.  When I revisited the site, they threatened to kick me off the site.  (?). I assume they thought I was living or DID NOT KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.  Anyway, AFTER OVER about 20 years of RESEARCH on this old gun, FROM EVERYTHING I CAN TELK, everything I have dug up about it points to IT being AN ORIGINAL CALIB BAKER Pennslyvania made in America, by an American Rifle, perhaps THE ONLY ONE KNOWN (By Me) left in Existence!  The age of the gun is NOT FULLY KNOWN but PUBLIC RECORDS from Manchester Co. LOGICALLY, shows the gun was made by Calib, as EARLY as 1719 or as late as 1741.  So this American made rifle is from everything I can determine, 277 to 299 years old.  All Truth is tied together.  The iron ore used to make this gun will through SPECTROGRAPH & Modernday Metallurgy Analysis tie directly to the Iron Ore, (& I am sure there is still SOME OF IT STILL THERE in the ground OR there WILL BE Some other thing or item out there that is documented to have come from the SAME ORE DEPOSIT.

[okawbow]

That gun is 1840 to 1890.

[rich pierce]

The signature does not tell when a gun is made. This is a late percussion gun that is nothing like colonial flintlocks. You might take it to any collector of American flintlock rifles and without telling them your story, ask when they think it was made, and why they think that.

[Tanselman]

The gun's owner stated the "C. Baker" name was "stamped on the hammer plate." This is a back-action lock which indicates the Baker name was probably the hardware store where the gun builder purchased his parts for this gun. The back-action lock shows the gun was never a flintlock, but rather with this style lock and the rather thin butt with moderate curvature, the rifle undoubtedly was made in the 1840s or later. Nice looking rifle, but it was never flint, and never existed in the eighteenth century. If the gun were made by a later Baker gunsmith, it would have been signed or stamped on top of the barrel between the breech and rear sight. Unfortunately, we do not know if this gun has a maker's stamp on the barrel, but it would be nice to know if there is any kind of initials or name stamp on the top barrel flat. Shelby Gallien

[rich pierce]

There have been a lot of C. Bakers. As someone interested in genealogy I have learned how many folks there are/were with the same name. If we get down to initials it would be even more.

General characteristics of very early colonial guns:
Matchlock, Snaphaunce, or early flintlock ignition systems.
Full stocked with robust architecture due to great width of barrel at the breech and width of buttplate (2”+ width of buttplate).
Flat buttplate with little to no crescent shape.
Larger calibers whether rifled or smoothbore.

The gun above has none of those characteristics.

[JV Puleo]

I suspect it is the name of a hardware dealer c.1850-1870. The lock could be either English or Belgian - if marked with a hardware dealer's name. The only C. Baker known Birmingham trade is Charles Baker who operated at several addresses in exactly the right period but is generally listed as a "gun and pistol maker". Of course, the lock could have been on another gun at some point, but it certainly wasn't made as a flintlock as noted by several members.

[creelgriffin]

Still researching.  I am STILL CONVINCED that THIS RIFLE was made by CALIB BAKER.  When researching VERY OLD THINGS there is A LOT of incorrect information.  Just because a gun is DIFFERENT than ANYTHING someone is familiar with does NOT MEAN it is NOT what it is.  ALL this GUN INFORMATION is VERY INTERESTING, BUT, OBVIOUSLY, this rifle DOES NOT have THE ORIGINAL LOCK PLATE, it will not function as a CAP LOCK.  Simpliest thing to do is to switch the lock plate.  In addition to that, the PICTURES DO NOT SHOW how the nipple area was WHEN I GOT THE RIFLE.  That shiney place is from MODERN DAY REPAIR, where I OVERLOADED the rifle, DID NOT get the CLEAN OUT PLUG tight, and had powder in the threads, it blew out THE CLEAN OUT PLUG and THE SQUARE HEADED THREADED PLUG and a piece of metal around it about the size of your little fingernail.  Kept it for 7 years before I found a man that agreed to repair it.  It NOW has NO CLEAN OUT PLUG.  In addition to that, THIS RIFLE has a VERY TINY hole to the POWDER CHAMBER.  When you pull the trigger on the cap, it TAKES ABOUT ONE SECOND before the chamber fires.  ALSO, I BROKE THE ORIGINAL RAMROD, and may have lost BOTH HALVES.  (Still looking for them), (Frown). The ORIGINAL RAMROD was merely a Hickory (or perhaps, Pennslyvania Hemlock, hardest local wood available.). It was camphered on one end and only had a knotch about 1/4" or 5/16" then a taper flat for about 3/4" to 1", the indication on the ramrod was for the BALL, THE PATCH AND THE POWDER CHARGE.  (Took me a while to FIGURE THAT OUT.  This mark was max 20 grains, MAX.  ALSO, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I Have THE ORIGINAL SHEATH, which is VERY UNUSUAL,   I REALLY DO NOT KNOW HOW OLD THE SHEATH IS, BUT by putting Rifle in the sheath and AFTER MUCH THOUGHT and OBSERVATION, I realized that the design and HOW IT WAS USED, was so very very different than ANY OTHER I HAD EVER SEEN OR HEARD OF.  (Sheath was Stolen BUT I GOT IT BACK about a week ago.  Sheath appears to have been made out of COWHIDE.  The stitching, (most) is now gone, (fragments left BUT I HAVE ALL THE PIECES, (2). I WILL CONTINUE MY RESEARCH.  As I said RESEARCH on VERY OLD THINGS is VERY DIFFICULT.  Most EXPLANATIONS are based on MODERN DAY INTERPRETATIONS, Context is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.  I ALSO BELEIVE that "SPECTROGRAPH" or MODERN DAY METALURGY ANALYSIS will tie the iron ore in this gun to the iron ore from THE BAKER FOUNDRY.  Any information given is helpful, BUT I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS RIFLE was made by Calib Baker, son of John.  I AM CONVINCED UNTIL, "PROVEN" Wrong!  PERSISTANCE.  (May be like "John Deer, (Tractor), NUMBER ONE, even John Deer said they did not make it, BUT IT was BEFORE THE RECORDS AND it was THE FIRST JOHN DEERE TRACTOR MADE!),. (Smile)

[rich pierce]

Have you looked at any rifles from the 1700s?  Which ones?

Have you ever seen a back action lock on a single barreled flintlock rifle from the1700s?

Because of a name on a lockplate, with just a first initial, and no other reason, you’re dating it to the early 1700s?  Is that right?

If you put a piece of black electricians tape over the signature on the lock, what is different from a 1850s percussion rifle?