Barrel signed J. E. Willis

[Dennis Glazener]

James Levy asked me to post these photos and if you have questions please direct them to him.

A full stock percussion rifle in approx .40 cal. with a 1” diameter barrel that appears to be the original length to this stock.  The barrel is about 32” in length. There is  a number 7 deeply stamped on a flat near the muzzle.   It was broken through the wrist, which broke the trigger guard as well.  The lock appears to say Wolff & Lane, Pittsburgh.  The barrel is stamped J. E. Willis.  Any information concerning this maker would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark Tyler]

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=17262.0

[Shreckmeister]

Saw one just like it marked J. E. Willis, Kittanning PA about a year ago.  Well made plain
typical western PA rifle.  Kittanning was a major waypoint on the Great Shamokin Path and
a large indian village was located there which was attacked by Colonel John Armstrong in 1756 and one of the precursors to the F & I war.  Kittanning was once a thriving small
community with Steelmaking, brickmaking, coal etc etc and today is only a shadow of its
former self.  There were many beautiful mansions here, some still surviving, but most of the
early history is lost due to a fire in the courthouse in the 1850s.  Robert Smith spent the
next 30 years gathering the remaining local documents to preserve them and when he passed
his children burnt the collection.  Sad story that makes it very difficult to research my family from
1804 to 1850.

[Levy]

Thank you all very much for the information on J. E. Willis.  Thanks to Dennis for posting the pictures for me.  Willis sounds like he was quite a character.

James Levy

[Shreckmeister]

The Wolff on the lock is the same Wolff from Whitmore, Wolff, Duff & Company and
earlier Whitmore & Wolff.  I had not seen the Lane before. 

[Shreckmeister]

This map shows the location of James Eshton Willis’s Iron company which was located at the mouth of Garretts run along the Allegheny River near Kittanning. At that time, that Run was named Truby Run. Some of you may recognize the name Jacob Truby who was a gunsmith along that run earlier.