Jacob Shaffer, Wythe County, VA (signatures)

[MGillman]

I have been studying Jacob Shaffer since about 2010. Over the past ten years, I have discovered three different signatures on his rifles that match up perfectly to his signatures on court documents. I thought I would share these photos of the three types. The earliest is J  Shaffer, the second which is found on 1820-1850 rifles is J: :Shaffer. The latest signature I have found is on percussion rifles and shows his full name on a brass or silver plate. An 1855 court document for a deed of land given for a local church shows a severely shaky signature which may signal the end of his career of gunsmithing. The shakes are called the Shaffer shakes and is still seen in members of the family today, but it is not Parkinson’s disease.

[MGillman]

This signature is found on a rifle said to have been made fo his youngest son. We do not know what the middle name of any children were but the rifle is signed J. R. Shaffer in the Jacob’s hand like the other rifles.