Division of gunbuilding work at an early date

[jwh1947]

Kentucky rifle enthusiasts may find it interesting that division of specialized craftsmanship in gun manufacture can be dated prior to 1568 in Europe.  Impressions of two old woodcuts from Jost Amman and Henry Sach's 1568 text The Book of Trades substantiates that specialists did different jobs.  First appears "Der Buchsenschaffter"--The Rifle Butt (Stock) Maker. The rifle butt maker mounts iron rifle barrels in artistically finished butts with inlaid ivory; thus honest men can ward off robbers.  Then we have "Der Buchsenschmidt"--The Gunsmith. The gunsmith makes excellent guns which he tests before selling to prevent injury to the purchaser.

We also know that late in the period, at the Leman plant in Lancaster and at the Henry Plantation in Boulton, that several men worked on each gun.  Records show that some men were stockers, some filers, some fitters, etc. 

I often wonder what happened as a matter of course in America from 1740 to the 1840's.  Having seen period newspaper ads seeking filers, etc., it stands to reason that the bigger early shops, and certainly government contractors such as Dickert, were specializing early on, and that the truly rural builder was doing everything by himself.   We also know that others were lock fitters/sellers while others specialized in barrel making.   Then there's engraving. There's a lot we'll probably never know. JWH

[nord]

I believe the most of us underestimate our ancestors. We thus underestimate the interaction between what we assume were remote areas 250  odd years ago. And I'm as guilty as anyone!

One of my Worden ancestors living in Connecticut evidently  has a girlfriend just north of Gettysburg. Family records would seem to indicate that he didn't consider the commute excessive.

Another story handed down and confirmed by coincidence was the removal of the Stark family from the Wyoming Valley by the Wordens just before the Wyoming Massacre. The Wordens living in what is now Orange Co. on the Hudson. Apparently just over the hill for them.

So when it comes to innovation and the art of gunmaking... Never say never! Too often we attribute something to what we know or assume.

Just remember what ASSume starts with!

[jwh1947]

I hear you, but on the other hand, county characteristics emerged as distinct simply because long distances were not traversed by the average person as they are today.  I, too, have traveled long distances for women, but that establishes only that your ancestor and I were perhaps compelled by forces beyond our control, namely rampant hormones.  JWH

[nord]

Now we attribute hormones to the gunmaking business. Very interesting! Maybe more truth here than we'll ever know.

On a more serious note I'd point out that regional differences were as natural then as they are today. Look only as far as language. I moved from Northern NY to the Twin Tiers and found out that certain terms and words were used differently with just a 150 mile difference. Go south into PA Dutch country and you again see a change. South again into the Washington area brings yet another.

The theory about folks not traveling as far afield then as today is somewhat of a misconception. I agree that one couldn't hop in a car and head for California, but there was no lack of travel. Consider the Revolutionary War... (I'll use the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign as an example.)

Troops serving in the Mohawk Valley were moved to Cooperstown where they dammed the outlet of Otsego Lake and thereby raised the water level  several feet.  Meantime a contingent of troops from Pennsylvania were posted to the Wyoming Valley. Long about mid August the dam was broken at Cooperstown and Sullivan's army rode the river crest down the Susquehanna to  Tioga Point (Athens, PA). There they met Clinton's army and then proceeded to decimate the native farms and villages in western NY.  There had to have been close coordination to accomplish this feat and the distance involved is considerable even today.

Troops involved were from everywhere in the colonies with the possible exception of the deep south. Their march into the Chemung Valley, the Finger Lakes, and westward impressed many of them enough to come back as settlers after the war. The fact is that many returned via virtually the same route they had taken during the war.

My cousins, the Wordens and Starks, were Yankees. Their route was via New England, into the lower Hudson Valley, then over the mountains to Wyoming, and finally north along the Susquehanna. Their headstones in our little cemetery would seem to indicate that they wasted no time in getting here after the war.

Another family by the name of Seeley traveled a different route. Ebenezer Seeley served in the F&I War and lived just outside Montgomery, NY. (I have his powder horn.) His two sons served in the Mohawk Valley during the Revolution and likely took part in the S/C campaign or heard of this area from others that were here. They came along the route from the Mohawk Valley and down the Susquehanna.

The long-winded oratory above (I apologize) serving to point out why a rifle made in Owego, NY could easily be confused with a lower Susquehanna piece, yet hint of  New England influence. The opposite being the case north of the central Finger Lakes where NY/New England rifles might show a PA influence. This being especially the case after a generation had passed and these small "mixed" communities began to establish their own unique identity.

Perhaps we might conclude that travel caused the differing variations among our long rifles, not the lack of travel. And by 1840 technology and the ease of travel began the decline of the firearm as a unique expression of community.

I could never understand why so many folks aren't interested in history. There's so much to be learned and appreciated.

[jwh1947]

Yes, history class should never be boring.  Incidentally, my first room mate in college was from central Philadelphia.  The first time he ever left center city was the day he came to college for an interview.  First time he saw a cow, a mountain, a pastoral sunset.  Something other than asphalt and concrete was a new world to him.  I found that quaint.