1750-1765 Wachovia Germanic lock or English

[leviathan]

     ???I have researched  for answers but seem to come up empty. I know English locks were used extensively in the South but what about  Germanic style  locks in the  Wachovia N.C. settlement (Salem and Bethabara) in the 1750-1765 era? Since Germans from Penn. started this land tract I was thinking that they may have bought their gun making characteristics (including those for locks) with them. Maybe the guns which were  brought in by settlers from Penn.  down the Great Wagon Road  that had German locks were  later recycled on other guns? Also, I have read that trade supplies for  Salem and Bethabara came down the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania. In these supplies maybe Germanic style locks were brought in.
    I dont live but about 2 hours from the area of (Winston) Salem and would love to know what type of lock would be correct if I ever decide to build a gun. Do any of you guys know of a good pistol sized Germanic lock for this time frame?
    If anyone can refer me to good info, for research on this subject let me know. Thanks for all your help!   
 
 

[rich pierce]

So far as I know there are no signed rifles we can 100% attribute to that shop. I am guessing they used what was most available at the moment. For example one of the PA Moravian rifles used a lock made in Philly that is of English styling.

[moleeyes36]

leviathan,

William Ivey's book North Carolina Schools of Longrifles 1765 -1865 features a couple of dozen rifles from the Salem School.  The one attributed to John Valentine Beck (Rifle 101) maybe what you're looking for.  To my admittedly amateur eye, that lock doesn't look like a typical English lock.

Mole Eyes

[Cory Joe Stewart]

1750 is the very earliest part of the Wachovia settlement.  They did maintain strong ties with northern colonies. Stronger than the ties they had with the eastern portion of NC.  There was an increase in importation of military arms, specifically "Dutch Muskets" during the French and Indian war. 

So to answer your question if there were rifles being built they were being built by craftsmen trained in the northern colonies.  So a German lock would be appropriate, but English could not be ruled out.  Wachovia was a Moravian settlement and most of the Moravian guns I have seen used German style locks.  The Salem rifles is the North Carolina longrifle book mentioned above are much later.

Coryjoe

[moleeyes36]

....The Salem rifles is the North Carolina longrifle book mentioned above are much later.

Coryjoe

Yes, it's correct that most shown in the book are later rifles.  However about Rifle 101, which is or was then in the Gusler Collection, William Ivey states, "This 18th century rifle dating to the mid 1760s to the early 1770s is attributed to Valentine Beck while working in either Bethabara or Salem." That's the location and the tail end of the time period about which leviathan inquired.  I'm not able to dispute William Ivey's statement, so I'm willing to accept it at face value.  Others may do as they choose.

Mole Eyes

[blienemann]

Locks at Bethabara 1750 - 65 . . . very, very few.

First Brethren arrived at what would become Bethabara in late 1753, and first locksmith Andreas Betz arrived fall 1754.  Betz had previously served several stints repairing guns for the Natives at Shamokin earlier, and worked as locksmith in Bethlehem.  Bethabara asked to begin making guns in 1759, though very few were made in first several years.  Valentin Beck - gunstocker arrived at Bethabara in late 1764.  So very few guns were stocked up there before 1765.  Repair work may have been common, including repair or replacement of locks?  1750 - 65 provides little info for study.

As Rich says, they used whatever was available.  Germanic gunsmiths don't appear to have insisted on Germanic locks - the Bethlehem and C's Spring shops had English and German locks and barrels on hand, and the quality and cost of locks varied considerably.  The Wachovia wagon made regular trips from Bethlehem through Reading Town, Lancaster and down to NC - and could have taken any components, or picked up same at Lancaster.  Bethabara and Salem later had trade with Charles Town.  The rifle Rich mentions is dated 1775 - during the War and embargo, any lock was valuable and was grabbed up.

So if you pick a year, any lock made before that date would probably be right.  The "Germanic locks in PA and English locks in South" is over simplistic, not supported by study.  English style locks soon became common in PA - perhaps because so many were imported. 

[Cory Joe Stewart]

....The Salem rifles is the North Carolina longrifle book mentioned above are much later.

Coryjoe

Yes, it's correct that most shown in the book are later rifles.  However about Rifle 101, which is or was then in the Gusler Collection, William Ivey states, "This 18th century rifle dating to the mid 1760s to the early 1770s is attributed to Valentine Beck while working in either Bethabara or Salem." That's the location and the tail end of the time period about which leviathan inquired.  I'm not able to dispute William Ivey's statement, so I'm willing to accept it at face value.  Others may do as they choose.

Mole Eyes

You are absolutely right.  I forgot that one and did not have access to the book when I responded.  I was thinking of the later Salem rifles, of which there are more surviving examples from the Federal period.  How my favorite rifle in the entire book slipped my mind I don't know.  Thanks for pointing it out.  I too cannot exclusively weigh in on where it was made, but it is fun to think about it. 

Coryjoe

[Cory Joe Stewart]

I think what we have seen here is that a good case could be made for any type of lock.  There are great pistol locks out there.  You could use the Chamber's Queen Anne, which is an awesome lock.  You could go with a Small Siler or an RE Davis' Becky Lock, which are both Germanic. 

Coryjoe

[Eric Kettenburg]

I was going to respond earlier but didn't get around to it and now I see your question has essentially been answered fairly decisively:  you can probably use just about any type of lock which is era-correct for the type of rifle you wish to make.  If you go through Adelaide Fries' translations of the records with a fine-tooth comb, it very quickly becomes apparent that not only was smithing and gun work in high demand but that the Bethabara settlers quickly established a fairly extensive trade network both regionally as well as with "back home" in PA.  Anyway, the more important question:  what would a Bethabara rifle ca. 1750-1765 look like?  The attribution of RCA 42 to Valentine Beck and to NC in general is completely speculative.  There is no signed work of V. Beck extant, and no pre Rev War rifles that can be conclusively attributed to NC via signature or any other characteristic.  The primary problem with 'back-attributing' (as I like to call it) rifles to NC is that by the period immediately prior to the War, very large migrations of people from N to S were initiated and people brought ideas and actual tangible products with them; distinctly regional forms of many artisanal items (mmmm, can you smell the cork?) did not begin to take on noticeably regional characteristics until the local master/apprenticeship chain had progressed through a generation or two and this generally is indicative of post-War production.  I do not mean to denigrate NC craftsmanship in any way, as has often been done in the past - i.e., "Oh, it's rough and primitive?  It must be Southern!" - as there were talented craftspeople present there just as there were all over the colonies, but it is unfortunate that a giant leap of speculative faith is required to place any given rifle there pre-War until a piece or multiple pieces w/ a signature or some other conclusive proof manifests.  By the time Salem was habitable ca. 1772/73 and Beck's shop was moved there, there was a fairly substantial smithing operation at Bethabara in which multiple gunsmithing functions had been performed for many years beginning with George Schmidt and Andreas Betz ca. 1754/55.  While permission was requested to establish a gunsmith shop in 1758, the earliest record I found in Fries' translations of gunsmith work actually dates to 1756.  Anyway.  I'm wandering.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

My dissertation research sent me to the Moravian records fairly often, and other public records.  I can say that by looking at estate records, rifles were not that common prior to the 1770s in the North Carolina Backcountry.  After that they were listed in estate records a "new" rifles, and Fowler's were even referred to as "old".  They also kept everything.  I saw several estate records that mentioned having "old" gun stocks.  Which tells me that the original gun was scrapped for parts. 

Anyway, I am wandering now as well. 

Coryjoe

[leviathan]

  Thanks for all the knowledge shared guys!!!!!! You don't know just how much it helped!