Bethabara gunstocker: 1763

[spgordon]

There is another Salem-school gunsmith that I don't think has ever been mentioned:

     Jacobus van de Merck.

He is identified in the Moravian records, and studies of early work in Wachovia, as a wheelwright. He arrived in Bethabara in 1754 and built its water-powered sawmill and gristmill.

But a 11 July 1763 contract, Abraham von Gammern (Bethabara's steward or financial manager) granted Jacobus van der Merck "the Liberty & Freedom to carry on the trade of Wheel-wright and Gunstocking in the town of Bethabara." Gammern agreed to "let him [have] the necessary Timber for the Carrying on said Trades at a reasonable Price and to let him have the necessary Fire-Wood gratis." This contract is at the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem (WachP 176).

I suppose we will never know whether any of the rifles that survive were stocked by van der Merck or what such rifles that he did stock would have looked like.

[Eric Kettenburg]

That's extremely interesting.  This was a year before Beck arrived, correct?

I know Betz had originally been working in the blacksmith shop, but then was moved into his own gunsmith shop before Beck arrived.  It's never been clear to me whether Betz was capable (at that early point, anyway) of stocking a gun as opposed to simply repairing one.  Going by Fries translations, it would seem there was a fairly strong demand for repair work (Betz did get his own shop, after all).

I wonder if van de Merck was granted permission to stock guns because Betz either was not competent at such work, or was too busy with assorted other repairs to do so?

I wonder what happens to van de Merck when Beck arrived?

[mbriggs]

Thanks for the tip Scott.  I will discuss this with Blake and respond if he has anything to add.

Michael

[spgordon]

Before Beck, yes: I would typically go to your text, Eric, to confirm precise information about the North Carolina Moravian gunsmiths!

It would be very, very unusual for Moravian authorities to permit two craftsmen to practice the same trade in competition with one another. I suppose the contract could be very specific, in that van de Merck was granted the right to stock guns while Betz continued to do repair work? Or ... who knows?

I haven't made any effort to track van de Merck in the southern Moravian records--not even in the Fries volumes. But I would guess he continued to work as a wheelwright? I would wager that the Bethabara overseers' committee minutes (or maybe the diary itself) include some discussion that preceded the creation of this contract. (Remember that those Fries volumes are only excerpts and probably very selective ones.)