John Graeff rifle repairs for [somebody in] Bethlehem | also Frederick Steinman

[spgordon]

Here's an interesting document I recently came across. Frederick Steinman (1752-1823), born in Bethlehem but at the time of this receipt a resident of Lancaster (and member of the Moravian congregation there), got a rifle repaired--re-stocked, new lock, barrel freshed--by John Graeff in March 1793. Then he seems to have the gun sent to Bethlehem (the transportation cost being much more than the cost of the work on the gun).

I wonder who received the gun in Bethlehem?

Also, the dates are peculiar. The gun repair occurred in 1793; the transportation to Bethlehem in 1794; and Graeff only recorded that he received payment for all that in 1795!

(I suppose it is possible that the transportation to Bethlehem has nothing to do with the gun. But why would Steinman be paying Graeff for transportation to Bethlehem?)

[WESTbury]

Excellent, I'll be adding this to my Graeff document file! Thanks for posting this Scott.

I'm quite sure that the rifle detailed in the document as being restocked, is the rifle I have!!

Kent

[spgordon]

I'm quite sure that the rifle detailed in the document as being restocked, is the rifle I have!!

No doubt! 

[DaveM]

Interestng - the Steinmans were a prominent family in Lancaster and for a time operated a hardware store - apparently at the time noted. Maybe Steinman kept guns in stock at his store and later sold it to a customer in Bethlehem?

[spgordon]

Both Sam Dyke and James Whisker stated that Frederick Steinman worked as a gunsmith at Christian's Spring. That was inaccurate.

As late as 1989 Mr. Whisker wrote that “John Christian Oerter, Daniel Kliest, William Henry, Jr., Frederick Steinman, Joseph Levering, and, possibly, William Antes, Abraham Henry, Peter Neihardt, John Moll, Andrew Hermann Rupp, John Rupp and Henry Deringer” worked at Christian’s Spring. That list makes me think of those tiny VW bugs stuffed full of clowns. (Whisker borrowed the list from Sam Dyke's article on “Christian Springs" in a 1968 issue of the KRA bulletin.)

[Eric Kettenburg]

I didn't know Sam Dyke.  I will say I have gross errors in his research anytime I have tried to verify large portions of it.  I have no idea where he was getting his information, however he did correspond quite copiously with Wes White and some of that correspondence actually has some nuggets of real value (verifiable).  Soooooo.... it's kind of a cr ap shoot anytime I see someone mention Dyke as a source.  Whisker appears to have simply lifted or copied a lot of 1950s/1960s published work, some of it Dyke's and some of it of others who apparently were not verifying things with source documents.

I'm sure given your background, it's all galling!

[WESTbury]

Excellent, I'll be adding this to my Graeff document file! Thanks for posting this Scott.
Kent

I want to acknowledge the fact that nearly all of the documents in my John and Jacob Graeff file are the result of Scott's research and generosity.

Kent

[spgordon]

FWIW, Frederick Steinman seems to have worked for quite a while--over a decade, at least--as a coppersmith.

Sometime in the 1780s he was paid for making "the Copper Pipes, to the Court House" and for "Sheet Copper":



A 1797 membership catalog from the Lancaster Moravian church also (or, still) identifies him as a coppersmith (Kupferschmidt):

[DaveM]

Graeff had 1792 and 1794 government contracts for rifles, per George Moller in “American Military Shoulder Arms”. In 1792, Graeff delivered 817 “contract rifles” in association with Dickert and Peter Gonter, according to Moller. Perhaps Steinman was a procurement agent for rifles under these contracts? If so, Steinman may have coordinated with Graeff for repairs to the governments rifles. Moller’s book has photos of a John Graeff rifle that is fairly plain and may have been of a type made under this contract.

If this was related to a government contract, that may explain the delay in payment.  Steinman, if he were an agent would have waited for governmentpayment before paying Graeff for repairs under the contract. Of course this is all speculation - but this repair was done in the short period that was focused on the 1792 contracts (followed by a 1794 second rifle contract).

[DaveM]

Ron Gabel also wrote in an old article that Frederick Steinman was listed as a single man in the 1779 tax list for Christian Springs along with Joseph Levering and Wm Henry Jr. Maybe Wm Henry Jr was involved in the 1792 contract in Northampton and Steinman was assisting him with getting repairs done?  Sorry, I keep speculating..

[spgordon]

William Henry II was not involved in the 1792 gun contract. In fact, he was prohibited by Moravian authorities from working as a gunsmith at all between 1789 and 1798, a period during which they needed him for other activities. After begging them to let him return to the gun trade several times during this period, he finally forced the issue by securing a government contract in 1798.

In my opinion, the receipt simply shows that Steinman had a gun repaired, at a very low cost, by Graeff.

There is no reason to invent an elaborate story about a government contract for a simple transaction, especially when the story would (a) involve a person, Frederick Steinman, who has no engagement whatsoever in the gun trade and (b) involve a government contract that has been extensively researched and documented by Moller (we know, in most cases, who secured contracts & how many arms they delivered & when), none of this detailed documentation having found any involvement by Frederick Steinman.   

The various gunsmiths involved in these 1790s government contracts continued to do work for individuals. Imagine if a dozen receipts happened to survive related to Graeff's work for individuals in and around Lancaster. Would we think that each of these individuals were involved in Graeff's government contract?

[spgordon]

This needed its own post. Here's the 1779 county tax return on which Ron Gabel found "Frederick Steinman":



But this is Christian Frederick Steinman (1739-1808), not our man. You can see that from this 1779 catalog of people at Christian's Spring (see first line, with his name and birthdate):

[Eric Kettenburg]

Can you explain why it can't be the same man?  Could not the 'Christian' be a vornamen that was not generally used in daily life?  Much like, to use a recently-discussed example, Johan George Rupp.

Genuine question.  It's difficult to find solid info on these archaic naming practices and most of what I have found tend to lean more toward the speculative as opposed to citing period text.

[spgordon]

Because Christian Frederick Steinman was born in 1739 and died in 1808.

John Frederick Steinman was born in 1752 and died in 1823.

The only Steinman at Christian's Spring in 1779, as the membership list shows, is CFS (the birth date shows that it is him).

***

Independently from this, we know that John Frederick Steinman was in Lancaster in 1779 (married since 1777), so--even without the Christian's Spring membership catalog and tax list--we know he couldn't be a single man at Christian's Spring.

[Eric Kettenburg]

Gotcha!  Thanks. 

[spgordon]

More info about Frederick Steinman working as a coppersmith in Lancaster: the widow of William Henry (1729-1786) purchased a lid for a copper pan from him in late 1786 and later Ann Henry (1734-1799) also asked Steinman to repair some pewter dishes--and then paid off the whole bill in late 1787. Steinman's wife signed the receipt.