Author Topic: J.M. Barlow  (Read 16033 times)

Offline Sequatchie Rifle

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J.M. Barlow
« on: July 19, 2011, 07:29:56 AM »
Anyone familiar with a rifle builder named J.M. Barlow?  Rifle is from 1870-80s and is currently in Madison County, AL.  Wondering if the maker is an Alabama maker.
"We fight not for glory, nor riches nor honors, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life.” Declaration of Arbroath, 1320

Offline Tanselman

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2011, 09:05:52 AM »
Jesse M. Barlow was born in 1805 in Kentucky, was undoubtedly trained there since other members of the family were gunsmiths in Kentucky, but worked most of his life in Rushville, Rush County, Indiana. Your rifle would have been made in Indiana. In his earlier years he made both iron and brass mounted guns and signed them in bold script. Later rifles were generally brass mounted. Most of his work was rather plain, made for work rather than show. A couple of nice underhammer pistols are known with his mark. Can you post pictures of the gun? I'm from Indiana and would be interested in seeing it.   Shelby Gallien

Offline Sequatchie Rifle

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2011, 06:28:32 PM »
Shelby, thanks for the info.  I am on a trip, but will get them posted once I return.
Bill
"We fight not for glory, nor riches nor honors, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life.” Declaration of Arbroath, 1320

Triumph

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2012, 02:51:00 AM »
Gentlemen, I just found recently that J M Barlow was my GGGrandfather. I would like to know more about the man being a gunsmith.would love to see pictures of his rifle made during civil war era if anyone would have either. Thank You, Mike


larry fewell

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2012, 06:38:14 PM »
  There is a post about J.M. Barlow in the over the back fence that I responded to.
   I have a Jesse Barlow rifle that is a full stock iron mounted 41 inch barrel, and of 40 or 41 cal. It needs a little repair as the wrist is splintered.
     Send me a pm........Larry
   

robinson46176

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2013, 06:39:11 AM »
Hello:
I just stumbled on to this forum and signed on.
Jesse Maurice Barlow was my gg-grandfather. He lived much of his life and is buried in Rush County Indiana about 12 miles from where I am sitting. I own a sort of a mini-farm in Moscow Indiana which is where he lived and made guns about a mile north of the village for many years. I look after his grave site some as well as having a lot of other family in that cemetery.
To my knowledge he always signed his guns in script as "J M Barlow". I was told by my father (BTW, I am 70) that Jesse in later years bought some kind of roller device that would put his name on the barrel and that he was supposedly very proud of it.
I was always told the his son John made a few guns at Moscow in a small structure that sat on the property that I now own there. The little building is labeled on the old maps as a "wagon shop" and referred to by some as a blacksmith shop. Another building sat next to it which John's brother, my g-grandfather (Ariss Barlow) used as a fence factory (he made fence of white pickets held in place by twisted 11 gauge wire much like the wood snow-fence used a lot some years ago). I was always told that while John made guns that it was not in the kind of quantities that Jesse did. Much of the family information came through my grandmother, Oma Elizabeth (Barlow) Robinson.
Jesse Maurice Barlow's father was also a Jesse Barlow (born about 1779 at Lyncburg VA) and was also a gunmaker/gunsmith. Jesse Maurice's middle name came from his mother's (Nancy Gosnell) grandfather Maurice Gosnell.
I used to own one of his rifles but have since passed it on down to one of our daughters who will pass it to her daughter. They are very attached to the gun and its history. It was what I call a "poor boy", pretty plain with iron fittings. I always thought it was a 36 caliber but never measured it as I had no intention of shooting it. A 32 caliber round fit loosely in the end of the barrel and a 38 special round would not enter at all.
Jesse's house and gun factory are long gone now but were standing when I was a young man and I was taken back the long lane and shown it by an aunt that had spent a lot of time there as a young girl. Jesse married Mahala Waggoner who was my gg-grandmother and when she died he married her sister Sarah. At one time he was farming around 400 to 500 acres there much of which had belonged to his father-in-law. He also did some locksmithing and did a good deal of lock work on the county courthouse. I believe that as a young man he lived in the city of Rushville for a time. Jesse also made gun locks and shipped them to other gunsmiths. I have read that those were signed J M Barlow on the backside.
Family history (we all know about how family history can be) said that during the Civil War that he was shipping guns to the south even though he had 2 sons in the union army. The story also says that the government confiscated more than one batch of guns that were to be shipped south. Like I said, Family history...
I was also told that Jesse showed some of his more fancy guns at fairs etc. and that he won a number of prizes.
A surprisingly large number of the Barlow's were metal workers of some kind. Gunsmiths, blacksmiths, jewelry makers... One is said to have made the dies to mint coins for Brigham Young in Utah.
It was I think a cousin Milton Barlow and his father (who became astronomy experts in their day) who produced a "rifled cannon" early on.
This is a busy time for me but I will try to dig out the old pictures of Jesse's house and log gun factory out of my regular pictures and scan them to post. I don't have any digital pictures of them. I also have one poor quality picture of Jesse himself. I understand that few were taken. As a kid growing up anytime that I was being stubborn I was told that it was because of the Barlow blood in me.  ;D
I am happy to share any information I might have or find.
Have a great 2013.

Offline Shreckmeister

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2013, 07:02:57 AM »
Wow. It doesnt get any better than that. Thank you so much for sharing your family history. It gives great insight.
Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.

Offline mr. no gold

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2013, 08:06:43 AM »
Holy Smoke!!! Ask and ye shall receive. This is just great family history and from a member of the family at that. We stand in your shadow Mr. Robinson and thank you very much for sharing all of your knowledge. We will be sitting here biting our nails until you post the photos that you mentioned.
Dick

Paul E. Wog

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2013, 04:14:51 PM »
 :o :o robinson46176,
  Wonderful stuff!!
  Great post and very interesting info...ain't family fun and frustrating ??? ???
  Looking forward to the pics.   Thanks for the input.
                         Shreck

Offline Curt J

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2013, 07:41:38 AM »
Fascinating history!  This is the kind of thing that those of us who research early gunsmiths dream about.

robinson46176

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2014, 04:02:14 AM »
OK, it took me over a year and having a dicky ticker rebuilt but I did finally find my poor quality picture of Jesse Maurice Barlow and a picture of his house and one of his log gun shop...
Now I may be having a stupid attack but I'll be danged if I can find where and how to post pictures on this site.  ???
I'm active on a number of forums and have been for a long time but none of them are quite like this one. I see that no pictures show here so I guessing that they get posted to a photo file some place?  So far I can't find one?
Help...  :-[

Offline Don Getz

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2014, 04:16:44 AM »
Just curious, which one made those neat folding pocket knives............Don

Offline Mark Tyler

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #12 on: March 06, 2014, 04:22:25 AM »

robinson46176

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robinson46176

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #14 on: March 06, 2014, 06:16:43 AM »
If you can't see all three pictures please tell me and I try again.  :)

Paul E. Wog

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #15 on: March 06, 2014, 04:03:03 PM »
Pics show up just fine ;D
Thanks again for sharing the family info.  Interesting stuff, great shots of the buildings and the man himself.
                         Shreck
                           

Offline Shreckmeister

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #16 on: March 06, 2014, 07:22:37 PM »
Great Stuff.  Enjoyed it very much.  Thank you.
Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.

Offline A.Merrill

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Re: J.M. Barlow
« Reply #17 on: March 07, 2014, 09:42:53 AM »
    Mr. Robinson, thank you for every thing. I really enjoyed reading the story and the pic's are great. Thanks again.    Al
Alan K. Merrill