I went to a barn sale this weekend and picked up a few items. As I was leaving I saw a couple of boxes full of old papers, letters, documents, photograpsh…etc. So…I asked the guy about them and he said that they were from his family….and that it was just junk….he didn’t need the stuff in there so he was just getting rid of it. He let me know that his family was very prominent in the Stoughton, Mass area and he told me a little about them. I bought it really cheap.
When I actually got around to going through it….I was amazed by the great photographs…some very old... back to the 1850’s….and documents as far back as the 1840’s….interesting correspondence….etc.
Then I came across this handwritten note on an old bank check. This is what it said…
“Target Rifle. Percussion, Double Set triggers, Heavy Octagonal 29 ½ “ Barrel, Tot. length 48”. The rifle has a telescopic sight 34 5/8” long. The Case in which this rifle was received is marked “Edwin J. Stanclift “, 3D Div 5th Corps 8th Batt Sharpshooters” The Ralph G. Packard Collection”
(Underlined words indicate that I wasn’t completely sure of a couple letters in the spelling)
So….I turned the check over and handwritten on the back it says this…..
“Not made by the Government….Used in Civil War….20 to 30 lb Ocatagon
….45 cal. Cap Lock with full length Telescope”
And it was signed below with the name and address of the person who was a relative of the man I bought it from and I assume was the new owner of this rifle.
So….I am thinking that this is pretty cool…I didn’t have time to look through the rest of the boxes so I set them aside for a couple days. When I did get back to it….I came across some photograhps….still in their original packaging from Dec. 1940.….and much to my surprise….in the midst of the photos there was a picture of the gun described in the note. It was the last thing I expected to find.
I thought folks here might like to here this story and take a look. Is it possible that someone knows where this rifle is now? Has anyone ever heard of the Ralph G. Packard collection? Any other thoughts or observations?
