Jacob Row - Upper Susquehanna Gunsmith

[Rich N.]

Here is another hard to find rifle.  Jacob Row worked in what is today Snyder County.  He had a brother who also worked as a gunsmith in the same county.  See the library section on Upper Susquehanna gunsmiths for more information.  This rifle does not belong to me, but is posted with the permission of the owner.

[Nate McKenzie]

Thanks for posting. I'd love to see more of your US rifles. Also, thanks for the work you sent my way.

[Rich N.]

Thanks for the comment Nate.  I find this rifle to be interesting because I see so much of other gunsmiths from the area in this rifle, and it has most of the features that I would expect to see on a nice Upper Susquehanna rifle.  Before I looked at the signature, my first thought was that it was a rifle made by Jacob Laudenslager.  He made some of the best rifles in the area, and this rifle by Row shows the same attention to detail and workmanship that you see on a Jacob Laudenslager rifle.  Being such a good craftsmen, you would think that rifles by Row would be more common, and yet this is the first rifle by him that I ever saw firsthand.  

Local collectors sometimes talk about the finial used on the patch box of this gun as a "Penn Township Finial", yet this is one of the finials that I have seen used by other gunsmiths throughout the county.  There is a very nice Joe Long rifle that used this same finial and he lived at the other end of the county.  It is my guess that Row learned the trade from one of the Laudenslagers or possibly S. H. St.Clair.  Perhaps Loudy has more insight into this connection.

Rich

[Loudy]

Rich,

Ah yes, the elusive gunsmith Jacob Row.  Like you, I suspect some sort of connection between Jacob Row and the Laudenslager gunsmiths from Union/Snyder County, PA.  Gunsmiths Samuel and William Laudenslager both had spouses from the Row/Rowe family.  Samuel married Esther "Hettie" Row, and William married Anna Row.  Maybe they were sisters or cousins?  Despite investing a lot of research hours, I have not been able to firmly establish any sort of links between any of these Row family members.  To further complicate matters, there were at least a couple other Row gunsmiths from the same area.  There was a gunsmith named John Row (1810-1868) from Union/Snyder County that removed to Summit County, OH, and later to Elkhart, IN.  How does he fit into the mix?  Dalas Ewing, Upper Susquehanna longrifle collector & researcher, provided information regarding a gunsmith named Elias (or Isaiah) Row.  He stated that Elias Row signed his guns "E * R" or "E Row".  I've also wondered if there is a family connection between the Row gunsmiths from Union/Snyder County and gunsmith Nathanial Rowe (apprentice to John Armstrong) from Emmitsburg, MD?  Maybe someday someone will straighten out these Row's.  Pardon the pun.  Thank you for posting photos of this rifle.   

Mark

P.S. - Do you happen to have a clearer photo of the signature on the barrel of the Jacob Row gun?