Here is what I have on Jacob Painter. The birthplace conflicts with the census information. Jacob Painter was born in Burke County, North Carolina, in 1810. He was the son of Samuel and Betsy Painter. The family moved to Lincoln County, Tennessee, in 1813, and to Montgomery County, Illinois in 1826. They remained in Illinois until 1831, when they moved to Springfield, Missouri. He married Miss Betsy Compton in 1830, while living in Illinois. She died in Missouri in 1836, and in 1839 he married Fannie Freeman. Considering that he was living in Illinois from the age of 16 through the age of 21, it seems likely that he apprenticed to someone here. I know of no gunsmiths working in Montgomery County, Illinois at that time, but there were several in nearby Madison and St. Clair Counties.