O. Welsh Rifle, Findlay, OH

[Brian Keith]

Hello,
I’m new here, I’ve been enjoying reading post and gathering info the last couple of days since I found this forum. Now I’m registered here. I’m doing some research on a recently acquired rifle. I don’t have photo’s to post yet but hope to soon. I realize good photo’s are really a “must”, followed by a “hands on inspection” by experts, if warranted.
The particulars follow:
½ Stock, Percussion, Muzzle Loading Target Rifle
Appears to be 36 caliber.
Barrel is 36 3/8 length, rifle is 52 inches overall.
Top of barrel is inscribed, “O. Welsh” six and one quarter inches from the breech. Info I have found is that there was a gunsmith in Findlay, OH (B1826) between 1850-1860 by that name. The rifle is now in Ft. Wayne, IN, not far from “home”.
Lock is marked “DAYTON” and has flourishes and a field scene of a hunting dog chasing ducks.
It has double set triggers with a brass trigger guard and butt plate.
It has a pewter stock fore end cap.
It has an adjustable (screws up or down) rear peep sight and a brass front sight blade. It also has the normal V notched rear sight.
 
Issues:
Stock and lock sanded.
Center, fore end of stock cracked, missing barrel pin.
Rusty and rust pitting damage, active rust around lock and nipple area.
Barrel tang broken, previous old repair.
Ram rod missing, both ram rod guides missing.
Overall fair condition.

My questions right now, what else can you guys tell me about “O. Welsh”? Does this rifle sound like his typical work? It is not a “heavy” target barrel rifle, it appears to me to be a regular size barrel.
I realize any repair/restoration can be quite a can of worms, but this rifle needs “work” to bring it back to some of it’s former glory. We need to do a proper restoration to make this piece displayable. Wood work repair (the cracks) and active rust mitigation is not really an issue. Replacement of the ram rod and ram rod guides is, what did the originals look like?
I will try to get photo’s up soon. What areas are really important to see? I assume: name on barrel, lock, wrist, butt plate, barrel tang, triggers, and trigger guard.
Thanks for any help/info/comments!
As an aside, I live in Indiana and my grand father took my brothers and I to Friendship for a quick trip in about 1970, when I was about 10. I have visited many times since then.
Brian Keith
 

[altankhan]

Hi -- there is a listing for Osbian Welsh (1825-?) in Vol. Two of Ohio Gunsmiths & Allied Tradesmen (Donald A. Hutslar), pp. 145.  He was born in Pennsylvania and in 1850 he was listed as a resident in the Reed Hotel, Findlay, Ohio (Hancock County), still in the records as of 1860 (seems to have moved out of the hotel). The volume does not include pictures of the gun.  From your description the rifle seems like many produced in western Ohio in the 1850s and 60s. I've had several guns with the Dayton marked locks with the same picture you describe on them. 

[Brian Keith]

Thanks for the response. Your info is more specific than what I had. I have made photo's but will have to work a bit to get them posted here. I had no doubts the lock was a bulk purchased item.
Yours,
BKW