Recovered Oerter Rifle: new photos--and signature

[WESTbury]

In England there was the Test Act of 1673 which was used against Catholics.

[spgordon]

I assume there was a "test act" in England or a similar sentiment that prompted Joseph Perkin, who left the Church of England when he was converted and joined the Moravians, to come to the colonies. ( Hope I'm not derailing the thread )

Dan Fruth, re-posting this here in case you didn't see it on another thread--info related to Perkin in England from the Moravian diaries of the Bristol congregation:

Perkins was a member of the single brothers' choir of the Bristol Moravian congregation as early as 1766. In April 1766 a boy named John Waters (also a Moravian) was apprenticed to Perkin "for seven years to learn the Gun Lock Smith Trade." When the single brothers rebuilt their house in July 1766, they included a shop for Perkin; they were later going to establish a "Ironmonger's Shop," with Perkin as "workman," but they abandoned this idea in January 1767--though Perkin was allowed to continue his "traffic in the Gunlock way." Perkin's "Gunlock Trade" was doing well: the pastor reported that "their Orders increase very much" by November 1766 and by March of the next year the single brothers agreed to "enlarge the shop" because Perkin didn't have "Room enough in his shop for himself and John Waters to work."

I don't think any information from Moravian sources (yet found) indicate why he came to America in the early 1770s. In 1779, from Philadelphia, he writes to Moravian authorities that "William Henrey at Christian Spring wants me to come and instruct him in the gun lock making trade, which i have no objection to if our Saviour orders it so."

[Dan Fruth]

Thanks for clearing that up Mr. Gordon. I had assumed he felt ostracized from the trades in England because of his spiritual affiliation with the Moravians, and came to the colonies for religious reasons.....Thanks again

[120RIR]

When I first read Mr. Gordon's post including his thoughts regarding a possible large rifle order, my initial reaction was that if Oerter did fill a large order, would they really have been so adorned with elaborate wire work and carving?  Wouldn't a large order imply that the desired product be less adorned and more focused on functionality possibly for militia use?  If not, what could the nature of a larger order have been were it for elaborate rifles?  A "large order" hypothesis didn't seem likely to me at first.  However, in looking at numerous examples of Oerter's signed and dated work, something caught my eye that I haven't seen mentioned and makes me wonder if Mr. Gordon's suggestion is worthy of further consideration.  In virtually every case, the numbers 177 are, in general, quite consistent in terms of style, size, and spacing.  Now take a look at the subsequent numbers "4" and "5" (lots of examples in Moravian Gunmaking II).  Almost without exception they appear to be by a different hand, different sizes, and poorly spaced.  The "5" on the recently recovered Oerter and on the minty Windsor Castle rifle are perfect examples and are almost jarringly off.  Variations in the town (Christian's Spring) and Oerter's name not withstanding, might it be that what we're seeing is indeed evidence of Oerter having made or purchased a sizable quantity of barrels for a large order that might take several years to fill and only adding the last digit of the year upon individual rifle completion?  Or - perhaps he simply anticipated business would be good in the mid-1770s and in anticipation prepared a stock of barrels ready to go for final rifle assembly only then adding the last number of the year?  More speculation I realize - other's thoughts?

[Craig Wilcox]

Scott - thanks for all the valuable info.  Still saving up for a copy of your book about the Moravian lady.

[spgordon]

Scott - thanks for all the valuable info.  Still saving up for a copy of your book about the Moravian lady.

It's in paperback now! Only $25!

[Craig Wilcox]

Like the firearms we attempt to replicate, I am old fashioned:  I definitely prefer hard bound books.  I save the paperback books for Westerns and mysteries that I might pass along to others.

You did one heck of a pile of work along the way.  I preferred the great outdoors, and worked as a humble biologist in 9 states and about a baker's dozen of foreign countries.  I guess we both enjoyed what we did to put food on the table.

[WESTbury]

While leafing through Jim Whisker's book, Behold The Longrifle, I noticed that page 142 has photos of a rifle with Oerter's name in letters than bear little resemblance to the two rifles whose photos are presented in this thread. I'm sure all of you have a copy of Whisker's book so this is very probably nothing new to any of you. Just thought I'd mention what I found. My library of reference books related to the longrifle is a work in progress (slow progress at that), so I beg your indulgence.

[spgordon]

Well, came across this last night--a Nov 1777 letter in which General William Woodford (who had spent time in Bethlehem while injured after Brandywine) refers to "Christian Spring." So that lends support to the notion expressed by Eric K. and others that Oerter is putting Christ. Spring on his barrels to advertise his product to a market that knew of the community by that name.

[JV Puleo]

Yes, there was a Test Act in Britain. Its restrictions were, however, spotty depending on where the person lived. I seem to remember that Joseph Perkin came from Birmingham. Birmingham was unincorporated in the 18th century and, because of that, most of the restrictions did not apply there. Strictly speaking, a dissenter (non-C of E Protestant) could not hold public office or any position of public responsibility...like a commission on the Army or Navy. Birmingham had notable exceptions, the best-known being William Hutton, who wrote the first history of the town and was a judge in the Court of Requests (the 18th-century version of small claims court). Birmingham wasn't incorporated as a Town until 1837 and wasn't officially a City until 1889.

[smart dog]

Hi Scott,
That is wonderful documentation and I agree that Christian's Spring must have had a wider reputation than its size suggests.  Another bit of evidence supporting that is the surviving invoices and correspondence from the shop suggests a native and non-native clientele that ranged over a large area.  The little shop that could.

dave

[spgordon]

Yes, there was a Test Act in Britain. Its restrictions were, however, spotty depending on where the person lived. I seem to remember that Joseph Perkin came from Birmingham. Birmingham was unincorporated in the 18th century and, because of that, most of the restrictions did not apply there. Strictly speaking, a dissenter (non-C of E Protestant) could not hold public office or any position of public responsibility...like a commission on the Army or Navy. Birmingham had notable exceptions, the best-known being William Hutton, who wrote the first history of the town and was a judge in the Court of Requests (the 18th-century version of small claims court). Birmingham wasn't incorporated as a Town until 1837 and wasn't officially a City until 1889.

Perkins was in Bristol, at least in the mid/late 1760s (see above). Strictly speaking, after 1749 the Moravians were not in Britain considered a dissenting group: an Act of Parliament recognized them as an "ancient episcopal protestant church" and that protected them in British territories (including America) from having to serve in militias, etc. This "solved" the problem that had led Moravians to leave their first place of arrival in the colonies (Georgia). Military service and oath taking did not become a problem for them again until the 1770s when the American patriots passed the Test and Militia Acts (demanding from them what Britain hadn't for 35 years).