Rifles of Boonesburough Ky 1776-1778

[jsb30]

My Wife has discovered I had ancestors at Boonesburough Ky during 1776-1778 with Daniel Boone. What pattern of firearms do you think they would have had? I would be interested in building one.

 Mary Hodges was my ancestor.

[WESTbury]

What pattern of firearms do you think they would have had? I would be interested in building one.

Welcome to the ALR Forum.

I would start by trying to determine where your ancestors lived before migrating to KY. If you can get that info it may be possible to find out what the characteristics of any firearms they would have carried to KY. I'm sure that the early settlers did not arrive in KY and start buying guns made in Boonesburough as they would have needed firearms for the trip for security and hunting.

[rich pierce]

Pennsylvania had more gunsmiths making rifles at that time than anywhere else. One can look at orders for guns by the army during the Revolutionary War to get an idea of the gunmaking capacity of different colonies.

[flinchrocket]

According to Mel Hankla, Michael Humble had established a gunshop on the falls of the Ohio
( Louisville) by 1777.

[J. Talbert]

I agree with Westbury.  Where your ancestors came from, prior to arriving in Boonesburough is no doubt the best clue as to what their firearms may have looked like.

Jeff

[backsplash75]

My Wife has discovered I had ancestors at Boonesburough Ky during 1776-1778 with Daniel Boone. What pattern of firearms do you think they would have had? I would be interested in building one.

 Mary Hodges was my ancestor.

"But to return to our subject: no time was lost; we struck whilst the iron was hot, fixed Mr. Cocke off with a good Queen Ann's musket, plenty of ammunition, a tomahawk, a large cuttoe knife, a Dutch blanket, and no small quantity of jerked beef. Thus equipped, and mounted on a tolerably good horse, on the ___ day of April, Mr. Cocke started from Cumberland river, about 130 miles from this place, and carried with him, besides his own enormous load of fearful apprehensions, a considerable burden of my own uneasiness."


Rifle wise, hard to go wrong with a 1770s Lancasterish/Dickert rifle, there is a Haymaker rifle in KHS that is supposed to have been used in Kentucky as well.

[spgordon]

This advertisement indicates that "dickert rifle guns" were being sold in Kentucky by 1788 ... and many folks traveling to Kentucky surely carried them ...