Rifle stocker signatures 1776

[WESTbury]

I've been running through files of the Pa. State Archives from the early Rev War era. There are many receipts signed by rifle stockers Dickert, Gonter, etc. I thought I would post just a few. Some of signatures are easy to read but there a few are, to me, questionable. Some may be just blacksmiths.

There are many people on the ALR who will be able to identify them. I've attached a link to just one of online files. There are many others to view.

https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/psa/islandora/object/psa%3A1857552?overlay_query=COUNCIL%20OF%20SAFETY#page/1/mode/1up/search/COUNCIL%20OF%20SAFETY

[Eric Kettenburg]

Just preliminarily, I see:

Jacob Dickert
Jacob Dickert
Peter Gonter
John Graeff
Jacob Kraft
Enoch Levering
Jacob Messersmith
Benjamin (Gorgas?)

John (Roser?) (Raser?) (Roper?) - I admit this one really spiked my interest for a few seconds - thought it might be a variation of Rupp but I don't think so, definitely something represented after the third letter, an s, p or f followed by maybe an er, or just an r, or an e with a trailing squiggle.  Too much ink bleed.

Christopher Breidenhardt
Jacob Fetter

?? - Joseph something maybe?

Jacob New(hous?) Newhard? (maybe wishful thinking) can't tell if that last letter might be a d with some fade

Joseph Webb

[WESTbury]

I knew we could depend upon you Eric. Thanks!

Kent

[Eric Kettenburg]

Scott may have more insight - he seems really good at this.

[WESTbury]

Scott may have more insight - he seems really good at this.

Of that I have no doubt.

[spgordon]

I'd just caution that many of these receipts are not signed by a gunsmith: they're signed by somebody who sold a rifle to a captain (or had his rifle taken unwillingly but was reimbursed for it).

That is: all these receipts serve to document something that a captain (or some other officer) has paid for so he can get reimbursed for it. Some of it involves getting his company's arms repaired by a gunsmith.

But other receipts document that he has purchased an arm from a civilian. I think all of the receipts referencing William Levering fall into this category. So the signatures on these receipts (some of which I can't read either) aren't a gunsmith's signature. They're just the signature of whomever Levering got the rifle from.

The receipts here from gunsmiths (Dickert, Graeff, Gonter, Messersmith, Kraft, Breidenhardt, Fetter) describe the work done; the other receipts describe the purchase of a rifle (probably from a civilian, maybe from a non-associator).

[WESTbury]

The receipts here from gunsmiths (Dickert, Graeff, Gonter, Messersmith, Kraft, Breidenhardt, Fetter) describe the work done; the other receipts describe the purchase of a rifle (probably from a civilian, maybe from a non-associator).

Thanks for your insight. Some receipts I saw were pretty much unreadable. The gunsmiths I recognized and a couple I was not sure about and found nothing in any references I have for them. Some may have been blacksmiths or other tradesmen.

[spgordon]

The receipts here from gunsmiths (Dickert, Graeff, Gonter, Messersmith, Kraft, Breidenhardt, Fetter) describe the work done; the other receipts describe the purchase of a rifle (probably from a civilian, maybe from a non-associator).

Thanks for your insight. Some receipts I saw were pretty much unreadable. The gunsmiths I recognized and a couple I was not sure about and found nothing in any references I have for them. Some may have been blacksmiths or other tradesmen.

And, just to make sure my point was clear: the receipts related to William Levering do not describe any sort of work being done by a gunsmith or blacksmith or another tradesman. They involve Levering purchasing a rifle from a civilian.

[WESTbury]

And, just to make sure my point was clear: the receipts related to William Levering do not describe any sort of work being done by a gunsmith or blacksmith or another tradesman. They involve Levering purchasing a rifle from a civilian.

Understood. My objective in this post was to show the signatures of some rifle stockers and not what manner of work performed or anything else such as the purchase of a rifle.

Hence the subject in the Subject box, "Rifle stocker signatures 1776". I was not sure if all were stockers and was glad to get Eric's analysis.

[spgordon]

And, just to make sure my point was clear: the receipts related to William Levering do not describe any sort of work being done by a gunsmith or blacksmith or another tradesman. They involve Levering purchasing a rifle from a civilian.

Understood. My objective in this post was to show the signatures of some rifle stockers and not what manner of work performed or anything else such as the purchase of a rifle.

Hence the subject in the Subject box, "Rifle stocker signatures 1776". I was not sure if all were stockers and was glad to get Eric's analysis.

I understand. The objective of my post was not to stress what manner of work was performed or whether a rifle was being purchased. It was to say that five of the receipts don't show signatures of rifle stockers. The signatures are of civilians--farmers, for all we know--from whom Captain William Levering obtained a rifle.

[WESTbury]

I understand. The objective of my post was not to stress what manner of work was performed or whether a rifle was being purchased. It was to say that five of the receipts don't show signatures of rifle stockers. The signatures are of civilians--farmers, for all we know--from whom Captain William Levering obtained a rifle.

Understood. I was not sure if all of the gentlemen were stockers and I'm glad you cleared that up for me and everyone else who, like me, has limited knowledge and exposure to longrifles and their builders.

Kent

[Dobyns]

Christopher Breidenhardt is not widely known, but arrived here from Germany circa 1752 as a trained gunsmith.  I've seen pictures of one of his guns, but surely there must be more since Lancaster was a hotbed of gunmaking.

[spgordon]

Christopher Breidenhardt is not widely known, but arrived here from Germany circa 1752 as a trained gunsmith.  I've seen pictures of one of his guns, but surely there must be more since Lancaster was a hotbed of gunmaking.

Breidenhart may have trained Dickert (there aren't many other candidates in Lancaster city at the time Dickert arrives, 1755: Breidenhart, Roesser, William Henry, maybe a guy named William Foulks). In the late 1760s Dickert purchased Breidenhart's property (which had a smith's shop) on Queen Street, though it passed through other owners first. The 1765 Lancaster tax list identifies Breidenhart as an innkeeper, so he may have mostly shifted his career by then--although in summer 1776 he certainly repairs some arms in addition to serving as an innkeeper.

I wish we knew more about him!

[Eric Kettenburg]

The Breitenhardt piece that Wayne Heckert pictured in his Lancaster book was a VERY nice piece imho, certainly made by someone with professional training and definitey accomplished.  Only a small photo or two, would love to see more of his work.

[spgordon]

I wonder where that rifle is now--and whether it resembles Dickert's work?

[WESTbury]

Does anybody recognize who this may be? He did some work on "public guns". Tinker, taylor, soldier, spy?

I took an USWAG guess on the last name. First name probably "Nathaniel".

[spgordon]

James Wallace (c.1725-1777) was a member of the Bucks County Committee of Observation. Early in 1776 he was named one of the committee members to whom non-associators' arms were supposed to be delivered.

A Nathaniel Ellicott (1726-1797), maybe an innkeeper, lived around Warminster, a few miles away from Wallace (who lived in Warwick Township).

[WESTbury]

Thanks Scott.

Seems like everybody was cashing in at this period.

William Levering was buying a great many rifles so I'm assuming he was affiliated with the Council of Safety. From the receipts I've read from RG27, money was being dolled out left and right. In some cases, hundreds of pounds at a time.

[spgordon]