Colonial NJ Gunsmiths?

[brokenflint]

I was looking through the KRA site searching the various makers when I noticed that no NJ makers where listed.  Right across the border in PA its a hotbed of makers, surely there had to be a demand in NJ and New York City because of the population.  Anyone have any info or done any research?

Broke

[smart dog]

Hi Broke,
I think the Annelly (spelling?) family of gunsmiths worked in NYC and NJ.  Thomas Annelly worked for a time in Trenton and was inspector or armorer (I think) of militia arms in one part of NJ.

dave

[jwh1947]

I, too, have pondered this fact, myself.  The best that I can come up with is as follows:  Gunsmiths, as we know, were skilled and obviously of reasonable intelligence.  Thus, they had enough sense to settle on the preferable side of the Delaware.    Yes, we like to kid our New Jersey bretheren, especially the few who can speak English.  Jersey jokes are actually a genre around here, such as:  Q: Why are most New Yorkers clinically depressed?   A:  They found out that the light at the end of the tunnel is New Jersey.  And, yes, they retort with derogatory remarks about the condition of our teeth and our narrow gene pool. 

In all seriousness, I have thought about it but, like many other things, never done anything about it.  Could there have been a handful of builders across the river from PA or on the outskirts of NYC?  I will review Sellers looking only for period NJ gunmakers and report back to you.   

[Eric Kettenburg]

Probably all settled in PA so they wouldn't have to deal with the hoop-jumping involved in obtaining an 'Ye Olde Armorers ID Card...'  

[brokenflint]

I thought it was bears in the garbage made em move to PA, oh wait you's got bears in your garbage too!!!  Ya all keep me posted iffin ya find sumtin!! Dave I'll look up Aneelly on Ancestory dot com once I renew my membership after christmas.  Thanks All

Broke

[woodsrunner]

Now wait a minute! I thought New York City was a thriving center of production for fowling pieces! Where did I pick up that intelligence? Tom Grinslade's book? I know a riflemaker who has a SXS 16ga made in NYC in 1810 but by whom I don't know. Surely this wasn't the only builder there!

[smart dog]

Broke,
Hartzler and Whisker (Early American Flintlocks)list many colonial gunsmiths in New York City.  Families associated with the gun trade over several generations before and during the Rev War include Allen, Annelly, Ellsworth, Forbes, Van Dyck, Van Gelder, and Waldron.  Some gunmakers worked in the 17th century and some probably worked (like Edward and Thomas Annelly) in NJ for at least a time. Thomas Annelly eventually became a master armorer at Harpers Ferry.  Hartzler and Whisker show some guns by the Annellys and Neuman shows some as well in his book Battle Weapons of the American Revolution. 

dave

[jwh1947]

You men are correct! NYC had plenty of gunsmiths, as did that other region, Upper New York State.  But after starting to cull Seller's book last night, I suspect that New Jersey period gunsmiths might end up being one of those candidates for "shortest book in the world."  There are few, but not a lot.

 Also some other trends I came up with at first glance, subjects for another day, perhaps...very few gunsmiths also in Delaware, which, as you know, were the lower three counties of Pennsylvania until they formed their own state.

Also I hit upon the town of Bushkill, PA as the location of numerous flint and percussion era gunsmiths.  Bushkill is not a big place, but un upstate crossroads in the Poconos, near the Delaware (NJ border).  Far more gunsmiths there than the norm for that area and/or size hamlet.  Almost looks as if the NJ shooters came across the Delaware to buy their guns.  Nothing's changed.  I will eventually give you a list of NJ possibilities.

[brokenflint]

OK  so what have we got here, NYC listings, with one of them possibly working the NJ neighborhood. That being Annelly but no actual record?  So where do we go from here and what's the most likely plan of research attack? 

When you guys hunt down a PA maker's history you usually have a name to start with.  Which at least keeps the target in sight.  In this case we should check old tax records I assume to come up with names but no guns!  In any case thanks for responses so far and do keep me posted, this has aroused my curiosity for sure.

Broke

[490roundball]

a couple thoughts,  parts of current NJ were claimed by other states during colonial times, PA and NY and even CT at one point. these claims were finally settled as the states were drawn up after the revolution.  So its possible the gunsmiths may be listed in other areas.

Or as suggested, maybe they didn't want to admit the address.   Once when I met a gentlemen who seemed appologetic about moving here from NJ I told him not to worry, My family came from there, we just got out before it got real bad.  He aksed when we left,  I told him the 1790's   

[smart dog]

Hi Broke,
Thomas Annelly definitely worked in Trenton, NJ so there you have at least 1 gunmaker.  It is possible that NJ being small and stuck between NYC and Philly really did not have a need or demand for local gunsmith services. Prior to the Rev War, the state was never an important venue in wars during the colonial period (although the F&I War briefly entered NW New Jersey, which was why the barracks in Trenton were built). There were no serious battles or threats from indians after the 17th century. There were some small border skirmishes with NY that were politically important but did not involve some large military mobilization of the citizens. During the 18th century NJ was probably not a center of "frontier" traffic or trade.  Moreover, much of southern and western NJ was settled by Quakers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Perhaps gunmaking was not a popular profession with them.  That might also be the case for northern and central Delaware. By the time of the great waves of German immigration, which brought many gunsmiths to the colonies, much of NJ was probably already owned and settled offering little prospect for the newcomers. I suspect NJ just didn't have much demand for local gunsmiths.   

dave

[Eric Kettenburg]

There were armories in Trenton very early in the Rev War, ca. 1775/1776.  I have references to Ebenezer Cowell working there (in a managerial position, I believe) prior to evacuating to Philly and thence Allentown (also managerial).  Furthermore there were ironworks in Hunterdon and Sussex Co. just across the river from Easton and there are records of the Moravians at Bethlehem doing business with them - easy access via the Easton ferry.  However, have not seen references to actual gunsmiths.  I've always assumed close enough to Philly/Easton/Bethlehem, and NYC, to reduce almost to nil any need for specialized gunsmithing.  I spent my first 22/23 years of existence in Hopewell, and never heard of any reference to colonial gunsmithing.  I'm sure there must have been some, here or there, but not much of a need in central NJ. 

[Acer Saccharum]

I always wondered about that I seldom (ie: never) heard of NJ gunsmiths, yet right across the river is Allentown, Bethlehem, etc. Was the river such a barrier, culturally different area: the Agrarian NJ vs the Transitory/Indian warring front of PA?

[smart dog]

Acer,
I think there were some important cultural differences.  Much of western NJ was purchased by Quakers in the 1670s.  I suspect they had a lot of influence just as they did in southeastern PA where they gave Benjamin Franklin fits with their resistence to arming and preparing for frontier warfare during the F&I war. In fact, the rural population surrounding Philly just about went to war against the Quakers in their frustration. A book worth reading is David Hackett Fisher's "Albion Seed".  He describes the cultural and political significance of 4 great waves of English colonial immigration into North America. Those 4 waves were the puritans in New England, the displaced aristocrats in Virginia and the Carolinas, the border Scots in the frontier areas, and the Quakers in the mid-Atlantic region.  They all brought with them very different ideas of freedom, liberty, social order, education, recreation, etc.  Some of those differences still exist and explain much concerning political and social divisions in this country.

dave

[brokenflint]

Aright!!  We've doubled our NJ database, Annelly then Cowell!.  Actually I do think that we need to consider
1. Early boundaries, Yes NY and NJ had the border wars which means we need to search out side the NJ box so to speak. 
2. Cultural diversity, NJ had a great number of Dutch settle in the northern part of the state, as well as more than a smattering of French Hugenots early on as well as Germans.
3. Location:  PA was the frontier, no doubt its number of gunsmiths outstripped the other regions in demands for a period of time.  NYC, imo was considered a merchantile / cultural hub where hi end guns (and other items as silver, furniture) could be obtained.  The lack of known gunsmiths still doesn't address the repair / maintenance demand I would think.  Distance is also something that bothers me, if say you lived in West Milford twp (NW corner of state) you might travel to Paterson, NJ, PA or NYC but the round trip would have taken a week +/-.  Paterson was a fairly large town early in Colonial time, which would have had it's variety of merchants, so trade guns would be a ready merchantile item, this being the case I would think that this "City" would at least have had a gunsmith.  Another solution to this would be traveling merchants bringing in new guns to the outlaying areas but leaves repairs to local blacksmiths, at times not the best of workmanship.  I still think we just haven't found any records. 
4.  Population stability: by this I am referring to the land grants / proprietorships / ownership for the most part being established by the time of the Revolution.  In a primitive sense this transitioned the hunter gatherer mentality of early settlements need for food and protection to a more traditional european agrarian society. This means to me that more than likely fowlers would be the weapon of choice as a farm tool / required militia gun.  So these may have been French / English / Dutch / German or America made.

Eric  Ringwood NJ was a hot bed of iron foundry work, which imo would have had barrel makers interested in locating in that area.  They would have easy material access / easy trade route access to distribute the final product.  Anyone know about barrel makers in this area?

Broke

[490roundball]

As far as Dutch influence in the northern part, very true.  when New Amsterdam became New York many early New Amsterdam Dutch famlies (including the Loseys) went west into NJ.  (current Sussex and Morris counties).  They needed to feed and protect the family. When Abiel Losey (father of the Benjamin and John Losey whose gun is shown in the virtual museum and library) showed up in NY state just after 1800 he was already listed as a barrel maker,  he had to learn his trade some where.  And one of the early iron works was run by the Losey and Canfield familys).   

That area was as much or more the frontier as SE PA at the time.  1754 saw indian raids  in the Minisink and Sussex area and the frontier guard was established about 1756 to protect the area while the Jersey Blues where off at Lake George and Ti.  NJ histories reference 14 forts strung out to protect the region.  I would agree with Brokenflint about the distances,  Some one had to be at least repairing if not making guns in that active an area.

[smart dog]

Hi Broke,
Certainly, iron ore was a major commodity from NJ.  The big Durham boats that Washington used to attack Trenton were designed to carry iron ore up and down the Delaware River. Hibernia and Batsto were also iron ore producing locations in NJ. It is interesting with all that metal mining that no barrel makers and few gunmakers can be identitfied from the region. You mentioned that there must have been some gunsmiths that repaired local guns. I am sure that there are local smiths all over the colonies that remain obscure because they just did repairs and produced very few guns themselves. There also may be many local blacksmiths who did minor repairs on guns. I think NJ just did not have a market for firearms that would support many local fulltime producing gunmakers. Probably,individuals and local merchants could easily buy guns directly or for resale from makers in NY and PA. Despite early conflicts with indians, border disputes, and a few incidents during the F&I war, residents of NJ probably did not share the anxieties that colonies bordering frontiers had. Moreover, farmers in settled and safe environments probably did not view guns as a  tool of daily life.
dave   

[dannybb55]

Unless the farmers had to deal with daily raids of Crow, rodents, and other crop eating rodents. There were a lot of Finns and Swedes on the Delaware, Maybe they were carrying snap lock rifles and muskets. Snap locks were carried in Scandinavia, relatively unaltered, from 1550 to the 20th century. Any ideas? 

[keweenaw]

This is a fine topic for speculation.  There was obviously some fairly high end making of dutch and British style fowling pieces in New York but very little early rifle making.  The rifle making came in with the big waves of Germans (Moravians and people from the Palantine) who clustered in eastern Pennsylvania.  As has been previously pointed out, most of NJ was subdivided by the time of the large German immigration.  During most of the NJ settlement period there was very little production of arms anywhere in the America.  By the end of the F&I war, most of NJ was farms, while the vast bulk of PA was forest.  Who buys guns, particularly rifles? Not farmers who no longer are bothered by hostile Indians. 

Tom

[brokenflint]

Tom

I buy part of what you say, but not all of it.  I went back and looked at some reference to Palatine migration and agree that the vast majority of the gunmakers from these migrations settled more on the PA frontier so to speak. 

Who buys guns, particularly rifles? Not farmers who no longer are bothered by hostile Indians. 

This is what I don't buy fully, I think there was always a threat of Indian raids into NJ and just across the border into NY.  If we look at the Minisink battle (1779) and its aftermath we see that the folks from Goshen & Warwick NY as well as Sussex Cty NJ where afraid to go to the battle site to recover remains of their relatives.  It took 40 years for them to feel safe enough to do this.  Granted the Battle site is into NY/PA and a more contested area than NW NJ but I don't think they took the threat lightly, for one they wouldn't have responded so emotionally for a quick response to Brant's raids up the Delaware when they went off half cocked and got massacred.  This was twenty years after the F&I War.  As a small child I remember crawling into the cellar tunnel at a relatives home.  It was many years later when my grandparents told me it was the escape route out of the house if it was attacked and burned by the Indians.  This home was built in 1799 IIRC another 20 years after the Minisink fight.

NWestern (and middle grounds along the Delaware) NJ was very much the frontier in 1779 but the rest of the State was as you say, established towns and farms, where guns have always been a tool of the trade to control pests  of two or four legged kind.

I'm still interested in doing some research once I get time on-line with my Ancestry dot com account after the holidays.  I'd like to see if maybe we could locate original town records of occupations and see what turns up.
Broke

[jwh1947]

Sellers lists several dozen New Jersey gunsmiths, but most of them are from the machine age.  Listings for patent holders for revolver systems, etc.  Also, keep in mind that Sellers culled existing records and printed what he found.  All of his sources are not of the same quality.  He was good about telling readers where his stuff came from, so you can evaluate it yourself.

I was looking for builders of Kentuckies, not the rest, so I made some arbitrary exclusions.  Anyone post-Civil War active was excluded unless cited as a builder of our guns. If they died during the Civil War I included them because they could have been building Kentuckies prior to that.  I am 1/2 way through the book and here's what I have in addition to Annelly and Cowell.

Scott Allen, Baptistown, died 1860.
Cornelius Austin, Armorer to NJ, 1776-1779
Aaron Baldwin, Newark, 1841-1842
John Barr, Camden, died 1850.
S. Bodine, Camden, died 1850.
Alexander Boyden, Newark, 1824
Peter Crae, Patterson, died 1860.
Peter Dalton, Jersey City, listed in 1860's as maker of percussion 1/2 stocks
John Fitch, Trenton, 1743-1798. (likely an armorer)

In sum, maybe some armorers and a scant few late-percussion possibilities, but not one flint builder of any reputation or note.

There's an old joke around here that there are only two parts to New Jersey, that part which is outside of NYC and that other part that is outside of Philly.  Maybe there's more truth to this than humor, at least regarding guns.
 

[Curt J]

Here is another one for you....gleaned from the 1850 census.

Chester, Burlington County, New Jersey.

JOSEPH TURNER - gunsmith, age 38, born in N. J.
Wife Phebe Ann, age 30, born N. J.
Dau. Rebecca, age 7, born N.J.
Dau. Harriet, age 5, born N. J.
Son John, age 1, born N. J.

[jwh1947]

Back 1/2 of Sellers lists:
Henry Parker, Trenton, died 1860, Perc. 1/2 stocks and many locks.
Leo Reinfred, Camden, very late (1880's) but listed for 1/2 stocks.
Joseph Turner, Moorestown, died 1860's (cited previously)

That's about it for NJ, folks.  No grand masters, no flint builders of note at all, and scant few percussion era builders, none regarded as important from what I can find.  Bad gun territory then, too.

[Curt J]

Brokenflint, if you are serious enough to keep digging, I'm sure you'll find there were a lot more than most people suppose.  Don't ignore the late ones, even up through about 1880.  Many of those guys were old men by then and were working much earlier. The population census lists occupation beginning in 1850, so 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 are all a good source for gunsmith's names that you can research further.  You could also check in state gazetteers & business directories and local city and county directories.

[brokenflint]

Found a couple more while doing some other genealogy research.  This is from the City of Paterson NJ - 1859

Hanson, Frederick   Gunsmith   71 Prospect
Jeannotat, Jules   Gunsmith    43 West

I also found one for the late 1700's but lost the link, he was in the local Goal :-)   I really have to find this one again.

Broke