John Palm #211 Childs Rifle is a really nice rifle. It has a lot of character to it. This rifle is pictured in the book Berks County Long rifles and Gunmakers 1750-1900 by Patrick Hornberger. I'm the new caretaker of this piece and love it. Not only because it's my ancestor's but it has another connection to my family. There is a sterling silver name plate on the cheek rest engraved "H. Bennethum". I lived in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania during my entire childhood life and still have family that lives there. I grew up just about right across the street where John Palm and his family lived back in the mid 1800's. The Bennethum family was pretty established in Womelsdorf during the early part of the 1800's when John Palm was living there. Now who I think this gun probably was for, was Henry L. Bennethum, he was born September 5, 1836, and died June 28, 1901. Originally this rifle was dated to 1820's so it could be Henry's not 100% sure but a good probability, I think. Henry Bennethum and his wife and family lived about a block away from John Palm in Womelsdorf. Henry is also listed a couple of times in John's Last Will and Testament. He purchased a number of items from John's estate. I still need to research Henry's Last Will and Testament to see if this rifle is listed. More for another time. So here are the details of #211.
Now I didn't go all crazy and try and take this rifle apart like I did Palm's #4 rifle. One main reason is it is very delicate in the stock around the barrel, and I just didn't feel safe going crazy with it. I was able to remove the lock so everyone can see that portion of it. The overall rifle measures 52 inches long. It has a 37-inch tapered octagon barrel. The barrel bore is .398 diameter. The barrel breech measures .718 inches and .587inches at the muzzle. It has a silver front sight. The barrel has a silver band inlet on the top portion of the barrel at the muzzle and a silver name plate with John's name and the #211 engraved into it. The butt plate is 3-13/16 inches high, 1-3/16 inches wide. LOP is 12-1/4 inches. The lock is 4-3/8 inches long, and 13/16 inches high. The photos show the lock mortise, and you can see the ramrod tip coming into the lock mortise. The trigger guard is 7-7/8 inches long. It has a simple squared off trigger plate. The ramrod pipes are just under 3/8 in in diameter. The entry pipe is 3-3/4 inches long, middle and front pipe are 1-7/8 inches long. The patch box is a four-piece brass box. The finial is 3 inches long and 1-5/8 inches wide at the hinge. The top plate is 3 inches long and 5/8 inches wide at the butt plate end. The bottom plate is 3-3/4 inches long at the furthest tip at the butt plate and 3/4 inches wide at the butt plate. The lid is domed and is 1 inch side and 3-1/2 inches long at the furthest point. There is a hidden style hinge which causes the lid not to be able to open fully. There is a false lid release button located on the toe plate. The stem that is sticking out works like a typical release button and springs back to place when you push it in. But it doesn't do anything. The lid release is under the top side plate of the patch box. Put your thumb on the butt plate side of the side plate and there you open the patch box. The side plate springs back to the original position. Pretty clever. I think Palm had a sense of humor and making a magic trick for the child to figure out how to open the patch box to get candy. I made up the candy portion. But still a really neat release. I tried to take the butt plate off, but the screws didn't want to move so I gave up. I tried to take a picture of the release from the inside of the box, but it really didn't some out clear enough. The wrist diameter is 4-3/8 inches. The nose cap is 1-1/8 long and is made from one piece of brass with a copper rivet holding it in place on the bottom. The length of the forearm is 10-5/8 inches long. I hope you enjoy this piece to study.
