Post by hawkeyes on Jan 26, 2023 8:14:28 GMT -7
With my grandparents estate settlement completed the one item I truly hoped to aquire was the Anspaugh family rifle. This particular piece has been in the family since the birth of my 4th great grandfather John Anspach in 1803. Rifle is a strong example of a typical fullstock Ohio gun.
From what I have unearthed regarding the maker it appears to have been constructed around 1840-1850 by one of the Garratt Brothers from PA. I'm guessing the gun was made by Jacob Garratt as he moved West from PA and set up shop from what I've gathered along the Ohio River/ W. Virginia area. Another sign of faint engravings appear to be J. Garratt on the barrel which is barely visible under good light, also on the underside of the box lid as well. The barrel has three stamped stars on the underside towards the muzzle which I cannot find any evidence of their history. I'm theorizing they are some sort of proofing.
Barrel is held with a tang screw and three tapered pins through three staked loops. Two pins were missing so I did make replacements. Pin holes are well worn and the gun obviously shows signs of heavy use but seems to have been well cared for over those years. There was a load in the smooth barrel with a ball. The period worm was essentially fused to the ball were it had likely sat for years. Surprisingly the worm was in great shape which was exciting. When the ball was pulled it essentially disintegrated into pieces, hoped to save it.
Concerning the bore, at one time I do believe it was rifled. I used a light and magnified what was visible and ever so slight indications of reaming marks remain were the lands may have been cut out. Currently the bore measured a little under what would be 45 caliber. The backlock is made by T Davidson from Cincinnati. He produced locks I believe from 1835 and on. From research it's rather typical to find his locks on Ohio guns. Seems he produced some fine locks as it's well made and completely functional.
The stock is one beautiful piece of maple. It was a pure treat getting to clean up the stock and see all the chisel marks and just ponder as to the trees age and location it grew. There was allot of dust and grime covering the wood which didn't reveal the beauty of the grain. I carefully wiped down the stock with a mild wood cleaner, allowed it to dry for a day and began an inspection. There is a well done repair of a crack near the wrist with pins. Several other cracks were found and I stabilized those areas to prevent any further issues. The most notable crack was near the forend running lengthwise down the grain were the nose cap was applied. This probably migrated down the stock over the years but won't be a problem anymore.
One area of interest I really like is the barrel channel. She's completely rounded minus a small flat section running lengthwise down the channel. My thoughts lead me to believe this was an established flat to further carve out the channel. Just really neat to see that not all barrel channels were cut to match the flats of said barrels. I addressed the stock by polishing with fine pumice and pure linseed oil, followed by several subsequent applications of linseed oil rubbed in. After receiving some tlc she's ready for proud display in the home for years to come. Looking forward to passing it on to my boy one day. Could ramble on but I wanted to share the images of the rifle with everyone as I find the piece just utterly fascinating.
Before her cleanup
After
I have a reproduction two piece worm/ puller from Larry Callahan that I love using. Same setup here it appears in an original form. The tip of the point is broken but it's very clear the worm threads onto the puller. When stowed it's reversed and threaded back onto the threaded portion of the pointed puller.
Much more to discuss from the images. Just very neat to study the methods and techniques used. Original pieces are just so exciting.
From what I have unearthed regarding the maker it appears to have been constructed around 1840-1850 by one of the Garratt Brothers from PA. I'm guessing the gun was made by Jacob Garratt as he moved West from PA and set up shop from what I've gathered along the Ohio River/ W. Virginia area. Another sign of faint engravings appear to be J. Garratt on the barrel which is barely visible under good light, also on the underside of the box lid as well. The barrel has three stamped stars on the underside towards the muzzle which I cannot find any evidence of their history. I'm theorizing they are some sort of proofing.
Barrel is held with a tang screw and three tapered pins through three staked loops. Two pins were missing so I did make replacements. Pin holes are well worn and the gun obviously shows signs of heavy use but seems to have been well cared for over those years. There was a load in the smooth barrel with a ball. The period worm was essentially fused to the ball were it had likely sat for years. Surprisingly the worm was in great shape which was exciting. When the ball was pulled it essentially disintegrated into pieces, hoped to save it.
Concerning the bore, at one time I do believe it was rifled. I used a light and magnified what was visible and ever so slight indications of reaming marks remain were the lands may have been cut out. Currently the bore measured a little under what would be 45 caliber. The backlock is made by T Davidson from Cincinnati. He produced locks I believe from 1835 and on. From research it's rather typical to find his locks on Ohio guns. Seems he produced some fine locks as it's well made and completely functional.
The stock is one beautiful piece of maple. It was a pure treat getting to clean up the stock and see all the chisel marks and just ponder as to the trees age and location it grew. There was allot of dust and grime covering the wood which didn't reveal the beauty of the grain. I carefully wiped down the stock with a mild wood cleaner, allowed it to dry for a day and began an inspection. There is a well done repair of a crack near the wrist with pins. Several other cracks were found and I stabilized those areas to prevent any further issues. The most notable crack was near the forend running lengthwise down the grain were the nose cap was applied. This probably migrated down the stock over the years but won't be a problem anymore.
One area of interest I really like is the barrel channel. She's completely rounded minus a small flat section running lengthwise down the channel. My thoughts lead me to believe this was an established flat to further carve out the channel. Just really neat to see that not all barrel channels were cut to match the flats of said barrels. I addressed the stock by polishing with fine pumice and pure linseed oil, followed by several subsequent applications of linseed oil rubbed in. After receiving some tlc she's ready for proud display in the home for years to come. Looking forward to passing it on to my boy one day. Could ramble on but I wanted to share the images of the rifle with everyone as I find the piece just utterly fascinating.
Before her cleanup
After
I have a reproduction two piece worm/ puller from Larry Callahan that I love using. Same setup here it appears in an original form. The tip of the point is broken but it's very clear the worm threads onto the puller. When stowed it's reversed and threaded back onto the threaded portion of the pointed puller.
Much more to discuss from the images. Just very neat to study the methods and techniques used. Original pieces are just so exciting.
