Notes from the gun shop...

Oh, where to start...

First up is an old gun brought in by friend John T_________ that had been in the family for quite a long time. I just knew I should have taken the camera this morning but didn't. That's how it goes sometimes. Back to the rifle.

The rifle was a percussion, single trigger, long rifle with engraved patchbox, American eagle motif cheekpiece brass inlay and small brass thumbpiece. It appeared to currently be about 48-49 caliber, the straight octagonal barrel was about 41" long, 7/8" across the flats and the stock appeared to have been a straight grain maple. The gun is 56-1/2" long, overall.  The thimbles were octagon formed brass. The barrel was stamped "J MARKER" on the top flat. In doing a bit of research I found that there was a family of gunsmiths with the last name of Marker and a James Marker (1808-8 May 1883).

James Marker was born in 1808, the third child of Daniel, Sr. (1778-1 Jan 1854), and Anna Christina (Beckenbaugh) Marker (8 Apr 1778-10 Apr 1835). On 11 April 1832 he married Amelia Naeff (Naff or Neff,10 Aug 1810-17 Oct 1881). To this union were born eight children. In 1833 he purchased lot number 160 in Sharpsburg, Maryland, from his uncle, Paul Marker. He also took over the gunsmith business there when his uncle departed for Ohio. James eldest son Jacob followed him in the trade and took over his shop in 1855.

WHICH J. Marker might be a valid question but the gun that friend John has looks very, very much like a gun by James' father Daniel Sr. as shown on page 142 of "West Virginia Gunsmiths" by Lambert and Whisker. It has many attributes of a rifle by Paul Marker (mentioned as the uncle, Daniel Sr.'s brother) as shown on 127 of "Gunsmiths of Virginia" by Whisker.

Research of his "line" shows that he was still working as a gunsmith in Sharpsburg, MD on 4 September 1860 (US Census). James is also shown as working as a gunsmith on the 1850 census. While his wife died in 1881, there is conflicting information on his date of death as he is shown in the 1870 and 1880 censuses but variously reported as deceased in 1863. James' son Jacob (1832-1892), to whom one MIGHT be able to attribute the rifle, was of the right age to have produced the rifle but was likely working in his father's shop at the time the rifle was built (as shown on the 1850 census). James was buried in the Sharpsburg German Reformed Church Cemetery near his wife and his mother.

How this rifle came to the upper Shenandoah Valley would be an interesting story indeed.  Was it "captured" when Confederate forces moved through the Sharpsburg, MD area?  Was it purchased and brought south before the war? In all an interesting past indeed.

Sadly, I think, John might be induced to sell this rifle as he has no heirs to whom to leave it and thinks the rifle would best be served in moving to an owner that values it and preserves it. Photos are now available for viewing here...

The second big thing today was a lady who came in saying "I want to kill a groundhog." In the process of our review of available options I discovered that she was a vegetarian who had given up on chants and "chakras" to remove the groundhog(s) who were rapidly destroying her garden on which she depended for her own subsistence. She had shot rifles before, had had some success, but didn't have any interest in killing anything until SHE was threatened. Because of how she felt she had left the .22 rifle she already owned in Florida. It was a natural and open look into the reality of gun ownership. For those interested she walked out the door with a new Ruger 10/22 (blue/wood stock) and a box of 100 .22 LR CCI Mini-Mag HPs. I have a feeling that this determined lady will end the dining days for Woodpile Groundhog and Lakefront Groundhog.