J. Gillespie long rifle??

Please someone tell me how to attach a photo!! Lol

I was given this rifle by a family member who recently passed. I have a love of firearms but never owned anything older. All my firearms are modern and easily researched and valued.

I would like to add this rifle to my home owners insurance. I was told by several relatives that my grandfather always talked about the value of it and the part it played in the history of rifles.

I read lots of information about the gillespie family and their long time craft of making firearms.

What i cannot seem to find is a value for the rifle. From what i read the value can be very different according to which gillespie signed it. Mine is signed j. Gellespie and from what i read he was the father.

Could someone please offer me a bit of understanding about my new gun and approximate value??

It's in great condition.

Thanks in advance.

Kindest regards,
Aimee

Here are the photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/157689892@N07/shares/E2Z0h0

https://www.flickr.com/photos/157689892@N07/shares/E2Z0h0

I was given this rifle by a family member who recently passed. I have a love of firearms but never owned anything older. All my firearms are modern and easily researched and valued.

I would like to add this rifle to my home owners insurance. I was told by several relatives that my grandfather always talked about the value of it and the part it played in the history of rifles.

I read lots of information about the gillespie family and their long time craft of making firearms.

What i cannot seem to find is a value for the rifle. From what i read the value can be very different according to which gillespie signed it. Mine is signed j. Gellespie and from what i read he was the father.

Could someone please offer me a bit of understanding about my new gun and approximate value??

It's in great condition.

Thanks in advance.

Kindest regards,
Aimee
[/quote]

If the J. Gillespie is a member of the renowned gunmaking family from North Carolina, it is probably James Gillespie, not John Gillespie. The back-action lock and overall styling indicate a post-1840s gun, and John died in 1822, the same year James was born.

While there is one other Gillespie rifle with a back-action lock, it is somewhat different in style (rather more folksy) than this one, and generally Gillespie rifles look very, very different from this one. OTOH, James did move to Georgia at one point and it is possible that he changed his style to suit a different clientele.

I have no idea what the value might be. I might be able to get you in touch with the guy that literally wrote the book on the Gillespie family, though. Check your private messages.

If you go over to the american long rifle forum and ask the same question, one of the moderators is Dennis Glazener a builder and historian of Gillespie rifles.