A mystery:>

[Trina]

Hey Guys, Im hoping you can help me out a bit here, my Dad is wanting to find some info on this gun, here are the specifics... Thanks ...


Looking for information on a rifle.

36 cal rifle
39" barrel
cap lock
Built by M Moxley
Double set triggers
Brass furniture
Lock is R W Booth
Cincinnati

The rifle was found under a rock slide in the rim rocks of Oregon in about 1954. The owners skull and bones were also there. The barrel was bent and stock broke and rotted. You can still see a cheek piece and the pin holes that lock the trigger guard on. It was a real nice rifle in it's day.

Can anybody tell me anything about this builder and the rifles he made, and the time frame he worked in.

 

[Cherokee]

You gotta show us some pics of this!

 

[trent/OH]

:hmm: Sounds like it was built by the "Murphy's Rifle Company". Was probably a very loud rifle, so powerful it could trigger rock slides.

 

[Trina]

I will try to get some pics today if I can. I know the barrel was straightened, and I thought it had been restocked (in I think dad said fir, which surprised me a bit,) by the man whose wife found it. maybe there are some of the pics of its original state..Its hard to say how long it laid out there, they said the wood had rotted and the original owner was just bones, If they found it in 54 I would think it must have laid out there a couple of years anyway...Im amazed it wasnt rusted thru. My dad is working on it for the guy that owns it and they are curious about the gun builder

 

[TRIN]

Very interesting please keep us updated on anything you find out.
thanks

 

Cookie, You may want to get in touch with the J.M. Davis Gun Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma. The Curator there has extensive files on makers of these old guns and he might be able to answer your questions. Good luck,
Don

 

[Herb]

Cookie, this from "Ohio Gunsmiths and Allied Tradesmen, Volume 1", by Donald Hutslar. I got this from Log Cabin Supply. Page 84, for Clark County, Ohio: "Moxley, Meshack. Springfield. Moxley, an acive Black gunsmith, did most of his work in Bellefontaine, Logan County. There is an oral tradition that he also worked in Springfield. I could not find an entry for him in the directories. However, the following entry offers circumstantial evidence.

"1883 Nannie Moxley, widow, residence 158 N. Yellow Springs St.

"Moxley's wife's name was Martha. According to the 1850 census, he was 21 years older; there had to be a previous wife because of the ages of the children. Was Nannie, Martha? Was there a third wife? There was a "Fanney" Moxley, wife of william, in the 1860 census for Bellefontaine, Logan County. Perhaps the first name was misunderstood. Also, as a remoter possibilty, "Nanny" was, and still is in England, a children's nurse. Perhaps that was Martha Moxley's occupation after her husband died."

Now, Bellefontaine is north of Springfield and that is north of Cinncinati. Or is Cinncinati where the lock was made? Kind of a mystery figure. There are rifles pictured for Clark County, two nice halfstock percussion, one by D.T. Hawken. If Moxley worked in that area, probably his rifle would look similar to these. I look forward to your pictures. I could build a copy of this rifle.

 

[gmww]

Just curious. What happened to the bones? :shocked2:

 

[Trina]

Ok here is a close up of the writing on the lock, and as you can see it had quite a bit of engraving on it... I will get more pictures later...The folks that found it DID restock it, but it is my understanding the son has the rotted back section of the gun. I appreciate your thoughts and help Thank you I will post more pictures later. my moms camera is much better and hopefully we will get some better shots.. Is anyone familiar with the lock makers? and the time they might have been making locks..

I do not know what became of the bones. I know part of them were buried, apparently the fellow had been in a rock slide.

 

Your rifle, or what is left of it, was made by Meshach Moxley, probably in Belfontain (Ross county) or Springfield (Clark county), Ohio. Moxley was born in 1809 in Virginia and became a "freed" man. He was one of a few African American gunsmiths. His rifles are sought after by Ohio rifle collectors and are generally half stock and fairly plain. I don't have a lot more info on Moxley except for some family info. Hope this helps.
Mark

 

[thehorn]

From American Gun Makers by Gluckman & Satterlee (1953):
"Booth, R.W. - Cincinnati, Ohio. Maker of percussion rifle locks. Also made flintlock Kentucky rifles."

 

[Trina]

Ok here are some more pics, I mostly have pics of the metal pieces, but this apparently was a full stock, It was rather ornate on the lock and there is some engraving on one of the sites. I sure appreciate all the information you fellas are sharing.

 

[Herb]

Was that nose cap found with the rifle? The trigger guard looks as if it belongs on a halfstock. But in the book I referenced, on page 75 there is a Benjamin Sells fullstock rifle with this same trigger guard. Sells worked in Brown County, down by Cincinnati. Two of Peter Slack's rifles mentioned in my post above seem to have the same square-tail lock and buttplate. How about the patchbox?

 

[Trina]

Herb,
I beleive the nose cap was found with the gun as well. The only thing I think that probably wasnt original, is the very last ram rod holder down by the trigger. The man that restocked it was a modern gunsmith, and back then probably didnt have access to the things to do the drilling, and so on... I dont believe there was a patchbox, Dad has seen the back end of the original gun maybe he can answer that for us.

I am wondering what was considered plain back then? I always thought of brass as fancy. The lock is engraved, but maybe the maker did that, there is no other engraving except a bit on the back site, and the ramrod thimbles are not plain.

The Horn,
Do you have the dates when R.W.Booth was in business making percussion locks?

 

[Trina]

According to the 1850 census, he was 21 years older

He was listed in the 1850 census? That would have made him about 41. Is there any information on when he was freed?

 

[thehorn]

The Horn,
Do you have the dates when R.W.Booth was in business making percussion locks?

No, sorry Cookie, no dates mentioned in the entry.
Bob

 

[Zonie]

Needless to say, if the gun was made by Meshack Moxley, the freed African-American it could be worth a great deal to someone who was interested in firearms, history and successful people of African decent.
The name Ken Hamblin, Radio Talk Show Host comes to mind.

 

Strictly as a guess I would say the Booth lock company in Cinn. probably produced locks during the 1850 - 1870 period. The lock you have pictured is a typical lock of the period, including the engraving. The hardware that is pictured is also typical of the period and was probably commercially produced and often was done in brass. The value of the rifle is greatly reduced based on the restocking, it was most likely a half stock in it's early life. It would have more value, even in it's deteriorated state, with the original stock. It certainly still has value in that the barrel is well marked and the hardware is still intact. We, Association of Ohio Longrifle Collectors, have a meeting and show scheduled for the first weekend in April at the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, Ohio. If you can make it down you will get an idea of what the value might be.
Mark

 

[Swampman]

Some of these parts remind me of some Leman fullstocks. The triggerguard looks very much like some I've seen.

 

[Bountyhunter]

That trigger guard and the buttplate look very much like those used by Ohio Gunsmiths John and John Caleb Vincent of Washington County, Ohio. They would have been down in that south part near Parkersburg, WV, on the Ohio River in the mid 1800's. They made a lot of buffalo and mountain type rifles and were noted for converting a lot of Civil war rifles to buffalo rifles. I dont know if this Moxley guy worked for them or with them or not, but the style is distinctly Vincent.