W. Hatch percussion rifle

[lampman]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum but I think I might have a couple of stumper questions for you all. I have an old W. Hatch percussion rifle. It has a 31 1/2" octagon barrel that measures 38 cal. on a muzzle gauge, a brass curved butplate, a brass patchbox on the right side, a brass trigger, a cheek piece on the left side and what looks like an aluminum stock forend tip (it could be tarnished silver, aluminum wasn't around then, right?). The hammer is sparsely engraved. The only markings on the rifle are on the top of the barrel;
W.HATCH
BURLINGTON VT

and on the lock;
W.HATCH

I have been searching the web all day to find anything about this rifle and have come up dry. My questions are;
Can anyone tell me ANYTHING about this rifle or W. Hatch?
How old is this rifle?
Does anyone know where Hatch worked in Burlington?
She's not in great shape but she could be put back in shape. Is it worth it? Or is this just another old gun that has no value?
I'd LOVE to shoot this old girl and I would really LOVE to find out more about her. I'll be anxiously awaiting your replies.

 

[Zonie]

My gunsmith references say W Hatch was a general gunsmith in Burlington, Vermont sometime around 1845.

There is also a Warren Hatch who was located in Plattsburgh, New York around 1850. It's possible it is the same person.

Yes, Aluminum was known but was almost considered to be "unobtainium" in the mid 1850's.
The Washington Monument was finished in 1884 and was capped with a small pointed aluminum block.
At the time, this block was almost priceless because of the limited amount of aluminum that was available.

The tip may be German Silver or Pewter, most likely the latter.

Be careful trying to "fix" your gun. Most fixes greatly devalue old guns.
Gently removing dirt and grime it OK.

 

[lampman]

Thanks for the reply Zonie.
It's interesting he was a general gunsmith. I say that because with a little further investigation into my rifle (by reading lots of posts on this site and removing the barrel from the stock) I find that the barrel is marked REMINGTON on the bottom flat just where I've seen it on some of the pictures on this site of other REMINGTON made barrels.
So, the inference I'm getting is W. Hatch was a general gunsmith in Burlington, who like a lot of gunsmiths of that day and age, bought Remington barrels to which they would add their own stocks and locks to make a finished rifle. It's also seams like there is little to no info on W. Hatch.
I was kinda hoping someone else would chime in but maybe there just isn't any info out there. Oh well.
Thanks again,
Dave
P.S. I forgot to say that the forend cap is Definitely pewter. I don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place.

 

[Pete44ru]

1800's Vermont seems to have been very prolific, in the number of small gunsmiths/gunmakers.

Ned Roberts named quite a few in his book, The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle.

I ran across a rifle F/S locally, similar to yours - a 40-rod gun from the mid-1800's (1840-1880).

The .45 cal rifle, had a backaction lock, a 32" heavy octagon barrel w/false muzzle, a crude tang peep sight, and double set triggers - marked in three lines with: "H.SOMERS", "BARNET", & "VT".

I found out that two "H.Somers" were making guns in Barnet, VT between 1830-1880, and believe they might be father/son - Hugh Somers (died ca.1873 @ age 72) & Henry Somers (died 1924).

Short of physically going to the various locales, and poring through local historical documentation, though - we may never exactly know.

.