The manufacture, or making by hand, of firearms (almost exclusively longrifles) dates to the era of British colonization and settlement of the Cumberland Valley. No demographic records such as tax lists for the period before Cumberland County was erected (1750) survive to identify individual gunsmiths in the two to three decades preceding that date, but Thomas Butler and his sons (he had five—Richard, William, Thomas, Percival, Edward) moved their gun making business by early 1759 from Lancaster to Carlisle, into a stone structure, and at least serviced (if not furnished) longrifles for the British and Pennsylvania forces in the French and Indian War.1 Thomas Butler (b. 1720) died in West Pennsborough Township in 1791.2 A Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker stands near his Carlisle shop.3
Technically, a cannon is a gun. The only person, anywhere, ever to create cannon barrels from wrought iron was William Denning of Newville, who lived from 1737 to 1830.4
Besides the Butler family, fourteen makers of Pennsylvania longrifles operating in Cumberland County prior to the Civil War have left records or examples of their work, or both, sufficient to place them in the “notable” category. Another 17 lesser artisans have been identified, most of whom require further research and identification of guns they made. The first category includes the following, and if nothing is said of an example being found, none has been:
1. Albright, Henry (1772-1845). Lancaster school; Shippensburg, c.1796-c.1815; examples of his work survive.5
2. Balsley, Christian (fl. 1781-1790). Dickinson Township, c.1786-1789.6
3. Bell, John (1775-1853). Carlisle, 1800-1830. At least one writer believes pieces marked “J.B.” could be from this man; nothing bearing the full name has been found.7
4. Carli[s]le, Henry (c.1790s-1847). Shippensburg, c.1820-1845. At least one of his guns exists, and some writers have written of it admiringly.8
5. Clark, J. (1789?-post 1850). Chambersburg school; thought probably to be John Clark, Hopewell Township and Shippensburg, c. 1830-1840. Examples of his work exist, and one writer praises his engraving style.9
6. Criswell, Samuel (ante 1760-1810). Carlisle, 1780-1810. His work may be unsigned.10
7. Keller, John (c. 1791/93-1860). Carlisle, ante 1815-c.1850. His work is represented by a number of examples; the style is considered pedestrian.11
8. Kline, Jacob (1792-c.1861+). Bloserville (Frankford Township), c.1828-1861. Several pieces he made have survived, but they are considered unimpressive.12
9. Koch, Henry (1779-1846). “Maryland influence,” Tyrone Township (present-day Perry County), c.1820. Examples exist; at least one writer likes the relief and engraving.13
10. Lechler, Henry (1767/68-1852). Emmitsburg school, Carlisle, 1797-c.1812, c.1829-c.1838. A writer says that his work varies greatly, so that his particular style is not determined.14
11. Mewhirter, John (c.1793/98-c.1838?). Chambersburg school, Shippensburg, 1815-1830. His work survives; his products, at first engraved, carved, and inlaid, became plainer.15
12. Orwan/Orwin, John. (fl. 1790s). Carlisle, c.1792-1798. Little is known of this man. In the 1795 tax list his name is spelled Irvine. The surviving examples fail to impress.16
13. Whetstone, John. (fl. c.1791). Chambersburg school, Dickinson Township, 1791. Obscure, though he is well known by the survival of his work, described as quite good. This maker is more closely associated with Maryland than with Pennsylvania.17
14. Zullinger/Zollinger, George. (born no later than 1794, died after 1830). In Dauphin County in 1811, in Carlisle from around 1812 until 1830. Examples exist, and there is a change in his career from carving and engraving to plainer, practical guns.18
This is a list of the seventy-four Cumberland County, Pennsylvania servicemen who sacrificed their lives in service to their country during World War I. The list is compiled from the book Service records: Cumberland County in the World War 1917-1918 printed in 1935 by the Cumberland Cou
1John Armstrong to Col. Henry Bouquet, Carlisle, April 26, 1759, in Donald H. Kent et al., eds., The Papers of Henry Bouquet, III (Harrisburg, 1976), 259-260; William S. Bowers, Gunsmiths of Pen-Mar-Va (Mercersburg, 1979), 54-55.
2William David Butler et al., comps., The Butler Family in America (St. Louis, 1909), 9. Thomas Butler appears with the rank of “Capt.” in the 1785 tax list for West Pennsborough Township. PA (3) XX:772 (two Thomas Butlers are on that page, but one has no real estate, and the captain has more than 400 acres; the gunsmith’s will specificially bequeaths that land). When he wrote and signed his will, September 20, 1787, he described himself as a gunsmith, although whether he was still active in that occupation so late is open to question until further documentation appears. Will, E229-30.
3Text and photograph of the marker are at the following site:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3EQH_Thomas_Butler_Carlisle_PA.
4American Volunteer, Carlisle, December 30, 1830.
5Joe Kindig, Jr., Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in the Golden Age (York, 1960), 97-99, illus. 100-102; 1800 census; 1793-1817 tax lists; Wilbur J. McElwain, United States Direct Tax of 1798: Tax Lists for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Bowie, Maryland, 1994), 163. Kindig divides the artisans into the following schools: Lancaster, Bethlehem, Womelsdorf-Reading, Lebanon, Dauphin, York, Littlestown, Emmitsburg, and Chambersburg.
6Bowers, 57; 1789 tax list; 1790 census, p. 77.
7Bowers, 57; American Volunteer, Carlisle, February 3, 1853.
8Bowers, 52-54, illus., 53; 1840 census.
9Kindig, 494, illus., 495; 1830 census; 1840 census.
10Bowers, 55-57; Merri Lou Scribner Schaumann, A History and Genealogy of Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1751-1835, 2nd ed. (Carlisle, 1995), 159, 185, 228, 230, 235.
11Bowers, 58; Kline’s Gazette, Carlisle, August 16, 1815; his will, 1860.
12Bowers, 57; 1860 census; tax lists, 1859, 1862, 1865 triennials; interview of J.M. Stine, Hamilton Library, March 14, 2014.
13Bowers, 58; entry No. 58, which is for Henry Koch, in the “Schroeder Ahnentafel,” http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/c/h/Hugo-W-Schroeder/FILE/0007page.html.
14Kindig, 472-473, illus. 474-477; Bowers, 59-61; American Volunteer, Carlisle, July 14, 1836, and June 3, 1852.
15Kindig, 494, illus. 495; 1820 census; deeds CC699-700, CC700-702, CC702-703; triennial tax lists, 1817-1841.
16Bowers, 58; tax lists, 1793, 1795; septennials, 1793, 1800; 1798 Direct Tax, 40.
17Kindig, 492, illus. 493; 1790 census, 77; https://korns.org/gunsmiths/John-Whetstone-Jr/john-whetstone-jr-8292021.html includes information on John Whetstone including his work in Washington, Frederick and Allegany counties, Maryland, as being based in Hagerstown and making guns no later than 1808. A previous citation included references to Daniel D. Hartzler and James B. Whisler, Gunsmiths of Maryland: Firelock Colonial Period Through the Breech-loading Patent Models, Featuring Longrifles (Bedford, 1998).
18Bowers, 57; 1820 census; septennial lists, 1814-1828; triennial tax lists, 1820-1829; Schaumann, 86, 165.