AndrewJacksonMiller
Private
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2015
Hello to all,
First post on the forum. I have some questions about a rifle that has been in my family since around 1900. It's an 1853 Enfield, Parker Field and Sons lockplate, Type 3 barrel bands (Palmer), London barrel proofs, stock is marked "Crown over S over HC" one time at top of the buttplate tang, assembler mark opposite the lock is "WL" in an oval. The rifle also has a capital "I" on the left side of the stock and I have not located any anchor mark. So, my question would be: What time period is this particular rifle? Pre-Civil War, Early, Mid, Late? And, did the Iowa or Illinois regiments mark their rifles?
The stock has wear or alteration where the cheek rest is located and the condition is great. I doubt my GGrandfather or Grandfather ever shot it, but my Father said he shot it in the mid 1960s and replaced the nipple and a few screws, but he does not know who did the stock alteration. The rear sight also has a nail for the pin and he said it was like that when he was given the rifle.
The known history on this one is that my GGrandfather was given this rifle by the daughter of a Riverboat Captain or Merchant who lived in Keokuk Iowa. The gentleman's name was Oliver Spencer Conklin and he died in 1884 but was in Illinois during the war. Before the war he had a merchant trade in Vicksburg.
Info on the owner from the web:
"Oliver Spencer Conklin son of Stephen and Anna (Crane) Conkling was born in 1815. In early records his name is most frequently seen as Spencer, but as an adult he also used Oliver or O.S. He is listed as O.S. Conklin in the 1856 City Directory of Keokuk, Iowa. On 1 April 1850 he married Sarah Anne McFallen in Wayne County, Indiana. That same year they moved to Keokuk (Lee County), Iowa where they appear in the 1850 census. At that time they lived in a rooming house or hotel and Oliver was a grocer. They lived in Keokuk from 1850-57. In 1857 they moved to St. Clair County, Illinois where they lived from 1857-1866. The family then moved back to Keokuk where Oliver died in December, 1884. He is buried in Keokuk."
First post on the forum. I have some questions about a rifle that has been in my family since around 1900. It's an 1853 Enfield, Parker Field and Sons lockplate, Type 3 barrel bands (Palmer), London barrel proofs, stock is marked "Crown over S over HC" one time at top of the buttplate tang, assembler mark opposite the lock is "WL" in an oval. The rifle also has a capital "I" on the left side of the stock and I have not located any anchor mark. So, my question would be: What time period is this particular rifle? Pre-Civil War, Early, Mid, Late? And, did the Iowa or Illinois regiments mark their rifles?
The stock has wear or alteration where the cheek rest is located and the condition is great. I doubt my GGrandfather or Grandfather ever shot it, but my Father said he shot it in the mid 1960s and replaced the nipple and a few screws, but he does not know who did the stock alteration. The rear sight also has a nail for the pin and he said it was like that when he was given the rifle.
The known history on this one is that my GGrandfather was given this rifle by the daughter of a Riverboat Captain or Merchant who lived in Keokuk Iowa. The gentleman's name was Oliver Spencer Conklin and he died in 1884 but was in Illinois during the war. Before the war he had a merchant trade in Vicksburg.
Info on the owner from the web:
"Oliver Spencer Conklin son of Stephen and Anna (Crane) Conkling was born in 1815. In early records his name is most frequently seen as Spencer, but as an adult he also used Oliver or O.S. He is listed as O.S. Conklin in the 1856 City Directory of Keokuk, Iowa. On 1 April 1850 he married Sarah Anne McFallen in Wayne County, Indiana. That same year they moved to Keokuk (Lee County), Iowa where they appear in the 1850 census. At that time they lived in a rooming house or hotel and Oliver was a grocer. They lived in Keokuk from 1850-57. In 1857 they moved to St. Clair County, Illinois where they lived from 1857-1866. The family then moved back to Keokuk where Oliver died in December, 1884. He is buried in Keokuk."
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