Merrill and Greene photo requests

ewmail15

Retired User
Joined
Sep 14, 2017
I'm down to maybe one new find Merrill carbine a week, and no more Greene carbine finds. That includes queries at UK and other European forums.

Anyone here own one of these old, rare beauties, and willing to share your photos - esp. of the serials? With the pics I found on about 20 Greenes, I figured there are four serial locations - most cool indeed. Please send pics and any histories to [email protected].

Thanks, Eric.
 
ucv or anyone else have a Merrill or Greene? Bummer I've laid a goose egg on this once thought high interest request.
 
I had a Merrill but lost in a divorce sale:D I let her the yankee stuff and keep the CS stuff she or her lawyer didn't have a clue. PS don't tell her:cold:
 
I'm down to maybe one new find Merrill carbine a week, and no more Greene carbine finds. That includes queries at UK and other European forums.

Anyone here own one of these old, rare beauties, and willing to share your photos - esp. of the serials? With the pics I found on about 20 Greenes, I figured there are four serial locations - most cool indeed. Please send pics and any histories to [email protected].

Thanks, Eric.

Are you looking for pics of the rifle or carbine?
 
I have photos of over 250 serial-ID'd carbines, now over 30 rifles, about 40 bayonets, 30 conversions, a handful of prototypes. I also have loads of content describing the conditions, markings, histories, but just know there are many more out there. Early models had the serials in two places, later just on the lever. I'm looking for folks to provide those as well when sending pics my way. I'm so close to nailing the model/parts changes, but need to keep that for the website. I'm looking for everything that James H. Merrill designed, gunsmithed, manufactured, prototyped, converted. It's going to be an awesome website.

Not sure right now if I'm going to merge my other favorites like the Greene into this website. Baby steps first, as I've never entertained creating a website until this effort caught hold of me.
 
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This gun has been in my family for almost 100 years. Was my grandfathers who was a physician in NJ who took care of the few remaining GAR men in Newark. Passed to me. I just had it appraised at the CW Relic show in Marietta last weekend. Also bought some Ballistol spray oil for a light coat.
SJU5
 
That's exactly what I'm talking about - beautiful Model 1841 or 1842 Harpers Ferry (1853)? Don't know if these had serials, but if they did, pic please. Could you also share a pic from the underside looking at the trigger guard and plate, as well as some full l/r profile pics, a nice pic with the lever all the way opened? Is it all functional? Looks like age might have rusted/frozen the lever and plunger closed.

I hope your photo sharing brings more out of the shadows and shares their heritage/historical pieces.
 
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Here's a snapshot of conversions, prototypes, patents (not full subfolder screen capture).
 

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I have photos of over 250 serial-ID'd carbines, now over 30 rifles, about 40 bayonets, 30 conversions, a handful of prototypes. I also have loads of content describing the conditions, markings, histories, but just know there are many more out there. Early models had the serials in two places, later just on the lever. I'm looking for folks to provide those as well when sending pics my way. I'm so close to nailing the model/parts changes, but need to keep that for the website. I'm looking for everything that James H. Merrill designed, gunsmithed, manufactured, prototyped, converted. It's going to be an awesome website.

Not sure right now if I'm going to merge my other favorites like the Greene into this website. Baby steps first, as I've never entertained creating a website until this effort caught hold of me.
That'll be a great collection of data!
 
and yet nobody has a photo or portrait of Merrill. There's more excitement to come when I receive that photocopied book The Merrill Rifle, hopefully next month. Anyone with an ancestry.com or newspapers.com account, please be on the hunt for James H. Merrill. I used up my freebie times.
 
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Here are more pix. I’m in Chattanooga for the week but when I took these last month, it is still functional. Still fires.

From the research I did, Merrill reconfigured only 100 of these along with 100 carbines and 100 Mississippi models. None went into action.

As to how my physician grandfather acquired it...he went to NYU during WWl in medical school. Post war he started a practice in Newark, NJ. He took care of some of the remaining CW GAR members in Newark and Kearney where the big GAR veterans home was. Even as a kid growing up in the late 50’s and early 60’s, I would accompany him on rounds and his office (as he was Chief of Staff at two hospitals in Newark). His office had many items from the CW. Union Kepi hats, sword, this rifle and I believe a Union frock coat. He became a friend of Bruce Catton and he has the complete set of 1st Edition Catton books from him. In the 40’s and 50’s, he would lection to the CW Roundtable groups in Newark. He passed his love of history to me in the 1960’s taking me to Gettysburg on the 100th anniversary. He took me EVERYwhere each summer on his many trips through Virginia. That’s me in the Union Blue in the last pix from ‘63 at Devils Den.
 

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and yet nobody has a photo or portrait of Merrill. There's more excitement to come when I receive that photocopied book The Merrill Rifle, hopefully next month. Anyone with an ancestry.com or newspapers.com account, please be on the hunt for James H. Merrill. I used up my freebie times.

I tried looking him up on Find A Grave and he is not listed.
 
I have that info and a headstone pic in my ammunition manufacturers book and will upload a pic tomorrow. A good night it has bee. Thank-you for sharing.
 
Scratch that. Here it is, from a $5 buy on eBay. Was sold by a school. Had some great luck this past year. Hope you can find loads of info and share for my website.
 

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Only his son JH and a possibly a daughter Leila who died at 4 are listed as being buried there on Find A Grave. But I’m sure they are in a family plot, just nobody had entered them in the database yet.Only the son with a pix . But John Wilkes Booth and two of his assasin buddies are also buried there!
 

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