OT - Looking for levergunners in the family tree

[Hobie]

Actually, I'm just continuing my long-term effort to shake all the nuts out of the family tree! Anyone else here pursuing such efforts?

[505stevec]

No use, most of my relatives were criminals, miners or gamblers. My boys will have to keep the new tradition alive. My dad however has a new .357 mag Puma I gave him for Christmas. He was happier than I had seen him in a long time.

[Comal Forge]

If you are talking about genealogy, we have three of my grandparents' lines going back several generations. My paternal grandmother's ancestor immigrated in 1603, paternal grandfather's side in 1697 - both came from England. The two families landed in Virginia and my grandparents met here in Texas much later - small world...eh? One very interesting thing is to see the fortunes rise and fall through the generations. Poverty is followed by riches then poverty again, etc. It seems a lot of families were wiped out during the Civil War - either by losing family members or simply losing their livelihoods. We have an 1860 Army Colt carried by one of the grandfathers during his service but the oldest "levergun" in the family right now is a Remington Hepburn in 38-55.

My mother's family has one clear path for her maternal side to their immigration from Denmark in the 1850's - one of my cousins then researched the genealogy into Europe back to the 1500's. However, my mom's paternal family is a black hole. We think they were poor Irish immigants but have no real records - he had a common surname (Lewis) and was abandoned by his family as a child so the info we can find is pretty limited. He traded his 94 Win in 32-40 so I could have a Marlin M39 as a kid - a good man in anyone's book.

[J Miller]

To my knowledge I am the first lever gunner in my family. My father had a .22 and shotgun when I was a kid and later his last wife said he didn't have any guns.

I have no information about my paternal grandfather regarding guns.

My maternal grandfather had a nickeled engraved big bore revolver and a .22 bolt action rifle.

That is it as far as my ancestors and guns.

And I have no kids to carry on with my leverguns. I think I'm gonna cry.

Joe

[Hobie]

No use, most of my relatives were criminals, miners or gamblers. My boys will have to keep the new tradition alive. My dad however has a new .357 mag Puma I gave him for Christmas. He was happier than I had seen him in a long time.

And what's wrong with miners?

[Blaine]

No noose is good noose

[2ndovc]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. My Grandfather on my Mom's side was a real levergunner. I inherited several Winchesters from him, a 95, 94s, 92s and a 73. My Grandpa on my Dad's side was a dedicated bolt gun guy. Got some good stuff from him too. My Dad still has the rest including a beauty Model 70 in 250-3000 and a couple Model 12s. I keep telling him " your days are numbered Old Man" But at 66 he's in better shape than I am

The kids are going to get a heck of a collection someday but not until I've had my fun!!

We are but caretakers of fine arms.

[oldgerboy]

My brother's two boys makes for a third generation. My Dad and uncle both used Winchester 94's in .32 Spl. Brother's boys likewise. I have or have used .357, .30-30, .32 Spl, .22, and .38-55.

[505stevec]

No use, most of my relatives were criminals, miners or gamblers. My boys will have to keep the new tradition alive. My dad however has a new .357 mag Puma I gave him for Christmas. He was happier than I had seen him in a long time.

And what's wrong with miners?

Nothing at all except I think their nuts for going underground Many of my family had one gun and it was a cheap .22. My first rifle was a Winchester 94 30-30 that I worked all summer cutting weeds for at the ripe old age of 9 years. Some druggy stole that and a Winchester 61 I bought at the qge of 11 years for a wopping $20. As Hank Williams Jr. said "I'd like to spit some Beechnut in THAT dudes eye"

[GANJIRO]

My family tree in the New World goes back to 1639, had several Yankee ancestors fighting from Massachusetts during the Civil War (War of Northern Aggression) but none had Henrys. My Dad was the first levergunner in the family with a Marlin 1893 in 30/30 back in the late 1930s but this gun disappeared while Dad was fighting Japs in the Pacific. I got mine a 1894 44 mag a gift from Dad back in 1976. My son has lost interest in guns and shooting so I guess it gets cremated with me.

[Ysabel Kid]

My family tree in the New World goes back to 1639, had several Yankee ancestors fighting from Massachusetts during the Civil War (War of Northern Aggression) but none had Henrys. My Dad was the first levergunner in the family with a Marlin 1893 in 30/30 back in the late 1930s but this gun disappeared while Dad was fighting Japs in the Pacific. I got mine a 1894 44 mag a gift from Dad back in 1976. My son has lost interest in guns and shooting so I guess it gets cremated with me.

Ji - he may pick it up again. Hormones have a way of diverting a boy's/young man's attention quite a bit! Then again, some of us never lost our love of levers or other guns - we just added women to the mix!!!

My father was a gun collector. Before that, I don't think many had any interest in them...

[mescalero1]

Yeah,
It is a sign of these times, I too have no one to leave them to.
I am not regreting that.
Leaves some nice guns homless though

[cutter]

The family history is a little hard to follow, but still very interesting.

Apparently, we had our very own war against the US during the late 19th century.

The spoken version is much different than the written one, of course .

[Griff]

Yeah,
It is a sign of these times, I too have no one to leave them to.
I am not regreting that.
Leaves some nice guns homless though

My Dad's not gone yet, but for leverguns, I'm available for adoption!

Only levergunner that I know of is my Dad's older brother. My Dad's hanging onto his Winchester 94 in .38-55 until I'm old enough to be trusted, I think. He sez that he always means to give it to me every time I visit, but either forgets or is worried about my truck getting broken into... Yea, right, Dad! But, he did give me Uncle Roy's nickel Colt SAA in .45 Colt and a 100 rounds of snake loads my uncle made up. Don't know the age of the Winchester, the Colt dates from 1907.

[bogus bill]

I was lucky. Dad was a hunter and liked guns. Dad died in 2003 a couple months short of 90. He shot a nice buck at 87 or 88. Dad was a avid hunter and fisherman. He had 6 older half sisters and brothers. His dads 1st wife died young and he married my grandmother and dad is the oldest of 10 more! All my uncles are or were also hunters and fishermen. Dad was 6 ft 5 in,s.

[Old Savage]

ScotchIrishEnglishDanishGermanAustrian, 1821 in Hesse Darmstat is the farthest back. Except for ones we don't know where but have the names of. Only firearm in the history is a Civil War Springfield that a cousin got away with.

[CowboyTutt]

Hobie, GREAT THREAD!

I'm jealous of those of you whose fathers taught you had to hunt and use firearms. My Dad taught me many things, but I'm the first one to dabble in firearms as far as I know. The records only go back two generations on my father's side, and less than that on my mothers.

Long story, not worth telling. Suffice to say I'm the first born in the US on my Mother's side, and not far from that on my Father's side.

Then there is this little issue of mixed Desert Sasquatch blood....

-Tutt

[dkmlever]

My dad who is 83 now, was drafted at 18 to fight in WWII, came home and never hunted or shot again. I grew up in a non-hunting family except for occansional contact with my uncles and my dad's dad. Before that it was my dad's chore as the oldest of five to 'ge the family's dinner" with a 3 digit Winchester 32 Wsp. That Winchester was my Grandfathers and it was the first gun I used to deer hunt when I started at age 21. My uncle has that gun now, and I still borrow it when I can, to go deer hunting.
As far as family goes, my mom's side can be traced back to a hessian solider who fought for the british and was captured at the battle of the brandywine. At the end of the war they offered to send him back or to give him land to help settle the 'frontier" in central PA. My dad's great grandfather came over as an indentured servant from Ireland.

[C. Cash]

Yes...have always had a great interest in genealogy and have found out alot. My families were farmers from VA(1650's-1770's), East TN(1780's-1880's....most likely my ggGranddad Cash toted a Double Barrel Shotgun while he was in the Confederate 5th TN Cavalry, though he fought Wilder's and Kilpatricks men armed with Spencers and may have picked a few up), they went out to TX and OK after the War..abt. 1880. When my Mom and Dad broke up when I was ten, I had the priveledge to be raised by my Grandparents who were from the latter regions when they were still a bit wild and wooly. There are tales passed down of their parents seeing Belle Starr, having dealings with the Daltons, and later figures like Clyde Barrow. They used wagons, mules and horses well into the 1930's....ranched and farmed there near Knox Co. Texas on my Dad's side and my Mom's side were from Leflore Co. OK. Two things among many that I've determined about them. One, they are the best folks I've ever known or will hope to know. They made it impossible for me to want to be a bad dude and were for the most part straight as an arrow. Two, they were not as sentimental about firearms and dress as we are today. They weren't as locked into nostalgia. Things were more like tools to them. They would sell their mule earred hammer shotguns for something newer, or get the latest bolt rifle and never look back. I suppose the sentimentality got lost in the dogged work and sometimes real hunger. They always seemed to have a 22 and a long barreled single shot shotgun...that was a basic stock armament which they never deviated from. I got my Dad's Dad's gun after he passed, an older Winchester 37 hich I have restored over time(3rd from Left). No leverguns have come down, except my other Grandfather's Martini Cadet which he bought surplus in the 50's. He also left me the last gun that he ever bought in the 80's(the H&R on Left, which I turned into a turkey gun).

2nd earliest pic I have of them all in either Clay or Knox Co's of TX...about 1914. My Grand Dad is sitting at lower right, arms folded with his parents directly above him:

[bogus bill]

This is probley the oldest picture I have of ancesters. Frederick & caroline kerstel. My moms great grandparents. He fought in the civil war with wicconsins iron brigade. Captured at bull run, later was traded or escaped to be wounded at gettysburg. Died in 1906.

[C. Cash]

Very cool Bogus Bill! He was a lucky man to still be alive after it was over.

[roughcreek]

I have a 94 30-30 rifle that was my Dad's. He used it for hunting and when he was a kid took it with him when he was herding sheep. His Dad got it in the early 30's from a "gun nut" up the road, along with a Win .22 pump and a "Long Tom" 12 GA. single shot for $30.

[Hobie]

The family history is a little hard to follow, but still very interesting.

Apparently, we had our very own war against the US during the late 19th century.

The spoken version is much different than the written one, of course .

I'd like to hear about that. There were several which aren't widely reported for much the same reason the Soviets didn't report the Lithuanian insurgency that went from 1917 into the 1950s or later...

[Hobie]

This is probley the oldest picture I have of ancesters. Frederick & caroline kerstel. My moms great grandparents. He fought in the civil war with wicconsins iron brigade. Captured at bull run, later was traded or escaped to be wounded at gettysburg. Died in 1906.

Yes, very cool. Somewhere there are photos of my Great-Great-Grandfather who fought at Gettysburg (severely wounded) and Lookout Mountain, but I'm still looking for them. HIS dad was wounded at Petersburg. I'm finding more and more stuff. Just today found letters from another Great-Great-grandfather who was serving with the 15th New York in 1864. It was his father who was first president of the National Association of Base Ball Players and he and his brother are shown in Ken Burns "Baseball" in a Seth C. Landon photo playing baseball on Wednesday August 4th, 1869 on the Washington, CT green.

As to their use of leverguns... well, I'm still looking.