The Family Gun Makers

My 4 times Great Grandfather Peter Humbarger Sr. was a first generation American, born in Berks Co., PA in 1766. He moved his family in 1802 to Perry Co., Ohio and was a farmer and gunsmith by trade.  He opened a gunsmith business in Ohio and taught 3 of his sons Adam, Henry and Peter Jr. (my 3 times Great Grandfather) this trade.

This was a rifle that was up for auction with my 4 times Great Grandfather signature.               

These sons became famous gunsmiths in Ohio and when Henry ended up in Indiana in 1851 he carried the family business into the Hoosier state. They have also been credited as one of the first gun makers to invent the double action trigger. I have no idea what that is exactly, but it was a pretty important invention in the gun industry.

This is a rifle make by my 3 times Great Grandfather. Peter Humbarger  (Humberger) Jr.            

There was an article in the Thornville News on October 1, 1903 about these gun making brothers. Peter Jr., my 3 times Great Grandfather, was the oldest and the tamer of the three gun making sons. Adam was a skilled workman and was not only a gun maker but held 3 patents on his invention of a corn harvester. Henry, while living in Ohio was a gunsmith, cabinet maker and even built a pipe organ for a Lutheran church in Somerset, until he lost his wife, and then went to California for the Gold Rush before settling in Indiana.

This is my Great Great Great Grandfather, love the beard Gramps.

The Historic story was that the three brothers in the Spring of 1832 met at the Peter Humbarger Farm in Hopewell, Ohio to hold a consultation about making a double action trigger. Adam and Peter appointed Henry for the task, as he in their estimation, was the finest workman of the three. Henry completed the double action trigger (pepperbox revolvers) and tried it out at a barn raising. He was hoisted up with a revolver in each hand. He fired them off alternately. The story goes that an agent from the Colt company of New York, came to Ohio, bought some of the Humbarger pepperbox revolvers, and then went to the Somerset workshop. At the workshop he watched Henry work on the double action revolver, and took what he learned back to Colt. Soon after that Colt Co. filed for a patent. A lawsuit followed a few years later, Samuel Colt vs the Massachusetts Arms Company, concerning the repeating revolver. The Humbarger`s guns were used as exhibits in the trial. Adam Humbarger was summoned to give a deposition in Ohio for this trial being held in Boston. The really sad part about his deposition, was that Adam stated that he did not file for a patent for their double action trigger at the time because of the cost. He did send a few of the Humbarger`s revolvers to a friend in DC to see if there was any interest in the revolvers. Adam said he did not know what the man did with the revolvers after he had received them.

In the 2012 book "The Devil`s Right Hand" by M. William Phelps, the awarding winning and national best selling author, Mr Phelps tells the story of the Colt Dynasty. In his book he covers the lives of John C. Colt and his brother Samuel Colt. John was accused of murder and Samuel of stealing the plans for the repeating revolver. In Mr. Phelp`s book the Humbarger Sons are mentioned in regards to the revolver scandal.

I have the book on my Kindle and I am excited to read not only about the cursed Colt family, but how my family played a part in the history of the repeating revolver.

 I do have to admit that the "Colt 45" sounds sexier than the "Humbarger 45".