No.
35 David Kennedy
l,ength overall 64 t /16
inches. Octagonal rifled barrel 4715/16 inches long, .40 caliber, 7grooves.
Lock-plate length 4 11/16. C14 I/8; G 7/8; II I 7/16; [4 1/2; J I 13/32;
KI 7/32; L 19/16; M115/32.
The top flat of the barrel
is signed with the name "David Kennedy". According to primary research
by Aron Capel of Troy, N.C., David Kennedy was born in Pennsylvania in
1768, and established himself as a gunmaker in Bear Creek, Moore County,
N.C. in or about 1795. tte died in Alabama in 1837. The David Kennedy mentioned
on page 158 may have been a grandson. This rifle is equipped with an attractive
one piece brass patchbox having a six-pointed star finial, and a lid that
does not extend all the way to the butt-plate. The design of this patchbox
is developed from a basic Lancaster design, in contrast with the more usual
Kennedy box which is closely aligned with Virginia styles. Another outstanding
feature of this piece is that the comb is set off from the rest of the
butt-stock by a relief-carved step instead of the usual incised line, a
detail also common in neighboring Chatham County.
