old flintlock - is it original?

[old ironside]

a friend has a flintlock that looks like this at dixie gunworks: http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=3534

It says London diagnally on top and has lots of engraving. and it says Jones & co on the lock. The grip also has some engraving on it. There are some wood repair places on it and it is smoothbore but has a fixed rear sight, There is no visible serial number nor indication if it ever being there. He has not taken her apart. Alledgedly Lafayette gave it to his wifes great, etc grandfather.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Jones & Co.

There's quite a number of English gunsmiths named Jones. From the stock design, I'm leaning towards the 19th Century, but exactly when I'm unsure. Lafayette was around (he initially fled the French Revolution) and visited America where he recognized a cannon that had been damaged at Yorktown (it's currently displayed at Yorktown Colonial Park) and kissed it. As to its provenance, any mention of it in any family diary or letter?

 

[old ironside]

just a typed note in the brown paper bag the gun was in in the safe deposit box stating where it came from.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Well, what's the note say and who signed it?

I can't see Lafayette giving away an English gun. Its possible that some American gave him that gun which he then gave away. When Lafayette was imprisoned in a German State (during the Revolution), some Americans conspired to and helped him escape. You might want to check the papers of Lafayette (vol. 5 - I've only vol. 1-4 myself) to see if he thanked anyone or presented anyone with a gun.

 

[old ironside]

I did not know there were Lafayette papers.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Idzerda, Stanley J., ed. Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution. 5 vols. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1977-1981. Go to your local university.