American Powder Horns

The Ezekiel Kelley horn is scraped to a thin shell which allows the owner to see how much gun powder he has. The butt end is fashioned out of a hard wood which encompasses a piece of glass covering a piece of parchment which is inscribed;  Ezekiel Kelley twice and the date 1763. At the base of the horn there is also an extended lobe for the carrying strap attachment. The horn was purchased from Cowan’s Auction gallery and was from the James Dresslar collecton.

This is an American Indian horn which came to me from a collector in central Florida. It was made by a Native American from the Seminole,  Apalachee or Creek tribe.  The horn has a raised carved snake encircling the entire horn from the bottom to the top of the neck. The tip is multi ring carved and the inside is threaded for  a measuring cup or powder measure which is screwed into the neck of the horn (like a screw tip horn). The strap is a colorful homespun piece. The horn measures 20 inches along the outside curve ( not including the screw in top ). The base is 3 1/4 inches in diameter and shows that the wood plug was painted 3 -4 times during its use with with a aqua, red and grey colored paint.. The base plug is fastened to the horn with 10 nails or brads.

This is a nice early horn, with a deep patina and many lakes, towns and trees. The lakes show all kinds of fish in them. There are roads that connect each town and lakes but no names. The scalloped edge around the neck is nicely carved. The name section was on the wear side, so unfortunately, the name and date information has been rubbed off. You can still read the first name, “Matthew” and there is a date added by someone else of “1711.” The base plug is carved into a pin wheel. This horn is 17 ” long with a nice curve. The neck shows a noticeable indentation where the strap wrapped around it, indicating many years of use.

This is a GREAT Long Island, New York carved Militia horn.

The top of the horn is fashioned out of tin and attached to the horn with wooden pegs. The top of it is threaded to accept a pouring spout that is made of tin. The tip serves as a funnel and powder measure to load a charge.

The top carving shows two rows of houses and churches and the name NEWTON which is the town of Newtown. There is a verse carved around the horn that reads “My powder makes Lobstars flee.” The cartouche reads, “Capt. Abraham Remsen Newton Long Island Militia Jun 1776.” On the reverse of the horn are two full masted ships in a harbor, probably NY harbor. 14″ length. Horn came from Daniel B. Stefano, to Bob Kuck, to me.

The records show that a Captain Abraham Remsen served in the Long Island Militia under Col. Josiah Smith and in July he is listed as Major Remsen. He is also mentioned in the Diary of Josiah Smith in several sections. In 1756 – 1763 the Newtown militia fought in the French & Indian War. Abraham Remsen, of Whitepot, took part in the Battle of Fort Niagra, on Ontario Lake in 1759. In 1776 – 1783, the British occupied Queens during the Revolutionary War. Despite efforts of Major Abraham Remsen and Colonel Jeromus Remsen, the Newtown militia were defeated in the 1776 Battle of Long Island. Abraham Remsen, along with many others, became a refugee of Long Island, fleeing to Connecticut following the battle. There is a lot of information on him in the New York in the Revolution book and in the book, Refugees of Long Island. These men all signed a document supporting the revolution and Abraham Remsen was one of them. Newtown is now part of Brooklyn, NY and Remsen Blvd. is named after him. Abraham died in 1807 and is buried in the family plot on their homestead in Rego Park, N.Y.. Pictures of his tombstone are shown below.

SOLD

Early American Indian rifle horn. Geometric designs, deeply carved, dark brown, honey color. Base plug is of dark aged wood, held by wood pegs and carved deeply with “1641, ANO 1661” with initials “KTS” and what looks like crossed tomahawks. There is what seems to be a Christian symbol at the neck which looks like a teepee with a cross on top.  Horn is 9 ½” long and still retains a piece of leather around the neck which attached to a bag or carrying strap. This horn was once owned by collector and author, James Dresslar.

Folky Artist horn. This horn came from a family near Oswego, NY and was examined by well known horn dealer/collector, Rockwell Gardner; He noted it was probably a pre – F&I War horn, made around 1740 – 50 based on the carving, and was probably copied from a European tapestry. There is a small tree and 1772 date on the horn that someone over the years scratched in, definitely period, which indicates it’s earlier manufacture. Rocky felt the horn was carved by a professional for resale, since it has a blank cartouche for a name. The family tree that came with this horn has a Nathaniel Taylor listed, who is also listed in the book New York in the Revolution,  as having served during the Rev. War.

There is new news related to this horn that was unveiled in the article entitled, “Engraved Powder Horns by the Folky Artist” by Mel Hankla.

This article appears in The Gun Report, Volume 50, number 12 May 2005 issue. Four horns carved by the Folky Artist appear on the cover and nine are pictured within the article with close up views of the carving. Mr. Hankla notes that there are over 40 of these horns for which he can account for and four of which are in noted museums at Colonial Williamsburg, Davis-Elkins College and Valley Forge. All of the horns seem to range from the beginning of the French and Indian War continuing throughout the Revolutionary War. Mel also notes that many of the horns contain the Colonial hunter with frock, hunting bag and flintlock rifle along with his dog, chasing after a deer, the floral like vine, town, etc., all of which are pictured in my example. This horn is 14″ in length.

Close up views of the hunter, dog,  stag, town and vine like plant as noted in Mel Hankla’s Close up views of the hunter, dog, stag, town and vine like plant as noted in Mel Hankla’s article on the Folky Artist.

More on the Folky Artist here.

John Lyon, Conn 1765 – A nice map horn with the British Coat of Arms and the towns of New York, Boston, Albany, Quebec, etc. Around the base of the horn is inscribed, ” JOHN LYON. CONN. 1765 “. It still has the original deer hide strap around the neck with a hand forged S hook attached. The base plug is red painted wood with a turned knob, wood pegs and the strap wrapped around a few times. All intact and in excellent original condition.

John Lyon was from Redding CT and was a Loyalist who fought for the British as a United Empire Loyalist ( UEL ) as a member of the Queens American Rangers, June 20, 1776 until 1783. He served under Robert Rogers who formerly commanded Rogers’ Rangers, during the French and Indian War, then after Rogers, he served under Lt. General John Graves Simcoe. Major Rogers gave John a warrant to recruit men from the Redding area and 22 men signed up. The Regiment was based on Long Island. For at least 5 months, John held the rank of Captain and later his regiment became part of General Browns Corp. and it is very likely that John took part in the successful raid on Danbury, Ct., where Rebel supplies were destroyed in April, 1777. Many Lyon relatives served in UEL regiments; Queens Rangers, NY Volunteers, and the Loyal Foresters of New England. John Lyon is descended from Richard Lyon, whom settled in Connecticut in 1648, having emigrated from Scotland with two other brothers. John was born on November 16, 1739 in Redding CT., and died December 13, 1818 in Kingston, New Brunswick, Canada. He was married to Hepzibeth Betts in Wilton CT. in 1759. After the War, the Lyons migrated to Canada. They left Huntington Bay, LI., on the transport ‘Union’ in April, 1783 and landed in Saint John,  New Brunswick. After a few days they took a smaller boat up the Saint Johns river to Kingston where they were granted lot #5 of 200 acres, for their service to the Crown. It took a few years to establish a farm and they remained there in Kingston, Kings County for the remainder of their life. John and his wife are buried at the Trinity Anglican Cemetery  in Kingston,  Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada. A picture of  Captain John Lyon’s grave stone is pictured below. Along side the stone is one of his descendants, Stephen Davidson.  Length of the horn is 16″.

SOLD

This horn came from a collector in eastern Pennsylvania and belonged to Revolutionary War soldier John Cobe. It has several pin wheel designs, a large tulip plant, a sled and his name, date and initials. The horn has acquired a nice patina over the years and is in excellent condition. Research shows that Cobe served under Capt. Cunningham’s 1st. Virginia Regiment in June 1778 and is listed on a casualty roster with a notation after his name “dead”.

The EA 1776 horn, carved with chicken like turkey, some sort of rope design and a large flowering plant. It has a nice deep honey brown patina.

The horn was purchased from a descendant of Col. William Goodwin, who fought in the New Haven Alarm in 1779. It came with three letters from his son Harley dated 1819, 22, 40 and a poem.

Research shows that Goodwin’s daughter married into the Austin family and Eliphalet Austin served in the New Haven Alarm with Goodwin. The only man serving in that company with the “EA” initials….so it is pretty clear that the horn was his. Austin has a nice military record of which I have copies and he migrated West to Ohio. There he founded Austinburg, Ohio and became its first Mayor. The horn is all in tact and is 14″ long.