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Southern Derringers
OF THE
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
By
TURNER KIRKLAND
Union City, Tennessee 38261
{cover image} F. H. Clark See #217
FOREWORD
This booklet is not intended to be the last word on Southern Derringers.
I suspect that it is merely intended to be a guide for someone who has
more patience than I to do the research work that is required on a
complete story.
I am listing 29 different makers all of which are authenticated. This
story does not include pocket pistols, which are of a slightly different
shape nor does it include overcoat pistols or duelling pistols. I think
these are of an entirely different category even if these same makers
produced them.
You may debate the excluding of the following:
G. Erichson, Houston
E. Schmidt, Houston
Schmidt & Kosse, Houston
H. Trotter, Cameron, Texas
Joseph Labadie, Galveston
J. H. Happoldt, Charleston, South Carolina
M. Dickson, Louisville
Hodgkins & Son, Macon, Georgia
Wolff and Durringer, Louisville, Kentucky
Because I live in the Mississippi Valley, the guns that I am describing
are of special interest to me and the others that can be called southern
guns do not fit into my scheme of things.
Thus I have narrowed down geographically this story of the derringers of
the Mississippi Valley to an exclusive group. It is sad that so little
research work has been done in this direction in the past. Careful study
of other books shows that only six or eight of these twenty-nine names
and authenticated guns are spoken of in limited terms.
Since I got my first muzzleloading gun when I was 12 years old, I guess
you could say I have been collecting guns for 38 years. In that length
of time I have met many wonderful people and made numerous everlasting
friends. Among these people are Hume Parks, Hal Swann, Cecil Godman, Dr.
Bill Huckaba, Dr. D. R. Moore, Leon Jackson, Robin Hale, Harry G. King
and Charles Elias all of which ably assisted me with this booklet and
without those efforts, it would not have been possible.
[Illustration: {Trophy Shelf}]
During the 20 months in 1969 and 1970 that we have been displaying our
derringers at gun shows we have won 25 awards. Our derringers have been
displayed from the East Coast to the West Coast and from the North to
the South. Great acclaim was given them at the National Rifle
Association Convention. Considering the point that awards are won not
only on quality or quantity but on the educational value, we believe
that our display is one of the best. Now that the ice has been broken
towards listing and showing all of the different southern makers, let us
hope that our collector friends will come up with more information and
more details of when these little known gunsmiths and dealers operated
and perhaps new makers that are not now recognized or known.
This chart shows the relative rarity of Southern derringers in the
opinion of several knowledgeable collectors. Position #1 is the easiest
to obtain and position #10 is the hardest to find. The text of this book
takes up each maker in this same order.
1. Hyde & Goodrich 1
2. F. H. Clark 2
3. Schneider 3
4. F. Glassick 3
5. C. Suter 5
6. H. E. Dimick 5
7. F. J. Bitterlick 5
8. Lullman & Vienna 6
9. Bitterlick & Legler 7
10. S. O’Dell 7
11. Schneider & Glassick 8
12. W. H. Calhoun 8
13. L. Swett 9
14. J. A. Schafer 9
15. J. R. Trumpler 9
16. J. B. Gilmore 9
17. Linde 10
18. Folsom 10
19. A. Weisgerber 10
20. J. Mirriman 10
21. Louis Hoffman 10
22. J. Conning 10
23. A. R. Mendenhall 10
24. J. Hausmann 10
25. A. J. Millspaugh 10
26. Holyoake-Lownes 10
27. F. S. Schumann 10
28. E. R. Sieber 10
29. H. G. Newcomb 10