T. Spangler Rifle - Left Handed And Made In Illinois
Halfstock percussion rifle made by Theodore Clark Spangler, in either Neponset or Annawan, Illinois. It is .34 caliber, with back action lock, and made for a left-handed shooter. Left handed firearms were very rare during the 19th Century. If one was born left-handed, it was considered a birth defect. Most were "converted" to be right-handed at home or in school.
Theodore Clark Spangler was born in Center Township (now Wyanet Township), Bureau County, Illinois, July 11, 1850. He was one of twin sons (Theodore & Theory), born to Jacob Young Spangler and his wife, Jane Clark, who came to Bureau County from Ohio, in 1847. The family moved to Manlius Township, Bureau County, in 1852.
Theodore Spangler is listed as "Gunsmith & Town Marshall" in Neponset, Bureau County, in "Taxpayers & Voters of Bureau County, 1877". He is listed in the 1880 census as a gunsmith in Annawan Village, Henry County, Illinois, which is just across the county line from Bureau County. Theodore Spangler married Janetta Peebles, in Annawan, Illinois, December 11, 1871. By 1885 he was a gunsmith in Tabor, Iowa. He died in Nebraska in 1903.
T. Spangler Rifle - Left Handed And Made In Illinois
Halfstock percussion rifle made by Theodore Clark Spangler, in either Neponset or Annawan, Illinois. It is .34 caliber, with back action lock, and made for a left-handed shooter. Left handed firearms were very rare during the 19th Century. If one was born left-handed, it was considered a birth defect. Most were "converted" to be right-handed at home or in school.
Theodore Clark Spangler was born in Center Township (now Wyanet Township), Bureau County, Illinois, July 11, 1850. He was one of twin sons (Theodore & Theory), born to Jacob Young Spangler and his wife, Jane Clark, who came to Bureau County from Ohio, in 1847. The family moved to Manlius Township, Bureau County, in 1852.
Theodore Spangler is listed as "Gunsmith & Town Marshall" in Neponset, Bureau County, in "Taxpayers & Voters of Bureau County, 1877". He is listed in the 1880 census as a gunsmith in Annawan Village, Henry County, Illinois, which is just across the county line from Bureau County. Theodore Spangler married Janetta Peebles, in Annawan, Illinois, December 11, 1871. By 1885 he was a gunsmith in Tabor, Iowa. He died in Nebraska in 1903.