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marlinguy
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Wilkinson powder measures
Dec 26th, 2024 at 6:16pm
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Just starting this thread to get comments or knowledge about JD Wilkinson, so it's not jumbled in with my USPS thread. 
Thanks to waterman for suggesting we separate things!

This is my 1877 JD Wilkinson patented powder measure:

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Wilkinson's design was the first US made powder measure ever designed and built in the USA. They were first advertised in the JM Marlin catalogs of late 1870's and 1880's, and were suggested to be the powder measure for the Ballard rifles.
The measures were marked in both grains of powder, and drams of shot. By loosening the upper thumb screw the top half could be raised to whatever mark the owner wanted his charge to be. Then moving the lever from one stop to the other stop dropped the charge.
John D Wilkinson was located in Plattsburg, NY and besides powder measures, he also worked as a gun maker and gunsmith. 
Hope others will add anything they have on Wilkinson also!

  

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Crown-C
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #1 - Dec 26th, 2024 at 10:23pm
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Really can’t add anything more about the history of the Wilkinson measure. They are a neat looking little powder measure. Mine is the measure on the left in the photo. 
I did look up the Judge, Robert Holter, he was 93 when I bought the repro funnel from him in 2020. His wife sadly passed away this past July and the obituary said she is survived by Robert. So I’m assuming he is still at 97. He said he was friends with Ed Curtis and Tom Rowe. Said he had over a hundred single shot rifles and was a loading tool collector.





  

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Bnelson
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #2 - Dec 26th, 2024 at 10:39pm
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Here are a few pages from a Plattsburgh, NY Genealogy magazine talking about John Danforth Wilkinson.

Bruce
  
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #3 - Dec 26th, 2024 at 10:40pm
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A couple of more pages from the article.
Bruce
  
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Crown-C
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #4 - Dec 27th, 2024 at 9:59am
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Bnelson,
Thanks for the newspaper article. I had never seen it before and is about the only information I’ve seen other than what’s published in Tom Rowes book.
Apparently he wasn’t tier one in the bragging community like a few others were such as Pope, Farrow and a number of others. I imagine back then one had to not only be expert gunsmith but also in about the top three in some of the famous shooting matches. There was very limited media available.
According to the 1998 article very few rifles were made and survived but apparently he made a number of the powder measures.
  

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marlinguy
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #5 - Dec 27th, 2024 at 10:39am
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Thanks Bruce!   
Richard, Bruce sent me some more info showing Wilkinson was also one fine match shooter too! Seems his abilities as a gunmaker, and designer, plus shooter were as good as many other famous names we know!
  

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Crown-C
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #6 - Dec 27th, 2024 at 11:11am
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Thanks Val. I wonder though if he was involved in other enterprises also such as a trade that allowed him to be considered knowledgeable in value appraisals that the newspaper article talks about. I’m only guessing here but I wonder if his shooting matches were more local and he may not have traveled to all the big matches that tended to get all the attention. Just making a living back then was hard but he apparently was an outstanding inventor!
  

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marlinguy
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Ballards may be weaker,
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #7 - Dec 27th, 2024 at 12:06pm
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Crown-C wrote on Dec 27th, 2024 at 11:11am:
Thanks Val. I wonder though if he was involved in other enterprises also such as a trade that allowed him to be considered knowledgeable in value appraisals that the newspaper article talks about. I’m only guessing here but I wonder if his shooting matches were more local and he may not have traveled to all the big matches that tended to get all the attention. Just making a living back then was hard but he apparently was an outstanding inventor!


A lot of great shooters only shot locally back then. Running a successful gunsmithing business and traveling very far for a match was nearly impossible. Pope didn't really travel very far from home when he shot actively. Likewise Schoyen, and AW Peterson only shot in Denver matches. 
I think it really depends more on the area your work is located. Where Pope, Schoyen and Peterson were all located were areas where there were many great shooters, so competition was well known and high quality. And matches were well attended. No travel needed to compete on a Sunday.
  

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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #8 - Dec 27th, 2024 at 2:40pm
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One I still have. Not sure if funnel is original but came as is from the Chris Jansen family.
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #9 - Dec 27th, 2024 at 5:22pm
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bnice wrote on Dec 27th, 2024 at 2:40pm:
One I still have. Not sure if funnel is original but came as is from the Chris Jansen family.


Appears both funnel and spout at the bottom are replacements. But just having a Wilkinson is great since they're so rarely seen!
  

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Re: Wilkinson powder measures
Reply #10 - Dec 27th, 2024 at 5:30pm
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As far as I know, there are 3 of Wilkinson's guns around.  I have one with serial number 30.  Tony (SSRifles) had one that has serial number 31 and there is one more in the Adirondock Mountain Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, NY with an unknown serial number.   
Bruce
  
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