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LOT 82
Historic Marlin Ballard No 6-1/2 Rigby Offhand Rifle from the Family of Jefferson
Davis - Serial no. 10700, 22 cal., 28 inch part
octagon bbl., blue/brown/casehardened finish, walnut stock. This
special order rifle descended in the family of Jefferson Davis, President
of the Confederate States of America. This model was only manufactured for
a few years in the early 1880s. The barrel is marked “A. W. PETERSON DENVER. COLO.” on the upper left flat along with two sets of numbers and the “Wm Davis
Hayes/Colorado Springs Colorad” hand scratched. It is a .22 caliber with an off-center bore at the breech so the rimfire cartridge can be fired by the centerfire breechblock. It is 28 inches
long, octagonal to the end of the forearm, tapered round to the front and then octagonal again for the final 3/4 inches at the muzzle. Swedish gunsmith Axel W. Peterson had a gunshop in Denver in 1881 and later partnered with George C. Schoyen and later purchased Schoyen’s business. The receiver is fully engraved with a vignette of a running buffalo on the left side and a running deer on the right. A
Lyman tang sight has replaced the original Ballard tang sight, but the Ballard windgauge sight remains at the front. The extra fancy walnut butt stock is checkered at the wrist and is equipped with a small cheekpiece and a Schuetzen buttplate. The matching number forearm is also checkered.
A notarized affidavit from the late, well-known firearms expert Frank Sellers accompanies the rifle. It was with the rifle when the rifle was previously sold by Rock Island Auction in 2007 as
part of Sellers’ collection. In it, he indicates he had known about the rifle for about 40 years and that it was part of the “Jefferson Davis Collection” in “The Broadmoor” neighborhood of Colorado Springs. The collection included a few guns documented to Jefferson Davis as well as others connected to him by family members. “According to information received, this rifle was passed by Jefferson Davis to his daughter Mary (? more likely to her husband, who was a target shooter) and she passed it to her daughter. About ten years later, the collection was purchased by Herb Glass, and I bought the rifle and extra barrels from him.”The extra barrels are no longer included. Sellers indicates the scratched numbers below the Peterson marking on the barrel are estate inventory numbers.
Jefferson Davis’s (1808-1889) eldest daughter Margaret Howell Davis Hayes (1855-1909) was married to Joel Addison Hayes Jr. (1848-1919) in 1876. Jefferson Davis is noted as particularly fond of his only son-in-law. The couple moved to Colorado Springs due to his health issues in 1885. They had two daughters: Varina Howell Davis Hayes Webb (1879-1934) and Lucy White Hayes Young (1882-1966). Varina was buried in Colorado Springs while Lucy was buried to the west in Norwood, Colorado. Margaret and Joel Hayes also had three sons: Jefferson Davis Hayes (1877-1877), Jefferson Addison Hayes-Davis (1884-1975) whose last name was changed to Davis when he was a boy to continue on the Davis family name and William Addison Davis Hayes (1889-1955). The latter’s name is the one marked on the barrel. He was a deputy sheriff and rancher and is buried in Colorado Springs. Later generations of the Davis family remained in Colorado Springs and have continued to lead the Davis Family Association. Colorado Springs was a popular destination for those with lung issues. The Cheyenne Mountain Country Club formed in 1891 in Broadmoor had a shooting range for its posh members, many of them from the East Coast. The Broadmoor resort built in 1918 was a major sporting destination for decades, including for shooting championships.
CONDITION: Very fine with most of the brown on the primary barrel, half of the faded casehardening remaining on the action with bright colors in some spots. The A.W. Peterson Custom replacement barrel is very fine with most of the custom brown finish remaining. The wood is very fine with bright varnish on the butt stock, slightly faded on the forearm. The action is very tight. Mechanically excellent.
Provenance: The Jefferson Davis Family; The Herb Glass, Sr. Collection; The Frank & Karen Sellers Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
70 Estimate: 6,500 - 11,000