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Historical records matching Oliver Winchester, 52nd Lt. Gov. of Connecticut
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About Oliver Winchester, 52nd Lt. Gov. of Connecticut
He manufactured and marketed the Winchester repeating rifle, which was a much re-designed descendant of the Volcanic rifle of some years earlier. Winchester was a clothing manufacturer in New York, New York and New Haven, Connecticut. During this period he discovered that a division of Smith & Wesson firearms was failing financially with one of their newly patented Arms. Having an eye for opportunity Winchester assembled venture capital together with other stockholders and acquired the S&H division in 1850 better known the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company.
Initially the company was plagued by sluggish returns, which was impart attributed to the design and poor performance of the Volcanic cartridge; a hollow conical ball filled with black powder and sealed by a cork primer. Although the Volcanic's repeater design far outpaced the rival technology the poor performance and reliability of the 25. Cal and 32cal. cartridges used in the pistol and rifle models respectively, was little match for the competitors larger caliburs.
Fortunately for Winchester he inherited a brilliant engineer that would prove an infallible asset and By 1856, Winchester had positioned himself as the principal stockholder in the company and relocated to New Haven, changing the name to New Haven Arms Company. Winchester's brilliant engineer was Benjamin Tyler Henry who sought to improve on the Volcanic repeating rifle, by enlarging the frame and magazine to accommodate 17, of his newly redesigned all brass case 44. Cal Rim Fire cartridges. This new cartridge put the new company on the map and Tyler's ingenuity was rewarded having acquired the patent in his name October 16, 1860 in what was to become the famous Henry repeating rifle, otherwise named during the U.S Civil War "that damn Yankee rifle, loaded on Sunday and fired all week." The Henry Rifle was manufactured for almost six years with a total production of approximately 12,000 rifles, both iron and brass frame models. Around 1200 of these arms were purchased by the head or ordinance Major James W. Ripley for use with the U.S. Marshall's. Other solders hearing of the abilities of the advanced arm would save up their money to have a Henry on their side; at time when the asking price for the basic model fetched $40.00, a fair price in the 1860's. Unfortunately the Henry had two design flaws.
1. Loading the gun required that you twist open the end of the barrel and drop the cartridges down into the magazine.
2. The cartridges were contained in an unsealed magazine, which often became caked with dirt and mud causing the arm to jam.
In 1866 King's new improved patent remedied the flaws by incorporating a loading gate on the side of the frame and integrating a round sealed magazine, which was covered by a fore arms stock. The company was reorganized once more and renamed the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The first Winchester rifle was the Model 1866, (Yellow boy).
Repeating rifles were used to some extent in the Civil War. However, the United States Army at that time did not use many repeating rifles as it was a new, untested technology and the army would rather spend money on proven firearms. Repeating rifles were not widely used until after the Civil War, but after the war they were increasingly popular with civilians, while the military authorities concentrated primarily on perfecting breech-loading single shot rifles for some years. With thousands of rifles in the hands of the average pioneer, the Winchester repeating rifles gained a reputation as "the gun that won the West".
Winchester was also active in politics, serving as a New Haven City Commissioner, Republican Presidential elector in 1864, and as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1866 - 1867.
When Winchester died his ownership in the company passed to his son, William Wirt Winchester, who died of tuberculosis in March of the next year. William's wife Sarah believed the family was cursed by the spirits killed by the Winchester rifle, and moved to California and began building a chaotic mansion with her inheritance, to confuse the spirits seeking revenge.
Winchester Avenue in New Haven is named in his honor.
Oliver Winchester was William Philo Hibbard's 6th cousin
Gun Company Owner
Oliver Fisher Winchester was an American businessman and politician. He manufactured and marketed the Winchester repeating rifle, which was a much re-designed descendant of the volcanic rifle of some years earlier. Businessman. He is best remembered for the manufacturing and marketing the Winchester repeating rifle, which gained the reputation as "the gun that won the West." He began his business career as a clothing manufacturer in New York City, New York and New Haven, Connecticut. During this period he discovered that a division of Smith & Wesson firearms was failing financially with one of their newly patented arms. Eager for an opportunity to capitalize on the firearms market, he and other stockholders acquired the division, better known as the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, in 1850. By 1857 he had positioned himself as the principal stockholder in the company and relocated to New Haven, changing the name to New Haven Arms Company. Plagued by sluggish sales, which was in part attributed to the design and poor performance of the Volcanic cartridge, he inherited a brilliant engineer, Benjamin Tyler Henry, who would prove an invaluable asset. Henry sought to improve on the Volcanic repeating rifle, by enlarging the frame and magazine to accommodate seventeen of his newly redesigned, all-brass case, .44 caliber rimfire cartridges. This new cartridge revolutionized the firearms industry, putting the new company on the map, and Henry's ingenuity was rewarded with a patent in his name in October 1860, for what was to become the famous Henry rifle. Following the success of the Henry rifle, the company was reorganized once more and renamed the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. In 1866, employee Nelson King's new improved patent remedied flaws in the Henry rifle by incorporating a loading gate on the side of the frame and integrating a round sealed magazine which was covered by a fore stock. The first Winchester rifle was the Model 1866. While repeating rifles were used to some extent in the American Civil War, the US Army concentrated primarily on perfecting breech-loading single shot rifles for many more years. Repeating rifles were not widely used until after the war, when they became increasingly popular with civilians. He was also involved in politics, serving as a New Haven City Commissioner, Republican Presidential elector in 1864, and as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1866 until 1867. He died at the age of 70. (bio by: [fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=47016546" target="_blank William Bjornstad)] Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: Apr 15, 1999
Find A Grave Memorial# 5124
- Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Mar 10 2018, 16:45:40 UTC
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Oliver Winchester, 52nd Lt. Gov. of Connecticut's Timeline
| 1810 |
November 30, 1810
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Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States
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| 1835 |
June 2, 1835
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New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
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| 1837 |
June 22, 1837
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Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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| 1847 |
November 15, 1847
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New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
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| 1880 |
December 10, 1880
Age 70
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New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
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1880
Age 69
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Evergreen Cemetery, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
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