When I pulled the stocks off of this somewhat worn Outdoorsman for cleaning and to verify the S/N I found the name of a previous owner, S. A. Wolfe of St. Joseph, Mo. A search of the 1940 and 1950 census records didn't turn up anything,

Attached Images

	IMG_3788[1].jpg (258.5 KB, 157 views)
	IMG_3787[1].jpg (214.6 KB, 169 views)

Things like that are what I love about this hobby. Always keeps it interesting. Nice Outdoorsman btw…

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Some Might Say.

Newspapers.com is another wonderful resource. Happy digging!

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Samuel Addison Wolfe, age 86, died in St. Joseph, MO 30Dec1938. If that fits with the ship date of your outdoorsman, there is a lot more available on him.

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Texas By God!

Nice Outdoorsman, I like those with a little history. Some owners couldn't be bothered with pulling the stocks and writing on the back sides. WE Harrington of Irving, Texas apparently enjoyed this pre-war Outdoorsman 22 and used it a lot. He wasn't bashful about letting folks know whose it was either. It didn't stray far from home and I found it in a pawn shop in Irving, Texas a few years ago. Searched for him, back when I had ancestry.com, but didn't turn up anything.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Your revolver would have shipped in the mid-1930s. Serial number on the stock is either 639XXX or 659XXX indicate ship dates of around 1932 or 1936 respectively.

Stocks are in great shape, so I am guessing that the gun sat in a holster for a very long time, but the mechanics should be perfect.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

[quote=22hipower;141948171]Nice Outdoorsman, I like those with a little history. Some owners couldn't be bothered with pulling the stocks and writing on the back sides. WE Harrington of Irving, Texas apparently enjoyed this pre-war Outdoorsman 22 and used it a lot. He wasn't bashful about letting folks know whose it was either. It didn't stray far from home and I found it in a pawn shop in Irving, Texas a few years ago. Searched for him, back when I had ancestry.com, but didn't turn up anything.

Jeff
SWCA #1457



There are some references to William Earl Harrington (Sr/Jr/III and IV) in Irving, sort of making it sound like they were a part of the "society" in town. I see a census record of a William Earl Harrington in the 1950 census in Irving, TX listed as an Executive VP of a bank. 1901 birth date. Sounds like some might have gone by Earl. Wiliam Earl Harrington Jr. born 1940.

Thanks for that info. I didn't have the William Earl info but with that I found an obit for William Earl Harrington IV, for June 2nd, of 2014. I acquired the gun that year according to my notes. Quite possible that it was the first WE Harrington who acquired this gun in 1937 or so and that it was passed to II, III and maybe IV who was only 25 when he died. Odd that the family didn't want to keep grandad's Outdoorsman.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Samuel Addison Wolfe (1854-1938) - Find a Grave Memorial

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Where we go one, we go all

William Earl Harrington (1900-1976) - Find a Grave Memorial

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Where we go one, we go all

That pretty much explains why he didn't show up on the 1940 census. S/N is 639625 so the timeline would be correct and Mr. Wolfe could possibly be the original owner. St. Joseph is in the next county north of where I grew up and 125 miles NW of where I live now.

According to his obit, Mr. Wolfe farmed in Turney, Clinton Co. about 40 miles SW of St. Jo.

Attached Files

S. A. Wolfe.pdf (308.6 KB, 16 views)

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Texas By God!

Thanks for posting the obituary. He must have been a fairly successful farmer to have made that purchase during the Great Depression.