My Grandfather, George Stribling Newell, was a mining engineer
and part owner of a copper mine in Mexico (in Chihuahua, I believe),
at the time of the Mexican Independence,
and he was forced to relinquish his ownership in the mining enterprise
because of the nationalization movement.
He was a relatively rich man,
and was on speaking terms with Pancho Villa and his lieutenants.
When I was a child in Bayard, New Mexico,
(I'm now 68, so it was while ago..)----
I had a natural boy's fascination with what was in my Daddy's bureau drawers,
one item of which was the revolver,
which is the subject of this note.
The 6-shooter is a Smith and Wesson .22 caliber 138xxx last patent 1909, with a broken tang on the hammer.
I asked my Dad about the origin of the gun,
and he stated that it was one of a brace of pistols owned by a top assistant to Pancho Villa,
who "put them in hock" to my Grandfather for $20, (for some reason or another),
and who only redeemed one of them, subsequently,
leaving the other to pass down to my possession of it.
The broken tang on the hammer
arose from a call during WWII for citizens to provide firearms to the U S Coast Guard,
for their use during training sessions.
My Father, also a mining engineer, was given a military exemption from service
due to his relative importance to the war effort in "primary metal extraction",
but lent the pistol to a branch of the San Diego Coast Guard:
and while in their custody, the pistol was dropped,
resulting in the broken hammer tang.
========================
I believe this to be true, but have no proof.
Yes, my Grandfather's role in Mexico at that time is certifiable,
but as to the prior ownership of the pistol,
no further evidence is available to the best of my knowledge.
=============================
These pictures show a gun
which has been sprayed with Lubriplate,
which protects it from rust at the expense of looking terminally ugly.
=======
The pistol is a shooter:
my eyes do not do as well as they once did,
in allowing resolution of the front and rear sights,
as well as the target:
and I'm not the rock of steadiness, I do regret to note:
but the trigger cannot be improved on,
and the accuracy is "spot on".
================
I also inherited a pre-Woodsman Colt, but it cannot be shot with modern ammo,
and thus remains ,by far, more pristine.
=============
I've no idea of the rarity or value of this pistol,
but I figgerred I'd know where to ask..
and part owner of a copper mine in Mexico (in Chihuahua, I believe),
at the time of the Mexican Independence,
and he was forced to relinquish his ownership in the mining enterprise
because of the nationalization movement.
He was a relatively rich man,
and was on speaking terms with Pancho Villa and his lieutenants.
When I was a child in Bayard, New Mexico,
(I'm now 68, so it was while ago..)----
I had a natural boy's fascination with what was in my Daddy's bureau drawers,
one item of which was the revolver,
which is the subject of this note.
The 6-shooter is a Smith and Wesson .22 caliber 138xxx last patent 1909, with a broken tang on the hammer.
I asked my Dad about the origin of the gun,
and he stated that it was one of a brace of pistols owned by a top assistant to Pancho Villa,
who "put them in hock" to my Grandfather for $20, (for some reason or another),
and who only redeemed one of them, subsequently,
leaving the other to pass down to my possession of it.
The broken tang on the hammer
arose from a call during WWII for citizens to provide firearms to the U S Coast Guard,
for their use during training sessions.
My Father, also a mining engineer, was given a military exemption from service
due to his relative importance to the war effort in "primary metal extraction",
but lent the pistol to a branch of the San Diego Coast Guard:
and while in their custody, the pistol was dropped,
resulting in the broken hammer tang.
========================
I believe this to be true, but have no proof.
Yes, my Grandfather's role in Mexico at that time is certifiable,
but as to the prior ownership of the pistol,
no further evidence is available to the best of my knowledge.
=============================
These pictures show a gun
which has been sprayed with Lubriplate,
which protects it from rust at the expense of looking terminally ugly.
=======
The pistol is a shooter:
my eyes do not do as well as they once did,
in allowing resolution of the front and rear sights,
as well as the target:
and I'm not the rock of steadiness, I do regret to note:
but the trigger cannot be improved on,
and the accuracy is "spot on".
================
I also inherited a pre-Woodsman Colt, but it cannot be shot with modern ammo,
and thus remains ,by far, more pristine.
=============
I've no idea of the rarity or value of this pistol,
but I figgerred I'd know where to ask..
