[35] With a virtual monopoly, Colt sold his pistols in Europe, where demand was high due to tense international relations. He then traveled to France to promote his invention, and there he heard about the emerging conflict between the United States and Germany. Home; . [22][23], Colt did not refrain long from manufacturing and began selling underwater electrical detonators and waterproof cable of his own invention. He lived in 1860, at address, Pennsylvania. He abandoned the idea of a multiple-barreled revolver and opted for a single fixed-barrel design with a rotating cylinder. She was buried at burial place, Connecticut. Lastly, he hired authors to write stories about his guns for magazines and travel guides. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine . Christopher Colt, a brother of the celebrated Colonel Samuel Colt, of revolver fame, died at Hartford, Ct., on Tuesday last. [56] He used marketing techniques which were innovative at the time. Colt tried alternative materials such as rubber cement, but decided to use a thin type of tinfoil. [61] Although trade with the South had not been restricted at that time, newspapers such as the New York Daily Tribune, The New York Times and the Hartford Daily Courant termed him a Southern sympathizer and traitor to the Union. Demonstrating his gun to people in general stores did not work, so with a loan from a cousin he went to Washington, D.C., and demonstrated it to President Andrew Jackson. Harrison Stephens, Ksq., of Montreal, it# native of Ymuaout. The couple had four children: two daughters and a son who died in infancy and a son born during 1858, Caldwell Hart Colt. The soldiers in Florida loved the new weapon, but "the unusual hammerless design, sixty years ahead of its time led to difficulty training men used to exposed-hammer guns and many curious soldiers took the locks apart. [63] Colt envisioned this unit as being staffed by men more than six feet tall and armed with his weapons. An error has occured while loading the map. Famouskin.com also includes ancestoral charts showing the family relationships of Samuel Colt to many famous kin. Colt's waterproof cable, made from tar-coated copper, proved valuable when Morse ran telegraph lines under lakes, rivers, and bays and made attempts to lay a telegraph line under the Atlantic Ocean. [64] At the time of his death, Colt's estate, which he willed to his wife and three-year-old son Caldwell Hart Colt, was estimated to be valued at about $15,000,000 (equivalent to US$407,000,000 in 2021). If God didn't make men equal, Samuel Colt did" - Samuel Colt. Two of his three brothers turned out fine, but one killed himself while awaiting execution for murder. Colt was given a commission for each gun sold in exchange for his share of patent rights, and stipulated the return of the rights if the company disbanded. At the time of his death, Colt's estate, which he left to his wife and son, was estimated to be valued at around $15,000,000. Added by Janet Milburn ______________________________________. Moreover, his innovative use of art, celebrity endorsements, and corporate gifts to promote his wares made him a pioneer of advertising, product placement, and mass marketing. This resulted in breakage of parts, stripped screw heads, and jammed actions". The church's architecture contains guns and gun-smithing tools sculpted in marble to commemorate Colt's life as an arms maker. On June 5, 1856, Colt married Elizabeth Jarvis, the daughter of the Reverend William Jarvis, who lived just downriver from Hartford. Later versions contained his entire signature which was used in many of his advertisements as a centerpiece, using his celebrity as a seeming guarantee of the performance of his weapons. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. John Colt father John Colt brother Joseph Colt brother Dea. Walker wanted to order Colt revolvers for use by the Rangers in the MexicanAmerican War, and traveled to New York City in search of Colt. [10] Despite the reluctance of English officials to issue a patent to Colt, no fault could be found with the gun and he was issued his first patent (number 6909). On this voyage, Colt made a wooden model of a revolver. [3], While aboard the Corvo, Colt became intrigued with the ships wheel, especially the way it could spin either way; or be locked in with the use of a clutch in a fixed position. [27] Colt tried to use this revenue to resurrect the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company, but could not secure funds from other investors or even his own family. Samuel Colt appears briefly in Rose, Joel (2007). A promising order from the state of South Carolina for fifty to seventy-five pistols was canceled when the company did not produce them quickly enough. His mother's father had been an officer in the Continental Army and one of Samuel's earliest possessions was his maternal grandfather's flintlock pistol. Miriam Harris (1699-1765) 12. While visiting his brother John in Cincinnati, he partnered with sculptor Hiram Powers for his demonstrations with a theme based on The Divine Comedy. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. This encyclopedia contained articles on Robert Fulton and gunpowder, both of which provided motivation and ideas that would influence Colt throughout his life. Samuel Colt Joe Biren ( / kolt /; July 19, 1814 - January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. [18] This act prevented state militias from allocating funds towards the purchase of experimental weapons or foreign weapons. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Here he was introduced to the Compendium of Knowledge, a scientific encyclopedia that he preferred to read rather than his Bible studies. Samuel Colt is in the 1st generation of the family tree for Samuel Colt (Ahnentafel #1). He was interred on the property of his private residence Armsmear and reinterred to Cedar Hill Cemetery in 1894. Christopher Colt 3. Referencing the encyclopedia, Samuel built a homemade galvanic cell and advertised as a Fourth of July event during that year that he would explode a raft on Ware Pond using underwater explosives; although the raft was missed, the explosion was still impressive. [30], With the money he made from the sales of the Walkers and a loan from his cousin, banker Elisha Colt, Colt bought the machinery and tooling from Blake to build his own factory: Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company factory at Hartford. This resulted in breakage of parts, stripped screw heads and inoperable guns. One recurring problem Colt had in selling his revolvers was that "it was not possible to change the provisions of the Militia Act of 1808. After this setback, Colt concentrated on manufacturing his waterproof telegraph cable, believing the business would boom alongside Morse's invention. In August 1835, Colt left for England and France to secure his foreign patent. Skip Ancestry navigation Main Menu. Zenas had 4 siblings: James D. Colt and 3 other siblings. These models were based on the Walker Colts, and during three generations slight changes to each model showed the evolution of the design. He was fascinated at a young age with all things mechanical, including his fathers firearms; often disassembling them to discover how they functioned. Even though he had the only lawful patent for his type of revolver, scores of imitators copied his work and Colt found himself litigating constantly. Samuel Colt was an American inventor and industrialist who is best known for the development of the Colt revolver, a firearm that played a significant role in the expansion of the American West. All charts include source citations for ancestors in the charts. This gave him an idea for a pistol that could fire several rounds in rapid succession, instead of the standard single shot. The company then received an order for a thousand more; Colt took a share of the profits at $10 per pistol for both orders. He organized a large display of his firearms at the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Hyde Park, London and ingratiated himself by presenting cased engraved Colt revolvers to such appropriate officials as Britain's Master General of the Ordnance. Colt's first two business ventures producing firearms in Paterson, New Jersey, and making underwater mines ended in disappointment. Research genealogy for Samuel Colt of Canada, as well as other members of the Colt family, on Ancestry. In 1975, the Church of the Good Shepherd and Parish House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. His father Christopher Colt was a textile manufacturer. [35] He hired Bavarian engraver Gustave Young for fine hand engraving on his more "custom" pieces. [42] One of Colt's biggest acts of self-promotion was the payment to the publishers of United States Magazine $1,120 ($61,439 by 1999 standards) to publish a 29-page fully illustrated story showing the inner workings of his factory. He designed, created, and patented the first revolving firearm. [67], Colt historian William Edwards wrote that Samuel Colt had married Caroline Henshaw (who later married his brother, John) in Scotland during 1838, and that the son she bore later was Samuel Colt's and not his brother John's. Samuel Pomeroy Colt : Family tree by Tim DOWLING (tdowling) - Geneanet Samuel Pomeroy Colt Col. Born 10 January 1852 - Paterson, Passaic Co., NJ Deceased 13 August 1921 - Bristol, RI,aged 69 years old Buried - Juniper Hill Cem., Bristol, Bristol Co., RI 1 file available Parents Christopher Colt 1812-1855 Theodora Goujaud DeWolf 1820-1901 They had 6 children: Marjory Kirk, Joanne C Colt and 4 other children. When Colt returned to the United States in 1832, he went back to work for his father, who financed the production of two pistols. Home; Trees; . Unavailable. The first completed pistol exploded when it was fired, but the rifle performed well. The soldiers in Florida praised the new weapon, but the unusual hammerless design, sixty years ahead of its time, resulted in difficulty in training men who were used to exposed-hammer guns. His "Walker" pistols carried 6 bullets, and didn't require constant reloading. [3] On a voyage to Calcutta aboard the brig Corvo, Colt had the idea for a type of revolver while at sea, inspired by the capstan, or windlass, which had a ratchet-and-pawl mechanism that he would later say gave him the idea for his revolver designs. [26], After this setback, Colt turned his attention to perfecting tinfoil cartridges he had originally designed for use in his revolvers. Selden twice prohibited Colt from using company money for liquor and fancy dinners; Colt thought getting potential customers inebriated would generate more sales. The incest clan's darkest secrets have emerged during court trials . New Haven was simmering with manufacturing and transportation schemes during . We encourage you to research and examine these records . 5 Other humans. Username and password are case sensitive. His oldest sister, Margaret, died of tuberculosis at age 19, and the other, Sarah Ann, later committed suicide. Source: Connecticut Town Guide, CT State Library. in Hartford, Connecticut, USA , United States, Died on January 10, 1862 [14], Colt never claimed to have invented revolvers; his design was a more practical adaption of Collier's earlier revolving flintlock incorporating a locking bolt to keep the cylinder aligned with the barrel. The site was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2008. The company then received an order for a thousand more; Colt shared the profits at $10 per pistol for both orders. Colt did this as New York and London were major cosmopolitan cities and he retained an office in New York at 155 Broadway where he based his salesmen. While at sea, he carved a prototype six-barrel cylinder, hammer, and locking pin out of wood. If so, login to add it. Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt never saw the completed memorial, as she passed in late 1905. Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Christopher Colt (17801850), a farmer who had relocated his family to the city after he became a businessman, and Sarah (ne Caldwell). 4.23 Samuel Colt. They had 3 children: Samuel Caldwell Colt and 2 other children. [49] The membership rewarded his efforts by awarding him the Silver Telford Medal. Research genealogy for Samuel Colt of Lyme, New London Co., CT, as well as other members of the Colt family, on Ancestry. During 1856 he closed the London plant and had the machinery, tooling, and unfinished guns shipped to Hartford. Research genealogy for Samuel Colt of New York, as well as other members of the Colt family, on Ancestry. Over the next few years, Colt and Pearson argued about money, but the design improved and during 1835 Colt was ready to apply for his U.S. patent. [6], Butch Cassidy's famous Colt Army revolver, The notorious leader of "The Wild Bunch" ,Butch Cassidy's "Amnesty Colt", a Army revolver, was expected to fetch upwards of $250,000 at auction. Shortly after his return to the United States, Colt applied for a patent for a "revolving gun", and he was granted the patent on 25 February 1836 (later numbered 9430X). [31] The first revolving-breech pistols made at the factory were named "Whitneyville-Hartford-Dragoons" and became so popular that the word "Colt" was often used as a generic term for the revolvers. He designed a variety of firearms for exclusive military use. He founded Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (today, Colt's Manufacturing Company), and made the mass production of the revolver commercially viable. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Christopher Colt, a farmer who had moved his family to Hartford after he became a businessman, and Sarah Colt ne Caldwell. As ticket sales decreased, Colt realized that "serious" museum lectures were not what the people wanted to pay money to hear and that it was dramatic stories of salvation and redemption the public craved. George Leo Haydock (1774-1849). Walker and Colt became fast friends. A third brother, John C. Colt, a man of many occupations, was convicted of an 1841 murder and committed suicide on the day he was to be executed. The reception was moderate and the army purchased a few thousand rounds for further testing. [43] Colt historian Herbert G. Houze wrote, "had it not been for Root's inventive genius, Colt's dream of mass production would never have been realized". He found an enthusiastic potential buyer. [7] Colt hired a gunsmith by the name of John Pearson to build his revolver. Samuel G Colt family tree Family tree Explore more family trees. Research genealogy for Samuel G Colt of Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA, as well as other members of the Colt family, on Ancestry. Born in 1814, he had six siblings. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Logo - Rampant Colt Two of the sisters died in childhood and the other committed suicide later in life, but Samuel's brothers were a huge part of his professional life. The company was saved by the war against the Seminoles in Florida which provided the first sale of Colt's revolvers and his new revolving muskets. [54] Colt's London factory remained in operation for only four years. Skip Ancestry navigation Main Menu. This is shown clearly in a letter that Samuel Colt wrote to his father in which he said, "The first workman would receive two or three of the most important partsand would affix these and pass them on to the next who add a part and pass the growing article on to another who would do the same, and so on until the complete arm is put together". Using the ideas and technical knowledge he had acquired earlier from the encyclopedia, Samuel built a homemade galvanic cell and used it to explode a gunpowder charge in the waters of Ware Lake. Historians such as Edwards and Harold Schechter have said this was the elder Colt's way of letting the world know that the boy was his own son without saying so directly. A revolver which could fire six times without reloading helped soldiers and settlers fend off larger forces which were not armed in the same way. Sarah Caldwell 3rd Generation. Parents. John Caldwell III 7. Lt. Bedley McDonald, who was a subordinate of Walker when Walker was killed in Mexico, stated that 30 Rangers used Colt's revolvers to keep 500 Mexicans in check. Although his father died when he was only four years old, the younger Whitney grew up in an atmosphere pervaded with entrepreneurial energy. New York: W.W. Norton. Benjamin Colt Jr. 5. [44] Colt's revolvers were made by machine, but he insisted on final hand finishing and polishing of his revolvers to impart a handmade feel. [62] In response to these charges, Colt was commissioned as a colonel by the state of Connecticut on May 16, 1861, of the 1st Regiment Colts Revolving Rifles of Connecticut armed with the Colt revolving rifle. He sought the counsel of a friend of his father, Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, who loaned him $300 and advised him to perfect his prototype before applying for a patent. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. [29] The shorter chambers were loaded to 50 grains of powder, instead of 60 grains in the earlier Walkers, to prevent the occurrence of ruptured cylinders. In an effort to end the flooding from the river he planted German osiers, a type of willow tree, in a 2-mile-long dike. Oftentimes the family trees listed as still in progress have derived from research into famous people who have a kinship to this person. Engraving of Samuel Colt's Manufacturing Company, 1857, east view, Custom Colt .45 pistol model M1911A1, designed for Texas Ranger Capt.