This Day in History: D. B. Wesson is Born

By Logan Metesh

Massachusetts – -(AmmoLand.com)- On May 18, 1825, Daniel Baird Wesson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He began working in the firearms industry at 18 with an apprenticeship to his older brother Edwin.

It was at Edwin’s shop that he met his future-wife, Cynthia, whose father disapproved of her relationship with a “mere gunsmith.” In her father’s defense, the early years weren’t easy for Daniel, who was known to most as “D. B.”

When D. B. teamed up with Horace Smith in 1852, the duo’s eventual success was far from certain. They formed their first of two partnerships and began producing what we recognize today as the Volcanic line of repeaters. Financial issues in late 1854 led to the partnership’s dissolution and sale of the company, which eventually went on to become Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

The second “Smith & Wesson” was much more successful. On November 18, 1856, a factory ledger notes the reformation of a Smith and Wesson partnership. Wesson contributed $2,003.63 and Smith put in $1,646.68 – and just like that, they were off and running. They …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand