Hi All,

My name is Brett Levin and I'm a stay at home dad that lives in Steep Falls, ME. My grandmother, before she died and some years ago, gave me the civil war collection that she was given by her grandfather. Among the collection is an old civil war era percussion rifle. I have learned that its maker was a gentlemen named Edward Clark, who marked his productions as E. Clark. He was a known gunmaker in Flint, Michigan from about 1860 until about 1883. He specialized in the manufacture of percussion guns. There is no good published source of information about him, but his business was listed in the town directory during the years indicated. One side of the gun's lock has the name Wilkes engraved in it, and I was told that names on the lock were either the name of the lock manufacturer, or the name of the owner of the gun. I have not found a lock manufacturer from that era name Wilkes, so now I am pursuing the possibility of a civil war soldier named Wilkes that was from the Flint, MI area. I realize how difficult this is but it is something I do in rememberance of my grandmother so I thought I'd give this message board a shot. I am trying to figure out this gun's history and looking for clues such as MI soldiers with Wilkes name & where they were from, would they have traveled through Flint on their way to serve in the war, information about gun maker, civil war collectibles with Wilkes name in them, etc. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Brett Levin
Steep Falls, ME