Page 9 of the 2001 book "Gunsmiths of Bedford, Fulton, Huntingdon, & Somerset Counties" briefly mentions Billy Border, a son of the gunsmith Daniel B. Border . The book mentions that Vaughn Whisker once visited Billy's shop, which was in the borough of Bedford on Juliana Street, and there saw an excellent Bedford-style long rifle Billy had recently made. The book also mentions a lock plate with a rat-tail the author attributed to Billy because it was marked with the initials "BB". The book also tells the story of Billy experienced financial difficulty and pawned an excellent Bedford County-style rifle to long-rifle afficiando "Judge" Davidson. Davidson eventually claimed ownership of the rifle after Billy borrowed additional money from him.
1869: According to his tombstone, W.R. Border ("Billy") was born on July 18, 1869.
1897-1900: Ruth E. Border's tombstone at the Bedford Cemetery, which she shares with Daniel Border's son John, states: "Ruth E. daughter of W.R. & C. Border Born: Nov. 7, 1897 Died: May 21, 1900".
1915: The April 23, 1915 and May 7, 1915 issues of the "Bedford Gazette" newspaper contain an item that states "Billy Border wants everybody to know that he has opened a repair shop in the Fisher House Building, South Richard Street. Send Billy a postcard and he will call for your work."
The following image from the 1912 Sanborn map of Bedford shows the location of the Fisher House:
1937: The 2017 book "Gunsmiths of Bedford County, Pennsylvania" states that reportedly, in 1937, Billy Border resided in Derry, Pennsylvania.
1937: Billy Border is buried with his wife in the Bedford Cemetery (40.0265694, -78.5025024) in the town of Bedford, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The shared tombstone states, "W. R. Border born: July 18, 1869 died: Nov. 1, 1937 C. E. Border wife of W. R. Border born: Nov. 19, 1874 died: Nov. 4, 1964".
1937: An obituary of William Border in the November 3, 1937 issue of the "Altoona Mirror" newspaper indicates that:
1964: The November 5, 1964 issue of the "Bedford Gazette" newspaper carries an obituary of Mrs. Carrie Border that indicates:
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