James H. Defibaugh was born in 1873, lived with his parents in Everett as an adult, and inherited his father David's gunsmithing tools and his gun and jewelry shops in 1914 at the age of 41 years. His father David appears in various Bedford County records as a gunsmith from 1864 to 1880, and then David and James are listed as jewelers in the 1900 and 1910 censuses of the borough of Everett.
James H. Defibaugh was 6 years old when the U.S. census last identifies his father as a gunsmith in 1880. An obvious question is whether David Defibaugh performed any gunsmithing activities in the 1881 to 1914 timeframe, and whether his son James helped him. Since David still had his gunsmithing tools and gun shop when he died, my educated guess is that he did perform some gunsmithing activities in the 1881 to 1914 timeframe, even if it was just repair work for himself or others. Since David and James lived in the same household and worked together in the jewelry business, my educated guess is that James also helped his father in the gun shop. To me, the fact that David saved his gunsmithing tools instead of selling them, and ultimately willed them to James, suggests that David retained an interest in gunsmithing, and suggests that he may have known that James had an interest in gunsmithing.
If I were to prepare a detailed biography of James H. Defibaugh, it would simply repeat much of the information I have relating to his father. Rather than duplicate that information here, I refer you to the David Defibaugh biography page.
In the following excerpt from the 1920 census records of Everett, James Defibaugh is listed as a Jeweler with his own store.
James H. Defibaugh shares a tombstone with his father David and mother Susan at the Everett Cemetery in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The tombstone indicates that James H. Defibaugh was born on November 26, 1873 and died on February 21, 1927.
L. Dietle
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