Introduction
Samuel Lepley is known as a Somerset County, Pennsylvania gunsmith from a story Samuel's son Harvey told Harvey's son Butch Lepley. Butch loved Harvey's stories, and asked Harvey to tell them many times so Butch wouldn't forget them. Butch told me the gunsmithing story in December of 2007 and in February of 2023. Harvey and his brothers Alonzo and James were not allowed in the gun shop as children, except to walk through the shop to the window so they could sit in the window with their legs hanging inside to watch their father Samuel Lepley and grandfather Adam Lepley III performing gunsmithing activities. One gunsmithing activity Harvey described was spinning a drill with a piece of leather to drill a gun barrel (evidently, they were using a bow drill of some type). When the Lepley boys got restless and wanted to play, they would crawl out of the window.
Harvey Victor Lepley was born on August 28, 1895 and Alonzo S. Lepley was born on April 30, 1899. Since Adam Lepley III died at age 82 on June 9, 1903, he would have been quite elderly to still be doing gunsmithing at a time when Alonzo, born on April 30, 1899, could have sat in a window of the gun shop and watched. Harvey's story indicates that a Lepley gun shop was still in operation in the early 1900s.
The farm of Samuel Lepley was located south of, adjoined, and was originally a part of the farm of Adam Lepley III. To see the old gunsmithing tools and left-over muzzleloader parts that were found on Samuel Lepley's farm, click here. To read about the Lepley family of gunsmiths, click here.
Undated photographs
The following photograph of a youthful Samuel Lepley is reproduced from Volume II of the 2007 book "A Look at Southampton Township Pennsylvania the way it used to be" with the permission of Mona Huffman.
The following photograph of the children of Samuel and Ida (Emerick) Lepley is reproduced from Volume II of the 2007 book "A Look at Southampton Township Pennsylvania the way it used to be" with the permission of Mona Huffman. The book reports that the children in the front row are Earl and Harvey Lepley, and the children in the back row are Jim, Cora, Ella, and Bertha Lepley.
The following photograph of the Samuel Lepley family is reproduced from Roger & Mona Huffman's 2005 book "A Look at Southampton Township Pennsylvania the Way it Used to Be!" with Mona's permission. The individuals in the front row are Earl, Samuel, Mary, Ida, and Alonzo. The individuals in the back row are Harvey, Bertha, Ella, James, and Cora.
Chronology
1861-1947: Samuel Lepley's obituary in the November 13, 1947 issue of the "Bedford Gazette" states, "Samuel Lepley, 86, died at his home in Wellersburg Monday. He was born Jan. 29, 1861, a son of Adam and Sarah Comp Lepley. His wife, the former Elizabeth Emerick, preceded him in death. He is survived by seven children: Earl, Mt. Savage; James, Wellersburg; Alonzo, Mrs. Ellen Korns, Mrs. Bertha Bittner, Hyndman; Harvey, Sand Patch; Mary, Cumberland; and one sister, Mrs. Effie Kennell, Hyndman. Funeral services will be held this Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Lepley home, the Rev. John Bucher, officiating. Interment will be in the Lepley cemetery, Wellersburg, under the direction of the Zeigler Funeral Home, Hyndman."
1863: According to the 1900 census, Ida E. Lepley was born in March of 1863.
1884: According to the 1900 census, Cora B. Lepley, daughter of Samuel and Ida E. Lepley, was born in November of 1884.
1886: According to the 1900 census, Earl T. Lepley, son of Samuel and Ida E. Lepley, was born in July of 1886.
1888: According to the 1900 census, James A. Lepley, son of Samuel and Ida E. Lepley, was born in November of 1888. The Virginia death certificate (84-040713) of James Albert Lepley indicates that he was born November 8, 1888, his father's name was Samuel L. Lepley and the maiden name of his mother was Ida Mary Emerick.
1891: According to the 1900 census, Sarah E. Lepley, daughter of Samuel and Ida E. Lepley, was born in May of 1891. The obituary of Mrs. Ella Sarah Korns in the April 4, 1969 issue of the "Cumberland Evening Times" newspaper indicates that she was born on May 8, 1891, and indicates she was the wife of Earl T. Korns and the mother of Lester H. Korns and Mrs. Lucretia Sturtz.
1893: The following excerpt from the April 12, 1893 issue of the "Somerset Herald" newspaper indicates that Samuel Lepley of Southampton Township was selected for Grand Jury duty:
1893: According to the 1900 census, Bertha R. Lepley, daughter of Samuel and Ida E. Lepley, was born in June of 1893.
1895: According to the 1900 census, Harvey V. Lepley, son of Samuel and Ida E. Lepley, was born in May of 1895.
1899: The following excerpt from the March 1, 1899 issue of the "Somerset Herald" newspaper indicates that Samuel Lepley was elected to serve as Southampton Township Constable:
1899: According to the 1900 census, Samuel and Ida E. Lepley's son Alonza S. Lepley was born in April of 1899.
1900: Click here to see the listing for the Samuel Lepley household in the 1900 census records of Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
1903: Samuel Lepley and his father Adam Lepley III are listed in the following excerpt from the January 1, 1903 "Individual and Business Directory of Somerset County, Pa."
1910: Click here to see the listing for the Samuel Lepley household in the 1910 census records of Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The preceding listing is for William B. and Effie (Lepley) Kennell, who were evidently already living just over the hill at the Lepley stone house (where the gun shop was located) that had previously belonged to Samuel and Effie's father Adam Lepley III.
1930: Click here to see the listing for the Samuel Lepley household in the 1930 census records of Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
1940: The following picture is reproduced from Volume II of the 2007 book "A Look at Southampton Township Pennsylvania the way it used to be" with the permission of Mona Huffman. The book reports that this is a 1940 picture of Samuel and Ida Mary (Emerick) Lepley.
1941: The 2007 book "A Look at Southampton Township Pennsylvania the way it used to be" indicates that Samuel Lepley's wife Ida (Emerick) Lepley was born on March 19, 1864, died on October 9, 1941, and is buried at the Lepley Cemetery.
1947: The following item is from the November 11, 1947 issue of the "Cumberland News":
1947: The following item is from the November 12, 1947 issue of the "Cumberland News":
1947: Samuel Lepley is buried in the Lepley family cemetery that is located on his farm in Southampton Township of Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The tombstone he shares with Ida E. (Emerick) Lepley indicates he was born in 1861 and died in 1947.
For info about other Somerset & Bedford county gunsmiths, visit the Gunsmith Project Index.
Go to the Korns family genealogy home page
