An interesting trade for a rare early M1A1 carbine.
- Thread starter drm3m
- Start date
CanadianAR,
This Colt belonged to a sea captain James Samuel Winter in Antigua.
His father was a wealthy merchant and ship owner in Antigua and he died in 1871.
They shipped sugar from Antigua to Bristol and Liverpool and brought back building materials.
The father was also the manager of Barbuda until 1846 an island tied to Antigua.
The whole island was leased to the Codrington family in England for almost 200 years. They used it as a provisioning ground for their sugar estates throughout the Caribbean.
When James Samuel Winter’s father, John Winter, died in Antigua in 1871, he was at sea or in England. He was unable to claim any part of the vast holdings belonging to his father, nor were any of the other children (his siblings). It is assumed that there was no will and the children had no legal claim.
It is further assumed that after the father's death the wife/mistress Ellen Horsford, in concert with her lawyer brother and local officials had re-located all moveable assets to the island of St Kitts.
During the period that James Samuel Winter was attempting to obtain satisfaction in the West Indies, he considered that his life was in danger and subsequently armed himself with a Colt pistol.
Long and the short -the father’s children got cut out of the family fortune and the wife and brother liquidated the father’s estate and moved to St.Kitts and set up a merchant business after 1871 that is one of the largest on the island to this day.
I am currently trying to find photos of the fellow who had the Colt with family members in England and Antigua and Canada. He was born (out of wedlock) in Antigua in 1843 and died in England in 1929
The Colt came to Canada in 1992 from a relative in England.
When I got the Colt it came with a 16 page family history.
The fellow that wrote the history died in 2008….he owned the Colt at that time.
I have recently connected with the daughter in Antigua whose father was also involved in writing the family story (he died 15 years ago)
I am looking for photos of James Samuel Winter in Canada, Antigua and England at this point.
No luck so far, although I have one photo and I don’t know that it is him.
The fellow who was interested in my M1A1 carbine found this cased Colt and the trade took place.
The death certificate and marriage certificate shown below were sent to me by his great grandson in England.
This Colt was manufactured in London in 1854 and all serial numbers are matching.
I have many more photos but they are not on Photobucket. I have been having problems with Photobucket on my home computer. I now have to upload photos from my office.
Claven, the nipples are in very good condition and the bore and cylinder chambers are in decent condition.
As I have no intention of firing this Colt these issues were of lesser importance to me.
David
This Colt belonged to a sea captain James Samuel Winter in Antigua.
His father was a wealthy merchant and ship owner in Antigua and he died in 1871.
They shipped sugar from Antigua to Bristol and Liverpool and brought back building materials.
The father was also the manager of Barbuda until 1846 an island tied to Antigua.
The whole island was leased to the Codrington family in England for almost 200 years. They used it as a provisioning ground for their sugar estates throughout the Caribbean.
When James Samuel Winter’s father, John Winter, died in Antigua in 1871, he was at sea or in England. He was unable to claim any part of the vast holdings belonging to his father, nor were any of the other children (his siblings). It is assumed that there was no will and the children had no legal claim.
It is further assumed that after the father's death the wife/mistress Ellen Horsford, in concert with her lawyer brother and local officials had re-located all moveable assets to the island of St Kitts.
During the period that James Samuel Winter was attempting to obtain satisfaction in the West Indies, he considered that his life was in danger and subsequently armed himself with a Colt pistol.
Long and the short -the father’s children got cut out of the family fortune and the wife and brother liquidated the father’s estate and moved to St.Kitts and set up a merchant business after 1871 that is one of the largest on the island to this day.
I am currently trying to find photos of the fellow who had the Colt with family members in England and Antigua and Canada. He was born (out of wedlock) in Antigua in 1843 and died in England in 1929
The Colt came to Canada in 1992 from a relative in England.
When I got the Colt it came with a 16 page family history.
The fellow that wrote the history died in 2008….he owned the Colt at that time.
I have recently connected with the daughter in Antigua whose father was also involved in writing the family story (he died 15 years ago)
I am looking for photos of James Samuel Winter in Canada, Antigua and England at this point.
No luck so far, although I have one photo and I don’t know that it is him.
The fellow who was interested in my M1A1 carbine found this cased Colt and the trade took place.
The death certificate and marriage certificate shown below were sent to me by his great grandson in England.
This Colt was manufactured in London in 1854 and all serial numbers are matching.
I have many more photos but they are not on Photobucket. I have been having problems with Photobucket on my home computer. I now have to upload photos from my office.
Claven, the nipples are in very good condition and the bore and cylinder chambers are in decent condition.
As I have no intention of firing this Colt these issues were of lesser importance to me.
David
Thanks Scott and Alonzo.
I just received a photo of William James Winter from his son in Ottawa.
Apparently the photo was taken in 2006 or 2007.
William (Bill) James Winter died in 2008. (Born in 1917.)
He had received the Colt from a family member in England in 1992.
He was the author of ‘A Winter Tale’ in 2001 and the last Winter to own the Colt.
Just before Bill died in 2008 the Colt was sold outside of the family, and I got it on April 19 2013.
Now I have a photo of the last Winter that owned this Colt, I suspect that I will have a difficult time to find a photo of James Samuel Winter…..the first Winter to own this cased Colt……but I will keep trying!
One of the interesting things that I found was that Bill Winter (In Ottawa) received the Colt from Norman (Winter) Griffiths in 1992 (From England) and his father William Griffiths a son-in-law was present at the death of James Samuel Winter in England in 1929.
The Colt remained in the Griffiths' (Winter) family until it came to Canada in 1992.
David
A few more photos.
I just received a photo of William James Winter from his son in Ottawa.
Apparently the photo was taken in 2006 or 2007.
William (Bill) James Winter died in 2008. (Born in 1917.)
He had received the Colt from a family member in England in 1992.
He was the author of ‘A Winter Tale’ in 2001 and the last Winter to own the Colt.
Just before Bill died in 2008 the Colt was sold outside of the family, and I got it on April 19 2013.
Now I have a photo of the last Winter that owned this Colt, I suspect that I will have a difficult time to find a photo of James Samuel Winter…..the first Winter to own this cased Colt……but I will keep trying!
One of the interesting things that I found was that Bill Winter (In Ottawa) received the Colt from Norman (Winter) Griffiths in 1992 (From England) and his father William Griffiths a son-in-law was present at the death of James Samuel Winter in England in 1929.
The Colt remained in the Griffiths' (Winter) family until it came to Canada in 1992.
David
A few more photos.
Last edited:
