Biographies

Applebay Family

Alexander Applebay was born on March 4, 1832 in Pennsylvania. In his native state, he learned the gunsmith trade. He married Susan Miller in 1854, and had six children: Mary, Sarah, Clara, George, Wylie, and Hardin. When his wife died, he took his children to Steubenville. He married Mary Winters in 1869. She died in 1874. At Steubenville, he loaded his tools and children on to a houseboat and started down the Ohio River.

At every town he tied his boat and laid a plank to the shore. As long as customers walked the plank with orders for the making and repair of guns, he stayed. When there was no more business, he untied his boat and floated to the next town. One of his stops was at Wellsburg, West Virginia. He spent a year floating from Steubenville to Marietta.

There were already several gunsmiths working at Marietta, so he probably had a steamboat tow him up the Muskingum River in search of more work. He stopped at Lowell and tied his floating gunshop to a sycamore tree on the bank of the river. It was recalled that almost as soon as he arrived the Flood of 1884 washed his houseboat ashore.

He built a gunshop at Lowell in the Flatiron Block at the corner of Main Street and the approach to the Canal Bridge. It was a one-story building containing two rooms. There, he produced percussion plains type rifles. His guns are characterized by the long tang which holds the barrel to the stock. His stamp was "A. Applebay" with small stars and circles at both ends of his name.

He married Margaret Baldwin Rummer in 1886. He died on March 4, 1906. He is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery.

His son, Wylie Applebay, was born on March 13, 1863. He had a natural mechanical aptitude, and he learned the gunsmith trade in his father's shop before they left Pennsylvania. Wylie was about 19 years old when he arrived at Lowell.

After his father's death, Wylie continued the business for 21 years. He cut the "A." from his father's stamp and used it on the guns he made.

By the early 20th Century, breech loading guns had largely replaced muzzle-loaders. Wylie received a few orders to make fine guns for collectors, but his trade consisted mostly of gun repair.

He also added many side items. He sold fishing tackle and cartridges. Like gunsmiths in other places, he was the most skilled machinist in town. His shop was the headquarters for the repair of anything made of metal. He had a hand powered lawn mower sharpener.

After the 1913 flood washed Wylie's shop away, he operated a hardware store in two locations across Main Street until his death on August 8, 1927.

Glenn Adams

Glenn Charles Adams was born on August 4, 1908. He was the son of Charles and Caroline (Boston) Adams.

He owned and operated Adams Market in Lowell for a number of years.

He married Margaret Warren, daughter of William and Anna (Gutheil) Warren. They had three sons: William, Robert, and James.

He died on August 19, 1974. He is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery