Gunsmiths and Allied Professions of Philadelphia

CONTENTS INCLUDE:

• By James B. Whisker, PhD
• William Afflerbach (1819-1890), gunsmith.
  1136-41 N. 2d St. [Boyd’s Pa. State Dir., 1861; Boyd’s S.E. Pa. Dir., 1880; Boyd’s Philadelphia Dir., 1880; Polk’s Pa. Gazetteer, 1882; Gopsill’s Dir., 1886; McElroy’s Dir., 1846]. As early as 1846, William Afflerbach was listed in the city directories as a gunsmith. The city directories of the 1850’s through the 1880’s listed him variously as a gunsmith, gunmaker, or pistol & rifle manufacturer. He is listed in 1851 as living at 621 N 2d Street, but that was before the address numbering changes in the late 1850’s. By 1860 his new address was at 1141 North 2nd Street, but by 1870 he had moved to 1136 N 2d street, an address that he would keep until he died. His eldest son, William H. Afflerbach, was listed as working with him in the gun making business by 1870, and later on by 1875, his other son, John C. Afflerbach, would join his father and brother in the gun making business.

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