Sincere thanks to the many of you who have written in answer to my question both offlist and on. Thanks to your patient explanations and thoughtful replies, I can now murder my protagonists with some degree of historical accuracy. (And have them singing contemporary songs to boot!) Best wishes for a good new year to all you fine and helpful folks.

Sincerely,
Susan D. Rosenberg, MD
aspiring writer of historical fiction

In a message dated 12/31/2003 9:08:19 AM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes:

Would anyone be able to tell me what type of firearm might be typically
found on an upstate NY family farm around 1800 - 1810? I'm assuming most
such farming households would have included some sort of guns.