Horace Smith was a gunsmith, inventor, and businessman. He and his business partner Daniel B. Wesson

Daniel B. Wesson

Daniel Baird Wesson was a firearms designer from the United States. He was responsible for helping develop several firearms that had a very large influence in the field.-Early years:...

 formed two companies named Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...

, the first of which was financed in part by Oliver Winchester and was eventually reorganized into the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...

Born in Cheshire, Massachusetts

Cheshire, Massachusetts

Cheshire is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,401 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, Smith was employed by the U. S. Armory service from 1824 to 1842, when he moved to Newton, Connecticut. He was employed by various gun makers up to the 1840s, when he moved to Norwich, Connecticut

Norwich, Connecticut

Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...

.