xt7mcv4bpj1m https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7mcv4bpj1m/data/mets.xml Thomson, Allen W. 1893  books b98-42-41901198 English s.n., : [S.l. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Horses. Horses Vermont. Horse breeds. History of the Walker horse  : the Morrills and the Hamiltonian horses of Vermont, with a chapter on the pacer / by Allen W. Thomson. text History of the Walker horse  : the Morrills and the Hamiltonian horses of Vermont, with a chapter on the pacer / by Allen W. Thomson. 1893 2002 true xt7mcv4bpj1m section xt7mcv4bpj1m 







                    HISTORY
                        OF TEB

           WALKER HORSE,

THE MORRILLS AND THE HAMILTONIAN HORSES
                   OF VERMONT.

    It is shown how false many of the pedigrees have been given,
snd, too, in regard to the time of foaling and death of many of the
horses.
    The Diomed Cross in Young Morrill's pedigree is shown and
given to the public for the first time. Many, many interesting facts
in regard to the horses and pacers are given that are new. Illu&-
strated with fine pictures of the celebrated horses Draco, 2.283;
Winthrop Morrill, 373; Fearnaught, 2.231; Royal Fearnaught,
1501; The Walker Horse, and Princess, 2.30. Price, 65 cts.


       ANOTHER WORK BY THE SAME AUTHOR.


THE HORSES OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
         History of the Windsor County Fair,
               (The Banner County Fair of the State),
Sketches of the Different Breeds of Vermont Horses,
          with a History of the Great Horse
                 George Wilkes, 519.

   Illustrated with splendid pictures of the noted Morgan horses
Old Gifford Morgan, Old Green Mountain Morgan, Old Black
Hawk, Daniel Lambert, 102; Draco, 116; Woodstock, 873; and
George Wilkes, 519. It gives the pedigrees of all the premium
horses at the fair and, too, of the winners. The names of the differ-
ent officers of the Fair and the speakers. Price, 60 ct.
   To make a quick sale, the two books will be sent on the receipt
of 1.00. Stamps not wanted. The trade supplied at a reasonable
discount.     Address
                          ALLEN W. THOMSON,
                                          Woodstock, Vt.
 January, 1894.

 






      HISTORY


         OF THE



WALKER HORSE



THE MORRILLS AND THE HAMILTONIAN
      HORSES OF VERMONT



      WITH A CHAPTER ON THE PACER



              BY



ALLEN W.



THOMSON



ILL US TRA TED

 































Copyright, 1893.

 





















                   CONTENTS.

                                                    PAGE.
Morgan Tally-L1o, or the Walker House... .. . . . . .
The Morrills.. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .      . . .  16
The Hamiltonian 1orses of Vermont.  . ...... .     .  60
Harris Liamiltonian...................        ....     . ..    66
The Andrus Hamiltonian .r........ . . ...         ..  73
Biggart's Rattler...... . . .   .. ...... .   .   .   78
The Pacing Blood       .       .      .... . . . . . 81

 This page in the original text is blank.

 This page in the original text is blank.

 




































































WINTtI4OP MORRIUU, 373. By Young Morriill, 118.



THE WAIk,ERI HORSE

 







MORGAN TALLY-HO, OR THE WALKER HORSE.

THIS horse was bred and raised by William Walker,
  1T  of Hartland, Vermont; foaled 1835. Mr. Walker
always said that his sire was Woodbury Morgan, and
it was not disputed until the horse was five years old.
His dam was an extra bay mare, and weighed about
1100 pounds; her sire was Tally-ho, her dam a large
bay mare that was sired by a large bay horse that canie
from Pennsylvania. Tally-ho was brought to Vermont,
about 1814, by a AMr. Dyer, who said he got him in Con-
necticut, and that he was an imported Norfolk trotter.
Mr. Dyer took to Walpole, N. H., the black English
horse, Traveller, who was the sire of the Hawkins horse,
called also Young Traveller. Mr. Linsley gives "Justit
Morgan" as the sire of the Hawkins horse; this is a
mistake. Traveller sired to another horse that was first
called Young Traveller, but afterwards his name was
changed to Paddy; this was the horse that many be-
lieve and say was the sire of Black Hawk 5. Tally-
ho was a mahogany bay, with black points, weighed 1000
pounds, was a strong-made, muscular horse, and a very
strong horse to draw. He was considered a very fast trotter
and a very fine looking an(l acting horse. William Hutch-
inson, of Pomfret, Vt., traded for him in 1815, and he
died about 1822. The horse did a large business in the
stud, and his stock was highly thought of. It is claimed
that his foals were all bays. They were natural trotters,
travelled wide behind, and many were fast. One of his
sons, called Young Tally-ho, was called the fastest trotter
in the section where he was kept. He was 15l2 hands
high and weighed 1100 pounds. His daim was called an
English mare. She was ridden by Colonel Dana in the war
                         (.))

 




HIS TOR Y OF



of 1812. One of Tally-ho's daughters brought a wonder-
ful trotter. She was a bay mare and a fast trotter; was
owned by Isaiah Lee, of Hartland. It was the summer
of 1829 that Mr. Lee was some twentv miles from home
with the mare, when he met a young man with a young
horse. They stopped and talked awhile, and they saw
that the mare was in heat, and they soon made a trade
in regard to the services of the horse, and the mare
was bred to him then and there in the road. As it looked
liable to rain, Mr. Lee drove home very fist. He said he
did it in part toi see what effect it would have on the
foal as to being fast. The breeding of the sire was not
learned, though it has been claimed that he was Morgan.
It is presumed he may have been, hut it cannot be called
so until it is known.
  The mare brought a sorrel colt the next season, and it
had Ripton's marks, and when grown, his size and style.
Ile had great speed, and the ease with which lie passed
everything on the road was wonderful; lie was considered
a phenomenal trotter for the time and place. Mr. Lee sold
him, wvlhen four years of age, to Samuel Taylor, of Hart-
land ; and he sold hil] to William hunter, of the same
town, and then he was sold and taken to New York City.
This was about 1835. It was known at Hartland that the
horse made a very fast trotter after lie was taken to
New York, and was sold for 2000, and that there were
parties that came from New York to Hartlamid to learn
the horse's breeding. The time, (iescril)tion of the horse
every way, lead one to think lie was the old trotter Rip-
ton.
  The Tally-ho blood seemed to be lost sight of after
awhile, and the Morgan blood became the popular blood.
They were the horses for the saddle, for the trainings and
musters; the trotter was not wanted then. The Tally-ho
blood is the foundation, the starting-point as to the speed of
inmtiv of the trotters that have been taken from Vermont.
Bellfounder was a Norfolk trotter.

 




THE WALKER HORSE.



  The following is from the first volume of the Trotting
Register:
  "Tally-ho, b. h., foaled 1791, got by Sportsman, dam
by Papist. This horse was bred and imported as a hunter
in 1793, and stood in several of the Hudson River coun-
ties."
  This must have been the same horse that sired the dam
of the Walker horse.
  To have a clear understanding as to what horse was the
sire of the Walker horse, a little must be known in regard
to his breeder. Mr. Walker was a very nervous angd ex-
citable man; was considered a little wild and out at times,
and the way he ended his life, by suicide, in 1866, shows
he was not of a sound mind. He was very unreasonable,
or crazv in his likes and dislikes of horses. He owned,
from 1826 to 1830, Woodbury Morgan, and was quite car-
ried away with the good qualities of the horse. When he
sold him he reserved the right to breed a mare or two
to hini. The forepart of the season of 1834, for a short
time, Woodbury was kept at Hartland, and Mr. Walker
bred his mare to him. Business not promising good,
Woodbury was remove(l to Bradford and vicinity. The
next year, 1835, M1r. Walker's mare brought a colt, and
he called his sire Woodburv 'Morgan. As the colt grew
up ie was so difrent fromn Woodbury and Woodbury
stock, and so much like a horse that stood in Hartland the
season of 1834, called the Moulton horse, that people began
to talk and ask if there was not some inistake-could it
l)e that Woodbury Morgan was the sire of Mr. Walker's
horse; and soon fActs came out that showed how it was be-
yond a doubt. It was when the horse was five years old
that Major John Moulton first saw him (Mr. Moulton had
owned the Moulton horse), and it was under the following
circumstances:
  At this time the great days to show the horses were at
the June trainings and musters-the same now as it is at



7

 




HISTORY OF



the fairs-and it was at one of the trainings that Mr.
Walker was present with his horse, and Mr. Moulton also.
As soon as he saw Mr. 'Walker's horse he said, "There
is a good picture of my horse; " and on account of the great
resemblance, he went close to the horse to get a better
view. When he saw that Mr. Walker had the horse he
said, " That is one of my horse's colts." The reason for his
saying so was, that Mr. Walker had paid him the season
of 1835 for the services of his horse for a colt, and the
great resemblance of Mr. Walker's horse to his horse.
When Mr. Moulton said, That is one of my horse's colts,
the crowd said, No, he is by Woodbury. Mr. Walker
was appealed to, and he said that his horse's sire was
Woodbury Morgan. Mr. Moulton was silenced, but not
convinced, for the next time he saw John Page, the man
who had charge of his horse the season of 1834, he asked
him to explain in regard to the charge on his book:
WIILIAM31 WALKER      .    .   .      .    .   DR.
       To use of horse for one bay mare,  .   5.00
(To be paid in grain.)
  Mr. Page then told that he met Mr. Walker on the road,
with his mare, the date of the charge, and Mr. Walker said
he wanted to make a trade with him for the use of the
horse. Mr. Page, who knew that Mr. Walker had bred
his mare to Woodbury, replied, "You have bred your mare
to Woodbury, why do you want to use my horse " Mr.
Walker said Woodbury had been taken away, and his
mare had come round and he could not go with her where
Woodbury was. The result of the talk was that a trade
was made, and Mr. Walker then and there in the road
bred his mare to the Moulton horse, and the next winter
paid the charge without saying a word.
  These facts Major Moulton stated any number of times,
as he was often asked.
  If the Walker horse had been by 'Woodbury, many of
his colts would have been like Woodbury and his stock;

 




THE WALKER HORSE.



but they were not, they were an entirely different race of'
horses in every respect.
  The Moulton horse was a large bay horse nearly 16
hands high and weighed over 1200 pounds; his sire was
Bulrush Morgan, darn a large mare called English blood.
The Moulton horse was called the Paragon; he was taken
to Ohio about 1838.
  The Walker horse closely resembled his sire in color,
shape, style and action; had the same squeal, was some-
what larger. He was 16 hands high, weighed over 1300
pounds, was a blood bay with black points; hair in his
mane and tail black andl light; his tail was docked when
young; head and ears large and a trifle coarse, face
straight, neck rather short and straight; vithers, medium
and thick; body round, and looked a little short; his hind
larts not quite as well filled out as some; legs and feet the
very best, and they were so at the time of his death. He
inherited Bulrush Morgan's soundness and his straight face.
He inherited his sire's disposition, as he was cross; he in-
jured several who hadl the care of him, and it was some
time that no one but Mr. Walker took care of him. His
style, spirit and action were not like the Morgans-he had
a strong way of going, but it could not be called easy; he
was not harnessed until he passed twenty.
  Excepting some six or eight seasons, he was kept at
Hartland. The seasons of 1851-2-3 he was kept at Bran-
don, Vt.; the seasons of 1856-7 at Montpelier and Water-
bury, Vt. In the Fall of 1857 he was taken to Illinois,
and made the season of 1858 there in Will County, and
the season of 1859 in Wisconsin, at White Water and Pal-
myra, Walworth County, Wis. When West he sired Grey
Jim 4004, called also the Rooney horse, who has two of the
2.30 horses to his credit. He was returned to Vermont
in 1860, and Mr. Walker sold him in the spring of 1862.
The horse changed owners two or three times. It was in
the Fall of' 1863 that he knocked his owner down and

 




10HISTORY OF



severely injured him, and he, forgetting the great age of
the horse and his great services, but smarting from his in-
injuries, had him gelded the same day. He was then used
as a draft-horse on the railroad, and showed great strength
in drawing his loads. He died about 1865.
  The price charged for his services was from 5 to 10
to warrant, and he did a large business in the stud; his
stock was highly prized and commanded quick sales and
good prices. His colts were mostly bays; there were a
feiw sorrels. They had good size, many were large, weigh-
ing from 1100 to 1300 pounds and 16 hands high, There
were some that took after Tally-ho in size, shape, action
and travel. The most of them were good travellers and
drivers, and many were fast. Though he had no speed,
yet when he was bred to a fast mare the colt was sure to
have speed. His stock inherited his good feet and limbs,
and often his head and ears.
  The large ones by him were mostly used for wheel
horses for the large team, though some were used for large
coach horses; they were recognized as his stock as soon as
seen. His daughters proved the very best brood mares.
Their size, or the large blood that they inherited, gave good
size to their progeny. The owner of one stated that he
bred her to the smallest Morgan horse he could find, and
that she never brought a colt but that weighed 1200
pounds when grown. Many of his daughters produced
trotters. Because his colts commanded quick sales and
the best of prices, was why the Walker horse was so well
patronized. He was a good specimen of the breed that
Herbert names the Vermont draft-horses. Had Her-
bert visited Vermont he could have easily learned of the
Vermont draft-horse origin. It sprang from a Morgan
sire and from the large mares that were brought into the
country.
   Herbert says of the Vermont draft horse:
  "No person familiar with the streets of New York can fail to have



10

 




THE WALKER HORSE.1



  As has been stated, many that the Walker horses sired
proved fast, trotting in three minutes or better (this was
fast for the time and place); they were sold young, taken
away, and nothing more known of them. A few will be
named.   The dam    of Pike's Giffard Morgan (she was a
pacer) brought a very fast pacing mare by him.
  E. R. Jennings owned one of his colts, a bay gelding,
in 18.55, that was fast, his dam was by the Ransom horse
MIr. Jennings sold hini, and he wvas taken to New    York,

noticed these magnificent animals, they are mostly dark bays, with
black legs, inane and tails, a few browns, and sometimes a deep rich
glossy chestnut. They are mostly used by Express Companies.
Trhey are the very model of what a draft-lhorse should be; com-
bining immense power with great quickness, a very respectable turn
of speed, fine show and good action. They have lofty crests, thin
withers and well set on head, backs short, barrels round, are close
ribbed up. One would think they were ponies, until lie stands
beside them, when lie is astonished to find them oftener over
16 hands than under.  These horses, nine out of ten, are from
Vermont; the mares of this stock are incomparably the best, from
which, by a well-chosen thoroughbred sire, to raise the most magni-
ficent carriage-horses in the world. It is stated that in the Canadian
rebellion of 1837, that part of the cavalry and artillery sent over
from England had to be horsed here, and that they got the horses
from Vermont, as the !Vanadian horses were not large enough.
I saw this magnificent regiment several times tinder arms
after the horses had been broken, and never saw a heavy regiment
more splendidly mounted. The officers said, the cavalry and artil-
lery were never better horsed. When they were ordered home they
took part of the horses with them, especially the mares." These
horses, Mr. Herbert says, were the Vermont draft-liorses. General
Taylor, when elected President, appointed Jacob Collamer, of
Vermont, Postmaster-General. He once asked him what breed
of horses they had in Vermont. Mr. Collamer said lie did not know
of any except the Morgan. The President replied, "That is the
name," and then told that he was stationed near the border in 1837
and saw the horses the English were mounted on; they came from
Vermont, and were callel Morgans, he said they made a splendid
appearance, and were perfectly fearless in regard to the firing of guns
and cannons. This is a characteristic of the Morgan.



11

 



HISTORY OF



owned awhile by one of the proprietors of the Union
Course, and it was claimed that he trotted in 2.34. Mr.
Jennings owned one of his colts, a chestnut mare, that
trotted better than three minutes when he sold her.
  Wesley Laboree, of Hartland, owned one, a sorrel
gelding, that trotted better than three minutes, and was
s.old for a large price.
  The grandam of Holabird's Ethan Allen brought a
I'ast mare bv the Walker horse. Quite a number of his
sons were kept for stock. Many were gelded when four
or five years old. The following are the most prominent
ones:
  Gray Hawk, or the. Harlow horse, gr. h., bred by L.
D. Harlow, Hartland, Vt., foaled 1843, sire Walker horse,
dam a gray mare bred by David Carpenter, Randolph,
Vt. Her sire and damin were both gray, their breeding
unknown.
  The Harlow horse was 15A hands high and weighed 1100
pounds, and was considered quite fast, could trot some bet-
ter than three minutes. Mr. Harlow sold him in 1850, it
was said, for 1500, and the horse was taken to Illinois.
  The Harlow horse, sired the Benson horse, a large gray
horse, foaled about 1847, owned several seasons at Wood-
stock, Vt., taken to Iowa about 1853.
  The Knowlton horse was I)y the Harlow horse, foaled
1849, owned at Hartland, Vt. He was a chestnut, and a
handsome horse. Gelded about 1860.
  Gray Hawk, Jr. (or the Thomsoii horse), gr. h., bred by
Calvin Totman, Woodstock, Vt.; foaled 1849; sire Gray
Hawk, or the Harlow horse; dam, a chestnut mare, by a
gray horse owned by Alonzo Thacher, of Pomfret, Vt.; his
sire and dam were gray, their breeding unknown. Gray
Hawk Jr.'s grandam a chestnut mare, by Wier's Gifflard
Morgan. Gray Hawk Jr. was kept at Woodstock, Pom-
fret and Bridgewater. Taken to Illinois 1856. Trotted
better than three minutes. Left excellent stock; quite a
number that were fast.



12

 




THE WALKER HORSE.1



  Gray Eagle, gr. h., bred by Aleck Moore, of Barnard,Vt.;
foaled 1850; sire, Gray Hawk, or the Harlow horse; dam,
a brown mare bred by a Mr. Crowell, of Barnard. It is
believed her sire was young Black Hawk, who was by Pike's
French Black Hawk, of Cornish, N. H. Gray Eagle was
foaled at Willianmstown, Vt., and owned there by Solomon
Eddison. Lost one eye when owned by Mr. Eddison.
Gardner Winslow, Jr., of Pomfret, Vt., traded for the
horse the fall of 1859. Kept at Pomfret and Woodstock
till the Spring of 1863, was then taken to Providence, R. I.
Was 15, hands high, and weighed 1200 pounds. He won
a race at Providence and got a record of 2.54. Left excel-
lent stock.
  The Ransom horse, 1). h., b)red 1) Elder Jacob Holt,
WVoodstock, Vt.; foaled about 1840; sire, the Walker
horse; dam, a large brown mare that was bought about
18.30, wheni she was two years old, in Washington County,
N. Y., by Marshall MIyrick, who took her to Wood-
stock and sold her to Mr. Holt. She was called a Ham-
iltonian mare, and her looks and travel showed it. Mr.
Holt sold the horse when six years old to Mr. Ransom,
of South Woodstock, and he was afterward known as
the Ransom horse. While Mr. Ransom owned him a bone
spavin was got on him. The horse was not appreciated, and
Mr. Ransom sold him about three or four years after.
The last known of him, a Dr. Bissell had him peddling
medicine. It was when his colts brought large prices for
their speed, that the worth of their sire was realized, when
too late. The Ransom horse was a dark bay or brown,
16 hands high and weighed 1100 pounds. He was more
rangy made and had more style than most of his sire's
foals, and was the best onle of his sire's sons. One of his
sons was kept for stock, owned and bred by Jerome Cox, of
Woodstock. Dam, Blazing Star blood, foaled 1849. Dark
bay, 151 hands high, weighed 1050 pounds. His stock
proved good. Died about 1864.



1.3

 





HISTORY OF



  The Chedel horse, b. h., bred by Samuel Paul, of Pom-
fret, Vt.; foaled about 1843; sire, the Walker horse; dan,
a very smart bay mare called Sleepy David. Her sire
was a three-year old gray colt; dam, a brown mare. Either
the gray colt or the brown mare had a cross of the Tally-
ho blood. Mr. Paul's son-in-law, B. F. Chedel, purchased
the horse when a yearling and owned him until 1854; he
then sold him to Monroe Hodges, of Pomfret; he was
shot in the Spring of 1855. Some thought he was poisoned
as he had a running sore on one of his fore pasterns as
large as a man's head. He was a dark bay with black
points, 15;4 hands high, and weighed 1200 pounds. He was
not very largely patronized, but his stock proved the very
best. He sired the dam of Cassius A. Holabird's Ethan
Allen Jr., 474. She was raised by Solomon Harding, of
Pomfret. He sired a brown gelding owned by Monroe
Chedel, of Pomfret, that was the fastest trotter at the fair
in 1855. This horse was taken to Providence, R. I., ill
1856.
  The Furber horse, b. h., foaled 1848; bred and raised by
Joseph Furber, of Hartland; sire, the Walker horse. He
was sold about 1853, and was owned awhile by J. W.
Thompson, of Cambridge, Mass. Left excellent stock.
  The Randall horse, b. h., bred by S. Randall, of Wood-
stock, Vt.; foaled about 1845 ; sire, the Walker horse; dam,
a large bay mare, breeding unknown. He was 15' hands
high, and weighed 1200 pounds. Was sold and taken to
Jefferson County, N. Y., the Spring of 1856.
  Morgan Tally-ho Jr., or the Shattuck horse, b. h., bred
by Mr. Shattuck, of Hartland, Vt.; foaled 1849; sire, the
Walker horse; dam, a Bulrush Morgan mare. Was a
dark bay, 16 hands high and weighed 1100 pounds. Left
excellent stock.
  The Norman Morgan horse, s. h., bred by Norman Mor-
gan, of Hartland, Vt., foaled about 1850; sire, the Walker
horse; dam, called Morgan blood. Was 151 hands high



14

 




               THE WALKER HORSE.                  1.;

and weighed 1100 pounds. Mr. Walker's son, Henry, took
the horse to Alabama about 1858. It was near where old
Woodbury Morgan died. Mr. Walker sold the horse,
taking a note for 750 for him. The troublous times coming
on, Mr. Walker wanted to get home, and, besides he wanted
his money, but the giversai(d it was a d -d Yankee debt,
and would not pay it. Mr. Walker sold the note for a
gold watch, and made out to get away. They intended to
press him into the Confederate Army. The horse was ridden
by a colonel in the Southern Army, and was wounded. It
is not known whether he lived through the war.
  The Holt horse, bh. h., foaled 1846; sire, the Walker
horse, was owned awhile by Sylvester Holt, of Hartland.
He was a fine, noble looking horse, 15o hands high and
weighed almost 1200 pounds. Inclined to be cross, and was
gelded when six. He left excellent stock. Dunham Per-
kins, of Woodstock, owned, for several years, a very fast
bay mare by him.

 







                 THE MORRILLS.

  For all the evidence shows that the Morrills trace to the
"Justin Morgan" through the Bulrush branch of the
Morgans, and are called Morgans, yet are their character-
istics so different ever way from the Morgans, that strictly
speaking they are an entirely different race of horses from
the Morgans, as much so as are the Clays and Messengers.
  Old Morrill, the head or founder of the family, was bred
by James Heath, of Walden, Vt., foaled in 1843 or 1844,
His dam was in the pasture at the time, and it was rain-
ing. His owner, thinkingl he (the colt) might die if left in
the pasture, carried him, with the help of Jeromne Bur-
dock, Edgar and Franklin Taylor, to the barn. If the
colt had been left to die the Morrill horses never would
have been known. The colt was called no beauty. When
four months old he was sold to Eben Perkins, of Walden,
it was said, for 25.00, when three, Mr. Perkins exchanged
him for another horse with French Morrill, of Danville,
Vt. The colt was soon called the Morrill horse, and in
time Old Morrill, to distinguish him from his many sons.
His sire was the Jennison horse (or colt), grandsire Young
Bulrush or the Randolph Morgan; great grandsire, Old
Bulrush. Old Morrill's dam was a gray mare, by the Far-
rington horse, son of the Vance horse (Old Morrill),
grandam by the Kittridge horse. She was known as the
Eastman mare, was bay, a very nervy, high-spirited, reso-
lute mare, and a very fast pacer. The Farrington horse
was a good-sized, rangy, gray horse, dam claimed to have
been imported from England and sold for 200.
  Mr. Morrill called the Vance horse, by Imported Mes-
senger, and it was so called for some time, but it has
been found to be a mistake. The Vance horse was raised
                         (16)

 




THE .1IORR ILLS.



by a Mr. Cushin, of Greensboro, Vt.; dam a fine bay mare.
The Vance horse was not as large as the Farrington horse,
a smaller and handsomer horse; he made a fine appear-
ance when rode by Col. Vance at the trainings and musters.
Mr. Linsley said that there were two Vance horses, and
that one of them was by Messenger and the other a de-
scendant of Messenger. One that spent some time in look-
ing up the sire of the Vance horse says lie may have been
by Samuel Blodgett's Old Phoenix. One says he was
sired by Mr. Cushin Morgan's stallion. Linsley, in giving
the pedigree of Newell's Gray, in his " Morgan Horses,"
page 304, says: " Dam by Vance horse (Vance horse was
gray), he by Old Phwenix. Blodgett's Old Phaenix was a
gray and a very fine, handsome horse, nd had a great
deal of style and nervous power. He was a great parade
horse, and was in great demand by the officers at the train-
ing. They paid 10.00 a day for him to ride. He was
15i hands high, and weighed 1050 pounds. His stock
rather inclined to be nervous, but were good roadsters.
Mr. Blodgett bought him of Major Enos, of Enosburgh,
and kept him at Royalton, Vt., for several years. It was
claimed by some that he was of Messenger blood. F. A.
Weir and others say he was by Quicksilver; he was much
more like the Quicksilvers than the Messengers.
  The Jennison horse, the sire of Old Morrill, was a
bright bay, with star, nearly 16 hands high, and weighed
1200 pounds; was three years old when he sired Old
Morrill. Mr. Jennison states that he got away from him
at the time.  He sired none others of note, and was
gelded when four or five. He resembled his sire in color,
form and looks, had a full mane and tail, yet he was much



 Major Enos' father was General Rogers Enos, and his home was
at Hartland, Vt., until 1792. The township of Enosburgh was
granted him and his associates. The horse Quicksilver was owned
several years at Hartland, and it is believed that he died there.
     2



17

 






HI2STORY OF



larer than his sire some 300 pounds heavier and nearly
eight inches taller. He took his size from his dam. She
was a large, powerful, black pacing mare, 16 hands high,
and weighed about 1300 pounds. Her ears were long and
lopped at times, as did Old Morrill's, mane and tail light,
nose and flanks brown. Was a dull driver. It was claimed
she was brought from Canada.
  Old Morrill's dam, the Heath mare, was anl iron gray
about 15 hands high, and weighed 950 pounds; was a mare
of great nerve power and energy. She brought a number of
foals, but they were sold young and taken away and noth-
ing known of them. She was called twelve when Old
Morrill was foaled. When young, she broke one of her
hind legs above the bock, and it was a little shorter than the
other, yet she got over the ground quite fast with it. One
person states he passed Mr. Heath on the road one time
with the gray mare, he having quite a smart horse. The
first he knew the gray mare was right onto him, and he
had all he wanted to do to keep out of her way. He said
he never was more beat in his life, for when he passed he
took a look at the team and thought it would not sell for
10.00. Mir. Morrill's place was at Danville Green, the
main village of Danville, and it was here that the three-
year-old colt was taken. He was not looked upon with
much favor at first, as he was a great, green, awkward,
stumbling colt, without any style or beauty. When
hitched to the post he had a dull, sleepy look. They little
thought at that time what a reputation he and his stock
would have in a few years, how horse buyers would conme
there for it and how glad they would be to have it that
their horse or horses were by him.
  It can be said his being owned so long at Danville gave
it more reputation than anything else, and the same can
be said of many other towns where celebrated horses have



18

 





THE MORRILLS.



been ownedl and kept.   The colt was soon called " the
Morrill horse," and in time the " old" was prefixed. It
took but a few years for him to grow into favor with the
public. It was found he could do more work and draw a
larger load than any horse in town and he would, when
called upon, rouse up and show quite a burst of speed.
Every horse will have some mares, and there will be a few
good ones, so that if the horse is of any value as a stock
horse it will soon be known. It was so with Old Morrill.
He sired during his first or second season at Danville,
Young Morrill, the best one of his numerous sons. One
of the horsemen of Danville states that he saw Young
Morrill's dam when she was taken to Old Morrill, and lie
thought at the time it nvas wrong, too bad to breed so fine
a mare to so poor and mean a horse, but he said he lived
to see that he was wrong, that he did not think Young
Morrill's sire could have been changed for the better.
  Mr. Morrill's farm contained 110 acres, and for four
seasons he did the team work on it with his horse. So
great was his strength that his harness and cart had to be
equally as strong. The harness was one of the heaviest of
truck harnesses, and the shafts to his cart were made of
small trees, the smallest end nearly four inches through.
Mr. Morrill's land was moist, so that wheels with a common
rim would cut in bad, he had a pair made with the rims
seven and a half inches wide and two and a half inches
thick; the bodv for them holding thirty bushels. There
was another body for drawing hay, and it was said when
so rigged it weighed 1,000 poumis. The wood lot was

   Very many know that Ol Morrill was owned and kept the
nmost of his days at Danville, yet there fire but few that know that
Danville is the birthplace of Thaddeus Stevens, the great anti-
slavery leader in the House of Representatives, and it is, too, of the
mother of one Frances Willard, that is fighting a greater evil (in-
temperance) and one haider to overcome than was the great evil
and sin-slavery.



19

 




20  HSTOR Y OF



some three miles from the Green, and Mr. Morrill often
drew from it with his horse to his place a cord of green
wood. On one of the trips he met two yoke of oxen
hitched to a sled of wood. They were " stuck," and the
ones with them wanted Mr. Morrill to hitch his horse on
forward and help them out. He told them to take the
oxen off and he would draw it out. They were taken off
and Old Morrill was hitched to the end of the tongue, and
he drew the load out, so the oxen went on with it. The
demand for the horse's services, for breeding became so
great that he was retired from doing the team work of the
farm.
  Mr. Morrill sold his horse when eight years old, or so.
He was at Montpelier on a visit, and they were trotting
on the ice there at the time, and he trotted his horse. A
Mr. James Clark was present from Brighton, Mass., buy-
ing horses, and took a liking to Mr. Morrill's horse, bar-
gained for him, it is stated, for 1500, paying 300 down.
Mfr. Morrill took the horse to Brighton. The next summer,
learning Mr. Clark was not goo