Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-05-18
GYPSY QUEEN. THE NOTED TEN
MILE TROTTER AND DAM OF
THOMAS JEFFERSON,

In the July 2 number of 1856 of the
REGISTER we published letter from
Albert r. Martin, Williamstown. VT.
headed "Gypsy Queen, dam of Thomas
Jefferson" and stating that the writer
supposed that this was mare taken
from that town to Illinois by Henry
Ware, and gave Mr.. Wares address as
Altoona, Knox Co., Ill. A first letter to
Mr.. Ware did not elicit much information,
though we published the answer in some
paper, but afterwards we got second
letter from Mr.. Ware dated Altoona,
March %, 1887, as follows:
Editor Register Yours received. In
answer will say | sold the mare to L. p.
Douglass, Chicago. | suppose her to be
the same mare that trotted the 10-mile
races with Capt. MCGOWAN in Louisville
and Cincinnati, in 1850 and 81. 1t was
her name, Gypsy Queen. Her sire was
principally Morgan; her dam was a black
mare, owned by Mr.. Sheridan of Will
Jamestown. | don't know anything of
her stock. | had two of her colts; one
was natural trotter.
Yours truly,
W. H. WARE.
This letter was published in REGISTER
of December 2, 1887.
Perceiving at the beginning of this cor
respondence that there was quite posi-
bility that this claim was correct, we also
opened correspondence with Mr.. Il. J.Vail,
breeder of Thomas Jefferson, and received
from him the following letter, which was
published in REGISTER of April l6, 1886,
headed Gypsy Queen, dam of Thomas
Jefferson:
The NATIONAL TROTTING ASSOCIATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
HARTFORD, Conn.,, March 10, 1886.
JOSEPH BATTELL, Esq,
Dear Sill haye your letter of the
"Turfmen's Directory" will be issued this
spring, but cannot now fix the exact
date.
You ask me what is known of the
breeding of the blk. m. Gypsy Queen, the
dam of Thomas Jefferson and Naubuc.
reply that | bought this mare at the
WoOdlawn course near Louisville, Ky.,
early in November, 1860. | had seen her
trOt her famous dead heat in the l0-mile
race against Captain MCGOWAN at the
Woodland course, October ~, 1860, and
then bargained for her, but was unable
to complete the transaction until she re-
turned from Cincinnati Immediately after
the race which Captain MCGOWAN won
there on November 3. At the time of
this purchase she was in the hands of
George w. Bidwell, who seemed to be in
some manner connected with a sporting
man named Campbell, who was his back
err. Both Bidwell and Campbell inform
ed me that the breeding of the mare was
not definitely known and my present be-
lief is that that statement was correct,
although one L. 7. McQuivey and the
stable boys about the mare told me she
was sired by the running horse Wagner
and that her dam was a mare that was
sired by the running horse Glencoe, and
in support of their allegation they pro-
duced to me steel engraving of Wagner
which was in their possession, as showing
remarkable resemblance to Gypsy
Queen when in trOtting form. | attach
little importance to their story, though
the resemblance between the mare in trOt-
ting form and the picture of Wagner was
certainly remarkable, but my theory is
that if she had been bred as they stated
she would not have been the capable trot-
ter she certainly was.
bred Gypsy Queen to George NJ.
Patchen and lost the colt. bred her in
the next consecutive years to Toronto
Chief, producing first, Thomas Jefferson,
foaled in 1868, and Naubuc, foaled in
1864 After Thomas Jefferson attracted
attention as meritorious trotter, and af-
ter it had been commented on that the
breeding of his dam was not certainly
known, the claim was put forward on be-
half of the Black Hawk family that she
was daughter of Sherman Black Hawk
| have never seen particle of evidence,
not even clear circumstaDtial history,
going to prove the correctness of that
claim, and must state as my belief that
her breeding is not known.
Yours truly,
]. j. VAIL.