Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-03-01
THE FAMILY OF LExANDER'S
NORMAN

The head Of this family, AleXander's
Norman, as will be remembered, was
son of the Morse Horse, otherwise known
as Morse's Grey, which in turn was sired
by European. This European was a
large and fine looking gray horse that
was brought from Canada, and was
said to be an imported horse, claimed
TO have been from France. The Morse
Horse was the only one of his prog
eny that attained any prominence as
a sire. The Morse Horse was noted as
a trotter in his day, being contempor
aneous with Vermont Black Hawk; and
between the two there was a great riv
airy in speed which finally eliminated
in a match at the New York State fair,
which was attended with the greatest
interest, and was won by Black Hawk
only after very close contest; indeed,
it was claimed by the partisans of the
gallant Grey, that had it not been for a
certain happy faculty shown by the
handsome Black of improving his place
BY few timely jumps on the turns, he
would not have worn home the laurels
as he did.
The dam of the Morse Horse has been
recorded by Mr.. Wallace, in that humble
and believing spirit that should entite
him to the name of Father of the Faith
full, as daughter of Harris Hambleto-
MAN; but recent investigations, origin
ally published in The REGISTER, have
traced her to her breeder and shown her
to have beer by Barney Henry, a horse
largely of thoroughbred blood. Barney
Henry also sired Searcher, which got
the dam of Gen. Knox, the Vermont bred
horse that went to Maine and became the
most famous of all the Maine trotting
sires. BY a strange coincidence, Mr..
Wallace also trustfully set down the dam
of Gen. Knox as by the inevitable Har-
ris' Hambletonian, but afterwards, on
being told differently by another man,
kindly changed it.
But to return to the Morse Horse; he
was sire of Grey Eddy 80, and of the
dams of Farmer Boy, 2 :2S, and Richard
sons Young Columbus, 2 80. But his
most distinguished son was the noble
gray horse, Alexanders Norman, from
a dam by Magnum Bonum, another
horse with large infusion of thorough
bred blood. AleXander's Norman was
the sire of the bay mare May Queen, that
took record of , 20 in 1875, and retired
with % heats to her credit in 2 80 and
better. But his fame rests more secure
ly upon the performances of his daugh-
ter. the great campaigner Lula, that took
record of 2:l5 the same year, which
was then second only to that of her peer
less rival, Goldsmith Maid, that had set
her mark at 2:l4 the year before. Lula
has to her credit So heats in 2 80 and
better.
Among the get of Alexander's Nor
man are two successful trotting sires,
Swigert and Blackwood; and it is worthy
of remark that they are both out of
daughters of MambrinO Chief, founder of
the noted trotting family of that name.
Swigert has IL to his credit in the two
thirty list. Blackwood, whose chances
In the stud have been comparatively
small, has six; but among them is the
noted brown trotting mare, Protene,
winner of many hard fought race, that
retired with mark of 2 :ls and list of
So heats in 80 and better; also the
black horse Blackwood, Jr., 2:22t, sue
cessful as well in the stud as on the
track. Blaekwood himself is a record
breaker, being the first colt to make a
record at three years of age as fast as
2:3l. His two most famous offspring
Proteine and Blackwood, Jr., are both
from dams of the blood of Vermont Black
Hawk, that of Proteine being Belle Sher-
jdan by Blood's Black Hawk, and that