Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1890-03-21
JUSTIN MORGAN AND HIS FAMILY
Middlebu Vt.

FORE THE MEETING OF THE STATE
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AT
ROYALToN BY D. W.
BLISS, ROYAL
TON, VT.
Concluded.l
Leaving here the most interesting and
distinguished line of the Morgan family,
turn to the Bulrush branch, which, as [
have said, also produced trotters. Bull
rush himself was probably the fastest
trotter among the sons of Justin Nor
gan, but his speed did not crop out so as
to get into the records as early as it did
in both the other branches. Bulrush got
a little bay horse, very much like him
self, that was kept at Randolph and call
ed the Randolph Horse; the Randolph
Horse got the Jennison colt, large
but very finely finished animal, and he
in turn got old Morrill,, founder of the
Morgan family of that name. Old Nor
rill was handsome brown horse, 154
hands high and of strong build, some
thing of trotter himself, and sire of
two in the 2 80 list. But his fame rests
upon the success of his son, Young
Morrill,. 1t is not known that there was
i'm old Morrill, any infusion of Morgan
blood except what came in direct male
line; and it is noticeable that the son
that was to be in reality the founder of
the Morrill, family was from a Morgan
dam, thus getting the first reinforce
ment of the old blood. The dam of
Young Morrill, is given by Linsley as
daughter of Sherman. Young Morrill,
was little taller than his sire, being
about 16 hands; he was also very sub
stantial brown horse of much style. and
for some years deemed the champion
trotting stallion of the State, though his
best public record is 2 81; there is no
doubt, however, that he was much fast
er than those figures indicate. He was
a very remarkable fountain of trotting
speed. From Il dam of strong Morgan
breeding he got Winthrop Morrill,, that
went to Maine and there established a
family second to none for road work,
and second only to the KnoXes as trot-
tiers in that Commonwealth, famous as
it is for fine horses. From the mare. Old
Scrog, bya son of Woodbury. Morgan,
he got the elegant trot;ing stallion, Dra-
co, owned several years by the late
Leonard L. Tucker of Royalton, that
achieved record of :2S4; and he, in
turn, from the Ansel Burbank mare bv
Furmans son of Black Hawk, and in
terbred and mtertwisted to the Morgan
blood on her dams side dozen times
over-from that mare Draco got the
famous Draco Prince, whose record of
2:243 has remained the best Vermont
stallion record from that day till the
past season, when it was beaten by the
2:233 of Gillig, the great four-year-old
son of Aristos. But the greatest of the
get of Young Morrill, was the superb
brown stallion, Fearnaught, whose re-
cord of :233 when he took it and with
1t the ten thousand dollar purse at Buff
falo, was the fastest stallion record in
the world. The dam of Fearnaught
was also inbred to the Sherman line of
the Morgan family; she was daughter
of Napoleon, he by Flint Morgan, son of
Sherman. Fearnaught has founded a
distinguished trotting family, among
which the most noted sire is Royal Fear
naught, son of Fearnaught, that with no
advantages save the Morgan blood pre-
valent in the mares about his home in
Coldwater, Michigan, has at sixteen
years of age, if am correctly informed,
II performers in the 2 80 list, the fastest
of which is Silverhead, 2:l5. Now
you will notice that as we come down
from old Morrill, our line has kept i'm
proving; Young Morrill, better than old
Draco better than Young Morrill,; and
Draco Prince better than Draco. But
Young Morrill, had more than double the
Morgan blood of his sire, Draco had
more yet, and in Draco Prince it was
again doubly intensified. Coming down
the Fearnaught branch, we find the
Morgan blood of Young Morrill, inten-
sitied by a stream from Sherman through
his dam; and passing from that great
horse to his greatest son, Royal Fear
naught, the greatest sire of his age in
the Morgan family and one of the great
est in any family, we very curiously find
the Morgan blood again intensified, and
from source very near home. For the