Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1890-03-07
JUSTIN MORGAN AND HIS FAMILY
JOSEPH BATTELL,
Middlebury, Vt.

JUSTIN MORGAN AND HIS FAMILY.
CENTENNIAL HlSTORY-PAPER READ BE-
FORE THE MEETING OF THE STATE
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AT
ROYALTON BY D. W.
BLISS, ROYAL
TON, VT.
The past year was the centennial of Jus
tin Morgan, founder of the great family
that bears his name. Were he now living
he would be just one hundred years old.
For, although it has been generally sup
posed that he was foaled in 1893 and
brought by his owner and breeder, from
whom he took his name, from Spring
field, Mass, to Randolph, Vermont, two
years later, in the fall of 1885, recent in
vestigations show that these dates are
incorrect. He was foaled in 1889 and
brought to Randolph in the fall of 1877.
His owner, Justin Morgan. had moved
from Springfield, Mass, to our neighbor-
ing town of Randolph in the spring of
1lsS, and three years from the next
fall he returned on horseback to Spring
field and brought back with him the little
bay two-year-old colt that was to make
the name of Morgan household word
throughout the land. In regard to his.
blood, it is well established that the
original Morgan horse was a son of True
Brton, of which horse he was almost
counterpart save that he was not quite
as tall True Briten being the horse that
WAS captured or stolen from the British
General Delaney at Hartford, Conn,
during the revolutionary war. True
Briton was son of Imported Traveller.
who in turn was by Morton's Traveller,
horse that drew his origin by near and
direct lines from the five famous Arab
ans, Byerly Turk, Curwen's Bay Barb,
the Lowther Barb, Bloody Buttocks, and
Godolphin Arabian. Traveller. although
classed as thoroughbred was an almost
typical Arabian, and Justin Morgan in
form, size, build, disposition. speed,
strength and endurance, showed his close
relation to the kings of the desert
The first and hitherto only history Of the
Morgan horse and his progeny was an
excellent book, now quite rare, written
by the late ID. c. Linsley, and published
in lS57 The following description of
the horse, drawn by Mr. Linsley from
the testimony of many who had known
him well, is doubtless the best that
exists;
"The original, or Justin Morgan, was
about II hands high and weighed about
$50 pounds. His color was dark bay
with black legs, name and tail. He had
no white hairs on him. His name and
tail were coarse and heavy, but not so
massive as has sometimes been describ-
ed; the hair of both was straight and
not inclined to curl. His head was good.
not extremely small but lean and bonv.
the face straight, forehead broad. ears
small and very fine, but set rather wide
apart. His eyes were medium size. very
dark and prominent, with a spirited but
pleasant expression, and showed no
white round the edge of the lid. His
nostrils were very large, the muzzle
small and tue lips close and firm His
back and legs were perhaps his most
noticeable points. The former was very
short, the shoulder blades and hip bones
being very long and oblique, and the
loins exceedingly broad and muscular.
His body was rather long, round and
deep, close ribbed up; chest deep and
wide, with the breast bone projecting a
good deal in front. His legs were short.
close jointed, thin, but very wide, hard
and free from meat, with muscles that
were remarkably large for horse of
his size, and this superabundance of
muscle exhibited itself at every step.
His hair was short and at almost all sea-
sons soft and glossy. He had a little
long hair about the fetlocks, and for two
or three inches above the fetlock on the
back side of the legs; the rest of the
limbs was entirely free from it, His
feet were small but well ,haped, and he
was III every respect = ctly sound
and free from any sort oi Dlemish. lie
was very fast walker. In trotting his
gait was low and smooth, and his step
short and nervous; he was not what in
these days would be called fast, and we
think it doubtful if he could trot Il mile
much if any within four minutes, though
it is claimed by many that he could trot
it in three
Although he raised his feet but little,
he meyer stumbled. His proud, bold and