Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-02-20
FLYING EATON.
From the Horse Breeder.l

We knew the stallion Flying Eaton
for years, and can heartily endorse the
statement of Dana Golf printed else
where concerning the excellence of that
horse and his stock. We have the best
of reasons, however, for believing that
Mr.. Cot is in error concerning Flying
Eaton's sire. In 1S49 Charles Church,
generally known as Esquire Church, was
in trade at Phillips Upper Village. His
goods, or portion of them, were trans
ported from Hallowell to Phillips by
horse teams. Mr.. Church had two sons.
The older one was named Hiram, and he
did the teaming for his father.
On one of Hiram's trips to Hallowell
he traded for smal-sized bay mare
that was quite speedy trotter and had
considerable knee action. After keeping
her awhile, Hy Church either sold or
traded her to Joseph WhittemOre, shoe
maker, who lived near the old Methodist
parsonage at the Upper Village. The
mare proved to be with foal, and in the
spring or early summer of 1850 dropped
a bay colt which was afterwards known
as Flying Eaton. As the mare proved
quite a good one, Mr.. Whittemore bred
her the year she produced Flying Eaton
to the old Eaton Horse, then owned by
Eliab Eaton of Pennington. Mr.. White
more sold this colt, Flying Eaton, to a
Mr.. Parker, and the first time we ever
saw him he was exhibited by Josh Par
ker at the first fair of the North Franklin
County (Me.) Agricultural society, held
at Phillips. This colt afterward became
the property of the late James Towle of
Phillips, who kept him several years.
If we remember correctly, MIR. Towle
let William Gilbert, a capital Judge of
horsehesh, have the horse. Mr.. Gilbert
then lived in Kingfield, Me-, and we be-
lieve is still resident of that town.
From Mr.. Gilbert he passed to the own
ership of George Collins, who was
blacksmith and at one time carried on the
business at Phillips on the farm at the
top of Davenport Hill, where Joseph
the horse, Flying Eaton, Mr.. Collins had
moved to Kingtield.
Up to the time that Mr.. Gilbert got the
horse of Mr.. Towle, no effort had been
made to learn his breeding. He was
then known as the Towle Horse. He
must have been ten or dozen years old
before they tried to learn anything about
his ancestry. When they did investi-
property of Mr.. Whittemore, as above
stated. They also found that his dam
was bred to Old Eaton, and doubtless
believed that Old Eaton was Flying
Eaton's sire.
Some fifteen or sixteen years ago Mr..
j. w. Thompson of Canton, Me-, re-
quested the writer to Investigate the
matter, and if possible learn the facts
concerning the breeding of Flying Eaton.
This was done. The late John Hoyt of
Phillips was at the village when lily
Church first arrived home with the dam
of Flying Eaton. He saw the mare
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her as small-sized, gray animal, a smart,
trappy going one, and distinctly remem-
bered that she had excessive knee ac-
ton. This was quite late in the fall.
Mr.. Hoyt remembered that Joseph
Whittemore got the mare, and that she
produced foal the following season.
1t was also learned that the mare was
sent by Mr.. Whittemore to the old Eaton,
and we knew that If the stud book of
the year when Flying Eaton's dam was