Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-07-29
THE DAM OF GEORGE WILKES.
is HER BREEDING KNOWN?

In a recent issue of the New York
Sportsman appears the following letter:
PHELPS, y. Y, April lS-The dam of
Georgc Wilkes has been accepted as a
daughter of Henry Clay, and the world
reads it that way. Still those that own
ed Dolly Spanker here do not believe it
and never will. The mare was once
owned here and under the conditions the
following facts will be of interest:
About 1915 Edwin Beardsley and Ed
ward and James Gilbert were located at
this place running a distillerv. They
had work for number of horses. and IN
1850 or Whereabouts James Gilbert took
a trip to Pennsylvania and bought three
or four head. One of the purchases was
brown mare named Dolly Spanker, who
afterward produced George Wilkes. The
mare was brought to Phelps and was
like all of the other property owned in
common by the Gilbert brothers and
Beardsley, who was their brother-in- law.
They kept Dolly Spanker about year
and sold her TO Captain Joseph Lewis of
Geneva, y. Y, for $500. This was a ire
mendous price for horse in those DAYS.
So far AS | can learn Mr.. Lewis purchas-
ed Dolly Spanker for John S. King, a
New York gentleman that was building
branch of the Erie road from Elmira to
Canandaigua. Mr.. King used Dolly
Spanker as road mare and when his
contract was completed he turned her
over to Joseph Lewis to dispose of. Mr.
Lewis sold her to Mr.. Delevan of New
York. lie was one of the proprietors of
the Welch and Delevan circus. He took
the mare TO New York and after time
she passed into the hands of the Feltons.
Edward Gilbert has been dead some
time. but James Gilbert is still among US
and in good health. have talked with
him many time, and ne has stated the
story over and over as ! have related it,
| questioned him closely so as TO learn
whether he or his brother ever bought
any horses of the Phillips family in the
town of Bristol. y. Y. and he always
replied that neither he or his brother
ever bought horse of any kind of any
body by the name of Phillips.
Mr.. Edwin Beardsley is alive and well.
lie lives here in Phelps and is a wealthy,
straightforward business man. | see
him every few days and he endorses
everything that James Gilbert SAYS. Mr..
Beardsley tells me that lie has distinct
recollection of Mr.. Gilbert bringing this
mare Dolly Spanker home from Penn
sylvanla. Also that he had an interes [
in her. lie drove her frequently and also
states that she had been gone from here
only some nine or ten years when the re-
port came back that young stallion out
of her had beaten Ethan Allen in a
match race for $1,000 side. That he
said brought everything fresh 10 his
mind Now here are two living witness
es that can certify that this mare was
picked up in Pennsylvania. James Gill
bert's address is No. l57 Seventh street.
Buffalo, n. Y, and Mr.. Beardsley can be
found here.
have had several talks with joseph
Lewis about this mare Dolly Spanker.
lie tells the same story over again about
the Simmons brothers writing to him
soon after the race between Wilkes and
Ethan Allen, asking for information in
regard to the breeding of Dolly Spanker.
lie told me on different occasions about
his sending John Dey to trace her: that
he traced her to one Clark Phillips of
Bristol, n. Y, and reported that she