Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-11-19

his day..
The descendants OF the two families be-
came numerous, and furnished the prin-
cfpal stock of the State; producing sucn
horses as Whalebone, and Blackstone
Belle, and Lewiston Boy, and the Eaton
Horse Sslre of Shepherd f. Knapp. that,
Desldes being trotter, went to England
ana became noted Hackney sire,) and
many others of note,
In the early forties came two horses
which were so prominent as sires that
| they founded families which were always
regarded as distinctively Maine families.
one was the Eaton, the horse being the
result of union between the Morgan
and Messenger strains, he being sired by
the Morgan Avery horse, and his dam by
Winthrop Messenger; and the other was
the Drew family, descended from the old
Drew horse, which was by colt brough;
| from the provinces of New Brunswick.
and his dam, Benton Girl, was by horse
called Sir Henry, whose sire was said to
be son Of American Eclipse, while the
grand-dam of the Drew Horse was by
Winthrop Messenger out of Morgan
mare, thus showing that the two families
had their foundation in the breeds which
we have described.
About this time the Brandywine family
became somewhat noted. 1t originated in
Canada, and the founder of the family III
Maine was brought into the State and
died shortly after, leaving small num-
! Der of descendants some of which have
added to the reputation of the State on
| the turf and as sires and dams of trot-
| tiers.
! The year 1855 marked an important
| epoch in Maine horse history, for in that
| year We're foaled two horses which were
| destined to add greatly to the reputation
of the State in that direction. I refer 70
Gen. Knox and winthrop Morrill,. Both
were descendants of the Morgan tribe,
| the former through the Black Hawk sub
| family, and the latter through the Nor
| rlls, and what was remarkable coin
! cidence. each was known when he came
| into Maine by the name of Slasher.
General Knox came in 1858 as a three
| year-old, and was placed at the head of
| the stud of his owner, the late Col.
| Thomas S. Lang of North Vassalboro,
when he had the best advantages, both
in training and in the stud, that Maine
afforded at that time. He filled both re-
became known on the turf as the Cham
| pion of New England and in the sud
as one of the great sires of the country,
| the first Maine horse 10 take a record
| better than go being a son of hs-Ca M
ors, 219&4, and at the same time one of
| his daughters. Lady Maud, held the
worlds record for a fve-year-old me re,
222A. which she reduced the next year
after Camors performance ITO 2.1Sli.
| Winthrop Morrill, came into the State
without reputation or influential friends.
| and only became popular after his get
| had demonstrated his worth as a re,
He was a Morgan of the Morgans being
strongly inbred to that family. Other
| horses Col. Lang brought into the State.
| as Trenton, by Geo NJ. Patchen, Tcle-
graph by Vermont Black Hawk, and Gid
con by Rysdyk's Hambletonian; but all
the latter passed away leaving no i'm
press in the stock of the State.
Gideon was as intensely inbred in the
Messenger lines as Winthrop Morrill, was
| in the Morgan, and when the writer once
| asked that eminent authority, Mr.. John
| H. Wallace, if he could name any horse
| more strongly inbred to Messenger Il an
was Gideon, or to the Morgan horse than
Winthrop Morrill,. he answered, while
| the question is interesting. it is not easy
to give a correct answer, but from my
knowledge and experience with pedigre es
| am not prepared to say there was
In the seventies breeding horses be-
came more and more popular, until it be-
came a fad" and many men went into
it who had no horse knowledge and but
little horse sense.
Daniel Boone, by Rysdyk's Hambleto-
Man, was brought to Maine by Fred
Doane of Skowhegan. He was out of Old
Kate, famous brood mare from Can
ada. She was the dam of the famous
Bruno and Brunette family. of which
Daniel Boone was full brother. He
has made a mark in Maine breeding af-
fairs, string speed himself and impartin,
that power to his sons and daughters
1t became fashionable about this time
to look to Kentucky for breeding stock
as Kentucky and California had earlier
looked to Orange county, New York, anj
| many sons of Almont found their way II
Maine, among them the first being Con
stellation: then came Gen. Withers anG
Harbinger, and later, Albrino and Olym-
pus. All have made, crossed upon the
earlier stock of the State, an impress fol
good. The fastest trotting mare bred ii
the State was got by Albrino. and the
fastest trotting geldng was out of I
daughter Of Olympus, while the fastest
pacing mare was by a son of that horse
and the next fastest was by son OF
Daniel Boone, and the second fastest
trottlng gelding was by a grandson OF
Constellation. The most of these sue
cesses have been the result of crossing
the sires named on the foundation stock
of the State, which I have earlier de-
scribed.
In 1882 was foaled colt which was des-
tined to turn anew the eyes of the breed
ing world to Maine This was afterwards
known as the horse Nelson. 209, a. horse
that has been believed and is yet believed
by many to he the peer of any horse that
was ever raised.
In 1885, as a three-year-old, he trotted
to the worlds record for that age. on q
half-mile track, in 226A, and later took
the worlds stallion record of 2.1112 al
| Kankakee, H., Sept. 26. 1890; lowered it
| to 211A October 8, at Terra Haute, Ind.
and again to 2.10$4 October 81, at Cam
bridge City. On Sept. 10, 1891, Allerton
| lowered this to 2.10 at Independence, on
| n a Of DO,