Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1909-05-21
AMERICAN HORSE
NEWS DEPARTMENT
News Items Pertaining to all
Kinds of Horses are Solicited.
Address Matter for this Department to
c. a. Chapman, Room 81, Battell Block,
Middlebury. Vt.

As there seems to be some controversy
still going on over the dam of American
Star Seely's) we think it important that
our readers should be presented with re-
suits of our Investigations, and will quote
from American Stallion Register Vol. /,
lust published by Mr.. Battell. In the
introduction, page 1875. it says: There
remains one witness and quite an import
ant one whom we interviewed whilst in
New Jersey. This was Mr.. Nathaniel
Townsend, born about 1914, and elected
sheriff in 1868 and 1866. Who said
l came here April %, 1885. Martin ].
and Henry H. Berry each raised a colt
from some horse, | do not know what
the sire was. but Judge Berry's colt was
afterwards known as American Star.
His brother colt was bay, 1913 hands and
| thought the best colt. He was bigger
than Star but not so stylish. This bay
was kept a stallion until four years old,
but | do not know what then became of
HIM. Judge Berry bought the dam of
cheap horse to work on farm in the
spring of year and bought this mare,
giving twenty five or thirty five dollars
for her. Judge Berry has repeatedly
told me that he knew nothing at all of
her breeding, and l know he told me
right, although he said it was stated,
after she had her colt, that she was by
the race horse Henry. She was broken
down stage mare, a kind of tall light
colored mare with bad feet, sore fore
ward Berry told me he did not know
any more about her than | did said the
mare worked before stage She was
about 16 hands, and probably eight or
nine years old; not what we call very
strong limbed mare; not made up for
good work horse but quite trav-
eer. She didn't straddle as Star did.
1t was very natural for him to trot. He
was a nice little horse and sold to Bau-
vert for $3.50 or $500. He got his head
up well and went in good style. The
dam looked pretty well bred mare. At
that time the Henry stock was in its glory
and that was the reason it was said she was
by him. Another witness whom we in
terviewed, Lemuel H. Roam, of Pompton
Plains, n. j., said of the dam: "She
was only common stock, no speed that
know of. She was getting along in age;
bay mare with white face or stripe,
nearly IS hands, not heavy built. He
did not have her a great while before he
raised the colt. | never heard she was
blooded. She was slim built and had
slim tail guess she was used up when he
got her; a good working animal and
might have been well bred"
Mr.. Wallace in his Monthly, Vol. 1,
page 607 says; "a correspondent in
whose judgement, skill and honesty we
have great confidence, writes that he is
investigating the pedigree of Am erican
STAR and that the facts already found
are entirely different from the pedigree
as we have given it. He asks suspen-
sion of judgment, till he presents his
discoveries to the public. We certainly
will give our friend space to present what
he has found or what he may yet find on
this or any other pedigree, and we will
not anticipate him. We are fully salts
fled however, and have been for a long
time, that no element in the pedigree as
we have hitherto given it, is beyond very
serious doubt. We believe he was bred
by Henry H. Berry and that he was got
by horse called American Star, but what
this American Star was no man can tell.
There is no evidence it WAS Stockholm S
Star.
That his dam was by Henry and his
grandam by Messenger has never been
verified" Relative to the character and
ability as horseman of Mr.. Townsend
we have the following letters: