The Horse of America in His Derivation, History, and Development

by John Hankins Wallace

Skenandoah (afterward called Kentucky Hunter) was a bay horse, foaled 1854, got by Brokenlegged Hunter, son of the original Kentucky Hunter; dam not clearly established. He was bred by Mr. Sykes, near Canastota, and passed through several hands to Henry Dewey, of Morrisville, New York, who trotted him in a number of races in Central New York and then took him to California, where he was kept in the stud a number of years under the name of Kentucky Hunter, and died there 1871. He got one trotter; one son that left two performers and seven daughters that left nine performers.

Drew Horse, commonly called “Old Drew,” was a brown bay horse, foaled 1842, and was about fifteen and one-quarter hands high and well-formed. He was bred, or rather raised, by Hiram Drew, then of Exeter, Maine, who kept him all his life. The story of his supposed sire was one of those weakly devised fictions, so common in that day, and especially where the Canadian border could be made effective in rounding it out. To show that the mysterious colt that became the sire of Drew Horse was “thoroughbred,” the stereotyped “British Army officer” is made available, for the hundredth time, as having brought a mare from England in foal to a thoroughbred horse, the foal was dropped and at three years old he was traded by the aforesaid “officer” to the party that brought the colt to Maine. Unfortunately for the story, the party who made the trade and the story had a bad memory, and sometimes he located the trade at St. Johns and sometimes at Fredericton, New Brunswick. But the fiction served its generation and was not exposed till long after the Drew Horse was dead. The facts in the matter seem to be simply these: a stallion colt was running in a pasture adjoining Mr. Drew’s pasture, and that colt got over the fence, was found with Mr. Drew’s mare, and in due time she dropped the colt known as the “Drew Horse.” The fence-breaker was soon after made a gelding and sold, and nothing is known of him, either before or after this escapade. The dam of the Drew Horse was a bay mare about fifteen and one-half hands high, foaled about 1836, and bred by Mark Pease, of Jackson, Maine. Her sire was called Sir Henry and was represented to be by a son of American Eclipse, that was taken to Maine from Connecticut by Dr. Brewster and sold to General F. W. Lander. She was known as Grace Darling and afterward as Boston Girl. She was on the turf and was quite a trotter, and it is claimed she made a record of 2:37, and her dam was Lady Jane by Winthrop Messenger. While I don’t know what the inheritance of this horse was on the side of his sire, I do know that he had a trotting inheritance on the side of his dam. He lived till 1866 and then had to be destroyed on account of a broken leg.

This horse was never trained, and it is not known what he might have been able to do as a trotter. He put two of his sons in the 2:30 list, Dirigo and General McClellan. Of his sons, two put five trotters and three pacers in the list, and of his daughters left six representatives there. Besides these he left a number of others with records a little short of the limit of speed, and many without records that were fast and very game roadsters.

Dirigo, at first called George B. McClellan, under which name he made his record, was the best son of Drew Horse. He was a brown horse, and in appearance much like his sire. He was foaled 1856 and came out of a mare that has not been traced, but was doubtless a pacing mare. He was bred by Horace McKinney, Monroe, Maine, and passed to David Quimby, of Corinna, Maine, and died 1884. He made his record of 2:29 in a single heat and never was on the track again. Four trotters and two pacers by him entered the 2:30 list. Two of his sons became the sires of three trotters, and five of his daughters each produced a performer. He left others with and without records that were fast and stylish drivers.

Hiram Drew, at first called Bay Morgan, was a son of Old Drew, and his dam was a small bay mare, owned near Bangor and said to be of Morgan blood. This horse was on the turf some years and was engaged in some locally important contests, but never was able to make himself standard either by his own or the performances of his progeny. His best performance, I believe, was 2:31½.

Winthrop was a bay horse, foaled 1864, got by Drew Horse; dam by the Eton Horse and grandam by Stone or Simpson’s Messenger. He was bred by E. J. Greene, Newport, Maine; taken to California 1870, and there owned by Judge W. E. Greens and L. E. Yates, of Stockton. It does not appear that he ever was trained, and consequently has no record. His opportunities, probably, were not very great, but whether or not, he was not successful in the stud. He left one trotter and one pacer and the dams of one trotter and one pacer.

This family never was large, and its popularity was up and down just as a few individuals might be successful or unsuccessful on the turf. To start with, it had a very weak inheritance of trotting instinct, and that weakness did not strengthen in succeeding generations. Of late years it has failed to maintain itself as a trotting family, and is now practically out of the reckoning of trotters.

Hiatoga, generally known as Rice’s Hiatoga, was a bay pacing horse and was bred in Rockingham County, Virginia, and taken to Fairfield County, Ohio, by Edward Rice, some time about 1836. He had the reputation of being a fast pacer, and was sold to William Shiruo, of the same county, and by him to William Munger, in whose possession he died. He was got by a horse known in Virginia as Hiatoga, and also American Hiatoga, but nothing is known of the blood of his dam. Nothing is known of his speed or his progeny except through the two sons here given.

Hiatoga, generally designated as “Old Togue,” was got by Rice’s Hiatoga; dam by Thunderbolt, grandam by Black or Bold Rover. He was foaled 1843 and was bred by David W. Brown, of Perry County, Ohio; sold 1849 to John Joseph, Kirkersville, Ohio, where he made some seasons and was sold 1855 to Alvah Perry, Lancaster, where he remained till 1863, and was sold to Harvey Wilson, and two years later to William McDonald, Columbus, Ohio, where he died 1871. This horse left excellent stock and many of them fast pacers, but they never cut much figure on the turf.

Hiatoga (Hanley’s) was a bay pacing horse of good size and quality and was very popular as a sire. He was foaled 1849, got by Rice’s Hiatoga; dam an elegant bay mare sixteen hands high and represented to be of “Sir Peter and Eclipse blood.” This mare was formerly given as by Firetail, but the present rendering, whatever it may mean, comes from sources with opportunities to know. He was bred by John Bright, of Fairfield County, sold to Joseph Watt, and taken to Harrison County and then to Jefferson County, and sold to James Davis Tweed. He next passed through the hands of David Rittenhouse and Moses Hanley, of Hopedale, Ohio, and after three or four years in the stud Mr. Hanley sold him to David Rittenhouse, John Wiley and Samuel Hanley for two thousand five hundred dollars, and he died the property of Mr. Rittenhouse near Hopedale, Ohio, 1858. Two of his progeny entered the 2:30 list; three of his sons left thirteen performers, and three daughters produced five.