THE MORGANS
Horses featured in this gallery are closeup sire-line descendants of Justin Morgan.
Seely’s (or Seeley’s) American Star (1837). The earliest of the Morgan-related horses and the most important, this horse appears in the deep pedigree of a majority of Standardbred broodmares. Standing 15:2 hands and weighing about 1,100 pounds, he is by Coburn’s American Star, a sire-line descendant of Justin Morgan through Sherman Morgan. He is out of a mare by Sir Archy, she probably out of a Morgan mare. He was bred by Henry Berry, a friend of President Ulysses S. Grant at whose farm Grant’s imported Arabian stallions *Leopard and *Linden Tree were kept. Seely’s American Star is today counted as a Morgan and he sired three dozen Morgans, but also another dozen valuable Standardbred broodmares who produced winners in the decades leading up to the Civil War. This portrait is after a sketch from life made for publication in Harper’s Weekly Magazine; the horse’s conformation appears to be an ideal blend of Morgan and Thoroughbred, exactly the sort of mount most desired by officers of cavalry, but a stylish driving horse as well.
Daniel Lambert (1858). By Ethan Allen by Black Hawk 1833 and out of Fanny Cook, she by the same Abdallah who was the sire of RH. The foundation horse of today’s Lambert Morgans, this lightly built, active, agile, stylish and flashy stallion was the longtime property of Joseph Battell, the “colonel” who researched and founded the Morgan registry. Daniel Lambert’s pedigree presents nine crosses to Justin Morgan, and he was also a fast trotter by the standards of the 19th century with a record of 2:42 for the mile. He sired 30 sires of 108 trotters able to set a standard record, and 42 dams of 57 trotters and six pacers who were able to do likewise.
Charles Reade (1886). Standing 15 hands and weighing 1,100 pounds., this is a a much more substantial horse than Daniel Lambert. Charles Reade is by a son of Ethan Allen, out of Princess Dagmar by Daniel Lambert and with tail female to Black Hawk 1833 and an unidentified Thoroughbred. This stallion concentrates Justin Morgan blood, with 12 crosses in his pedigree. Handsome and kind, he was also surprisingly speedy with a trotting record of 2:24, an outstanding time for that era. Although primarily a progenitor of Morgans and American Saddlebreds, he sired one trotter and one pacer of record. He was the sire of Always, shown by Tom Bass to the pairs championship at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 (see “A Great American Horseman,” EQUUS 504).
Aristos (1870) stood 15 hands and weighed about 1,050 pounds. By Daniel Lambert out of Fanny Jackson, she is a descendant of both of the most famous horses named “Black Hawk” (Black Hawk 1833, a grandson of Justin Morgan and sire of Ethan Allen; and Long Island Black Hawk 1837 by Andrew Jackson, who descends from Khasnadger). Fanny Jackson’s tail female is rooted in Morgan, Abdallah and Bellfounder. Not only larger and heavier but also longer-bodied than his sire, Aristos produced 46 Morgans and a half-dozen Standardbreds, of which 25 trotters and five pacers were able to make records of 2:30 or less.
Lou Dillon (1898). At first glance this famous mare does not seem to belong here as both her sire line and her damsire line represent RH breeding. Sired by Sidney Dillon, a grandson of the otherwise undistinguished RH son Strathmore, she is out of Lou Milton a granddaughter of Happy Medium, the all-time most successful RH son. Her connections to Morgan are in the tail female, where she traces twice to Black Hawk 1833 and once directly to Justin Morgan within four generations. Lou Dillon’s conformation does not reflect her Morgan heritage, but her behavior does, for she was both game and kind. Owned through most of her life by millionaire C. K. G. Billings, she became the world’s trotting champion in 1903 with a record of 1:58 ½; she also went 2:00 to wagon (as opposed to a lighter sulky). Billings retired her from the Grand Circuit in 1906 and took her on tour, staging exhibition matches for American fans and all the crowned heads of Europe.