Oull~lln of Th~ Un~ln National J~ff' ··~undati~n • • • Or-. R. Ct'rald ~tdttu.rlrt. Edhor l'ublhhNI .-ac-h mont.h b1 The! Lin«Jln National l.ifc ln.. uran«- Company, f'orl ~·aync, India na
Number 1442 FORT WAYNE, INDIANA April, 1958
THE LINCOLNS: PIONEER HORSE BREEDERS AND RACING ENTHUSIASTS.
The Lincolns, like most Kentucky pioneers were inter an Indian. The inventory ot his estate, compiled by the ested in good horseflesh. The president's father and appraisers on March 10, 1789, indicated that he owned uncle, while Jiving in Kentucky, were able in a small along with othe-r property: "one sorrel horse valued at measure. to make a contribution to the improvement of eight (English) pounds and one black horse valued at the blood lines of Kentucky horses. This early interest nine pounds and ten shillings." The evaluation of these in horses, manifested by Kentuc-kians, accounts for the two horses by appraisers indicates that they were ex· Bluc~Grass State's pre!;ent--day Came on the turf. ceptionally fine animals, likely being bred at the Virginia Interest in blooded horses was handed down from stables of John Lincoln, the father of Abraham Lincoln, pioneer father to pioneer son in the Lbtcoln family. While Senior. it is true that the younger generations of the Lincolns The widow of the deceased Captain moved with her did not become leaders in the enterprise, nevertheless, five children from Jefferson County to Washington they were interested in the thoroughbred and saddle County, Thomas Lincoln, the father of the president, horse. Contemporat·y accounts reveal that the president was the. youngest of the three sons, being about ten was a skilled horseman, and in his youth enjoyed a good years o( age at the. time of his father's death. Their new horse race, as weU as acting as an official at rural r-ace neighbor, John Caldwell, who was probably a relative tracks. of the family, was appointed in the. year 1788, as admin· The interest of the pioneer Lincolns in this particular istrator of the estate. Caldwell owned one of the finest avocation is not SUI·prising, as the state of Kentucky l;tallions in Kentucky. On March 22, 1788 this advertise was, and is ideally situated !or such an enterprise. Pio· ment appeared in the Kentucku GazetU, published at neer Kentuckians immediately t.ensed the possibilities of Lexington, Kentucky: "Darius, the fastest horse in Ken the horse industry. On May 27. . 1785, the first Jaw-making tucky, will make the season at John Caldwells in Nelson body of Kentucky met, and after providing for ucourts" county." and the .,common defense/' this significant record was This fine stalJion must have been greatly admired by made: uon the motion of Mr. Boone (Daniel Boone) Mordecai, Josiah, and Thomas, the three orphaned sons. leave is given to bring in a bill for improving the breed While living as n neighbor to the Caldwells, Thomas of horses." Lincoln not only had an opportunity to see t.he fastest It is believed that the Lincolns, on their migration horse in Kentucky, but here in all probability he and his from Virginia to Kentucky in the year 1782, used horses older brother Mo•·deeai, became interested in bloodstock for trnnspol'tation, and in the establishment of their new production. home these animals probably bec.ame an important factor. Mordecai received the bulk of the Lincoln estate Captain Abraham Lincoln, the President's grandfather, through the law of primogeniture and it was probably after a four year re-sidence in Kentucky, was killed by due to his close business relationship with John Caldwell
Entry 42&-Hardin ('.ounty ( Ky.) Reeord of Estray&-1806·1815 2 LINCOLN LORE
that he became a horse breeder. Mordecai purchased thigh but not legible, a scar on her off side, with a dark the "celebrated stallion" ealled Strong Sampson. In spot on her neck on the off side under the mane about addition to this horse. he also owned at the same time the size of a dollar, a sore back, trots naturally, appraised five other horses. These were likely selected brood mares.• to twenty dollar$.11 Early records show that one of the five horses mentioned Horse racing, the sport of kings, was a favorite recrea was a uvaluab1e brown mare.n tion of the early citiz.ens of pioneer Kentucky. Because While Mordecai Lincoln may have operated a success or these early racing meets, Kentucky was able to estab ful breeding stable, he had some unfortunate circum lish prestige in this field of recreation. An advertise· stances befall his interests. Because of a misunderstand ment in the Kentuci..'1J Gazette. Cor August 22, 1789, an ing concerning the purchase price of Strong Sampson, nounced a fall meet at Lexington: " A purse race at Lincoln brought suit against Coonrod Matthis, the former Lexington on the 2nd Thursday next, free for any mare, owner of the stallion. The suit was eventu&lly won by horse or gelding, weight for age, agreeable to the rules Lincoln after extensive litigation lasting more than six of New Market. 3 mile heats, the best two in three; one years. quarter of an hour between heats aiJowed for rub One of the most discouraging incidents in the career bing ..." of this pioneer horse breeder was the loss of a valuable \Vhile the Lincolns were living in Kentucky there were brown mare. While Mordecai was on a visit to the tow·n seve1·al ~ace tracks in Hardin County. They were ea11ed of Springfield, the county seat of Washington County, "race paths" and the race was called a ucourse." The Kentucky, h~ left his marc in the care of a tavern kaeper best race pnth in the county ''"'as located at Middle Creek, named William Pile. Upon calling for the mare she could midway between Hodgenville and Elizabethtown, called not be found. A suit was brought before the court by Martin's Turf. This course was used while A braham Lincoln a~ainst Pile: uMordecai Lincoln complains of Lincoln lived in Kentucky, and it was only about eight William P1le in custody of a plea of trespass on the ea.se miles from the South Fork of Nolin River farm. whereas the Deft.... at the parish of Kentucky afore· A ucorn list made and run Cor on Middle Creek" in the said was a public inn keeper, in the town of $pring~eld year 1810, listed thirty prominent citizens of Hardin ... the plaintiff was possessed of a brown marc. of the County and the number of bushels of corn donated by value of twenty-five pounds, and did deliver said mare them !or purses for the different events. The total num into the hands and keeping of said Deft., as tavern keeper ber of bushels of corn donated for the 1810 event amount· to keep said mare for pay and restore said mare when ed to five hundred and twenty in aJl. The corn list follows: requested to the plaintiff' who was at that time- the said "We the undersigned wishi-ng to improve the breed of Deft's. guest. Nevertheless the Ddt. did so careless and horses in Hardin county do for that purpose propose a neglectfully attend to the mare of the plaintiff that she, course, race to be run on Martin's Turl on Middle Creek, the said mare, was lost or stolen out of the possession on the third Thursday, Friday and Saturday in October of the keeping of the Deft." next, to be free for any horse, m:tre or gelding owned The jury awarded Lincoln the sum o! ten pounds, or by an residenter of Hardin county at this time: to run $48.50. As few horses were appraised for more than five the first day three miles and repeat, the second day two pounds as early as March 1800, the date of the suil it miles and repeat, the third day one mile and repeat. To muat be concluded that the sum of ten pounds was 1 an be run under the rules and djrection of the Lexington exceptionally high evaluation for a court to place on a J oekey Club. for which we, the undersigned, do oblige horse. The fact that Mordecai valued the mare at twenty· ourselves to pay the quantity of corn opposite our names, five pounds must indicate it. was a splendid animal. to the winners by their demanding it, between the first A compilation of entries from the Commissioner's Tax day of December next and the twenty-fifth, as witness Books of Hardin County reveals that. Thomas Lincoln our hands this 13th day of August, 1810." listed for taxes as many as four horses at one time dur On such an important occasion it is probable that the ing his residence in Kentucky: Thomas Lincoln family WA$ present. As many of the men 1804-Linkhorn, Thomas-1 Horse on the corn list were church members it is likely that 1805--Linkhorn, Thomas-1 Horse they were allowed by their strict pioneer ministers to 1806-Linkhorn, Thomas- attend, even though the early churches frowned upon the 1807- Linkhorn, Thomas- 1 Horse afT airs. Possibly the clause uwishing to improve the breed 1808-Linkhorn, Thomas-! Horse oC horses" gained the approval of the church officials. 1809- Linkhorn, Thomas- 2 Horse The minutes or the Severns Valley Baptist Chun:h, 1810-Linkhorn, Thomas-2 Horse dated October 22, 1802 reveal a disapproval of horse 1811- Lincoln, Thomas-1 Horse 1818-Lincoln, Thon>as-3 Horse 1813-Lincoln, Thomas-2 Horse 1814-Lineoln, Thoma$-3 Horse 1815-Lincoln, Thomas-4 Horse (1 Stallion) 1816-Lincoln, Thomas-4 Horse Out of 104 (tithables) taxpayers shown in the Com· missioner's Book for the year 1815, only six other resi dents of the county had as many horses as Thomas Lin coln. The fact that he was required to pay an extra fee to own a sta11ion for breeding purposes indicates his interest in the improvement of blooded stock. Although the limited financial st.1.tus of the president's father did not allow him to own as finely bred horses as his o)der brother, there are many indications of his interest along this line. On October 10, 1814, the year Thomas Lincoln owned three horses, he purchased at the Jonathan Joseph sale, held at the court house door in Elizab4!thtown, Kentucky, ·•one curry comb.'' The purchase price was sixty-three c.ents. As the curry comb was seldom used by farmers on their work horses, this indicates that Thonlas kept his horses in a well groomed condition. While Jiving on Knob Creek in the year 1811, Thomas "took up" an estray gray mare and listed it on the "Book of Estrays" as required by law. The detailed description of this gray mare indicates that Lincoln was a close observer of the distinguishing marks of horses. The original estray notice follows : uTaken up by Thomas Nancy Hanks Lincoln in Hardin county on Knob Creek, on the road The Champion Trotting ~t are, Record 2.04. Pedigree: leading from Bardstown to Nolin, a gray mare, eight Happy Medium, dam Nancy Lee, by Ditator, (brother years old, fourteen hands highJ branded on the near or Dexter). LI N COLN LORE 3
races: usome of the members informed the church or During the years 1871 to 1873 General George Arm Brother John Haycra!t's misconduct in riding his horse strong Custer with a battalion of soldiers was stationed around the race ground." The date of this ent-ry clearly in Elizabethtown, to control the Ku Klux Klan and Car· indieat..es that race paths existed in Hardin County as petbag·gers, and to break up illicit distilleries which had early as 1802. sprung up during the Civil War. While stationed in this Promiscuous betting on horses was also engaged in community his men were able to procure. fine horses by the early residents of Hardin County. T he suit of from the town and surrounding country. The Seventh Hanks vs. WiiJiamson for the payment of a note likely Cavalry because of these excellent horses probably be resulted because of a horse race. Williamson charged "that note was won on a bet on a horse raccJ which makes came the best mounted troop of the entire regular army. it fraudulent." Hank stated, .. it was not a bet on a horse When Custer and his command were massacred by the raee.,. The note, nevertheless, was dated Novembe.r '1, Sioux Indians on June 25, 1876, the seasoned soldiers 1810, about two weeks af~r the big race at Middle Creek. were mounted on Kentucky horses. Undoubtedly many It has been discovered that in 1808 Joseph Hanks, a of the horses were purchased in the Knob Creek com relative of Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks, bought a munity. although it would be mere conjecture to say black colt and a fine saddle at a sale. Very likely he rode some were of the strain of the Lincoln stock. this colt at the Middle Creek race, and it may be sup The name of Lincoln's mother b~ame a household posed that the Hanks vs. Williamson sutt resulted in word to a past generation of horse breeders because of bets placed on the black colt. the records of a champion trotting mare named Nancy The Middle Creek race of 1810 was undoubtedly the Hanks. Her record wa$ 2.04 and her pedigree listed the outstanding sporting event ot that community for many names of Happy Medium and the dam Nancy Lee years. It wos conducted under the Lexington Jockey Club which was by Dictator, a brother or Dexter. During rules and was not unlike a similar meet held in Lexington the years that this trotting mare was being raced, she the same year. The provisions of the Lexington meet became almost more famous than the woman !or whom wer~ as follows: "The first day the heat was to be four she was named. miles and the purse $150. The second day the heat was two mHes, and the purse was the entrance money or the While the fame of the mare Nancy Hanks was still two preceding days. The horses were to start each day at its height, a group of Kentucky ho~Se breeders, in at twelve o'cloek and earry weight as follows: aged order to appropriately celebrate in their own way the horses, 126 pounds; six years old, 122 poundsi five years one hundredth anniversary of A braham Lincoln's birth, old, 114 pounds; four years old, 100 pounds; three years on February 12, 1809, held a reception of horses in the old, 86 pounds. The riders were to be dressed in silk or President's honor. satin jackets and wear caps." A newspaper account) taken from the South Bend (In Another important race path !rom the standpoint of diana) Tim..es on the anniversary date, reported the event its Lincoln association was located on the Merrifield as follows: "Nancy Hanks, former champion of the property, adjacent to the Lincoln birthplace farm. This trotting turf was hostess at a reception at Hamburg race course was later destroyed by a citizen who $ought Place Stud (Lexington, Kentucky,) today which was to uplift the morals or the community. It was at this attended by many or the most famous horses in the race path, situated only one.half mHe from the Lincoln world as aside from those quartered on the same farm, cabin home, that the pioneers trained their horses for the others were present from the farm of W. E. Stokes, more important meets in the county. Walnut Hill Farm, Harkness, and other breeder$ near When t.he Lincoln family moved to lnd.iana i t is likely by. The reception was the unique plan of John E. Madden that they retained their interest in horses, but the new to commemorate the lOOth anniversary of the birth of eountry in which they made their horne afforded few Abraham Lincoln, the noted mare having been named opportunities to engage in the popular Kentueky sport. for the mot·her of the martyred President. At the celebra However, it is not at all unlikely that many unoffieial tion this morning in the presence of several hundred racing meets were held in backwoods Indiana which were people, Madden christened the yearling daughter of the either witnessed by or participated in by some of the mare •Mary Todd' in honor of the wife of Lincoln." members of the Lincoln family. The famous mare is buried on the Madden farm at Once the Lincoln$ were settled in IJJinois, Abraham Hambur-g place, on the \Vinehester pike, about two miles moved on to New Salem. WhiJe Ji vin~ in this rural com front Lexington. Her grave is appropriately marked munity he ca.me in contact with a fast, wild, rollicking with a granite stone and a bron:te plate. It cannot be crowd of young men from Clary's Grove, who would said with credit to the American people that up until gamble or fight at the drop of a hat. These men were twcnty.five or thirty years ago the grave of the trotting interested in horse racing, and on many occasions races mare was more appropriately marked in Kentucky than were held in the village. the grave of Lineoln's mother in Indiana. These sporting events were held on West Main Street While Lincoln was president there were many accounts in New Salem; the race either starting or ending near of his appearance on horseback. He is described as being the Berry & Lincoln store. On Saturdays the men living a fine horseman, who could so completely manage a horse in the surrounding communities rode into the town on as to establish himself immediately as its master. Many their favorite horses, anxious to race and bet on their of his oft·repeated stories and jokes also concerned favoritc:s to win, place or $how. horses, racing and horse trades. With the possible ex· When these races were held Abraham Lincoln perhaps ception of our military presidents, it may be said that many times acted as a judge. Undoubtedly his Kentucky Lincoln was one of the best horsemen ever to be elected background caused him to be considered an authority on to the presidency. the rules and procedures of a meet. He must have estab· The interest of the Lincoln family in the "Sport of. lished a name for himself as a racing official, because Kings" should be one of the cherished traditions of the Stephen A. Douglas on one occasion while engaged in sporting world. the Lincoln-Douglas debates made the following state Se. l..oi.JI& A. Warren'• "Unc::oln'a P•r•otage a.nd ChiMlhood"', TM ment concerning his abilities along this line: "The dignity Century Co•• 19'2& and impartiality with which he (Lincoln) presided at a horse race or fist fight excited the ndmiration and won the praise of everybody that was present and pArtici pated." Heroic Lincoln Starnes h t Bronze The establishment of the Thomas Lincoln stable of horses on Knob Creek during the last few years of his He'l'oic l..incoln. Sta.h,e8 in Bronze is the title of an Kentucky residence may account for the horse breeding illustrated folder published in 1957 by the Lincoln Na farms located there today. Knob Creek has a lways been t ional Life Foundation, Fort ·wayne Indiana. The num· famous for its horses. Many beautiful saddle horses erical list of statues, numbering scvcnty.six studies, are shown both in New York and Chicago have been raised arranged according to the date of dedication, ranging and trained on the farm adjoining the Lincoln tract. Red from 1869 to 1956. The name of the sculptor of each Light1 at one time the champion saddle horse in America, statue is given a long with the location by cities and was tne product of a Knob Creek breeding stable. towns. Copies arc available upon request. 4 LINCO L N LORE
CmiULATIVE BIBLIOGltAPHY-1957 . 1958
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