Happy Friday! Here is your First Friday Flashback, researched and written by our own Betsy Curler:
Black Morgan 810
In 1840 a gray mare owned by Henry Graves, of Kirby, Vermont, foaled a black colt that would become known as Black Morgan 810. His sire was a son of Sherman Morgan, called the Bachop Horse 16. The gray mare was sired by Levi Wilder’s Colt (gelded at three years old), by the Batchelder Horse, another son of Sherman Morgan.
His second dam was a “high tempered” black mare, built “long and low,” and, although of unknown breeding, resembled the Morgans. Levi Wilder, of Lyndon, Vermont, traded for her about 1835 while freighting produce and merchandise between Portland, Maine and Lyndon, Vermont. Considered to be an excellent mare, she was afterwards sold to Henry Graves.
Black Morgan was bred by William Gorham of Kirby, who kept him until he was two years old. He then passed to Jerry Sias of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, who kept him about a year. David Allen of Burke, Vermont, with whom he stayed for three years, sold him to Stephen Ladd, of Maine, ca. 1846. Ladd kept him for two breeding seasons in Maine.
In 1849, he was brought back to Lyndon by Dunbar Ide. For the next twenty years, he would remain primarily in the hands of an Ide. At this time, he became known as the Dunbar Ide Horse. Thus, the Black Morgan, or Ide family, of Morgans became established. A.F. Phillips wrote that Black Morgan was “noted for absolute soundness, which is most essential in any breed.” He came to be known as a horse of the “highest merit.”
On the road, they were among the best roadsters, “rarely equaled.” Although Black Morgan himself was known to be lazy and lacked “exuberance of spirit,” it was, however, not characteristic of his stock. His stock were just the opposite, known for being “very high spirited and nervous.” While driving a horse of the Black Morgan family, it was known that if one chanced to stop and converse on the road, that horse would begin to paw. And, “if you stayed there long enough, he would dig a hole big enough to bury himself in.” The latter characteristic was unique to the Ide family of Morgans.
The Black Morgan stock sold readily and were in high demand by dealers with many train carloads being sent to New York City. Black Morgan was larger than the typical Morgan stallion of his era and place standing 15.2 hands and weighed about a thousand pounds. Many pairs were sold as gentlemen’s drivers for $2,000 and singles would sell for $500 and more. This, in spite of the fact that they were generally not as “handsome” as other Morgan families. They were noted for their endurance and for being “cheerful” drivers, although E.H. Hoffman opined that they were head strong. In addition, they were excellent general purpose horses.
Black Morgan is registered as black, but it was remarked by those who knew the horse, that he was a seal brown. His offspring were primarily black with the balance being chestnuts and browns.
Black Morgan was at stud in Compton, Quebec ca. 1851-1852 and 1859-1861. In between those years, he was with Dunbar Ide. After Dunbar Ide passed, he was owned by George Ide, also of Lyndon, Vermont. Black Morgan died in October 1869 “from [the] effects of an accident.” Many felt that his place as a stock horse in northern Vermont was left unfulfilled.
(We do not have any photos/woodcuts of Black Morgan, so we are sharing instead one of this Justin Morgan son and Black Morgan’s grand-sire, Sherman Morgan.)
