Happy Friday! Here is your First Friday Flashback, kindly researched and written for us by historian Betsy Curler:
Peters’ Morgan 405
Peters’ Morgan 405 had offspring dispersed from Maine to Texas yet comparatively little has been written, or seems to be known, about him. At least, in comparison to his sire, Peters’ Vermont, and his son, Peters’ Ethan Allen 2nd 406. Presumably he was used as the other Peters’ stallions were: on the farm and on the road by members of the family, plus being used as a breeding stallion on the family farm and to the public.
Joseph Peters, of Bradford, Vermont, acquired Peters’ Morgan as a foal from Noah Humphrey in neighboring Haverhill, NH. Weaning the colt from his dam at the time of purchase, Peters took him home and raised him to be as “fine a stock horse as any man ever owned.” ‘Morgan’ was a dark chestnut, foaled in 1872, and matured at 15.2 hands. As with the other Peters’ stallions, he was noted for his prepotency and producing foals of quality with “high finish.” In addition, they had “all the style, action and endurance of the old original Justin.”
‘Morgan’ was shown successfully at fairs, and with one exception, always “took the premium.” At the New England Fair, he took first premium on two different occasions. In 1885, ‘Morgan’ was sold to W.R. Holden of East Randolph, Vermont. On 16 May 1890, ‘Morgan’ was sold to veterinarian Dr. E.E. Tower of Hopbottom, Pennsylvania. Tower’s plan was to use him for breeding on his stock farm in Susquehanna County crossing him on daughters or granddaughters of the Way Horse, Tecumseh, General Sheridan, Montreal, and Morgan Hunter.
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania claimed to be a center of Morgan breeding prior to the Civil War when high quality Morgan stallions and mares could be obtained in Vermont “without any special effort.” One of the attractions for Tower and other established Morgan breeders could have been the connection he had to Morgan Hunter on the distaff side of his pedigree.
‘Morgan’s’ dam was a chestnut bred mare bred by Welcome Partridge of Croydon, New Hampshire and sired by Frank Goldthwaite’s Morgan Hunter 2nd (x Morgan Hunter). The second dam was a bay mare, also bred by Welcome Partridge, sired by General Hibbard (x Woodbury Morgan). The third dam was a bay mare, also owned in Croydon, NH, sired by Bulrush Morgan.
‘Morgan’ was touted as having “more Justin Morgan blood than any horse living” and was appreciated in Pennsylvania for being “one of the richest bred Morgans that ever lived.” ‘Morgan’ passed away in the spring of 1894, at 22 years, after contracting influenza. To the end, he displayed “wonderful ambition and great nervous energy.” He was sound at the time of his death (no blemishes or marks), although used for traveling great distances at a high rate of speed. He did this without showing fatigue and “without detracting from his spirited and animated appearance.”
(Photo of Peters’ Morgan from AMHA’s archives.)
