INVESTIGATION" OF DISPUTED PEDIGREES. 423 



was simply the victim of the sharper. The only shadow of evi- 

 dence that has been presented that the pedigree might be true is 

 the evidence of a superannuated negro, Jesse Dillon. For the 

 AVoodburn side of the case the reader is referred to Wallace's 

 Monthly for June, 1883, page 366. In replying to this case I will 

 try to summarize the different considerations as briefly as possi- 

 ble. 



First. The case is opened with the assumption that Colonel 

 Shepherd presented the mare Miss Shepherd, by Stockholder, to 

 Captain J. W. Russell and Captain J. A. Holton. We might 

 laugh at this by asking which half he gave to Russell and which 

 half to Holton? This is merely constructing a theory by which 

 the ownership of Russell might be maintained. It is safe to say 

 the mare was given to Holton and to Holton alone, and here is 

 the proof of it. There is a silver cup, now in possession of Mr. 

 Bowen, grandson of J. A. Holton, with this inscription: "J. A. 

 Holton, awarded by Franklyn Agricultural Society, 1836, for 

 filly Maria Russell." Where is Captain J. \V. Russell's owner- 

 ship at that date? 



Second. When S. D. Bruce was compiling his Stud Book, Cap- 

 tain John AV. Russell had his thoroughbred stock entered there. 

 There were several brood mares with their produce under them, 

 but where were Maria Russell and her daughter Sally Russell? 

 They appear as the property of Ben Luckett, when everybody 

 knows he had nothing to do with them. As Captain Russell did 

 not have them entered when he was entering his other stock, I 

 must take it as prima facie evidence that he did not own them 

 at that time. 



Third. It is now in imperishable evidence that John W. Rus- 

 sell did not own Maria Russell in 1836, and that he did not own 

 her at the time Bruce was compiling his Stud Book, and now 

 the question is, was there ever a time when he did own her? To 

 answer this question we must turn to Llewellyn Holton, the only 

 man then living who knew and had a right to know all about 

 the history of this mare. His statement is as follows: 



"FORKS OF ELKHOKN. May 24, 1883. 



" This is to certify that my father, Captain John A. Holton, was, for a number 

 of years, interested with Captain John W. Russell in a number of thorough- 

 breds, and they raced them in partnership. When they dissolved and divided 

 the stock, I am positively certain that my father retained all the descendants 

 of the Stockholder mare among them Maria Russell, and all her produce 



