CHAPTER VIII 



CHARLES BACKMAN AND STONY FORD 



CHARLES BACKMAN was born November 16, 1824, 

 at Pittstown, near Lansingburgh, N. Y., and his 

 father was Henry Bochman, brother of John Boch- 

 man, the distinguished ornithologist, the intimate 

 friend of Wilson, Audubon, and Agassiz. The pa- 

 ternal ancestor of Henry Bochman was born in 

 Switzerland and came to America as the private sec- 

 retary of William Penn. The wife of Henry Boch- 

 man was a member of the Fake family, who owned 

 slaves when human chattels were recognized in New 

 York. She traced her ancestry to the Kingdom of 

 Wurtemberg, Germany. During his school days 

 Charles Bochman changed the spelling of his name 

 to Backman, and at the age of fourteen began to 

 care for himself. In long drives through New York 

 and Vermont he learned to appreciate the value of 

 the descendants of Harris' Hambletonian, and, after 

 a successful business career in New York, he engaged 

 in breeding at Stony Ford, Orange County, N. Y. 

 He purchased this place in 1862, and in his little 

 band of brood mares were daughters of Harris' 

 Hambletonian. Additions were made to the stud, 

 regardless of cost, and Stony Ford became one of 

 the great trotting nurseries of the world. There 



64 



