/ JUSTIN MORGAN 93 



evidence which proves that the Morgan horse was taken to Ran- 

 dolph earlier than supposed by Mr. Linsley, and that the state- 

 ments made by John Morgan, of the year that he was bred, were 

 entirely accurate. Indeed, every statement made by John Morgan 

 has been shown by other evidence to be correct, with the ex- 

 ception of that relating to the breeding of the dam, which alone 

 rests solely upon his statement. The gates of the centuries have 

 swung back and revealed the testimony of John Morgan engraven on 

 a monument more enduring than brass. " Hamlet said he would 

 take the ghost's word fora thousand pounds, and John Morgan's word 

 may be taken for any fact within his knowledge", exclaimed a writer 

 in " Wallace's Monthly" who had previously doubted the accuracy 

 of his statements. And we think every candid man will accept that 

 conclusion. 



John Morgan was born in 1762, the son of Capt. John Morgan, 

 a resident and land-holder of Springfield, Massachusetts ; was mar- 

 ried in that town, April 13, 1785, and there lived until after the death 

 of his father, Capt. Morgan, September 25, 1790; the next spring 

 he removed to Lima, New York, and from March 9, 1791, was a 

 resident of that place, where he died on the 26th of December, 

 1846. These facts were derived from the public records of Spring- 

 field and Lima, and the family records of John Morgan and his 

 father. It has been argued that the colt John Morgan refers to as 

 taken to Vermont by Justin Morgan must have been taken before 

 John Morgan left Springfield, but this is not sustained by anything 

 John Morgan said, and was probably not so. 



The following are the additional advertisements above referred to. 

 In the " Hampshire (Massachusetts) Herald" of May 3, 1785 : 



"The elegant, full-blooded horse, called the Beautiful Bay, will 

 cover this season at Justin Morgan's stables, in West Springfield, at 

 twenty shillings the season, ten shillings the leap, in cash or produce 

 by the first day of January next, and allowance for cash in hand. 

 Said horse is fifteen hands, takes his name from his shape and color, 

 which is as beautiful perhaps as any horse in the thirteen States ; 

 trots and canters exceedingly light ; is famous for getting fine colts, 

 and very sure. 



West Springfield, April 25 ". 



In the " Hampshire Chronicle" of April 1 6, 1787: "The famous, 

 full-blooded English horse, called True Briton or Beautiful Bay, said 

 to be the purest and finest horse for colts in New England, will cover 

 this season at the stable of the subscriber, in Springfield, at the very 

 low rate of eighteen shillings the season, to be paid in cash, grain, 



