MORRILL 201 



Mr. Morrill says he was a horse of the greatest intelligence and 

 docility. 



The dam of Morrill was a high-strung, gray mare of fair size and 

 good proportions, with long neck, rather long, intelligent head, thin 

 ear rather longer than ordinary, good mane and tail, and a little long 

 hair on the back of her legs. Heath got her when two years old, and 

 soon afterward she had one hind leg broken in the pasture ; the leg 

 healed, but was always crooked and shorter than the other, but she 

 was good to work, and Heath, who had a new, rough hill farm, did a 

 great deal of work with her. Her natural gait was a trot. She was 

 about twelve years old when she produced Morrill. 



The Farrington Horse, sire of Merrill's dam, was an iron gray, 

 about fifteen and a half hands high and would weigh, when two years old, 

 ten hundred pounds. He was bred by Thomas Vincent of Walden and 

 sold to Nathaniel Farrington of that town. He was a superior animal. 

 William Farrington of Walden says : " I knew the dam of the Farring- 

 ton Horse well. She was a noted mare and a good one, and sold 

 once for two hundred dollars, a pretty large price in those days". 

 This mare was called the Steele mare, a fair-sized mare of about ten 

 hundred pounds, foaled about 1808, and a fast saddle mare. The 

 Farrington Horse was foaled about 1828. After keeping him some 

 years Mr. Farrington sold him to a Mr. Button of Walden. 



The Vance Horse, sire of the Farrington Horse, was a 

 showy gray stallion, foaled about 1818, bred by Lemuel Cobb of 

 Hardwick, Vermont, and got by Bold Phoenix. The dam of the 

 Vance Horse was a white mare, bred by Lemuel Cobb's father at 

 Hardwick, Massachusetts, and given by him to his son Lemuel, about 

 1815, to replace one of a pair lost by Lemuel when visiting his father. 

 She was badly used up at the time and thought to be nearly worth- 

 less ; but she was driven home by Lemuel to Hardwick, Vermont, 

 and made a valuable mare. Her sire is unknown, but she was said 

 to be of English blood. She was a large, well-shaped mare, an ex- 

 cellent roadster, and from her Mr. Cobb bred several colts. The 

 Vance Horse was sold when a year old to Col. Burrill Vance of 

 Greensboro, Vermont, who kept him till about 1828 and sold him to 

 parties in Morristown, Vermont. He was afterwards owned by 

 Samuel Blodgett of East Randolph, Vermont, who moved, taking the 

 horse with him, to Royalton, Vermont, where, after several years, 

 the horse died. This Vance Horse was throughout his life called 

 Phoenix. The town records of Royalton show that Samuel Blodgett 

 bought one-half interest in the tavern stand at Royalton village of 

 Amos Bosworth, April i6th, 1831. 



