DESCENDANTS OF SHERMAN MORGAN 348-7? 



" Mr. Blauvelt used him for a road horse, and, as he says, the best he 

 ever rode behind for bottom and speed, but the hard roads and the hard 

 drives soon showed the weak points of his dam ; his feet giving out and 

 quarter cracks made their appearance. He was sent up to Mr. Berry to be 

 cured, and the next summer came out all right." * * * 



" No horse ever stamped upon his offspring his own characteristics of 

 gait, disposition and bottom more strongly than did American Star. Of his 

 get you will find a large percentage mares, highly appreciated by their own- 

 ers, and well they may be, for they are the mothers of the fastest trotters in the 

 world. Of his horse colts but few were kept as stallions." 



The transfers of the horse as above we know to be correct, and the 

 breeding is established beyond all possible question, although it was given 

 differently by one or more owners. His advertisement of 1847, by Cyrus 

 Dubois, says : 



"American Star is a chestnut sorrel, eight years old on the nth day of 

 April, 1847, about 16 hands high, well proportioned, with good action and 

 fine carriage, and can trot a mile in three minutes, which he tested on a bet 

 of one hundred dollars or over. He was sired by the noted trotting horse, 

 Mingo, of Long Island, who was got by old Eclipse. American Star's dam, 

 Lady Clinton, the well-known trotting mare of New Jersey, was sired by 

 Sir Henry." 



It is said that Mr. Seely when he owned him advertised him as part 

 Canadian. 



W. H. Tremble, Newburgh, N. Y., excellent authority, said : "Old Ameri- 

 can Star was a very compact chestnut horse, 15 hands ; could trot in 2 140. 

 Cyrus Dubois owned him, about twelve miles north of Shawangunk ; then Ed. 

 Seely of Goshen got him. From $5 to $15 was the price on common 

 coarse mares. His mares here in Orange county contributed very much to 

 the success of Hambletonian. The Stars were of fine disposition, the kind- 

 est horses I ever saw, very tough and hardy. Star was the gamest horse we 

 ever had in the country. All his colts were game. The dam of Dictator 

 was a little black American Star mare about 14^ hands, badly hipped, own- 

 ed by [. Hawkins, who bred her to Hambletonian and got Dexter and after- 

 wards Dictator." 



J. G. Fechter, one of the oldest and best informed horsemen of New- 

 burgh, N. Y., said : "We are more indebted to the Star blood for our trotters 

 and fine roadsters than to any other that was ever in the county." 



Mr. Cline of Kingston, N. Y., said : "Seely's American Star was a very 

 close, compact-made horse, with thinnish tail, not long neck, 1000 to 1050 

 pounds, heavy for his size. He was sorrel with star, white hind feet, perhaps 

 15 hands." 



Levi Shreider of Kingston, N. Y., said : " I saw American Star when 

 Dubois owned him ; he was a noted horse then and about the only trotter 

 we had in this section. He came here with quarter cracks and stood here 

 six or seven years had fine arched neck, but not very long, and fine ear ; 

 very wide between eyes, with a straight, nice head. He was a close, com- 



