Woodburn Stud, Woodford County, Kentucky

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: Slavery black_heritage

"Mother Farm of the Standardbred"

Contents 1 History 1.1 Slaves of Robert Alexander 2 Slaves of Robert Aitcheson Alexander 3 Slaves of A J Alexander 3.1 Slaves of Elisha Warfield 4 Research Notes 5 Sources

History

Robert Alexander (1767-1841), second son of William and Christian Aitcheson, was the first Alexander to settle on Woodburn Farm. He purchased the two thousand acres in 1790 from the estate of General Hugh Mercer.

Robert A. Alexander (1819-1867) was the first to establish a systematic design method for horse breeding. Woodburn Stud was home to the stallion Lexington (1850–1875), purchased in 1858 from Elisha Warfield(1781-1859) ^[1], America's leading sire for sixteen years. Lexington (horse) sired numerous champions and winners of major races including, Duke of Magenta, Kentucky and Preakness, for whom the Preakness Stakes is named^{[2] [3]}. Woodburn breeding yielded 18 winners of U.S. Triple Crown race winners and other major winners including Lexington's grandson Foxhall.

Some of the notable Thoroughbreds buried at Woodburn farm include Asteroid (1861–1886), Planet (c. 1855-1875), and Australian (1858–1879), a son of the English Triple Crown winner, West Australian

Although Lexington's success as a sire made Woodburn Stud near synonymous with flat racing Thoroughbreds, in fact during the mid to late 19th century, Woodburn was where the Standardbred horse originated and the farm was best known for these trotting horses for harness racing.

After the death of Robert A. Alexander in December 1867, the operation prospered under his brother A. J. Alexander. But after A.J.'s death 1902, it went into decline. By the beginning of the 20th century, the farm was no longer in the horse business and had been converted to cattle land. Today some of the original property is known as Airdrie Stud, owned by descendants of the Alexander family. ^[4]

Slaves of Robert Alexander

See Slaves of Robert Alexander, Kentucky for the full accounting of the enslaved he held.

Slaves of Robert Aitcheson Alexander

See Slaves of Robert A. Alexander, Kentucky for the full accounting of the enslaved he held.

Slaves of A J Alexander

US Census 1850 Woodford, Kentucky: ^[5] Household Role Sex Age Birthplace A J Alexander

1. UNKNOWN Male 47
2. UNKNOWN Male 30
3. UNKNOWN Male 21
4. UNKNOWN Male 19
5. UNKNOWN Male 60
6. UNKNOWN Male 28
7. UNKNOWN Male 18
8. UNKNOWN Male 82
9. UNKNOWN Female 28
10. UNKNOWN Female 27
11. UNKNOWN Female 23
12. UNKNOWN Female 45
13. UNKNOWN Female 16
14. UNKNOWN Female 14
15. UNKNOWN Female 12
16. UNKNOWN Female 8
17. UNKNOWN Female 6
18. UNKNOWN Female 5
19. UNKNOWN Female 3
20. UNKNOWN Female 2
21. UNKNOWN Female 0
22. UNKNOWN Female 2

US Slave Schedule 1860: ^[6] Household Role Sex Age Birthplace A J Alexander

1. UNKNOWN Male 60
2. UNKNOWN Female 50
3. UNKNOWN Male 45
4. UNKNOWN Male 40
5. UNKNOWN Female 35
6. UNKNOWN Female 34
7. UNKNOWN Male 36
8. UNKNOWN Female 30
9. UNKNOWN Male 25
10. UNKNOWN Male 20
11. UNKNOWN Male 18
12. UNKNOWN Female 17
13. UNKNOWN Female 15
14. UNKNOWN Female 15
15. UNKNOWN Female 14
16. UNKNOWN Male 13
17. UNKNOWN Male 13
18. UNKNOWN Male 10
19. UNKNOWN Male 9
20. UNKNOWN Female 8
21. UNKNOWN Male 7
22. UNKNOWN Female 6
23. UNKNOWN Female 5
24. UNKNOWN Male 4
25. UNKNOWN Female 4
26. UNKNOWN Male 2
27. UNKNOWN Female 1
28. UNKNOWN Female 0

Slaves of Elisha Warfield

Foaled in Kentucky, Lexington was bred and owned by Dr. Elisha Warfield. The colt was technically under lease to his trainer, Henry Brown, for his first two starts but raced in Dr. Warfield's colors as Brown, an ex-slave, could not enter horses at Lexington's Kentucky Association Race Track in his own right. Lexington was then sold to a partnership consisting of Richard Ten Broeck, Captain Willa Viley, General Abe Buford II and Junius R. Ward for US$2,500. Ten Broeck bought out his partners for an undisclosed price after the Great Post Stake, and Lexington raced in his colors for the remainder of his racing career.^[7] Dr. Warfield's farm was known as The Meadows

• born January 1855, Male^[8]
• born 3 August 1855, Male ^[9]
• born April 1855 Male ^[10]

US Slave Schedule 1850 Fayette, Kentucky: ^[11]

• born March 1856, Female ^[12]
• born August 1856, Male ^[13]
• born November 1857, Male ^[14]

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace E Warfield

1. UNKNOWN Female 55
2. UNKNOWN Male 55
3. UNKNOWN Female 45
4. UNKNOWN Female 35
5. UNKNOWN Male 30
6. UNKNOWN Male 22
7. UNKNOWN Male 22
8. UNKNOWN Male 21
9. UNKNOWN Male 12
10. UNKNOWN Female 10
11. UNKNOWN Male 8
12. UNKNOWN Male 6
13. UNKNOWN Male 6
14. UNKNOWN Female 5
15. UNKNOWN Female 3
16. UNKNOWN Female 2
17. UNKNOWN Female 2
18. UNKNOWN Male 10
19. UNKNOWN Male 10
20. UNKNOWN Male 6
21. UNKNOWN Female 7
22. UNKNOWN Male 2

Research Notes

In June 2009, portions of the Woodburn Farm collection were made available for public research. This extensive collection details the lives and business dealings of the Alexanders, one of Woodford County’s earliest families. These materials were originally donated to the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) Special Collections by the late Dr. Alexander J. Alexander and Katherine Alexander Brewer. Later portions of the collection were donated by Gretchen Burud and Dr. Jack and Jonelle Fisher. The Woodburn Farm collection contains thousands of documents from at least six generations of the Alexander family, and includes manuscripts, ledgers, correspondence, business records, and personal papers. The portion of the materials now available for public research includes documents from 1767-1934.^[15] The Woodburn Library, which consists of the books owned by the Alexander family that were housed at Woodburn Farm, was also donated in 2003. Over 2,100 books and pamphlets from the Woodburn Library and the Woodburn Farm collection have been cataloged and are available from KHS Special Collections.^[16]

• The first Alexander of Woodburn Farm, Robert Alexander was born in 1767 in Scotland and came to America

around 1786. This genealogy, however, starts with Robert’s father, William R Alexander (1729-1819), in order to provide background on the family and explain various family connections. William Alexander was the son of Mariamne1 Louisa de la Croix (d. 1773) and William Alexander (d. 1763), who had served as Lord Provost of the city of Edinburgh in 1752-1753, and as a Member of Parliament in 1754.2 William (1729) married Christian Aitcheson, the daughter of John Aitcheson (of Rochslach and Airdrie) and Bertha Spruel. William and Christian had seven children: William (1755-1842), Bethia (1757-1839), Mariamne (1758-1816, occasionally spelled Marianne), Christine (1762-1845, possibly also called Christian), Jane (1765-1843), Robert (1767-1841),3 Isabella (1768-1851), and Joanna (1771-1783, also called Jacky).4 Christian, William’s wife, died ca. 1783, and William, along with several of his children, moved to France. It was during this stay in France that Robert, William’s second-eldest son, served as a private secretary to Benjamin Franklin. Franklin’s great nephew, Jonathan Williams, was William Alexander’s son-in-law, having married Mariamne Alexander in 1779.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington_(horse)
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preakness_(horse)
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preakness_Stakes
4. ↑ Today the Woodburn name is long gone but the horse breeding business was revived in 1972 as Airdrie Stud Inc. which now operates on 2,500 acres (10 km2), much of which is part of the original Woodburn Stud lands. Airdrie Stud, Inc. is owned by former Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones and his wife Libby. Mrs. Jones is a descendant of the Alexander family. In 2000, the Airdrie-bred filly Caressing won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
5. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HR7L-P92M : 15 February 2020), A J Alexander in entry for MM9.1.1/MVZW-B2M:, 1850.
6. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WKK1-KWMM : 16 October 2019), A J Alexander, 1860.
7. ↑ http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com
8. ↑ "Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJQ-GQ2 : 4 March 2021), Warfield, 1855.
9. ↑ "Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJQ-YY4 : 4 March 2021), Warfield, 1855.
10. ↑ "Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJQ-YYW : 4 March 2021), Warfield, 1855.
11. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HR7V-MXW2 : 15 February 2020), E Warfield in entry for MM9.1.1/MVZ9-3NX:, 1850.
12. ↑ "Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJQ-JFM : 4 March 2021), Warfield, 1856.
13. ↑ "Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJQ-YZP : 4 March 2021), Warfield, 1856.
14. ↑ "Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJ7-9H9 : 4 March 2021), Warfield, 1857.
15. ↑ KentuckyAncestorsv45.n1.pdf
16. ↑ A complete guide to the collection is available online through KHS Digital Collections, located at history.ky.gov under “Search our Collections.”

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Station,_Kentucky
• https://kentuckykindredgenealogy.com/2020/05/16/the-alexander-family-of-woodburn-farm-woodford-county/
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodburn_Stud
• https://filsonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/publicationpdfs/70-2-4_Disaster-at-Woodburn-Farm-R.A.-Alexander-and-the-Confederate-Guerrilla-Raids-of-1864-1865_Mangum-II-William-Preston.pdf
• Bundy, Diane; Howard, Jennifer (Autumn 2009). "The Alexander Family of Woodburn Farm, Woodford County, Kentucky" (PDF). Kentucky Ancestors: 4–14.

https://history.ky.gov/pdf/Publications/KentuckyAncestorsv45.n1.pdf

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington_(horse)

See also;

• Robert Aitcheson Alexander, Turf, Field and Farm, 16 November 1867, p 312.
• Hervey. Racing in America. 1665-1865 (New York, 1944). 330; Hervey. American Trotter. 295: Robert Altcheson Alexander, Woodburn Stud Farm 1864

Catalogue (Lexington. 1864), pp. 37-45.

• https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3953bm.gct00130/?sp=25&r=0.22,1.008,0.254,0.296,0