Late winter blooms have yet to appear, so a bouquet of lovely flowers will have to wait. There is usually something blooming by Valentine's Day, such as quince or winter honeysuckle, but snow is in the forecast at the time of this writing. Reading is a pleasurable winter activity, so let's dive into a story.
Obviously, this website is called Floramont, and it was originally named in honor of Florimonde Rableau. Now the name has a new dimension, thanks to a recent discovery. Many of the flowers featured on this website belong to one of the properties of John Randolph of Roanoke. He was fond of breeding Thoroughbred horses, and many of those horses were highly esteemed, including one named Flora! What a coincidence!
Evidently, John Randolph was fond of Flora, because one of his wills left the champion to his dearest friend, John Wickham, Esquire. Along with Flora, he left another horse to Wickham named Gascoigne. What else do we know about Flora?
First, there is a horse named Flora listed in a horse sale according to a Virginia newspaper (Genius of Liberty, Volume 8, Number 29 on July 19, 1834). She was described as of "fine form and excellent constitution." Flora's progeny were also listed in this sale. Although not all of them were for sale, their names were Betty, Floretta, Topaz, the "splendid looking" stallion Ace of Diamonds, Rowena, Alexander, Black Warrior, and a few other promising horses who were not yet named. The ad also mentions Flora "by Ball's Florizel," meaning someone named Ball had a horse named Florizel who sired Flora. The ad states she was stinted to another horse, which seems to indicate she was exclusively hanging out with him for a bit, so to speak. Apparently, Rob Roy was quite the stud, because he is mentioned a few more times in the sale.
If we take a look at the 1834 edition (volume 5) of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, we see on page 220 that Flora is the sister of racehorses Defiance and Revenge. Sounds like another interesting story there! There are numerous references to offspring named Virginiana and Lafayette, again noting that the sire of Flora was Ball's Florizel. We learn a little more about her suitor, Rob Roy, too. If we look at the same journal on page 267, he is described as "the beautiful high bred horse Rob Roy...bred by the Hon. John Randolph of Roanoke..." while mentioning his relations to the "finest stock" of England. This article was initially describing Rob Roy as the sire of the aforementioned Ace of Diamonds who is described as "a very handsome horse, of rich chesnut color, upwards of five feet high, with uncommonly fine legs and great muscular power." No wonder Flora and Rob Roy were often hanging out together!
The name Flora appears yet again as one of the horses belonging to the late John Randolph of Roanoke. According to page 490, she was born in 1823. It said she was "...by Roanoke, out of Lady G." It makes a reference to Lady G being bred by Sir Thomas Gascoigne. Was this man the namesake for the horse named Gascoigne, who was supposed to accompany Flora in the will?
Interestingly, the article also indicates ownership at the time. Ace of Diamonds belonged to N. Lufborough of Georgetown, DC. while Flora is referred to as "Lewis' Flora." The article is dated December 1833, and both of those men are listed in the ad from July of 1834. Interestingly, the notes from May 1834 on page 644 list a new horse by Flora and Rob Roy named "Maid of Milton" who belonged to Thos. H. Buckner of Charles County, Maryland. It states she was foaled at the estate of the late Hon. Joseph Lewis.
That leads us to the aforementioned ad for the horse sale that took place at Clifton, the estate of the deceased Joseph Lewis in Loudon County, Virginia. How did Flora end up there? Although one of the wills left Flora to John Wickham, did something else occur amidst the confusion? Actually, there were two different horses with the same name.
Let's look at the 1833 edition (volume 4) of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine. Sprinkled throughout the magazine are references to Flora's various progeny. However, it's the classified section that provides a clue. There is an ad listed for the sale of Flora and other horses by Joseph Lewis. It seems he is still alive at that point. It also mentions that Flora's dam was "old Iris." How appropriate that Flora's mother was named after a flower that grows so well in Virginia. The name Iris seems to be highly noted elsewhere amongst these documents, so I am betting she was a good horse, too.
Looking further, there is a reference to Flora's pedigree being listed in the 1830 edition (volume 1) of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine. Indeed, it shows Florizel and Iris as the parents:
However, the confusion increased, because Flora is listed as belonging to Joseph Lewis. So is this another Flora? Yes. Here is what we find when we look at the pedigree of John Randolph's Flora, shown as follows in the 1834 edition (volume 5) of the magazine:
So, there were two horses named Flora. John Randolph's Flora was born in 1823, so she would have been 12 years old in 1834. Joseph Lewis' Flora was listed as 14 years old in the 1834 sales ad. It is a coincidence that Lewis' Flora mated with one of John Randolph's horses, Rob Roy, while Randolph had another horse named Flora.
Still, what happened to Flora, the one left to Randolph's friend, John Wickham? Well, we learn a little more about her in the 1835 edition (volume 6) of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine. There is a listing of some of the horses sold from John Randolph's estate. An offspring of Flora's match with Monsieur Tonson, named Blackess, was sold, and it mentioned that Flora was a full sister to Gascoigne, so that may explain part of the reason for keeping them together in the will.
There are other positive references to the other Flora belonging to Joseph Lewis, too, such as her offspring and the excellence of her mother, Iris. According to the 1837 edition (volume 8) of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, this particular Flora is claimed by Mr. James DuPree, who states that she is living at his plantation in Clinton, located in Hinds County, Mississippi, where he also claims her descendant, Topaz.
Little else has been discovered about what happened to these two horses named Flora. However, we know that John Wickham lived at Hickory Hill near Richmond. There are numerous archive collections from his family, so perhaps a research trip is in order! It should be noted that another Flora was found in the 1836 edition of that magazine, but she was an older horse who belonged to someone in South Carolina. Equine genealogy can be confusing, so rather than turning this into a tale of three horses, let's take a rest while waiting for those elusive late winter blooms.