GameFowlBreeders.info

Let's set the stage a bit.

Place: New Orleans, Louisiana 

Time frame: About 18 to 20 years, before the "War Between the States" or somewhere around 1838 or 1840.

The main players:  

  Jim Sanford - an ex- (bare knuckles) prizefighter. Who was on the run, from an eastern state, after an opponent died in the ring. He had been raised in the crescent city as a youth fresh from England. Now he was breeding and pitting cocks for Judge Claiborne.

  Judge Claiborne - It's unclear if the "Judge" was a court Judge or simply a justice of the peace. However what is recorded is that he was on of the greatest sportsmen of his time.

  John Stone - A dairy farmer from some where between Marblehead and Swampscott, Mass. He was also a sportsman and breeder of game fowl. It would do him an injustice to simply leave it at that. He may be responsible (if not directly certainly indirectly), for many if not most of the breeds of game fowl in the U.S. today. The list of the stains of fowl that contain at least some of the blood of his breeding would take more room than allowed in this one posting.

 

The story:

 

    Jim Sanford was an English man and ex-pugilist, who left the east following a prize fight which resulted fatally to his opponent. He was brought up in New Orleans, Louisiana, bred and pitted cocks for a number of years for Judge Claiborne of that city. The Judge was one of the greatest sportsmen of his time.

    In fighting a main in the old spanish pit, an english Earl Derby lost by having a heel broke off is in his back. Jim Sanford got the broken heel out and bred him to a spanish hen, as Jim could see the good points in this cock, this cross proved to be equal, if not superior, to anything wearing feathers in the chicken line at that time. Here, in a few simple words, we have the make-up of the smooth head Claibornes, bred and originated by Jim Sanford, and named in honor of Judge Claiborne eighteen or twenty years before the war of the north and south.

    These smooth head Claibornes got into the handles of John Stone in this way. Stone and Saunders made a main to be fought in Richmond, virginia. Stone took his Irish Brown Reds there to condition them about the same time Judge Claiborne happen to be in Baltimore and saw the main advertised on the billboards of that city. So, the Judge went to Richmond to witness that main. He was introduced to Stone and Saunders and expressed a desire to see the Brown Reds, he looked the cocks over examined them, and said these are as fine a lot of cocks as I have ever seen, but they are too beefy I think you will lose the main, they did.

    Mr. Stone was living on a farm, and the Judge asked him if he would breed chickens for him. If we can agree said Stone. The agreement was that Stone was to kill all his pullets and ship the stags to Judge Claiborne in New Orleans, which he did until after the war broke out. After the war began Stone could not hear from Judge Claiborne as he had taken a bride who wished him to dispose of his games, Stone sold to John Mahar of Marblehead, Massachusetts the Jim Sanford smooth head Claiborne, that Mahar, should ship the stags to the Judge as he had done. 

    Mr. Stone also let John Daniel's have a trio and tom Heathwood a pair. Mr. Mahar being a cocker they made a name and fame that will live for generations to come, all though the United States. Mr. Mahar had good success raising the first year. The next winter, he took a main of ten stags to Boston and won ever fight, and fought four of them the second battle and won. The Boston cockers were amazed at their success, so made another main with Mahar, to show thirteen stags nine pair fell in. Boston had forty of the best to be found to pick from. 

    Mahar won seven straight battles. The other two were not fought as Boston had has enough. Boston then challenged Mahar to fight sever cocks, they to name the weights Mahar accepted and Boston picked up a noted lot of winners. However, the great Claibornes were again victorious and won six out of sever battles. This established their well-earned reputation Jim Sanford was also an admirer of the Baltimore to knots, a game and winning strain of bright reds which were originated in Maryland. They were almost invincible in long heel.

    Jim procured six full sister of the topknots and bred them to the same Earl Derby cock that he used on the spanish hen. Jim bred both strains as long as he lived, the topknot cross proving to be as good as the smooth heads and a little stronger. A few years later, Louis Everett, Benton, Alabama. Went to New Orleans and bought a stag and three pullets of the plain head. Arrived them back to to Richard Harrison where Everett trained horses. Everett soon because interested int he topknots as Sanford was having as good success with the cross as the plain heads.

    However, the topknots Everett carried to Ben Grisset, Camden, Alabama, did not pan out satisfactorily so he sold them to Major Felix Tait of rock west, Alabama. Tait with his brother, bred them as long as he liver, the remnant going to his daughter, Mrs. Tally Tait Bragg of Camden, Alabama, we also note that Grissett, Everett and Tait crossed the plain or smooth heads on the topknots. Sanford and Everett bred together later in mobile, Alabama, in Everett's last years. We find him at Joe Pickins place in Sulphur Springs, Texas. With his smooth head where they were bred pure by Mr. Pickins, Major Felix Tait said we got our first from Sanford then from Everett, who sent smooth heads and topknots, we have bred them together always.

    Both strains are beautiful fowl and both show white in wing and tail, with both strains showing some spangle, some having red breast and some black, yellow and white legs and beaks red and dawn eyes ranging from low set to medium. The spanish showed some dark legs as one may crop out Everett called this nigger foot.

    This history comes from many friends who were personally aquatinted with Jim Sanford, Judge Claiborne, Everett, Trait, John Stone and John Mahar and is as old as true as the strain itself. When I was a very small boy about 45 years ago, I could visit an estate where the Earl Derbys were bred. Some were black red, some brown red and some light red, the light reds having a shorter head than the black reds and color eyes and bill as mentions above.