A Bit of Trotting Horse History -- May King -- Sire of Bingen

Lately my research has taken on a project involving the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This project started when Kelly Nelson, a descendant of Hod Nelson, visited Hallowell. Our conversation led us to wondering if there were any horses alive today that would be a descendant of Nelson 4209. My cousin Clark had told me many months ago that if Nelson had any bloodline left it would be found in Australia.

I contacted a standardbred auction house in Australia and they referred me to John Peck, a publisher of an Australasian harness racing magazine and a harness racing historian. John worked on the database on harness racing that is accessed through www.classicfamilies.net. John found the Australisian connection to Nelson through the horse Nelson Bingen. Nelson Bingen by Bingen was foaled in 1912 and exported to New Zealand in 1914. Nelson Bengen's Dam was Suzette Baron. Her dam was Suzette Nelson by Nelson.

Another mare by Nelson was Gertrude Nelson. Her family line still exists in Canada and the United States. Bingen's sire was May King. May King ended up being terribly maligned and in 1905 was sold at auction in New York City for $235. The buyer was N.B. Parsons of Fort Fairfield, Maine. Parsons sold May King to A.T. Hoyt also from Fort Fairfield. May King died on April 8, 1911 at the age of 25.

Last week I called Rayle Reed Ainsworth to see if she knew anything about N.B. Parsons or A.T. Hoyt. Rayle referred me to Marilyn Chase who was originally a Hoyt from Fort Fairfield. Marilyn knew nothing of Parsons, but she did know that A.T. Hoyt was a relative whose father and grandfather had farms that were once on the Hoyt Road in Fort Fairfield. A.T. Hoyt was a car saleman who died in 1952. Marilyn believed that the burial location for May King would probably been on the grandfather's farm. The pictures of Hoyt Road and properties below were taken by Tony Levesque and Mike Bosse.