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Wildwood As a horse breeder and developer, Uncle Will was without peer. He purchased Sumpter Denmark as a yearling in 1865 for $500, the highest price ever paid for a saddle colt up to that time. Eight years later, Sumpter Denmark won his cost price in St. Louis as the first in a ring of nineteen. In that same year he won the largest stake that had ever been given in Kentucky. As a show horse, Sumpter Denmark won premiums totaling many times the amount paid for him. As a sire, he became one of the foundations of the American saddle horse. Many great saddle horses, trotters, and thoroughbreds were bred at Wildwood by Uncle Will. |
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Uncle Will’s sheep and shorthorn cattle testified to his ability as a judge and producer of livestock. He was an enthusiastic admirer of shorthorns, and showed his own at fairs and expositions. He traded and sold several for large prices. Since he was one of the leading farmers of Mercer County, Uncle Will served as director of the American Shorthorn Breeders Association, director of the Mercer County Fair, and on the board of many farm organizations.
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Uncle Will had a keen sense of humor, and was somewhat of a philosopher. He had a great capacity for making friends, and a greater capacity for holding them. He was a tireless man, forthright, with a loyalty that could not be swerved. He was as good a judge of people as he was of livestock, and his generosity was proverbial. There was a quality of leadership in him, fearlessness, and a genuine hatred of sham and pretense. He was quick to lend a hand to anyone who needed it. Every tramp, peddler, and panhandler could count on a meal at Wildwood. And Uncle Will's friends were always sure of his affection and his help.
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