Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation

MSS 16825, Collection related to stallion Wicked William, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased from Kurt A. Sanftleben by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 27 April 2023.

Content Description

This collection contains nineteen documents and letters that provide detailed documentation of the ownership of a breeding stallion named Wicked William. The documents include three pedigrees, four stud service tickets, five sales records, and seven stampless letters, which provide a first-hand account of thoroughbred breeding and horse racing in Virginia during the early 19th century. The collection traces the breeding of Wicked William and his pedigree.

The collection also documents the sale of Wicked William from Colonel William White of Hanover County to Captain John Hooe Jr. of Prince William County, a member of a wealthy and influential Virginia family.

William White and John Hooe owned enslaved laborers and used them as horse jockeys in the racing business. There is documentation of White asking Hooe to arrange a pass for two enslaved jockeys to travel without an escort so they would not be harmed or arrested by a slave patrol.

Related Material

This collection is related to MSS 11357 the Papers of John Hooe.https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=uva-sc/viu01259.xml

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Horses
• Horses -- Breeding
• Horses--Pedigrees
• Kurt A Sanftleben, LLC
• enslaved persons