About Silver King
In 2019, several family members mentioned that my grandfather, Charles “Charlie” Knox (1891–1979), had been important to the early development of American Cream draft horses but had “never gotten much credit for it.” Though I’d been working with Charlie’s daughters, my Aunt June and Aunt Esther, for many years learning about family genealogy, I felt I knew next to nothing about this family history subject. I said, “I could look into that.”
I remember my Grandpa Knox in the 1960s and 70s as a smiling, affable farmer who loved to see his grandchildren, play the fiddle, and make homebrew. Even though Aunt June had mailed me a brochure in the 1980s about American Creams that included Grandpa’s name and showed his horse was No. 5 of the first five Creams listed on the breed registry, it didn’t seem to indicate that he’d done anything remarkable with draft horses. Once I began to document the details of what Charles Knox had accomplished and when, however, I quickly learned that there was definitely a story to tell about my grandfather and why he was essential to the founding years of the first and only draft horse breed native to the United States. Silver King: Charles Knox and the American Cream Draft Horse, 1925–1945, documents my research — the history of my grandfather’s involvement in the early development of Cream draft horses through family letters, local news articles, interviews with his children and grandchildren, family photographs, and breed registry records.
Through my work on this volume, I became involved with the American Cream Draft Horse Association and its efforts to “preserve and protect” the only draft horse breed originating in the United States. In 2022, to benefit the association in this important mission, I began offering copies of Silver King for sale only through the ACDHA.
That same year, 2022, I decided to research and document the contributions of the four individuals whose Cream horses preceded my grandather’s Cream No. 5 on the ACDHA Registry. I began with John and Jessie Lakin Yancy for Cream No. 3 and veterinarian Erick Christian for Cream No. 4, and planned a 2023 talk series to coincide with “Celebrate National American Cream Draft Horse Day, July 11th,” showcasing Yancy No. 3 in Ellsworth, Iowa, Eureka No. 4 in Jewell, Iowa, and Knox 1st No. 5 in Radcliffe, Iowa. The three presentations are available to read here. They include rare photographs of the breeders and the horses.
Research is ongoing. If you have stories, pictures, or information about American Creams and ‘Hat’ Lakin & Old Granny No. 1, or Hans Nelson & Nelsons Buck No. 2, please contact me.
Barbara Knox Homrighaus
Top photo: Charlie Knox with Captain I, early 1940s