Emma Holt Prather
Horse Breeder and Businesswoman
(1850-1910)
Emma Holt Prather was a Nodaway County women who should be remembered. Commonly referred to as Mrs. J.B. Prather even years after her husband’s passing in 1891, Emma’s story is a display of the changes of gender roles in the agriculture sector that were occurring in the 1890s.
Emma married James Prather, a prominent Nodaway County citizen. James was president of the Nodaway Valley Bank and opened Maryville's first drugstore with a business partner. The couple had four children: Benjamin Vance, Basil Holt (died in infancy), F.J. Mary Oakes, and Elizabeth.
Sometime in the 1870s, James started Faustiana Stock Farm. Faustiana focused on breeding Thoroughbred horses and developed quite the reputation. Some said Faustiana Stock Farm was the premier Thoroughbred breeding farm west of the Mississippi.
Because of James' business skill, when he died, he was quite the wealthy man. He left Emma their house and all its furnishings, the building that housed the drugstore, each of their daughters was to receive $25,000, and Benjamin was to inherit Faustiana Farm. However, Benjamin was only 16 when his father died, to running an entire Thoroughbred breeding operation with a reputation like Faustiana's was out of the question. However, James; will stipulated that all of the horses were required to be sold in Lexington, Kentucky. Although not stated, because all of the horses were to be sold, James did not intend for Faustiana to continue after his death. However, Emma had other plans.
First, she added two executers to assist her in managing all of James' assets. She had to go to probate court in Nodaway County and have a judge approve the two men she selected. After this was completed, she contested another part of James' will, she wanted the horses to be sold in New York City instead of Kentucky. She knew that the horses could earn the family more money if they were sold at the New York market. In the final plot twist, she bought back several horses that she had up for sale, using her proceeds from James' estate and then continued running Faustiana Farms until her death in 1910.
Images from NCHS
In 1901, the mare Petticoat gave birth to Elwood, a lanky bay colt. He was sired by Free Knight. Charles Durnell purchased the foal in 1901 and gave him to Lasca, his wife. Lasca entered Elwood into the 1904 Kentucky Derby. Elwood went on to win 1st place that year, gaining Emma her notoriety as the first woman to have ever bred a Kentucky Derby winning horse.
In 1910 Emma Prather fell ill while visiting her daughter Mary Oakes in Boston, Massachusetts. She died on this trip and left $100 to both Mary and Benjamin but left Faustiana Stock Farms solely to Elizabeth as she would not be able to make a living herself because she was an invalid.
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When James died, Emma was still a young woman in her prime. She was a wealthy woman who could have lived off the proceeds of her late husband’s estate and never worked another day in her life. However, in a time when women were not considered to be adept at running businesses, Emma defied convention by continuing Faustiana Farms’ success. In the process, she made history that reached beyond the Midwest.
Resources
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Prather Family Binder, Nodaway County Historical Society.
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Bob Bohlken, Famous People of Nodaway County (Instant Publisher, 2010).
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Michael J. Steiner, Nodaway County (Arcadia Publishing, 2008).