William Key was born into slavery in 1833 and grew up on his owner’s farm in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He found that he had a serious bond and a spiritual connection with all animals, but horses were extremely special to him. Even as a kid, William Key was known as a horse whisperer of sorts, and as his skills developed, he became a well-respected horseman as a young man.

After he had achieved some success as a trainer and self-taught veterinarian, William decided to enter the world of horse racing. He stumbled upon an offer to purchase a famous Arabian mare named Lauretta that was in foal to a top Hambletonian horse named Tennessee Volunteer. Lauretta had been a former circus horse that was neglected and abused and William bought the mare and nursed her back to health. He traveled throughout the South with the horse, while peddling his “Keystone Liniment,” claiming the ointment played a large part in Lauretta’s recovery.

Lauretta would foal in 1889 and William was excited. He thought the mixture of an Arabian and a Standardbred would produce a horse for the ages, and he was correct, but it didn’t happen the way William had envisioned the dream, as the horse never even stepped foot on a racetrack.

The foal was frail, sickly, weak and could barely walk. When the colt did start to stretch his legs he staggered around sideways and fell often. William decided to name the horse after the town drunk and the colt’s name was now  “Jim.” William added his own last name to the paperwork and the horse was officially “Jim Key.” A stage manager added the name “Beautiful” some time later.

Jim’s talent was first noticed when the horse began picking up small tricks here and there, mostly from the family dog. Jim would often mimic the pet, picking up sticks, rolling over and sitting for treats. The horse spent a great deal of time with William and the family and Jim even slept inside the house on a stack of blankets near the fire at night.

William’s wife, Lucinda, was extremely tolerant of William’s unique relationship with this special horse and it was she who first discovered that Jim was even more talented than they had originally thought.

It started out with yes or no questions. “Jim, would you like a piece of apple?” The horse would nod his head up and down in response. “Do you want to go outside in the cold rain?” The horse would shake his head from side to side. Jim just seemed to understand human language.

When William Key noticed this behavior he began working with Jim to master these tricks and later, trained Jim to learn the alphabet, spell small words and count. The tutoring progressed to Jim being schooled in politics, Bible passages, comedy, solving basic math problems, and eventually, his schooling soared to the next level. Jim could also tell time, use a cash register, dial a telephone, sort mail and faint on command.

William took his horse and their act on the road, performing well-scripted comedy acts at local fairs to promote his Keystone Liniment. The act would stun crowd after crowd with Jim’s ability to spell words by putting letters together in the proper order on a rack. Understandably, people were either astounded or thought it was a hoax, but either way, William and Jim Key were getting some big-time attention.

But William had his sights set at on a bigger venue, The Tennessee Centennial Exposition was coming up and William Key wanted in. He gave a demonstration for the Fair’s officials and they were thoroughly amazed and provided the pair with their own area in the “Negro Building” to perform. The show was seen by thousands, including President Bill McKinley.

Jim amazed the crowd by spelling out the names of famous politicians that were requested by the audience. The horse would also play “post office,” where he would file mail in the proper slots, as well as put money in a cash register and retrieve the correct change.

Shortly after the event, a local newspaper printed President McKinley’s statement about the show: “This is certainly the most astonishing and entertaining exhibition I have ever witnessed,” the President said.

William Key eventually hooked up with an entrepreneur named Albert Rodgers and the two paired up to be partners. Rodgers had connections in the East and organized a tour of a two-act play the duo put together called “The Scholar and the Model Office Boy,” which they performed in theaters and music halls all over the country.

Albert Rodgers was an animal lover who appealed to animal protection groups to help sponsor the tour. William Key was also a steadfast promoter of being kind to animals and would tell anyone who would listen that animals could be taught to do anything through kindness. The two seemed like a great pair to bring attention to exploited animals all over the country.

But finding support among the animal rights people turned out to be tough sledding. Many people were skeptical that the act was just a scam and were reluctant to get behind the cause.

But William Key started a club called “The Jim Key Band of Mercy,” which was an organization that brought attention to the humane treatment of animals and more than a million people joined. William also organized “The Jim Key Pledge,” which basically stated that people would be kind to animals and over two million children signed the oath.

William and Jim Key had become quite popular. They had articles written about them in just about every major newspaper and Jim was presented keys to various cities and his mug was plastered on buttons and postcards all over the nation. Beautiful Jim Key was a popular American hero and his owner wasn’t far behind.

But the rigors of the road and nine years of performing had taken its toll on the pair and they rested the act after the 1906 tour. Jim was arthritic and William had health problems and succumbed to them in 1909, at the age of 76. Beautiful Jim Key followed his friend in 1912 and the pair, as well as William’s wife, were all buried at the homestead in Shelbyville under a monument that says, ” Be Kind to Animals.”

During the period from 1897-1906, Beautiful Jim Key brought smiles to the faces of millions and enlightened people to the fact that animals didn’t need to be whipped or beaten to be taught. William Key taught us that animals treated with kindness, can and will do anything to please us humans. And as a former slave, William Key provided hope and paved the way for millions of African Americans. I’d say the act of Key and Key, did okay.