The History of the
ABERDEEN-ANGUS COW In Canada
Our intent here is to sketch highlights of advancements and reasons for advancements, and yes, even set-backs made by Angus cattle and their breeders throughout Canada. There are indeed some basic facts not generally known to present-day breeders which have an integral link and inter-relationship with the unique qualities associated with Canadian, and specifically those of Western Canadian originations where the aspects of geography have lent itself admirably to the numerically largest sources of Canadian livestock.
While the genealogy of POLLED cattle has been factually traced far beyond the days of the Roman Empire, and the assemblage of distinctive Polled, black cattle commenced in their Scottish homeland early in the 18th century, there are two specific date periods which modern day Canadian breeders should be aware of to appreciate just how near and just how far they are now removed from the FIRST registered Aberdeen-Angus cattle.
1883 - The AMERICAN ABERDEEN-ANGUS ASSOCIATION was formed under the State laws of Illinois, with the first U.S. Hard Book being published in 1886, listing 5,200 animals. Of this number, 2,398 were owned in the U.S., 2,802 were owned in Scotland or Canada, and of 540 owners represented, only 178 were Americans.
1905 - The CANADIAN ABERDEEN-ANGUS ASSOCIATION was formed, with VOLUME ONE of the Canadian Herd Book being issued in 1908 which listed 2,693 animals. An earlier record named DOMINION POLLED ANGUS HERD REGISTER had been completed about 1883 however that volume was also destroyed by fire in 1894. The CANADIAN ABERDEEN-ANGUS ASSOCIATION became an incorporated body, under that name, on May 4, 1906.
As you can see, we are still barely past the first century of official recorded ancestry of Angus cattle wherever those may be found in the world! Prior to those dates, recordings had been mainly maintained by individual breeders, groups of breeders, or by private enterprise recorders.
There is no way to positively identify when and where the first purebred Angus arrived in North America, however all previous documentation indicates those first arrivals landed on Canadian soil. At those points in time, all of what is now known as Western Canada was then known as the North-West Territories which had not as yet joined Confederation, and therefore the West was not officially a part of the Dominion of Canada. It is known that Angus had arrived at Montreal, Quebec by 1860, and it is known that Angus cattle were landed at Victoria, B.C. about 1874 - at least two years prior to the celebrated importation to Guelph, Ontario in 1876.
The first importation of positive record of Angus cattle to North America was made in 1859 or 1860 by Lord Southesk to Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Montreal. The bull was named ORLANDO, and sired by RAVEN (270); the heifer was named DOROTHEA, and sired by FUSILIER (226). DOROTHEA had been a Class winner at the English Royal Show of 1859. As these seemingly left no progeny of record, credit for being the first productive importation is given to the one bull, GLADIOLUS (1161) and two females, EYEBRIGHT (3001) and LEOCHEL LASS 4TH (1524) imported in 1876 by Prof. Wm. Brown for the Ontario Experimental Farm at Guelph, Ontario. The latter cow was a Class winner at the Alford Show in 1876 and was in-calf at time of importation, although there seemingly is no record of what that calf might have been. She did however produce a son named LORD MACDUFF who was sired by GLADIOLUS, with that calf being the first herdsire to serve in the herd of Mr. Mossom Boyd of Bobcaygeon, Ontario.
The cow EYEBRIGHT was a yearling heifer when imported, and in the course of five years her productions had grossed approximately $1,500. The first of those was named EYEBRIGHT 2ND (7132) born January 12, 1877, and she is recognized as being the first purebred Angus born in North America. She was later sold to the Kansas State College at Manhattan, Kansas. It is interesting to note that in the most recent "History" published by the American Angus Association, credit for being the first Angus born in North America is given to EYEBRIGHT 4TH, born October 15, 1880 at the Ontario Agricultural College. That cannot be right however, for EYEBRIGHT had already produced two heifer calves born prior to EYEBRIGHT 4TH.
MOVING FORWARD THROUGH UNCHARTED WATERS
Walter Crawford's ABERDEEN-ANGUS IN CANADA relates that by 1900 there was not one member of any family involved with those earliest Canadian importations who was still engaged in breeding Angus cattle. Many of the earliest importers can therefore be considered as being "suppliers" rather than "breeders". In spite of that however, imported animals were extensively exhibited by non-importers, with documented records showing that a "LUCY" cow exhibited by G.C. Channon at the 1918 Toronto Exhibition weighed 1,960 pounds. Other early-day females are documented as having produced from 17 to 20 calves during their useful lifetime. Even so, the record for fertility and longevity remains with the cow, OLD GRANNIE calved in 1824, and who died at 35 years and six months of age after having produced 25 calves. One of the latter died in harness while pulling a plow when past 18-years of age!
In direct pace with earliest importations was the rapid distribution of Angus and other British breeds throughout Canada, and that can clearly be associated with another major phenomena which added richness to Canadian history -the building of the CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY. That wildly visionary dream struggled to active life in 1871 and concluded in 1885; one of the greatest engineering feats ever conceived by man; twin ribbons of steel from Coast to Coast accomplished with many catastrophies which resulted in the ultimate formation of the Dominion of Canada.
The earliest-day bovines who replaced the wild Buffalo herds in Western Canada were NOT those of what are termed "British Breed" varieties, but were in the main vast trail-driven herds of the "Longhorn" variety brought up from Mexico and Texas. Nostalgic documentation on founding of the cattle, horse, and sheep industry of our Canadian West may be considered glamorous now, but surely were undertakings frought with much peril and severe hardships by the many drovers who brought southern-bred livestock of all descriptions for the meat and oxen requirements of early day Settlers, Indians, Northwest Mounted Police, and for meat exports to the United Kingdom.
Settlers who came with, and those who followed the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway obviously required improving livestock of all descriptions, with British Breed varieties not only favoured for their superior fleshing qualities, but also because of their relative accessibility and economy of introduction.In as much as the major financial activities in Canada were interlocked with the C.P.R. building era, moving in an East to West flow, several of the financiers who made input into Railway-building coffers also bent their talents and resources in the same direction by being suppliers of seed grains, farm machinery and improved seedstock of all descriptions. Two of the free-thinkers associated with our Empire-building includes the names of Hon. J. H. Pope, Minister of Agriculture, and Hon. M. H. Cochrane who will forever have a tie-in with the distribution of Angus cattle throughout Canada.
In the year of 1881 when Prof. Brown at the Guelph Experimental Farm sold Angus bulls and heifers for $300 to $350, the Hon. M. H. Cochrane purchased ten of the very finest stock from three of the leading Scotch herds for a total of $9,975, showing his determination to bring the best to Canada for his Quebec and Alberta headquarters. The town of Cochrane, located just west of the city of Calgary, received its name in honour of this early-day booster of Angus cattle. The most influential member of the Hon. H. M. Cochrane importations was the 1879 Highland Show winner, BLACKBIRD OF CORSKIE 2ND (1235) whose descendants are now widely distributed in numerous herds throughout Canada and the U.S.A. BLACKBIRD OF CORSKIE 2ND was sold for $2,050 at a Chicago auction Sale in 1883, and in the year previous her daughter named "BLUE RIBBON" had been sold by Geary Bros. of Ontario, also by auction in Chicago.
The most noted female among several importations made by Hon. J. H. Pope, whose headquarters were also located in Quebec and Alberta, is documented to be the female named CHARMER 3RD 245. While there were a number of "Charmer" females in Manitoba many years ago, the most notable member of modern times would have to be the famous BLACK BEAUTY OF INGLEWOOD who rose to considerable prominence in the herd of Ed and Irene Molzan at Barrhead, Alberta. There are no members of the "CHARMER" Family remaining in Scotland.
An importation of considerable importance whose members made quite an impact on Canadian Angus history was made in 1889 by the Hon. F. C. Gordon-Cumming, with those settled near Calgary. From this source came founding members of the MISS BURGESS - FLORA and MAYFLOWER families, and in particular the cow PRIDE OF FINDHORN 3RD whose descendants are known as EMPIRE PRIDES - highly prominent over the years for the C.P.R. Supply Farm; in the "Rowena" herd, and also for the Spady herds at Alliance, Alberta. PRIDE BELLE OF VALLEYMERE 18M, the dam of GREAT NORTHERN is only one of several highly potent females whose lineage traces directly to PRIDE OF FINDHORN 3RD.
Very meaningful as history has proven were Angus developed from early importations, by the master breeder Mr. Jas Bowman who founded his Elm Park herd at Guelph, Ontario. It was "Jim" Bowman who was charged with responsibility to make inspections for registry approval into Canadian VOLUME ONE Herd Book after records of the "DOMINION ANGUS HERD REGISTAR" were destroyed by fire. Elm Park Angus were exhibited from 1893 to 1927 at Canadian National Exhibitions, and it was his early day Show herds who brought the highly popular Elm Park MATILDA - ROSEBUD & KEEPSAKE KYMA families to western herds. How those did prosper for the University of Alberta; David Liddell, Albert C. Murphy, C. K. Armitstead, and many, many others to the present day!
In as much as Canadian Angus, and those of longtime Western Canadian development in particular, have for some time become world renowned for having unique qualities, another factor did evolve in addition to the founding attributes of known qualities engineered by the early day pioneers. During approximately the first sixty or more years of Angus development in Canada, breeders had none of the advantages (or disadvantages) of modern day technology. No one would ever dream that there ever would be such tools in the future as artificial insemination or embryo transfers. The "horse and buggy" era determined that breeders seeking different bloodlines were compelled by conditions of their time to make selections from their nearest neighbor breeders. The scope of available bloodlines therefore was of necessity generally no further than a day's drive by horse and wagon to special-mate a superior female to an approved sire. It is a fact too, determined by tracing numerous pedigrees from Herd Books, that a surprisingly large number of animals are found who resulted from sire to daughter matings; brother to sister matings; dams to their home-bred sons and so on. As a result, areas did develop where bloodlines became closely interlinked. That legacy has been all to the advantage of modern day breeders whether they know it or not: a legacy of efficient and productive Angus with bred-in fertility abilities to keep their owners through good times and bad.
CANADIAN TROUBLES
From the earliest importations to at least 1905, registrations of seemingly all Breeds in Canada were in a chaotic state by reason of a lack of officially recognized control. For ANGUS, at least two private individuals in different areas of Canada, and Departments of Agriculture in three Provinces, undertook to maintain records of purebred cattle. The American Angus Association did not recognize those records, and many Canadian breeders therefore registered solely in the American Herd Book. Chapter SIX in Crawford's History fully outlines problems then existing.
The formation of the CANADIAN ABERDEEN-ANGUS ASSOCIATION itself had a rocky course, for it seems there were two factions with opposing viewpoints. The Eastern faction were quite prepared to continue on as Members of the American Association, whereas those from the West felt that a Canadian Association was essential. Fortunately as it was, other breeds also faced the same distressing conditions. The upshot was that a suggestion whereby all Breeds might register through one official organization received majority approval, with the Canadian National Live Stock Records then coming into being. The plan for such an incorporated organization became effective on April 19, 1905. When the CANADIAN ABERDEEN-ANGUS ASSOCIATION was formed, all officials and Directors appointed were based in Western Canada, and the Head Office, presumably to be permanent was based at Winnipeg, Manitoba.
After incorporation of the Canadian association, in order to bring semblance of recognition to animals recorded in several different organizations, the Association designated the outstanding stockman, Mr. James Bowman of Guelph, Ontario to make personal inspections of those animals and Records; accepting only those who were favourably reported on for Registry. Eighty-three herds were inspected from Prince Edward Island to Alberta; 693 animals were reported on of which 199 were rejected. Mr. Crawford reported that even fifteen years after the Canadian Association was formed and issuance of Canadian registry certificates was in progress, he visited one Ontario breeder in 1920 who at that time was still registering solely in Herd Book of the American Angus Association.