I am always fascinated by how certain cattle ended up in America and gained a foothold among producers. Oftentimes, I end up with more questions than answers. What did ranchers of the past find particularly intriguing about specific breeds? What relationship did they have with producers in England or the European continent to import the breeds? And what convinced these early agrarian producers that they could achieve the same results as their English or Continental counterparts in America?

While every major breed association possesses extensive cattle records, those are mostly pro forma and meant to satisfy transactional records. Understanding the why of cattle importation presents a larger problem because few extant records illuminate the logic of the cattlemen of yesteryear, and ship manifests and marginalia notes contained in cattle books provide little guidance. However, politician Henry Clay (1777-1852) and his voluminous correspondence detailing his interest in animal husbandry provides a perfect case study to understand early cattle importation.

Henry Clay was no ordinary farmer. Born in Virginia, Clay learned the law from prominent Virginians, including a former signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Finished with his law studies in 1797 in Virginia, Clay followed his family to Kentucky and started a law practice in Lexington. Clay entered politics in Kentucky almost as soon as he crossed the border (West Virginia did not exist until 1863) and did not stop. From 1810 to 1852, Clay represented Kentucky in the US House of Representatives and US Senate, served as Speaker of the House, served as Secretary of State for President John Quincy Adams (1825-1829), and ran for president in 1824, 1832, and 1844. Clay earned the nickname the “Great Compromiser” for his ability to negotiate deals over the most divisive issue of the nineteenth century: slavery.

Clay’s business was politics but his passion was animal husbandry and farming at his 515-acre plantation outside of Lexington, Ky. His personal papers are replete with the conditions of his farm, crop plantings, and livestock purchases. Of note is Clay’s obsession with “Hereford Reds,” and there are several references in his correspondence where he waxes poetic about the breed. But how and why did Clay choose the Hereford breed?

Clay visited England in the spring of 1816, and according to Timothy L. Miller in History of Hereford Cattle (1902), “concluded to send home some fine cattle.” But Clay needed an agent to export cattle out of England, and on Aug. 30, 1816, Clay wrote his friend Peter Irving, the older brother of famous short-story author Washington Irving, about importing the most desirable English cattle to the United States. He viewed the elder Irving as somewhat of an expert on all things English since Irving had been living in England since 1809. “Our country is admirably adapted to the rearing of Cattle,” Clay said to Irving, “and the improvement of the breeds has become an object of general attention.” Clay went on to tell he and his neighbors wanted “two males & two females,” and asked Irving if he could “procure them for me” since “the present” is a “favorable period to get out these cattle on account of the low freights…and low price.” It is important to note that Clay did not specifically ask for Hereford animals. He simply wanted good stock and animals that would thrive on his plantation.

Irving replied to Clay on Nov. 1, 1816, and emphasized that Clay’s “commission in regard to the purchase of cattle shall have my particular attention,” especially since Irving could “contribute to an object so laudable & for which your section of of our country will be so much indebted to you.” Irving, however, did not possess the expertise to purchase cattle and informed Clay that he would seek the opinion of others in England, but noted that it might be a lengthy process because of winter weather delays and sifting through “the contrariety of opinions prevalent in regard to the different breeds of cattle.”

Irving enlisted the aid of Joseph Smith, and described him “as one of the best judges of animals in the kingdom.” Irving also asked his brother-in-law, Henry van Wart, to support in the endeavor and help manage the purchase. Smith reported to van Wart on Jan. 23, 1817, that he bought a 2-year-old Hereford bull from John Walker of Westington, Gloucestershire, and another bull from Mr. West of Banbury, Oxfordshire. Both bulls were originally owned by the original creators of the Hereford breed, Benjamin Tomkins Jr., who resided in Herefordshire. Tomkins sold one heifer directly to Clay, and the other heifer was purchased from an undisclosed source. As Irving wrote Clay on Febr. 17, 1817, “I had taken great care to ascertain by previous inquiry that the Hereford Breed is the best for both beef & dairy, & I feel perfectly confident that the four beasts purchased are of the best blood in the county.” Smith and Irving’s decision to buy Herefords was likely influenced by a recent sale in Worcestershire in November 1816 for “remarkable prices” along with Hereford winnings at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, the most prestigious meat breed stock show in England from 1799 to 2004. A month later, Irving wrote Clay to tell him that the cattle would be shipped out of Liverpool on March 23, 1817, and that he would not regret the decision of his agents. “I feel satisfied that you will have introduced into the interior of our country,” Irving praised Clay, “a breed of the finest & most valuable cattle in the world.”

In performing research for this blog post, I was surprised to learn that Clay’s transactional decision was not his own—it was based on the recommendation and efforts of his friend, local experts, and an agent. Simply put, he was no different than today’s cattle producers who ask questions, engage agents, and share their experiences and advice with friends at the local diner, auction barn, stock show, or county fair before making a purchase.

In the spring of 1817, Clay’s Herefords arrived at the Port of Baltimore on the Mohawk. (It was reported that one of the bulls died during the trans-Atlantic journey.) Clay’s importation of a Hereford bull (Recorded in English S.H. Book No. 3711), one heifer, and a cow provided him and his neighbors with the opportunity to introduce Hereford genetics to the United States. Clay clearly prided himself on his purchase, and he continued to preach that the Herefords “are a good species and very thrifty.” Clay also took an interest in other animals such as “Improved Durham Shorthorns,” and even found the Durham breed superior to the Herefords in some ways. He even crossbred the Hereford bull with other animals to improve his stock. By 1831, Clay had nearly 100 head of cattle at his plantation and continued to promote the Hereford breed. Clay told one friend in 1840 that “Herefords make better work cattle, are hardier, and will, upon being fattened, take themselves better than their rivals.”

Clay’s celebration of Herefords brought a sort of superstar status to the breed, and in the 1840s, William Sotham and Erastus Corning of Albany, N.Y., started the first breeding herd. Others followed suit and continued to import English Herefords into the states intent on improving the breeding stock. The most notable example occurred when Missourians Charles Gudgell and Thomas Simpson imported Hereford Bull Anxiety IV, commonly known as the “father of American Herefords.”

Today, the Hereford breed is registered and promoted by the American Hereford Association (AHA), which was founded in 1881. It is the second-largest breed association in the country. Moreover, the same qualities that Clay found in “fattened” Hereford cattle can also be enjoyed in food service and retail outlets under the branded beef arm of the AHA, Certified Hereford Beef. Take a recommendation from a friend: It is fantastic beef.

Henry Clay and the Importation of Hereford Cattle into America in 1817

Join for free* to continue reading.