Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 24

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790

USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892 > Part 24

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Herefords .- One of the first animals of this breed introduced into Kennebec county was the bull "Young Sir Isaac," brought to Hallo- well in 1830 by Sanford Howard, superintendent of the Vaughan farms. He was by imported " Admiral," sent with other stock as a present to the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, by

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Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, of the British Navy-his dam being by the Hereford bull, "Sir Isaac," also presented to the same society by Ad- miral Coffin. In 1844, J. Wingate Haines of Hallowell, brought into that town the bull " Albany," purchased of Erastus Corning and Wil- liam H. Sotham, of Albany, N. Y., from their noted importation of English Herefords brought to this country in 1841. This beautiful bull laid the foundation for the magnificent working oxen for which the towns of Hallowell, Winthrop, Fayette and Wayne were formerly noted.

Joseph H. Underwood, one of the most prominent farmers and breeders this county has ever had, was born in Amherst, N. H., in 1783, and when he became of age settled in Fayette. He gave early attention to the improvement of neat cattle, and obtained descendants of the first Herefords brought into the county, but about 1852 pur- chased of Captain E. Pendleton, an old shipmaster of Searsport, a bull and cow of this breed brought over in one of his ships from England. In 1859 he purchased the celebrated bull "Cronkhill 2d," of the Messrs. Clarke, of Springfield, Mass., and in 1865 introduced into his herd a celebrated bull, " Wellington Hero," from the herd of Freder- ick William Stone, of Guelph, Ontario, and subsequently other ani- mals were purchased of Mr. Stone. After the death of Mr. Under- wood, November 8, 1867, his sons, G. & G. Underwood, continued to carry on the farming and breeding operations of their father jointly till 1875, when they dissolved. During these years the herd was kept up by purchases from Mr. Stone, Hall C. Burleigh of Vassalboro, H. A. Holmes of Oxford, and Mr. Gibb of Compton, P. Q. When they dissolved Gilbert Underwood retained the herd of cattle, and now has a choice family of thirty fine animals. Another son of J. H. Under- wood -- Albert G. Underwood of Fayette-has a herd of fourteen thor- oughbred and registered animals. The Underwood Herefords are now the oldest herds of this breed in the county.

In 1869 G. E. Shores, of Waterville, and Hall C. Burleigh, then of Fairfield, purchased the entire herd of thoroughbred Herefords be- longing to Hon. M. H. Cochrane, of Hillhurst, Compton, P. Q., then and for a long time previous regarded as the most famous herd of Herefords on the continent. It was a bold purchase, and gave the county high fame as the home of the best Herefords at that time in the United States. The celebrated individuals of this purchase were the bull "Compton Lad," and the Verbena family of cows and heifers. After three years' breeding the herd had so much increased that a di- vision was made and for years formed two distinguished herds under the separate management of each owner. Mr. Shores sold his entire herd to William P. Blake of West Waterville, in 1875, who continued to breed for many years, finally disposing of his interest to his son,

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Fred E. Blake, of Fairview Farm, Sidney, who now has a small herd of this breed.

Important as have been the importations of animals of this breed into the county in the past, and valuable as they have been as indi- viduals and as herds, all efforts of breeders are comparatively limited beside the great operations in cattle importing by the firm of Burleigh & Bodwell, the members of which were Hall C. Burleigh of Vassalboro, and Joseph R. Bodwell, of Hallowell. This partnership was formed in 1879, and was dissolved by the death of ex-Governor Bodwell, De- cember 15, 1887. During the continuance of this firm Mr. Burleigh made five visits to England for the purpose of selecting breeding animals, bringing home large consignments each time; in addition to which he made eight different importations from Great Britain, aside from importations made from Canada. In 1879 seventy-seven head were imported; in 1880-81, eighty-five head; in 1882 two consignments were made, one of eighty and one of fifty head; in 1883 Mr. Burleigh chartered the steamship Texas and brought over for his firm the largest lot of Hereford stock ever brought to this country by one firm, numbering two hundred head, and in 1884 another importation of sev- enty animals was made. The total number brought to Maine by this firm was over 800, and while a considerable number were retained in their own home herds at Vassalboro and Hallowell, and some in other towns in the county and state, by far the larger part were shipped West and South.

In 1881 Mr. Burleigh made the tour of the grand Western circuit of the great inter-state fairs, taking with him a herd of magnificent animals from his Vassalboro farm, which won everywhere in all classes in which they were shown. Again, in 1883, Mr. Burleigh exhibited at the great fairs at Kansas City, Chicago and New Orleans. At these fairs Mr. Burleigh won first prizes and sweepstakes on animals of his own breeding; and also the champion gold shield for the best animal of any sex, breed or age, exhibited by the breeder, on the heifer " Burleigh's Pride," a cross-bred Hereford and Polled Angus, two years old, weighing 1,820 pounds.

The exhibition of these cattle at the great fairs of the West in 1881 and 1883 brought Maine into high prominence as a cattle raising state, and gave this county a reputation which has been a great aid to our agriculture. Mr. Burleigh's herd is still kept up to a high point, both in numbers and excellence, and in 1891 he won fifteen first prizes, eleven second prizes and one third prize at the Maine State Fair. His son, Thomas G. Burleigh, is also interested in breeding on his own account. About 1876 Mr. J. S. Hawes, of South Vassalboro, started in the breeding of thoroughbred and grade Herefords and built up a large herd, sending a considerable number of breeding animals West. His operations were continued till 1879, when he removed to Kansas, tak-

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ing many of his best animals with him, where he engaged in ranche cattle breeding on a very large scale. Other leading breeders of this class of stock in the county are: M. M. Bailey, Winthrop; Edgar E. Robinson, Mt. Vernon; and G. W. Billings, E. H. Kent and the Messrs. Gile, Fayette. These gentlemen all have thoroughbred and registered animals, while high grades and cross-breds are widely disseminated, especially in towns in the western part of the county.

Jerseys .- The date of the introduction and systematic breeding of this breed of cattle in Kennebec county, marks the first step toward special lines of farming and breeding, upon which all subsequent im- provement has been based. Previous to this the agriculture of the county was general. Farmers endeavored to make their farms self- maintaining, grew those crops that were largely needed and consumed upon the farm, and bred cattle adapted to general purposes. Work was the one chief object in keeping cattle -- hence to raise good work- ing oxen was the first requisite. A cow that brought a good calf and gave sufficient milk for family use was the one that was kept. There had been little thought up to this date of breeding a special cow adapted to dairy production, and making prime butter to sell. But with the introduction of the Jersey breed of cattle a complete trans- formation in Kennebec agriculture took place. It was the beginning of specialties in farming, and specialties in farming mark the modern from the old style methods, introduce new ideas, create diversity and insure larger returns.

This date was the year 1855. In that year Dr. Ezekiel Holmes brought the bull "Butter Boy," and in 1856 the cow " Pansy 3d," into Winthrop. Both animals were purchased of Samuel Henshaw, of Bos- ton-the latter imported by Mr. Henshaw, the former from imported stock. It is probable that two or three years earlier than this William S. Grant, of Farmingdale, had brought to that town the bull "Old Duke," also obtained from Mr. Henshaw, but this animal acquired nothing like the reputation accorded to those brought to the county by Doctor Holmes. The amount of ridicule which this patient phi- lanthropist endured for having brought these animals into this county and for championing their merits through the columns of the Maine Farmer, was something enormous. Believing in their adaptability to the new agriculture of the county, he had the courage to bring these small, delicate Jerseys into the very heart of that county which for fifty years had prided itself upon its magnificent Durhams and Here- fords, and farmers generally looked upon him as the visionary advo- cate of a breed of cattle unsuited to the county and destined to ruin its stock interests. But despite this opposition Doctor Holmes con- stantly urged their merits and value to our farmers. Their recogni- tion, however, was very slow, and it was several years after their first

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introduction before the trustees of the State Agricultural Society could be induced to offer premiums for them, as it did for other breeds of cattle. When this action had been taken their success appeared as- sured, and they became rapidly disseminated.

The fame of many cows among the " foundation " animals of this breed in the county was very great, among them being the celebrated cows " Pansy 3d," " Jessie Pansy," " Buttercup," owned by W. H. Chisam of Augusta, "Lilly," "Fancy 2d," " Victoria Pansy," owned by the late C. S. Robbins of Winthrop, " Lucy," owned by P. H. Snell of Winthrop, and many others. The famous cows made from 11 to 173 pounds of butter per week, established the reputation of the Jer- seys as the great butter yielding breed, opened a new era for the agri- culture of the county and state, and made their owners independent.

The celebrity of "Winthrop Jerseys " rapidly increased, and the animals became widely disseminated. The Jersey breeders of Win- throp organized the Winthrop Jersey Cattle Association, March 7, 1870, and the breed had attained such large numbers in Waterville that a Jersey Stock Club was formed in that town in 1868, and at a town show of this class exclusively, held that year, over forty splendid cows were shown. In fifteen years after the first Jerseys were intro- duced they had spread all over Maine, large numbers had been sent to Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, and in 1872 a car load of fifteen Winthrop Jerseys was sent to Denver, Colorado. The town association of Winthrop breeders became the Maine State Jersey Cat- tle Association. and was incorporated by the legislature in 1875. Its present membership is believed to be larger than that of any other Jersey cattle association in the country. It has published five volumes of its Herd Book-1876, 1880, 1883, 1886 and 1889. These volumes re- cord a total of 724 bulls and 2,008 cows and heifers. Among the early herds of the Winthrop or Maine State Jerseys were those of Lloyd H. Snell, E. Holmes & Son, N. R. Pike & Son, and P. H. Snell, Winthrop; Samuel Guild and W. H. Chisam, Augusta; and William Dyer and Jo- seph Percival, Waterville.

Mr. Percival introduced the first Jerseys into Waterville in 1863, and for many years his herd was the best in town and bred with great purity. L. H. Snell, of Winthrop, owned at one time a famous but not large herd of this breed, one of the foundation animals being the cel- ebrated cow " Victoria Pansy" (No. 12, Maine Herd Book), which was afterward sold to Mr. Cyrus S. Robbins, of Winthrop, who founded the Robbinsdale herd in 1858, which, since Mr. Robbins' death, May 14, 1880, has been maintained by his widow, and is now one of the most celebrated herds of this strain of Jerseys in Maine. It numbers four- teen animals and has been a high prize winning herd at our state fairs for many years. Silas T. Floyd, of Winthrop, has a choice herd of ten Maine Jerseys, having a private butter dairy which has a high

MT. PLEASANT FARM .- RESIDENCE OF Mr. C. F. COBB, VASSALBORO, ME.

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reputation. He started with the Holmes stock, and his herd has at different times embraced some of the best animals of that celebrated importation. A. C. & E. P. True, Litchfield, have an old and fine herd, which embraces both Maine State and American Cattle Club Jerseys. The Trues have bred with care, and their animals have won high prizes at our state fairs. Other breeders of Maine Jerseys are: Willis Cobb, Samuel Greeley, F. M. Woodward and M. B. Hewett, Winthrop; C. B. Preble, Litchfield; J. Henry Moore, West Winthrop, and E. H. Leavitt, East Winthrop. Dr. J. W. North, Nordheim farm, Augusta, formerly was largely engaged in breeding American Cattle Club Jerseys.

While the Maine registered Jerseys have been more widely dis- seminated throughout the county than those of the American Cattle Club Registry, valuable and extensive herds of the last named have been kept in the county. In 1865 the late Dr. N. R. Boutelle, of Waterville, commenced to breed Jerseys of the Holmes-Henshaw im- portation, but in 1867 changed to American registered animals. His first purchases of this family were made of C. Wellington, Lexington, Mass., in 1867. In 1869 he purchased breeding animals of Colonel G. E. Waring, jun., of Newport, R. I., and F. E. Bowditch, of Framingham, and in 1870 made a choice purchase from the noted herd of Thomas Motley, of Jamacia Plains, Mass. In 1871 Doctor Boutelle purchased a fine band of six breeding animals from the great herd of S. Sheldon Stevens, of Montreal. From the foundation thus laid Doctor Boutelle bred animals of great value and beauty, and by maintaining the in- troduction of new blood in later years, from the best sources, built up the finest herd of American registered Jerseys ever owned in the state for their time. In 1872, the late General W. S. Tilton, then governor of the National Soldiers' Home, started a herd of Jerseys of the Ameri- can registry by the purchase of foundation animals from Benjamin E. Bates and Thomas Motley, of Massachusetts, subsequently purchasing a reinforcement of new blood from such noted herds as those of R. L. Maitland and John S. Barstow, of New York. In 1874 and 1875 Gen- eral Tilton imported animals direct from the Isle of Jersey, and the Togus herd at that date consisted of twenty animals, and was one of the finest in New England.

At present the largest breeder of American Jerseys in the county, as well as the state, is Chandler F. Cobb, of Mt. Pleasant Farm, South Vassalboro, whose herd consists of sixty choice, fashionably bred ani- mals. The leading animals in the herd are " Sir Florian," 11,578, im- ported by T. S. Cooper, Chambersburg, Penn., and "Fancy's Harry 7th," 24,386. His herd embraces noted individuals of the celebrated Regina, Nobie and Pogis families, and aside from his own breeding Mr. Cobb is making constant additions of new blood. His animals are among the great prize winners of Maine, and the product of his

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celebrated dairy has a high reputation. His stock farm is the old Hawes property, on a commanding elevation in one of the most sightly and picturesque spots in Kennebec county.

Other breeds of cattle have at different dates been imported into the county. The Devons were first brought in 1859 by Allen Lam- bard, of Augusta, by the purchase of four individuals from the herd of Joseph Burnett, of Southboro, Mass. In 1860 he also purchased from the herd of S. C. Wainwright, of Rhinebeck, N. Y., then the most famous herd of this breed in America, a pair of animals, and with this foundation built up a large and fine herd. Sewell B. Page, of Winthrop, bred the Devons extensively between 1865 and 1880. In 1855 and 1856 John D. Lang, of Vassalboro, Timothy Boutelle and Joseph Percival, of Waterville, and Hiram Pope, of West Gardiner, each brought in individuals of the Ayrshire breed from the herd of John P. Cushing, Watertown, Mass. There are many full blood and grade Ayrshires now scattered through the larger dairy herds of the county. The first specimens of Dutch cattle, afterward called the Holstein, and now known as the Holstein-Friesian, were brought into the county by Thomas S. Lang. of Vassalboro, in 1864, being imported animals from the very celebrated herd of Winthrop W. Chenery, of Belmont, Mass. General W. S. Tilton, while governor of the National Soldiers' Home, Togus, obtained a bull of this breed of Mr. Chenery, and in 1871 made an extensive importation himself from East Fries- land. During General Tilton's governorship of the Home it had a very extensive herd of imported and thoroughbred Holsteins, which herd has been kept up to the present time, and is now the largest and finest of this breed in the county. Grades are to be found in many towns, and some thoroughbred animals are also kept by a few of the leading farmers, Reuben Russell, of Readfield, being one of the best known breeders of this class of stock at present.

In 1880-81 ten Polled Aberdeen-Angus cattle were imported by Burleigh & Bodwell, the second importation of this breed ever made into the United States. In 1882, and again in 1883-4, other importations were made. The animals were mostly sold to go west for breeding purposes. In 1883 this firm imported a herd of thoroughbred Sussex cattle, the second largest importation of this breed ever made into the United States, and another lot was imported in 1886. Mr. Burleigh has continued to breed this class of cattle to the present time; and both he and his son, Thomas G. Burleigh, have herds of Sussex cattle. They have also been disseminated into other towns in the county to a limited extent.

DAIRYING .- Naturally following the change in the cattle husbandry of the county, which took place when the general dissemination of the Jerseys had displaced the breeds of cattle formerly raised for working oxen and beef animals, and the increased attention paid to dairying,

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came the introduction of associated effort or cooperation in dairy practice. It did not come, however, until a period of twenty years had passed since the introduction of the Jerseys, during which time those keeping large herds of this choice breed had established a high reputation for private dairy butter, which commanded the best markets and the fancy prices. But handling the milk of large herds of cows in the old way made very heavy work in the household, and the day of the cheese factory was hailed with joy, as emancipating the women of the farm home from the drudgery of the milk pan and churn. Farmers were slow to change, however, from the private methods to the factory system of handling milk. The Winthrop Dairy Associa- tion was not organized till April, 1874, and the China Cheese Factory Company in March, 1874, these being the first associations of the kind in the county. In 1875 the Winthrop factory made 47,000 pounds of cheese, and in 1878, 60,000 pounds. In 1881 the Winthrop company put in butter making apparatus into their factory, and have since made both butter and cheese, although there have been some years when it did not operate. For one or two winters the cream obtained was sent to the Forest City Creamery, Portland. When the average at the cheese factories of the county required a fraction above ten pounds of milk for a pound of cheese, the Winthrop factory averaged for a season of one hundred days a pound of cheese from eight pounds and seven ounces of milk. In the seasons of 1890 and 1891 inany farmers in Winthrop, Fayette and Mt. Vernon sent their cream to the cream- ery at Livermore Falls. In the summer of 1892 the Aroostook Con- densed Milk Company erected a very elaborate plant at Winthrop.

The first cheese factory in Monmouth was established in 1881 by the Monmouth Dairying Association. This factory was burned with all the machinery in February, 1889; but a new building was imme- diately erected and operated in June following by the Monmouth Dairying Company, which manufactures both butter and cheese. The average make for the season of 1891 was 2,800 pounds of cheese, and 1,400 pounds of butter per week.

The Fayette Cooperative Creamery was organized in 1889 and built a factory at North Fayette. During the season of 1891 it made an average of 1,000 pounds of butter a week. Although owned by a stock company, this factory is leased by Mr. J. H. True, who buys the cream of farmers and manufactures butter on his own account. The product has a high reputation, and the factory has given its patrons great satisfaction.

The East Pittston Creamery Association was formed in 1890, and a factory built costing $2,000, now leased by E. E. Hanley, who used the cream of 120 cows in 1891, making 600 pounds of butter per week. The price paid farmers for the year was 73 cents per inch of cream between April and September, and 8} cents per inch between Septem-

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ber and April. This factory is well fitted for handling the cream of five hundred cows.

A creamery association was organized at Waterville in November, 1891, for the purpose of making creamery butter, the enterprise hav- ing been started largely through the efforts of E. L. Bradford, of Turner, and R. W. Dunn, of Waterville. A creamery was erected at Vassalboro in 1892 and began operations in June.

Instead of five there should be in the county a score of successful creameries. The cows, the pasture, the skill, the capital and the markets are all awaiting the complete development of this great in- dustry.

SHEEP .-- Kennebec county has never been so distinctively devoted to sheep husbandry as the counties of Somerset and Franklin. Farm- ers have always made cattle and horses the specialties in stock lines rather than sheep, while the number of cities and large towns in the county, with their vast number of predatory dogs, has rendered it a matter of great risk to keep large flocks of sheep unless in pastures very near the homestead. In hillside pastures remote from the dwell- ing, the losses to flocks from roving dogs have always been great and have actually driven many farmers out of the business of sheep hus- bandry. Yet English sheep were imported into the county as early as 1828, and the old Kennebec Agricultural Society early gave atten- tion to the importance of the subject and urged it systematically upon the notice of farmers. In June, 1832, the society voted to " choose a committee to collect information upon the diseases to which sheep are subject in this climate, with the prevention and cure; the best breeds of sheep and the mode of improving them, with such matter as would be useful in a treatise upon sheep generally, should the society deem it expedient to publish a work upon this subject." The result of this action was the publication, in 1835, of The Northern Shepherd, written by Dr. E. Holmes. It is a small 12mo. volume of 131 pages, printed at Winthrop, by William Noyes, and is the first distinctively agricultural treatise ever published in Maine.

Doctor Holmes had introduced individuals of the Dishleys or Bake- well breed into Winthrop in 1828, from the celebrated flock of Ste- phen Williams, of Northboro, Mass., who had himself imported them from England. In 1830 others of the same breed were brought into Hallowell by Charles Vaughan and Sanford Howard, and also in 1835 by Reuben H. Green, of Winslow. Charles Vaughan brought some pure bred Southdowns into Hallowell in 1834, being the first of this breed ever introduced into the state. In 1844 Doctor Holmes brought into Winthrop a Cotswold buck-the first specimen of this breed ever brought into Maine. About 1842 several farmers in towns in the western part of the county united in purchasing in Vermont a num- ber of the Vermont Merinos from the flock of the eminent breeder,

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S. W. Jewett, crossing them upon their own flocks to much advantage. The Langs, of Vassalboro, were early and continuous importers and improvers of sheep, having always the best flocks of Southdowns and Cotswolds. In 1853 Moses Taber, of Vassalboro, obtained individuals of the Spanish Merino breed from G. S. Marsh and Eben Bridge, of Pomfret, Vt., eminent breeders in that state; from whom Ephraim Maxham, of Waterville, also obtained the celebrated buck " Green Mountain Boy " the same year. In 1858 Rev. W. A. P. Dillingham introduced the Oxford Downs and Southdowns upon his farm in Sid- ney; H. C. Burleigh introduced into Waterville fine specimens of Southdowns the same year, and a few years later specimens of the same breed were introduced into Wayne by W. B. Frost; into Au- gusta by Allen Lambard; into Readfield by Samuel G. Fogg, and into Vienna by Obadiah Whittier. At about the same date the Cotswolds were introduced in Vassalboro by Hon. Warren Percival, and into Waterville by his brother, Joseph Percival.

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Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 24

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York, Blake Number of Pages: 1790

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790