1 N T BOBUCTION 



KING'S-PYON CHURCH, NEAR HEREFORD. 



Wigmore Grange, born 1713, and the superior- 

 ity of their cattle long before B. Tomkins, Jr.'s, 

 marriage. These recollections and many facts 

 that will be mentioned clearly prove that the 

 systematic improvement of the Herefords was 

 begun by the elder B. Tomkins in 1742. 



It will be seen on referring to Sinclair's" His- 

 tory of Hereford Cattle that when Eichard 

 Tomkins of the New House Farm, King's- 

 Pyon, died in 1723, he let seven children 

 six sons and one daughter. The eldest, Miles, 

 was nineteen and the youngest, Thomas, was 

 three years old. 



He left to Richard, his second son, a yoke of 

 oxen, named "Spark" and "Merchant," with 

 ten acres of land. To his fourth son, Benjamin, 

 a cottage and land and a cow called "Silver" 

 with her calf. The others were left small sums 

 of money, and his widow, Catherine, the little 

 New House Farm for life, making her his sole 

 executrix. His will was proved in the Consis- 

 tory Court at Hereford. 



He doubtless had good reason for leaving 

 these cattle to Eichard and Benjamin. Eichard 

 being nineteen was old enough to be teamster 

 and was left his team. Benjamin being- nine 

 years old would be old enough to take an in- 



terest in the cattle, possibly wishing to possess 

 the Silver cow and calf, which his father after- 

 wards left him by will. This would be calcu- 

 lated to give him additional interest in the 

 cattle and dairy, probably filling the office of 

 cattleman for a time. 



Having two brothers younger than himself, 

 he necessarily would have to leave the small 

 farm when one of these were old enough to take 

 his place and seek a situation in the particular 

 line he had followed at home. This he appar- 

 ently did, as all the sons but one were brought 

 up to be farmers, and Professor Low was in- 

 formed that Mr. Tomkins married his employ- 

 er's daughter. Low does not give the source 

 of this information, but it certainly would not 

 come from the Misses Tomkins. 



We find by the parish records that B. Tom- 

 kins, Sr., married a Miss Ann Preece, of Alton 

 Court Farm, in the parish of Dilwyn, in 1742, 

 and began business at the Court House Farm, 

 Canon-Pyon. 



In Low's words: 



"Mr. Tomkins when a young man was in the 

 employment of an individual, afterwards his 

 father-in-law, and had the especial charge of 

 the dairy. Two cows had been brought to this 



