492 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Washington, D. 0., 52 Spanish Merino sheep for $1,850, and took them 

 to Washington County. They stopped with Mr. James Clokey, of North 

 Strabane Township, and rented part of the adjoining Pentecost farm, 

 where they remained four or five years. Many of the early wool-grow- 

 ers, Mr James Clokey, James Moore, and others, started their flocks at 

 this time from the Atkinson stock. Mr. Atkinson subsequently drove 

 his flock to Stark County, Ohio, but found the flat lands of Ohio not 

 suitable for sheep, and removed thence to the vicinity of Wheeling, W. 

 Ya., taking the sheep with him. Living not far from the Steubenville 

 factory, which made a discrimination in favor of line wool, Mr. Atkin- 

 son was subsequently induced to change his flock from Spanish Merino 

 to Saxony, and found the latter more profitable. He afterwards admit- 

 ted the Spanish Merino into his flock, and in 1864 had 3 Silesian rams. 

 He bred the flock until his death, about 1868. It was then one of the 

 best flocks in that section of the country. 



One of the first to engage in the business of fine-wool growing was 

 Gen. Thomas Patterson, well known as a representative in Congress 

 from the District from 1816 to 1824. In 1813 he purchased from Mr. 

 Eapp a Merino ram for $100, and in 1815 and 1816 he bought from 

 Wells & Dickinson's flock 1 ram and 7 ewes at $100 each. From this 

 beginning many of the most successful wool-growers of the county 

 started their flocks, among whom were Samuel Patterson, Maj. Me- 

 Farland, Joseph Brownlee, Samuel Cunningham, Hugh Lee, William 

 and Samuel Cowan, and Col. James Lee. 



Other enterprising persons commenced the business of wool-growing 

 and made much improvement in their flocks, but the greatest incentive 

 to fine- woo I growing was the establishment at Steubenville, Ohio, of 

 the woolen factory of Wells & Dickinson. These gentlemen had large 

 flocks of Merino sheep, from which they sold the foundation of many 

 flocks in the western part of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and eastern 

 Ohio. Among the purchasers from Washington County were Mr. Ew- 

 ing, who bought 600 sheep at $5 each, Mr. James Strean, William 

 Brounlee, Alexander Eeed, and Joseph Clark. Mr. Strean bought 5, 

 for which he paid $500. 



The Steubenville Woolen Company was organized in 1814 and con- 

 tinued in operation for many years, commencing the manufacture of 

 fine wool in 1815 from the Merino sheep introduced into the State of 

 Ohio by Seth Adams, W.E. Dickinson, and others. Some of the super- 

 fine cloths made at this establishment were sent to Philadelphia and 

 Baltimore and sold at prices lower than imported British cloth, to which 

 it was not inferior. It was quite an ordinary circumstance for those 

 who had fine wool in Maryland and Virginia to send it across the 

 mountains to this factory, where it was manufactured into cloth and 

 returned to the owners. 



Prominent among breeders of fine-wool sheep was Jesse Edington, 

 of Hollidays Cove, W. Va. He commenced sheep breeding in 1821, 



