HISTORY OF HEEEFORD CATTLE 



45 



CHAPTER lY. 



Foundation Hereford Herds — Concluded 



EARLY BREEDERS IN ENGLAND. 



It is appropriate tliat a notice of tlie Jeffries 

 family should follow that of the Hewers, but 

 it is necessary to explain that before the cattle 

 bred by the Hewers had attained the great repu- 

 tation which they ultimately possessed, mem- 

 bers of the Jeffries family had taken a promi- 

 nent position as breeders of Herefords. "The 

 name of Jeffries," says Mr. Welles, "has been 

 eminent among Hereford breeders for many 

 years. Those of the latest date were Edmund 

 and Thomas Jeffries, both having been taken 

 off at premature ages and both deriving their 

 stock of cattle chiefly from those of their father 

 and uncle. 



"For many of the last years of his life Mr. 

 Thomas Jeffries had restricted himself to the 

 white-faced breed solely — those of his brother 

 Edmund having been more of the mottled 

 breed." Mr. Welles, of course, knew that a cele- 

 brated strain of cattle had been in the posses- 

 sion of the Jeffries family for a long period, 

 as he did not, as some have done, fall into the 

 mistake of imagining that their success began 

 with the victory of Cotmore (376) 150 (^f 37) 

 at the first show of the Royal Agricultural So- 

 ciety of England at Oxford in 1839. 



From the early records of the Herefordshire 

 Agricultural Society, it is found that in 1803, 

 at the October show, the second prize for a 

 three-year-old heifer was awarded to Mr. Jef- 

 fries of Lyonshall. In 1805 Mr. Jeffries' bull 

 Pembridge was the first for aged bulls, and in 

 the same year Mr. Jeffries, The Grove,- won first 

 for two-year-old heifers. At most of the suc- 

 ceeding early shows the names of Messrs. Jef- 

 fries, The Grove and The Sheriffs, are to be 

 found in the prize lists, their success, indeed, 

 being beyond comparison, the greatest of any 

 group of breeders. (]\ 37A) 



Mr. Haywood informed editors McDonald 

 and Sinclair that the Jeffries obtained their 

 first Herefords from the Haywoods of Clifton, 

 on Teme. This opinion is confirmed by the fact 



that the Jeffries originally came from that part 

 of the country. But it is not necessary to trace 

 the family history any further back than to 

 Mr. Edward Jeffries of The Sheriffs, Lyonshall, 

 who is known to have been a breeder of Here- 

 fords, and who was probably the winner of the 

 prize at Hereford in 1803. 



There were three generations of the Jeff'ries 

 family, who were famous breeders of Hereford 

 ' cattle. Mr. Edward Jeffries of The Sheriffs and 

 Mr. Thos. Jeffries of The Grove, sons of Mr. 

 Thos. Jeff'ries of The Grove (born' 1720, died 

 1807), 'were both purchasers at Mr. Galliers' sale 

 at Wigmore Grange in 1795, and there cannot 

 be the slightest doubt that their herds were at 

 that time, and for many years subsequently, 

 among the finest in the country. These were 

 the days prior to the Herd Book, and no record 

 other than the prize lists exists as to the breed- 

 ing or doings of their herds. 



The three brothers, Edward. Thomas, and 

 Edmund Cheese, sons of Mr. Thomas Jeffries 

 (U 37b) of The Grove (bom 1759, died 1840), 

 still further advanced the good work accom- 

 plished by their father and uncle, continuing 

 to breed from the old strains at The Grove, 

 and The Sheriffs. Mr. Edward Jeff'ries occu- 

 pied The Sheriffs where he died prior to 1841. 

 Mr. Edmund Cheese Jeffries was at The Grove 

 and died in 1836. Mr. Thos. Jeffries was first at 

 The Church House, Lyonshall, then succeeded 

 his two brothers at The Grove and The Sheriffs. 

 The Jeffries herds were brought to their highest 

 point of perfection under the direction of the 

 younger Mr. Thos. Jeffries. 



His two brothers, although Mr. E. C. Jef- 

 fries used Hewer bulls, among them being the 

 famous Sovereign, were not so decided in their 

 operations as regards the promotion of uniform- 

 ity of color. Among the other bulls used by 

 Mr. E. C. Jeffries were JFitzfavorite (441) 366, 

 and Noble (543J lir4, both from Mr. Hewer's 

 herd; while of the more celebrated animals he 



