278 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



Oxfordshire, who had originally come to the States 

 in 1832, serving for two years following that date 

 as manager of a farm in Medina Co., O., owned by 

 Mr. Henry Coit of Cleveland. In his capacity as a 

 buyer for Mr. Wilson, Sotham gained a close knowl- 

 edge of the cattle stocks of that day in New York, 

 Pennsylvania and Ohio, and as there was a dearth 

 of good bullocks available his mind naturally re- 

 verted to the various English types with which he 

 had personal familiarity. 



The Shorthorn blood had been already introduced 

 throughout those states by the descendants of vari- 

 ous importations. Mr. Cox, an Englishman, had 

 brought the blood into Bensselaer Co., N. Y., 

 near Albany, shortly after the close of the War of 

 1812. Two bulls are said to have been imported 

 into the Genesee Valley in 1817. Around 1820 seve- 

 ral importations were made into Massachusetts. In 

 1823 Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany, 

 brought out valuable specimens. Numerous other 

 lots of Shorthorns came out between 1820 and 1830, 

 including the famous importation of Col. John Hare 

 Powel, of Philadelphia. In the '30 's, Walter Dun, 

 of Kentucky, and the Ohio Importing Co., landed 

 vaitiable shipments. In those days, however, the 

 milking trait was held in high esteem by breeders 

 and importers of Shorthorns, and for some time 

 prior to the beginning of Mr. Sotham 's activities 

 the famous herd of Thos. Bates, of Kirklevington, 

 Yorkshire, England, had become the dominant in- 

 fluence in Shorthorn breeding, an influence that did 



