302 A HISTORY OP HEREFORD CATTLE 



"In those early days the Herefords raised the 

 fattest calves, and were earliest of maturity. Mr. 

 Aston took great pride in having the handsomest 

 and fattest steers for the Christmas show in the city 

 of Cleveland, fattening them especially for the lead- 

 ing meat dealers and getting for them the best pos- 

 sible prices. He crossed the Atlantic six times, the 

 last time in 1870, with his wife, two sons and one 

 daughter, locating again in Monmouth and later on 

 at Wyshem, Herefordshire, where he died Feb. 20, 

 1894, at the age of seventy-nine years. ' ' 



John Hmnphries was bom in Somersetshire, Eng- 

 land, Aug. 8, 1795. He was married in 1817 and was 

 the father of several children, all now dead. He 

 was always a farmer and breeder of cattle. "While 

 living in England he kept Shorthorns until he be- 

 came convinced of the superior qualities of the Here- 

 fords. Deciding at length to emigrate to America, 

 where he hoped to buy a large farm of his own, he 

 got in touch with his friend, Mr. Aston, and they 

 agreed to come out together. With characteristic 

 English appreciation of the necessity of stock-keep- 

 ing as a means of maintaining the fertility of the 

 soil, they proceeded to purchase for joint account 

 seven Herefords and fourteen Cotswold sheep. This 

 determination on their part in the face of the seri- 

 ousness of their undertaking at that date presents 

 at this distance a pleasing picture of British de- 

 termination and courage. They did not even know 

 their own ultimate destination. The New World 

 was to them virtually terra incognita. The North 

 Atlantic, to be traversed with difficulty and discom- 



