OF THE SADDLE AND SIRLOIN CLUB 167 
THE FOUNDER OF THE YARDS 
66. The real originator of the Union Stock Yards as far as 
practical achievement is concerned was JouN SHERMAN. From 
its inception he was identified with this industry and was elected 
its president in 1866, a position he occupied until succeeded 
by Mr. Joun A. Spoor in 1897. During these years the vast 
interests of the Union Stock Yard & Transit Co. were almost 
entirely in his hands, and so competent were his efforts and so 
popular his personality, that on his retirement a bust (142) 
was presented the Club by the commission men and others more 
or less intimately associated with him during his tenure of office. 
He was born on a farm near Beeckman, Dutchess Co., New 
York, in January, 1835. His early education was almost 
meagre, as he alternated his hours in public school with a posi- 
tion as clerk in a country store. When the California gold rush 
of 1849 occurred, he joined one of the New York parties and 
was among the fortunate ones to fill his pockets with gold. As 
he had married previous to going west, his stay there was not 
long, and he returned at the earliest opportunity to New York. 
His trip across the country had convinced him of the great agri- 
cultural opportunities of the middle west, and shortly after his 
return he removed with his family to Illinois. He bought a 
farm a short distance out of Chicago, growing corn and feeding 
livestock for several years. About 1856 he came to Chicago, 
and was appointed to the management of the stockyard operated 
by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and also the 
Merrick Yards on Michigan Avenue. At this time each railroad 
maintained its own market and the advantages of a centralized 
institution had not yet been realized. 
In the early 60’s Mr. S. W. ALLERTON (67) and other Chicago 
financiers had pointed out the necessity for a constant Chicago 
market, and Mr. SHERMAN in company with Mr. Lepyarp, then 
president of the Michigan Central Railroad at Detroit, pur- 
