Cattle from Scotland, to US, through Quebec, Canada

[Jeanne K.]

Hi-

My husband's great-grandfather grew up in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  At age 20, in 1878, he was hired to bring the first herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle to America.  He sailed on the ship SS Canadian, an Allan Lines ship, with a herd of 6 cattle(one bull and 5 cows).  The ship left Glasgow on 16 Aug 1878 and arrived in Quebec on 29 Aug 1878, with a stop in Liverpool.  Does anyone know anything about the importation of livestock into the US in this time-period?  I am trying to trace James and the herd, after they arrived in Quebec.  Would they have been quarantined there?  We believe James and the herd went through the Erie Canal, through the Great Lakes and through Chicago, before arriving at the final destination, Lake Forest, Illinois.  If he and the cattle came this route, what would have been the port-of-entry into the United States from Canada?  Would the cattle again have been quarantined?  What conveyances would have been used to move the cattle from Quebec to the Erie Canal; through the Erie Canal; through the Great Lakes to Chicago?  Would the cattle have to have been changed from one conveyance to another at each of these segments of the trips?  I am going to try and find records of the herd as they were moved but I don't know where to start.  Hope you can help me understand the importation of livestock better.

Thanks-Jeanne

[KathMc]

Jeanne,

This could be a start:

http://www.aberdeen-angus.co.uk/

Here is some info on the Erie Canal:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal#The_route

My guess if they came through Quebec, they took the St. Lawrence River maybe to Montreal, and then it is about a 90 mile land ride to Lake Champlain, which is on the New York/Vermont border. At the southern end of Lake Champlain, was the Champlain Canal, that would meet up with the Erie Canal in Cohoes, New York.

And here is some info on the 1st in America. You need to scroll to the bottom:

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/angus/

I hope this helps.

Kath

[Jeanne K.]

Thanks for the suggestions. The link you provided on the breed and the Erie Canal were interesting.  I had already thought of the Aberdeen-Angus Association in the UK.  I emailed them.  They replied but weren't able to provide me with any help.   The American Aberdeen-Angus Assoication was able to provide me with some assistance, though, when I emailed them.  They sent me some pages from an old (1928) book pertaining to this herd and the men who imported them, George Findlay and James Anderson, both born in Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

[Bunty3Black]

My grgrandfather also "worked passage to Canada " by looking after cattle coming to Canada from Scotland.  The family lived in New Aberdour, but I have found links to New Deer etc in that area of Aberdeenshire. He married in Toronto in1872 so it must have been between the 1861 Census and his marriage in1872. I have been searching for some information regarding this and have been unsuccessful so far. Can anyone add anything else?

[Jeanne K.]

Hi.  I posted the original post.  I was able to find my husband's great-grandfather on a ship's passanger list using the  site TheShipsList.  It listed him as James King, cattletender.  I now know exactly when he came.  You might be able to find your immigrant ancestor using the same site.  Give it a try.