Dainty
The Dainty tribe comes from the breeding of John Hewer, who worked with and inherited from his father William, cattle that would for ever stamp the pre-potent white face and red markings of the Hereford breed. The Hewers were a family that achieved great highs and lows in their lives. William started farming in the latter part of the eighteenth century moving from Northleach in Gloucestershire to the Great Hardwick farm Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire, modern day Gwent. Here over the next twenty years or so he developed the white faced line of cattle his son John took over. William's demise was one of tragedy. He had made himself money over the years which he had invested into a local bank, which collapsed, leaving the successful farmer with little choice but to move on. He did so by emigrating to America, where he died just a few months later. John in the meantime set about building a life for himself. His major assets were his cattle. Considered by many to be the best around, he had little trouble in hiring many of his male offspring out, only selling them out in old age, or if the sum received matched his asking price. Times were extremely hard and he moved many times in his early career. His one constant was his livestock. He was fortunate to start with quality, but his own abilities improved and refined his stock into some of the most sought after lines in the history of the Hereford. After the inaugural Royal Show in 1839, which was won by T Jefferies's Cotmore; (Cotmore was a son of Sovereign 404, out of a cow by Lottery 410, a son of Sovereign 404); John Hewer held his first sale. He was extremely successful, with some outstanding prices paid for some of his females. His occasional sale of females and his hiring of bulls throughout a season made John Hewer one of the most influential breeders of all time. His patience and hard work finally allowed him to by a farm in north Herefordshire. Situated on the banks of the river Arrow, John purchase a property called the Vern, to become famous in the twentieth century under the occupation of one Richard S de Q Quincey. Dainty's line goes back to one of John Hewer's most well-known cows Old Rosabelle by Pope 527. Much of this early breeding was done by or in conjunction with John's father William. This line started with one of his father's first cows, Old Gentle by Chance 355. It progress to Beauty by Sovereign 404, to Old Silver by Old Wellington 507. Old Silver produced Silver by Lottery 410 to Old Rosabelle. On the dispersal of the Hewer herd R L Burton purchased the cow Delight 2nd (9/275), who bred a cow, Delight 6th (13/313), Mr Burton sold to Mr Lutley, who sold the offspring Delight 22nd (18/231) to W Barnaby. W T Barnaby of Saltemarsh Castle, inherited Daylight 3rd (23/188) from W Barnaby, and the line stayed at Saltmarsh Castle for over ten years. It then passed into the hands of W Whiteman, before being bought by M T Jones of Sugwas. At Sugwas it started the Beauty family, the Daylight family and the Dainty family, all names used for the line previously. Sugwas Dainty (73/310) was sold to Treworgan to start the Dainty family there. It is from this line that the present Daintys come from. R Wylie of Elford in Staffordshire bought Treworgan Dainty 15th (85/382), which produce Dainty of Elford 2nd (93/1089). This cow was purchased by Eric Downton, Springhill herd, from whom the modern line is traced.
Countess
The Countess tribe is probably one of the most important tribes within the breed in general, and the Original Population section particularly. Today the tribe is endangered. It is small and not widespread. It was concentrated in the Llandinabo herd, where the progeny proved to be of exceptional quality. Started in the herd of T Rogers, the Countess family did not really take centre stage until it passed into the hands of the Tanner family. Initially purchase by Alfred Tanner and his uncle Mr Crane, a branch move wholly into the hands firstly of Alfred Tanner and subsequently into his more famous son E Craig Tanner, whose Eyton herd made fame in the early part of the twentieth century. Craig Tanner's herd proved to be quite remarkable during the period 1915 to 1935. His influence in the show ring and in the production of fashionable bulls was marked. It was from the cow Eyton Countess 5th (55/596) that the line becomes of international significance. Born in 1921 by Prince Charming 29982 the progeny of this cow dominate the breeding of two of the most famous herd of the 1930's and 40's; Quisne and Vern. G P Pollitt of the Quisne herd purchased the herd of Craig Tanner on his untimely death in 1936. R S de Q Quincey purchased several animals from Craig Tanner during the late 1920's and early 1930's. Eyton Countess 5th (55/596) produced four daughters, Eyton Countess 14th, Eyton Countess 16th, Eyton Countess 39th, and Eyton Countess 57th. Eyton Countess 14th and Eyton Countess 16th were by Lion 32709. Eyton Countess 39th was by Free Town Director 49237, and Eyton Countess 57th was by Eyton Chief 55889. Eyton Countess 16th and her daughter Eyton Countess 38th by Free Town Director 49237 were purchased along with Eyton Countess 39th by R S de Q Quincey. He also purchased Eyton Countess 16th son Eyton Baron 54500. The present line comes from Eyton Countess 16th, whose first calf at the Vern was the daughter Vern Countess (66533) by Pertonlute 50945, the Eyton stock bull at the time, and full sister to Eyton Baron 54500. Eyton Countess 39th was mated to Eyton Baron 54500 by R S de Q Quincy to produce Vern Countess 4th, dam of bull Vern Robert (67228), de Quincey's major stock bull of the 1940's. Eyton Countess 14th produced a daughter Eyton Countess 59th, who was mated at Quisne to Tarrington Opimist 49837 to produce Quisne Factor 68471, a bull used at the Vern. Eyton Countess 57th also moved to Quisne, and was mated with Tarrington Optimist 49837 to produce Quisne Darky. Today's line descends from Vern Countess 66533.
Wintercott Tribes
Thomas Edwards started keeping Herefords before the emergence of the Herd Book of 1845. Many of his tribes do go back to his early farming days, the two of significance being the Maria and Plum tribes. He had a third of interest today, his Pretty Maid tribe, the dam line that produced Tarrington Broadside, one of the most important bulls produced at Tarrington after Tarrington Optimist. Thomas Edwards came to prominence when his bull Leominster 1654 won at the Royal Show of 1860. This success had come through careful breeding, he went on to use Adforton, a bull bred by W Tudge, and Tomboy a son of Sir Thomas bred by John Monkhouse of the Stow. After the death of Thomas Edwards, the cattle were inherited by his widow, who formed a partnership with their nephew Allen Edwards Hughes. It was this partnership which bred Anxiety 4th, whose influence the United States of America is incalculable. The partnership was dissolved in 1881 and Mr Hughes continued to breed Hereford in his own right for a further 37 years. The Maria tribe started with a cow called Lovely by Conningsby 2nd, and this family stayed as an 'L' family until Lilian (38/532), after which time A E Hughes changed the nominated letter to 'M' and the Maria family was underway. At A E Hughes dispersal R T Hinkes of Mansel purchased the cow Maria (50/1018), and she started the Mansel Maria family. The line at Mansel was maintained for several generations before a member was sold to the Trewarren herd of D C Llewellin. Mrs R S de Q Quincey then purchased Trewarren Maria L13 for her Blackaldern herd. Llandinabo Farms then purchased Blackaldern Magaret (QDC/F3/120) and the Maria family at Llandinabo was the modern-day base for this family. The Plum tribe was the outstanding tribe at Wintercott, and one of the best tribes at the Wickton herd of F J Newman. The Plum tribe at Wickton had three families, Plum, Potency and Patch. However, just to confuse matters slightly the present day Plum and Potency families come entirely from the Potency line at Wickton. The other families are in the AI bulls section, where lines from both of the other two families are present. Females from the three families were purchased by many of the best herds in the breed at the Wickton dispersal in 1942. The Plum tribe at Wintercott were extremely successful not just in the show ring but also on the farm. In their time at Wintercott this tribe produced nineteen class winners at Royal Shows, both male and female. Two Royal Show Champions are included in those nineteen, Protector and Britisher. Plum 3rd (11/152) produced two young bull class winners in President 1880, and Washington, 1884. She was also the mother of Iroquois, by Lord Wilton, a bull used extensively at Hampton Court (J H Arkwright). One of Plum 3rd (11/152) female offspring was Newton Plum (18/433) dam of Protector. The present day line of the Plum tribe ascends from Newton Plum through several generations to the dispersal of A E Hughes's herd where the Newman Bros purchased Patch 2nd (50/627) and her heifer calf Potency (52/508). It was from Patch 2nd that the Patch line at Wickton is descended, while Potency produced the Potency and then the Plum lines. Potency 7th (67/505) was sold by F J Newman to G P Pollitt of the Quisne herd. At the Quisne dispersal Potency 7th (67/505) was then sold to Captain de Q Quincey. The cow Quisne Plum 3rd (71/564) was sold to the Warwick herd of G Lewis. He sold the offspring of this cow Warwick Plum (77/472) to the Claverdon herd of I A R Stedeford, who sold her offspring Claverdon Peach (84/594) to C H Morris from the Weston herd at Pembridge. At the Weston herd dispersal in 1960 Weston Peach Jelly (93/1089) was sold to R Wylie and his Elford herd, from where Potency 2nd (94/1149) was purchased by E A Downton of Springhill. The Potency family today come from this source. The Plum family in today's Club herd comes from Potency 7th (67/505)'s purchase by Captain de Q Quincey at the Quisne dispersal. The Plum family at the Vern produced several famous members, including Dragee Plum Vern 12th (87/681), Vern Drummer 87668, and Vern Logic 120400 who was used extensively at the Vern before being sold for £20,000 to Sir Ellerton Becker of the Aldersend herd of the 1960's; and Vern Blum 83806 whose dam was Plum Vern 2nd (77/606), mother of Dragee Plum Vern 12th (87/681). A great granddaughter of Dragee Plum Vern 12th (87/681) was purchased by F Klein for his Kleine Herd, from where F M Symonds purchased the cow Kleine Plum 5th (FAK/J2/105), to form the base of today's Plum family. There are several bulls in the AI section from different lines of this tribe, but all come from the purchase of Patch 2nd (50/627) by Newman Bros from A E Hughes. The fact that this tribe survived at all is remarkable, the fact that it is such an important and as widespread as it is, is a reflection of the quality and pre-potency of this line. The Pretty Maid tribe although no longer a living tribe today, has contributed to the breed in general in that it is the tribe that produced the bull Tarrington Broadside 65538, considered by H R Griffiths and many others to be the best bull he ever bred. He was out of Pershore Boundless (58/499), by Tarrington Do-A-Lot 62328. His sire was by Tarrington Idol 59379 a great grandson of Tarrington Optimist 49837, while his mother was a cow purchased by H R Griffiths at the Pershore sale of E Stevens in 1931. Pershore Boundless (58/499) produced eleven calves, one heifer and ten bull calves the last of which was Broadside. Broadside was used extensively in the Tarrington herd and his significance today is in his grandsons, Temple Setrite 71670 and Shucknall Favourite 80886. Temple Setrite 71670 was bred and used extensively by H R Griffiths son G Griffiths at the Temple and by H R Griffiths at Tarrington. He produced the bull Tarrington March On, who produced Tarrington Move On, Tear On and Venture On, the last of the Tarrington bulls purchased by R S de Q Quincey, and the sire of Eaton Eastern Venture. All of these bulls appear in one or more pedigrees of the bulls that are in the AI bull list. Shucknall Favourite 80886 was purchased by E L Lewis for his Haven herd, and the result was one of the most pre-potent sires in the history of the mid twentieth century. Shucknall Favourite 80886 produced many outstanding females at the Haven as well as some of the Haven's more widely used bulls in the 1950's and 1960's. Many of Shucknall Favourite 80886's daughters were bred to Vron Gaffer, a bull by Vern Drummer 87668, to produce some of the late 1960's and 1970's more widely known bulls, some of whom are in the AI list and some of whose sons are in the AI list.
Belladonna Tribe
The Belladonna Tribe recorded origin started at the herd of William Tudge some time in the middle of the nineteenth century. William was farming at the time not very far away from James Rea of Monaughty, at Llangunlo, Radnorshire. Today this tribe is divided into five living families, and several extinct families that some of the AI bulls are derived from. The five living families are Gloaming, Laura, Model, Spotlight and Venus. The further two families that semen exists from are the Souvenir and Tamarind families. The five can be further sub divided into four and one. The four are all descended from Belladonna's daughter Bracelet (20/643), while the Venus family is descended from another daughter of Belladonna (9/228), Bonnie Lassie (18/684). Bracelet (20/643) had three daughters, Britainnia (28/701), Bo-Peep (38/536) both bred by William Tudge, and Necklace (37/219) bred by R Bach. Britannia (28/701) is the line that bred the Laura family at Westwood and Street, while Necklace (37/219) is the start of the Spotlight line at Llandinabo, via Wetmore and Summerhill. Model and Gloaming follow the same path to the herd of W H Jones. Here the cow Blushing Beauty (53/423) starts two lines one via Beautiful (56/380) to Summerhill and Sherlowe to the Model family, which in passing splits again at Summerhill Dimple (69/678) to form the Souvenir family. The Gloaming family starts in the herd of J H Edwards with the cow Blushing Bride (58/327), to the present day herd of D V Ricketts via R Snell's herd Firlands. Tamarind comes from the same line as Venus. The Regina Tribe started with the cow Lady (3/177) by Orleton 901, in the herd of William Tudge senior. It stayed in the hands of the Tudge family when they moved to Adforton in South Shropshire. The tribe continued in the ownership of the Tudge family until the early part of the twentieth century until Regina 2nd (32/165) was sold to the Robinson's Lynhales herd. Here the tribe became one of the more well-known tribes of the breed, and on the dispersal of Lynhales in 1924 Regina 13th (54/546) and Regina 15th (60/519) were purchased by R S de Q Quincey of the Vern. Here the Regina tribe produced many outstanding females and two outstanding bulls, Vern Diamond and Vern Leopold. The tribe then went to Crownhead and then to Llandinabo, where the modern foundation for the tribe has its base. The Reginas are now widespread within the national herd. The Prettymaid tribe is another of William Tudge's original tribes. This tribe stayed within the Tudge family for almost one hundred years. In the mid twentieth century a member of the tribe was purchased from H N Moore by G P Pollitt, who at the time had Tarrington Optimist as his stock bull. Quisne Empress was the result. This line of this tribe went on the Lower Hill where E J Williams bred the AI bull Lower Hill Winney.
Carwardine Tribes
Thomas Carwardine was a farmer and showman from the north east of Herefordshire, close to the Worcestershire border. Stocktonbury, the name of the village where he was based and that of his herd, became, in a very short period, synonymous with what was the best in the Hereford world. Thomas Carwardine started keeping Herefords in the early 1860's with purchases from Mr Monkhouse of the Stow, and Mr Ashwood of the Brakes, Lentwardine. He also purchased females from Mr Middleton of Easthampton and Mr Rawlings of Stoke, near Tenbury, Worcestershire. Thomas then used bulls from the leading herds of the day, Counsellor 1939, from Philip Turner; Heart of Oak 2035 from J Rae; De Cote 3060 from Thomas Edwards; and Longhorns 4711 from Henry Taylor. This breeding line would have been of top quality without the addition of one of the most outstanding bull of all time, W Tudge's Lord Wilton 4740. Out of Lady Claire by Sir Roger 4133, he changed hand three times in his life. Firstly he was purchased by Lewis Lloyd of Monk's Orchard, Surrey. Here he became famous for the production of steers of the highest quality when shown at Smithfield. Lord Wilton 4740 was exhibited at the 1879 Kilburn International Show. It was here that Thomas Carwardine made the speculative move to secure the purchase of Lord Wilton 4740. Having achieved his aim Thomas now moved his cattle forward into the realms of immortality. He used Lord Wilton 4740, over the next five years with considerable success. It was at the Stocktonbury dispersal that Lord Wilton 4740 really made a name for himself. On the first day of the sale he was purchased by an American, named Vaughan, for the princely sum of £3990. Unfortunately for the family, Vaughan could not honour his purchases, and all were resold on day two of the auction, only Lord Wilton did not match the figure paid for his purchase, which was settled at £1000, still a considerable sum. Thomas Carwardine has two tribes still left in the national herd, two others in the AI list and a fifth that has recently died out. The first of these is the Julia tribe. There are three families within the tribe, all coming from the cow Julia Vern 15th (69/600). The first line comes from the cow Julia Vern 27th (80/820). This cow was purchased by the Jones's of Penatok, where she produced the cow Penatok Julia 7th who was purchased by E A Downton for his Springhill herd. Today this line is at Lower Eaton. Another of Julia Vern 15th (69/600) daughters was Julia Vern 20th (73/236), she is the dam of Juliet (73/236) bred by Evans and Rogers, and bought back in by the Vern. In turn Juliet (73/236) produced Julia Vern 28th (81/642). This cow is the base of the other two lines of the Julia tribe, plus a third line at Llandinabo that bred out some time ago. The first of her daughters to start a family still here today was Julia Vern 34th (UP/G28/82), who produced a son Penatok Crusader (PA/K1/85), Royal Show Champion 1955, and also the male part of the winning Burke Trophy team of that year. She also produced a female line at Penatok, starting with Penatok Julia which went on to produce a line that was purchase by E A Downton for his Springhill herd to compliment his other line of Julias. Llandinabo purchased, from the Vern, Julia Vern 49th which unfortunately did not breed a continuous line and the Julias were re-introduced to Llandinabo via the Crownhead herd. Crownhead Julia 12th was purchased being from the line Crownhead started with their purchase of Julia Vern 40th for the record price of 6,400 gns at the 1961 Vern Reduction Sale. The Julia tribe started at Carwardine with the cow Cinderella by Counsellor. It then follows the classical breeding of Thomas Carwardine, with the next generation by Heart of Oak, then the next by De Cote. It was Verbena by De Cote that brought this tribe to prominence, finishing with Godietia (15/104) by Lord Wilton at the death of Thomas Carwardine. Richard S de Q Quincey inherited this family when he purchased the Vern in the early twenties from the Medilcott family. The second tribe still going today is called the Susannah tribe. This comes from a cow called Lily, however, it is named after an exceptional cow called Susannah (41/780). This cow won the Royal Show Female Championship in 1909 and then went on to breed one of the most influential bulls of the early twentieth century, Sir Sam 33131. Sir Sam 33131, bred by Lord Rhondda and used by him very successfully, was purchased by G H Drummond for his Pitsford Hall herd, which at the time of its dispersal in 1924 had many of the better breeding lines of the country in it. Of the homebred females sold many were by Sir Sam 33131, and one, lot 80, True Blue of Pitsford (DJ/D23/54-p269) was purchased by H R Griffiths of Tarrington and went on to breed Bluebell (60/310), who in turn bred Britannia (65/300) Royal Show Female Champion in 1933, 1934 and 1935: another purchase H R Griffiths made at sale was Oakleaf 5th (50/481), bred by H Moore, by Prince Charming, a bull made famous at the Eyton herd of Craig Tanner, who went on to produce the bull Tarrington Optimist 49937, the sire of Britannia (65/300). The line was continued through Sir Sam 33131 half-sister Sally (48/974), by Candidate 24465, over several generations to its present day home at Albany. This line is one of our rarer tribes with only a few females living. The Juaneta tribe was with us until quite recently. As a tribe it was renowned at Stocktonbury, but became a household name in the very capable hands of the Robinson family at Lynhales. Here it was called the called the Countess family, not to be confused with the other Countess family at Eyton and the Vern. This family was purchased by the Jones's of Atok in the early 1930's and then to Penatok at the split of the Atok. From here it went to Springhill where it died out in 2002.
Arkwright Tribes
John Arkwright, father of John Hungerford Arkwright, and son of Sir Richard Arkwright, the creator of the modern spinning industry, had the estate of Hampton Court, Leominster purchase by his father given to him some time after his twentieth birthday. He started managing his estate in about 1819, but did not have any real control until after the death of his father, when his debts were paid off and he also inherited about a quarter of a million pound sterling in cash. He is believed to have started breeding Herefords seriously from the time of his marriage to Sarah Hoskins, daughter of Sir Hungerford Hoskins, a well-known Hereford breeder of the pre Herd Book days. John Arkwright died in 1858 and the estate and the Hereford herd was inherited by his son John Hungerford Arkwright. It is in the hands of J H Arkwright that the herd achieves unparalleled status. Until his death in 1904 J H Arkwright bred some of the best cattle in the Herd Book. Not only did he maintain a large herd he also maintained quite a high percentage of diversity within the herd. This is reflected in the fact that of the eighty original tribes in the Hereford Herd Book thirteen were developed at Hampton Court. Today there are six female tribes from Hampton Court: Lively, Silk, Gaymaid, Oyster Girl, the favourite of the Arkwrights, Pearl, and the most successful of all the Arkwright tribes, the Curlys. Strictly speaking J H Arkwright did not start the Curly family, that honour goes to a Mr Hickman, who sold a cow with no name to J Arkwright, who produced a daughter Hickman's Pleasant, by Reliance. Four of the cows were from unknown cows, served by, and produced a heifer by, Reliance 278. The Livelys are more difficult to trace than many. According to H C Dent they may have been descended from a cow purchased from the Newton herd of D Williams. The Curly Tribe, started at Hampton Court with the purchase of an unknown cow, possibly owned by a Mr Hickman. This unknown cow produced Hickmans Pleasant by Reliance 278. Many good cattle were produced from this tribe at Hampton Court, but is more famous for the part of this tribe that ended up at the Vern, where it produced a considerable number of high quality animals, sold within and exported from Britain. These included such cows as Curly 13th (74/427), mother of Vern Boxer, grandmother of Eaton Eastern Venture, and great great grandmother of Curly Vern 114th the start of one of the two Curly families at Llandinabo, and the present derivative of the Curlys today. A second example is Curly 7th (70/590), mother of Vern Quoit and Vern Curly, grandmother of Vern Zeus, and Vern Eros. Then there was Curly Vern 79th, mother of Vern Quist, Vern Tuesday and Llandinabo Vintage, as well as Llandinabo Curly, and the second Curly family at Llandinabo. These three examples also have a unique correlation, they may be from the same tribe, but their breeding is over twenty years apart, quite an achievement for the Captain. The Curlys however, did go to other herds, and one family at Free Town produced the bull Freetown Contrite, a show winner in the late 1940's. The Gaymaid tribe started with a cow by Reliance 278 at Hampton Court. However, just to complicate matters her name was Old Curly. Old Curly became Curly, Gaily and finally Gaylass (7/231) in 1858, the year J H Arkwright took over the running of the herd from his father J Arkwright. Gaylass 31st (40/814), born in 1902 was sold at the dispersal sale of Hampton Court on the death of J H Arkwright in 1904. She was purchase by the Newman Brothers of Lower Wickton, and produce Gaylass 2nd (54/464), which was bought by W A Newman of Tillington, brother of F J Newman of Lower Wickton, at the Newman Brothers dispersal. W A Newman bred this line on under the prefix Tillington until the middle of the last century, when the family moved first to Tyrells and then to Llandinabo. Today the Gaymaid family are reasonably widespread. The Lively tribe is believed to have started in the herd of David Williams of Newton, Brecon. The original cow Newton by Chance 348, is the same sire as Sir David, David Williams's most influential bull. This family passed into the possession of J Arkwright and then his son J H Arkwright. Under the management of the Arkwrights the Lively family were extensive and successful. At the dispersal of the Hampton Court herd Lively 42nd (38/664) was sold. From this cow a line was established that served the Dent family well. A member of this family was Reserve Female Champion in 1929, and exported to Australia. The family over here was sold to D A Prosser. Who then sold a member of the family to the new Weston herd of G J Thomas. From Weston Lively 6th was purchased by Llandinabo, where the family is today. The Livelys did produce one outstanding bull at Hampton Court, Spring Jack. He can be seen in an early photograph, by W H Bustin, along with two other bulls Rose Cross 2nd, and Red Cross. Spring Jack is the bull in the middle of the three bulls. The Oyster Girl tribe is a most fascinating read. At Hampton Court this family, one of thirteen, was not really one of the favoured. Yet after the dispersal of the Hampton Court herd the descendents of this tribe become unrivalled in their prominence. Three of the all-time great bulls in the breed come from cows in this tribe. Lancer of Pitsford, Astwood Convoyer (Junior Champion 1934 and Grand Champion 1935), and perhaps the greatest of them all, Tarrington Optimist. The Haven had an outstanding Oyster Girl family from the early forties through to today, and several successful bulls were bred by E L Lewis and Son. No less than twelve females from this family have been award class winner at the Royal Show between 1939 and 1970. Six of these class winners went on to win the Female Championship. The key one as far as the modern day family is concerned is Oyster Girl 100th, bred by F J Newman of Lower Wickton. The Oyster Girls at the Wickton were quite outstanding, forming about a quarter of the cows sold at the Wickton dispersal in 1942. F J Newman won the Female Championship in 1939 with Oyster Girl 82nd (71/491). She was sold at the dispersal of the Wickton herd in 1942 to Lord Brocket as well as Oyster Girl 81st (71/491). Some of the dam lines and the sire dam lines in the AI bull pedigrees come from this latter cow. At the Wickton dispersal A E Everall purchased Oyster Girl 100th (75/261) He bred this line successfully and parted with the cow Sherlowe Oyster Girl 13th (93/454) to E L Lewis and Son, who started their Oyster Girl family. A member of the Haven family returned to Sherlowe, where a descendent was purchased by F W Cook and Son, for their Albany Herd. The Oyster Girls can be found there today. The Oyster Girl tribe is one of the most successful tribes in the Breed, and its achievements are only surpassed by the Curly tribe. The Pearl tribe was considered with very high regard at Hampton Court, and produced several famous breeding bulls for J H Arkwright, including Red Cross, Good Cross, Praire Star and Pearl Cross. All of these bulls can be seen in the pedigrees of animal still in the Club herd today. The line moved to Lynhales after the Hampton Court dispersal. At the dispersal of the Lynhales herd a member of this line, Pearly 2nd (54/546), was sold to H J Dent. He sold a further member to F J Newman of the Wickton. Mr Newman sold "The Captain", Pearl 27th (66/504) to add to his Vern herd. Major Symonds purchase Pearl Vern 9th (79/695) and it proved to be a very good investment. The Pearl line at Llandinabo is today's reservoir of the Pearl family. The Silk tribe was started out of an unknown cow by Reliance 278. The first named cow was called Silk, and the tribe continued to be called Silk until the late 1890's when a branch was sold to S Robinson, a relative of J H Arkwright by marriage. Stephen Robinson, and his son Stewart bred this line successfully till the Lynhales dispersal in 1924. Here, Captain R S de Q Quincey purchased the heifer Silk 6th (54/546) for his herd at the Vern. O S Hellyer purchased Silk 24th (77/383) from the Vern, starting a line at Eaton, a member of which branch was purchased by F M Symonds. Always quite a small tribe, it however, has produced some outstanding males and female, particularly at the Vern. Vern Dick 89659 was the most noted of sires generated by this tribe, out of Silk 25th (80/822) by Vern Robert 67228.
S Griffiths' Tribes
The Amorous tribe descends from one of the three famous tribes of Samuel Griffiths and his nephew William Griffiths. Started with a cow by Wellington 1113, this family progressed with Samuel as the Prettymaids, and with William, to become the "T" line, one of several lines descended from the Prettymaids. This line has in it the cow True Love (35/382) which was the dam of Frome Ringer 1st at H&W A S, and 2nd RASE 1910. The cow Trusty (50/557), was sold to Mr P E Bradstock at the Aldersend sale of 1920 for the sum of 400 guineas. This purchase gives rise to the famous Free Town "T" line, which has produced some outstanding cattle for the Free Town herd, including such bull as Free Town Monarch (104698), the cows Free Town Tip-Top (85/138), and Free Town Treacle (77/253). It was from the latter cow that the Llandinabo Amorous tribe is descended. All the present Amorouses are descended from Llandinabo Amorous 3rd (89/881), out of Llandinabo Amorous 2nd (86/649), out of Llandinabo Amorous (84/753). Another branch of this tribe produced the cow Britannia (65/300), three times Royal Show champion, 1933, 34, 35, for William Griffiths' son Harry R Griffiths. H R Griffiths is extremely important to the Hereford breed. The Tarrington herd was probably one of the most important herds of the twentieth century and the influence of both male and female animals on the overall herd is enormous. The bull Tarrington Optimist is the bull that heads the bull tail of all Hereford bull lines today. A second Prettymaid family at Tarrington was the "P" line which produced bulls such as Tarrington Punch 62336, sire of Vern Robert 67228, and besides the "P" family at Tarrington the Phyllida family at the Vern.
Today there have been about one hundred and fifty cows bred at Llandinabo, in this line. Over the years they have also been distributed reasonably widely within the club herd. There are several AI bulls bred from this tribe. These include the Llandinabo Pop, directly from this line. Little Tarrington Bonanza, from the Britannia (65/300) line, Free Town Vindicator and Dunure Tarzan from the Free Town Traviata line, and Free Town Voyager from the Twilight line. The Dowky Tribe again starts with a cow by Wellington 1113. Dowky is the first named cow in the tribe, and the name stays Dowky until Dowky 4th (13/251) and is one of the first cows bred by W Griffiths. William Griffiths at this stage starts to name the cows by letter, and the "D" family is born. There are several lines William Griffiths develops, the more famous of which is that that descends from Duchess (32/399). The other line through Downy (37/492) left us the Haven Sheila family. The Sheila line started from the Aldersend sale of W Griffiths with the cow Dainty (52/300), sold to Mr Bindley at Pamington, who sold the offspring to Mr A Cotton, who produced Munsley Sally (67/236), which was purchased by Mr G Griffiths, grandson of William Griffiths, to start the 'S' family at the Temple Herd. E L Lewis & Son purchased Sheila (85/425), to start the Haven Sheila line from which the bull Haven Jurist is bred. Haven Partner in the AI list is also from this family. Duchess (32/399) bred several lines, one of which Day Dawn (48/816) was bought by F J Newman of Lower Wickton. The family then went to Marlow and then to the Haven of E L Lewis & Son. Marlow Glamour is the bull in the AI list that comes from this line. This family also produced the famous bulls Aldersend Wilton and Quisne Chalk. The Longhorn tribe is perhaps the most famous of all of the Griffiths tribes. It once again started with a cow by Wellington 1113, and then to another unnamed cow by Rambler 1046. The first named cow Jack by Oliver Cromwell 2658 came next, and the first cow called Longhorns (14/379) bred by S Griffiths is a granddaughter of Jack by Oliver Cromwell 2658. W Griffiths breeds this family to Longhorns 8th (26/372), at which point there are two lines within the herd. Here W Griffiths changes his naming style and produces two families, the "C" family starting with Corona (24/351) and the "L" family starting with Laughter (30/323). The "C" family was further sub divided and the "C" family was added to by the "G" line. This line was very successful both in the show ring and on the farm. It produced the bull Goodenough, Supreme Champion RASE 1919, and sold to P E Bradstock, Free Town, who subsequently sold him to South America for £7000. Others that became recognised including Ringlet, Aldersend Conquorer, Aldersend Mayking, and Tarrrington Mozart. The females became quite widespread including branches in the Free Town Herd (Free Town "G"), the Rowington Herd (Lady Lynda), the Vern (Lynda) and the Wenlock herd, as well as at Tarrington. Free Town Vanguard is the bull in the AI list from this tribe.