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Cattle Breeders and Breed Pioneers

J.D. McGregor of Glencarnock: The Manitoba Angus Breeder Who Became Lieutenant-Governor

Manitoba's pioneer Aberdeen Angus breeder and a national figure in western agriculture.

Who was J.D. McGregor?

James Duncan McGregor was born on 29 August 1860 in Amherstburg, Ontario, and educated in Windsor. According to the Manitoba Historical Society profile, he came to Winnipeg in 1877, then moved west to Portage la Prairie and later Brandon, the city that became the base for his cattle business.

He married Elizabeth Maud Murphy in 1882, and they had six children. He died on 15 March 1935 at his home on Yale Avenue in Winnipeg and was buried in Brandon Cemetery.

How did he build Glencarnock Stock Farms?

McGregor began in Aberdeen Angus cattle in 1890 by buying part of a Scottish importation, according to the Manitoba profile. Sources differ slightly on the year of his first herd purchase, with 1889 and 1890 both appearing in accounts of his start. The Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Foundation says he founded Glencarnock in the 1890s and imported Scottish stock several times over three decades.

The Manitoba profile calls Glencarnock probably the largest single intensive farming operation in Western Canada at the time. It also says the herd supplied foundation stock for many prairie Angus herds, which made it a seedstock source for a wide region.

What did Glencarnock win in Chicago?

Glencarnock won repeatedly there, including the grand championship. The Saddle and Sirloin source says the herd won the supreme award in 1912 and 1913, and credits Glencarnock Victor I as Grand Champion Steer at the 1913 show.

That steer was bred in Brandon and fed on Canadian grains and grasses. A Canadian-fed champion at Chicago was strong evidence for prairie beef quality.

What public roles did McGregor hold?

McGregor never actively sought public office, though offers came often. The Manitoba profile says he declined appointment as Manitoba's Minister of Agriculture in 1915. In 1917 he accepted a different job, food controller for the four western provinces during the First World War. He later served as Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba from 1929 to 1934.

He also led agricultural institutions: he was president of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair from 1908 to 1922 and of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba in 1925, and he was an early supporter of the Brandon, Saskatchewan and Hudson's Bay Railway.

His memberships included the Masons, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Manitoba Club, the Carleton Club and the Saddle and Sirloin Club of Chicago. He never held elected office, yet the roles he accepted, from wartime food control to the vice-regal post, all drew on his standing as a practical farmer and stockman in the West.

The Key to McGregor's Success

McGregor treated cattle breeding as one part of a broader mixed-farming program for the prairies. The record shows that he bought proven genetics, tested them in the show ring and passed them on to other farmers.

The Manitoba profile says he helped shift Manitoba away from mainly wheat and the West away from range cattle toward more varied agriculture.

  • He imported Scottish Aberdeen Angus stock repeatedly over about three decades.
  • He tested his herd at the Chicago International, where Glencarnock won the grand championship.
  • He sold foundation stock that seeded many prairie Angus herds.
  • He is credited with developing youth calf clubs and being the first to grow alfalfa in Canada.
  • He used fair and exhibition leadership to spread breeding and farming ideas.

Honors and legacy

His portrait hangs in the Saddle and Sirloin Club in Chicago, which the Manitoba profile calls the greatest honor American livestock men could grant. He was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1961 and the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1978.

McGregor Street in Winnipeg is named for him, and the McGregor House, known as Gwenmar, in Riverdale is linked to him. Readers can find more western ranching history in the ranching section of farm.FM and in a farm.FM story about Angus history.

Timeline

  1. 1860Born in Amherstburg, Ontario
  2. 1877Comes to Winnipeg, later moving to Portage la Prairie and Brandon
  3. 1882Marries Elizabeth Maud Murphy
  4. 1890Begins in Aberdeen Angus by buying part of a Scottish importation (sources differ on 1889 or 1890)
  5. 1913Glencarnock Victor I is Grand Champion Steer at the Chicago International
  6. 1917Appointed food controller for the four western provinces
  7. 1929Becomes Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba
  8. 1935Dies in Winnipeg

Frequently asked questions

Who was J.D. McGregor?

James Duncan McGregor (1860 to 1935) was a Manitoba Aberdeen Angus breeder who founded Glencarnock Stock Farms at Brandon, won at the Chicago International and served as Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba from 1929 to 1934.

What was Glencarnock Stock Farms?

Glencarnock was McGregor's Brandon cattle operation. Manitoba's historical society calls it probably the largest single intensive farm in Western Canada then, and its herd supplied foundation stock to many prairie Angus herds.

Which halls of fame honor J.D. McGregor?

He was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1961 and the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1978. His portrait also hangs in the Saddle and Sirloin Club in Chicago.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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