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Cattle Breeders and Breed Pioneers

Sir George Macpherson-Grant: The Baronet Who Built the Ballindalloch Angus Herd

A young baronet turned an old polled herd at Ballindalloch into one of the breed's great show herds.

Who Was Sir George Macpherson-Grant?

Sir George Macpherson-Grant, 3rd Baronet, was born on 12 August 1839 and succeeded to the baronetcy at age eleven, when his father died in December 1850. He was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford, married Frances Pocklington in 1861, and lived at Ballindalloch Castle in Banffshire. His Wikipedia biography lists his death as 5 December 1907, aged 68.

Among cattlemen he is remembered, as the Press and Journal profile also notes, as one of the three key figures, with Hugh Watson and William McCombie, in creating the breed that came to be known as Aberdeen-Angus. The Press and Journal calls him a leading Aberdeen-Angus breeder.

Erica and the Ballindalloch Herd

When Macpherson-Grant began improving cattle, he already owned the oldest herd of polled Aberdeen-Angus cattle in Scotland. In 1860 he bought the cow Erica, which started a famous Ballindalloch bloodline.

Sources differ on the details. Wikipedia says Erica came from the Earl of Southesk's Kinnaird herd, while the Press and Journal feature says she was probably bred from Beauty of Kaylor and bought at a sale in Angus. Both agree that she was the foundation of the Ballindalloch line, and the paper dates his move to Ballindalloch to 1861.

Buying from McCombie and Showing Cattle

Macpherson-Grant also bought stock from William McCombie of Tillyfour, who is seen as the breed's builder. McCombie had himself bought from Hugh Watson of Keillor, the acknowledged founder, so Ballindalloch's cattle linked back to the earliest improvers.

He was considered one of the great exhibitors of the breed and won prizes at all the major shows. He and McCombie took show-ring honors in Paris in 1878, and Macpherson-Grant won first prize at the Paris Exhibition that year.

Proposing the Polled Cattle Society in 1879

In 1879 he proposed forming the Society of Polled Cattle at a meeting in Perth. A breed society gave the black polled cattle a common register, a common standard and a united voice, much as the Dishley Society had tried to do for Bakewell's stock a century earlier.

The baronet's biography adds that, that same year, he became Member of Parliament for Elginshire and Nairn, a seat he held until 1886, when he lost it as a Unionist to a Gladstonian Liberal.

The Key to Macpherson-Grant's Success

His record shows how an inherited estate, good purchases and organization could produce lasting influence on a breed.

Several lessons come from the documented record:

  • He started with the oldest polled herd in Scotland and improved it rather than replacing it.
  • He bought a foundation cow, Erica, in 1860 and built a bloodline from her.
  • He bought stock from McCombie, who had bought from Watson.
  • He showed widely and won at the major shows, including Paris in 1878.
  • He proposed a breed society in 1879 so the breed had a register and a voice.
  • He held public roles, including MP and Highland Railway chairman, which raised the profile of his estate and cattle.

Wider Business and Public Life

Cattle were only part of his work. He leased the site for the Cragganmore whisky distillery in 1869, served as Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Banffshire and Inverness, and chaired the Highland Railway from 1897 to 1900. The Press and Journal says he helped guide the railway company through a difficult period.

The cattle remained a personal passion. In 1904, fellow breeders gave him a silver jardiniere, and in his acceptance speech he said he wanted to nail the black flag at Ballindalloch.

Ballindalloch Today

Ballindalloch still has an Aberdeen-Angus herd that continues to win on the show circuit in the north and north-east of Scotland, according to the Press and Journal. The family still lives at the castle.

For a broader look at beef breeds on working ranches, see farm.FM's ranching section, or a farm.FM story about Aberdeen-Angus.

Timeline

  1. 1839Born on 12 August
  2. 1850Succeeds to the baronetcy on his father's death
  3. 1860Buys the cow Erica to found the Ballindalloch line
  4. 1869Leases the Cragganmore distillery site
  5. 1878First prize at the Paris Exhibition
  6. 1879Proposes the Society of Polled Cattle in Perth and becomes an MP
  7. 1897Becomes chairman of the Highland Railway
  8. 1907Dies on 5 December, per Wikipedia

Frequently asked questions

Who was Sir George Macpherson-Grant?

He was the 3rd Baronet of Ballindalloch, Banffshire (1839-1907), a leading Aberdeen-Angus breeder, MP and Highland Railway chairman, and a key figure in forming the breed society.

Who was Erica?

Erica was a cow Macpherson-Grant bought in 1860. She started the famous Ballindalloch bloodline, though sources differ on exactly where he bought her.

What did he do in 1879?

In 1879 he proposed forming the Society of Polled Cattle at a meeting in Perth. That year he also became MP for Elginshire and Nairn.

Is the Ballindalloch herd still active?

Yes. The Press and Journal reports the Aberdeen-Angus herd at Ballindalloch still wins prizes on the show circuit in the north and north-east of Scotland.

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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