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Cattle Breeders and Breed Pioneers

William McCombie of Tillyfour, the Grazier King Behind the Aberdeen-Angus

A tenant farmer from Alford who blended the polled cattle of north-east Scotland into a breed.

Who was William McCombie?

William McCombie was a tenant farmer and cattle dealer's son from Aberdeenshire who became known as the grazier king. Born around 1805 at Tillyfour Farm near Alford, he died there on 1 February 1880, unmarried and aged 74. The Wikipedia biography of William McCombie credits him with blending the Aberdeen and Angus types of polled cattle into the basis of the Aberdeen-Angus breed.

His father, Charles McCombie, was a farming cattle dealer. William attended a local school and then Marischal College, Aberdeen, and in the 1820s he rented the 1,200-acre Tillyfour farm from his father.

Where did Aberdeen-Angus cattle come from?

The native polled cattle of north-east Scotland, called Doddies, were selectively bred for beef from the early nineteenth century. Hugh Watson of Keillor is generally regarded as the breed's originator, and McCombie called him the first great improver of the polled cattle, according to a profile of McCombie and Scottish polled cattle.

The first Polled Herd Book appeared in 1862, and the Polled Cattle Society was formed in 1879. McCombie attended its formation meeting shortly before his death. The name Aberdeen Angus was adopted as a compromise between two regional types.

Building the Tillyfour herd

McCombie dated his herd to 1832, the year it first won a prize, at the Alford show. In 1858 the breeding herd held two bulls, ten cows and four heifers; five of the cows were Highland and Agricultural Society first-prize winners. Key bulls included Hanton, Angus, from Hugh Watson of Keillor, and Panmure, from Lord Panmure.

He bought the heifer Queen Mother in 1844 and sold surplus stock at public auction. The cow Charlotte produced Pride of Aberdeen, one of his most famous polled cows. Queen Victoria made a royal visit to Tillyfour, an almost unknown honor for a commoner, and the prize ox Black Prince was shown to her.

The Key to McCombie's Success

McCombie took a middle course between pure bloodlines and plain selection. His methods are documented in the Fox profile and the Wikipedia biography, and they show a farmer who treated cattle as a business as well as a passion.

His record also has limits. His one prize in 1866 shows how a single disease outbreak could stall a successful show herd.

  • He bought good bulls and chose heifers carefully, culling cows that cried back to the original red color.
  • He opposed long-term inbreeding and crossing with Shorthorns, and kept his herd pure.
  • He fed show and fattening stock heavily, using cake and winter turnips in cattle courts.
  • He sold surplus stock at public auction, spreading Tillyfour blood across Scotland.
  • He moved cattle to market by sea and later by rail once it became cheaper and more reliable.
  • He won steadily: his peak was 29 prizes in 1859.

Prizes, Smithfield and the 500-prize record

McCombie is credited with more than 500 prizes in the United Kingdom and at major exhibitions in France, though a list to 1878 totals 499. His first show prize came in 1832 at Alford. At Smithfield he won best polled bullock every year from 1859 to 1864 and best polled heifer in 1861.

His peak was 29 prizes in 1859. He won only one in 1866, during the rinderpest outbreak. By the end of the nineteenth century it was said that no significant polled herd in Scotland lacked Tillyfour descendants.

Rinderpest, a book and Parliament

In 1865 McCombie organized Aberdeenshire farmers to raise a compensation fund that supported the slaughter policy that eradicated rinderpest. In 1867 he published Cattle and Cattle-breeders, which went through three further editions.

In 1868 he was elected a Liberal MP for the western division of Aberdeenshire, the first tenant farmer elected for a Scottish constituency. He was returned in 1874 and resigned in 1876 through ill health, succeeded by Lord Douglas Gordon.

Death, dispersal and legacy

McCombie died on 1 February 1880 and is memorialized in the churchyard at Kirkton of Tough. The herd was sold at a disposal sale in August 1880.

Aberdeen-Angus cattle later became a major beef breed on every continent, and studs such as Nairn Park in Australia, described by Angus Australia. For more on beef breeds, see the ranching section of farm.FM or read a farm.FM story about Aberdeen Angus cattle.

Timeline

  1. c. 1805Born at Tillyfour Farm near Alford
  2. 1832First show prize at Alford; dates his herd from this year
  3. 1844Buys the heifer Queen Mother
  4. 1859Peak of 29 prizes in a year; begins a run of Smithfield polled bullock wins to 1864
  5. 1865Organizes a compensation fund during the rinderpest outbreak
  6. 1867Publishes Cattle and Cattle-breeders
  7. 1868Elected Liberal MP for West Aberdeenshire
  8. 1876Resigns his seat through ill health
  9. 1880Dies on 1 February; herd sold in August

Frequently asked questions

Who was William McCombie of Tillyfour?

William McCombie (c. 1805-1880) was an Aberdeenshire tenant farmer and cattle breeder who built the Tillyfour herd of black polled cattle and served as a Liberal MP from 1868 to 1876.

What did McCombie do for the Aberdeen-Angus?

He blended Aberdeen and Angus polled types into the basis of the breed, won more than 500 prizes and sold stock that spread Tillyfour blood through Scotland's polled herds.

What book did William McCombie write?

He published Cattle and Cattle-breeders in 1867, and it was reissued in three further editions.

Why was McCombie called the grazier king?

The sources give the nickname the grazier king, or king of graziers, for his standing as a cattle farmer and show winner.

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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