The record of the early history of the breed is also from the account by Charles Plumb in Types and Breeds of Farm Animals published in 1906:
The native home of the Devon breed of cattle is in southwestern England in the counties of Devon and Somerset. Devon is washed by the sea on its north and south borders, while Somerset also borders the Bristol Channel on the north. The section contains much rough and hilly land, reaching a height of even 2,000 feet, and is better suited to grazing than tillage, though the soil is fertile. In the southern part the climate is mild and balmy, being well suited to outdoor life for cattle the year round.
The origin of the Devon is prehistoric. It has been assumed that the breed is descended from Bos longifrons, the smaller type of aboriginal cattle in Britain. The earliest English records show the prevalence of cattle in Devon of a color and type indicative of the modern breed. The early British writers on live stock testify to its ancient character.
Francis Quartly is generally conceded to have accomplished for the Devon what the Collings did for the Shorthorn. He lived at Champson-in-Molland near South Molten, where his father in 1776 began to breed Devons. The father died in 1793 and Francis at once began active work as a breeder on his own responsibility. The cattle of Devon were deteriorating for the reason already given. He recognized this, and not only refused to sell but sought out and purchased the choicest individuals possible, thus developing the best herd of his time. From his herd, which was sold on his retirement in 1836, has descended the most distinguished Devon blood. William Quartly also had a herd until 1816, when he sold it to his eldest brother Henry, who continued breeding until his death in 1840. Neither Francis nor William were ever married, but Henry was, and left two sons, James and John, who succeeded him. They also became great breeders, as did John's son, Henry, later on. The Quartly family lived in North Devon, not far from Somerset County.
John Tanner Davy was a son of John Davy, a Devon breeder, who was born about 1706 and died at Rose Ash, South Molton, North Devon, in 1790, leaving a choice herd to sons, John T. and William. John produced a celebrated herd and won many prizes. Numerous celebrated Devons descended from his herd. He died in 1852 and was succeeded by his son, Colonel Davy, the founder of the Devon herdbook. This son, who died in 1887, aged fifty-nine, was during his prime the most distinguished student and promoter of Devons in England. He not only founded the herdbook but contributed much to Devon literature."
Early History in America
I quote liberally from an article by Kristina Bielenberg, one of the founding directors of the American Minor Breeds Conservancy (now ALBC), written in 1976 and titled "New England Cattle: Red Natives of Devonshire Extraction":
" In my own estimation, the best breed of cattle decidedly for all purposes that I have seen, are the fine red cattle of Old Hampshire and Worcester counties in Massachusetts. The cows are clean limbed and well formed, and usually good milkers; the oxen large, exceedingly active, and of quick growth, very hardy, and remarkably handsome . . . . (From a letter to the editor of the "Genesee Farmer" reprinted on p. 116 in the October 24, 1832 edition of the "New England Farmer")
When the English settled along the coast of Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, they brought with them neat cattle from their home districts or from the counties nearest the ports of their departure.... the principle or dominant stock appears to have been of Devonshire extraction. By the last decades of the eighteenth century and early years of the nineteenth, however, the New England cattle were described by many admirers as a "breed", so carefully had certain characteristics been cultivated in them.... the "red natives," with their upright and spreading horns, attracted the most attention for they provided "the primary objects of the New England farmer - labour, beef, and rich milk for butter and cheese . . .
In the hilly portions of New England where the pastures were often short and the work hard, the chief merit of the Devon-type native was its excellence as a draught animal. Lewis Allen stated that "for ordinary labor, either at the plow, the wagon, or the cart, he is equal to all common duties, and on the road his speed and endurance is unrivalled." It was claimed that these cattle could trot along at six miles per hour with an empty cart, whereas the "heavier oxen (Shorthorn) . . . for want of activity would be ineligible; and for the road particularly unfit, - their feet . . . would fail."
The red native was considered to be a good milker from the standpoint that it produced more butter per pound of milk than most any other breed available to New Englanders before the importations of Channel Island cattle. Although the Devon-type cow presumably lacked some of the angularity found in most of the dairy breeds, she was broad in the ribs, "barrel-like", or what some writers described as "roomy." The Oakes cow produced a pound of butter from 7 quarts of whole milk. The most general figure given was from 12 to 16 quarts, wine measure, per pound...
Indeed, the Devon-type cattle of New England, as so often pointed out by Timothy Pickering, were efficient feeders. . . . Their fine muzzle, prominent and clear eye, long neck without dewlap, and delicate forelegs attracted the fancy of many farmers. The agility and intelligence of the ox was highly valued. These characteristics and others contributed to the long popularity of the red native; for as late as 1861, the Commissioner of Patents reported that in New England the farmers still preferred their cattle of Devonshire extraction despite the availability of even more improved English breeds.
