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"The nineteenth century
belongs to the United States—the twentieth century belongs to Canada."
Thus spoke one of the clearest thinkers in America several years ago.
The potential wealth in the rich soil of western Canada has attracted
from all quarters of the globe men anxious to secure for themselves and
their families a share of the prosperity which the boundless west holds
in store for those who seek it, and they have not come in vain, for to
every willing worker western Canada has given freely and abundantly.
Among those whose efforts are proving a dominant force in promoting the
development of Alberta's millions of acres of fertile farming lands is
numbered Alexander Galbraith, provincial superintendent of fairs and
institutes and one of the leading authorities in North America on
matters pertaining to agriculture and stock raising.
A native of the land of
heather and bracken, Alexander Galbraith was born May 20, 1853, at Croy
Cunningham, in the parish of Killearn, county of Stirling, not far from
Loch Lomond, the scene of Sir Walter Scott's beautiful poem, "The Lady
of the Lake." His parents, Alexander and Jean (Graham) Galbraith, were
both natives of Scotland, and for sixty years Croy Cunningham had been
the family homestead. The father not only excelled as a horse and cattle
breeder, but was widely known at the Highland and other important
agricultural shows, winning high honors at the first stallion exhibition
in the city of Glasgow, which was held in 1836, and the son drew deeply
from his environment, the lore of paddock and pasture being early
impressed upon his mind. His education was acquired in the Killearn
parish school and the Mechanics' Institution at Glasgow and when sixteen
years of age he entered a mercantile establishment in Glasgow, ill he
learned the cotton, yarn and Turkey red dye business in connection with
the English and East Indian trade. For fourteen years he was identified
with mercantile interests, but in 1883 his love of husbandry reasserted
itself and in May of that year he sought the opportunities offered in
the United States, joining his three brothers, John, Archie and James.
The latter two had come to America in 1881 and the four brothers formed
a partnership, engaging in business as importers and breeders of
Clydesdale, Suffolk and Shire horses. During the next twelve years the
firm brought to its headquarters at Janesville, Wisconsin, nearly one
thousand stallions and many mares that not only won highest honours in
the principal show yards of the day, but also proved of real
constructive benefit to the communities which they entered.
The financial panic of
1893 brought disaster to the Galbraiths and to hundreds of others
interested in the cause of improved live stock. The firm was dissolved
and Mr. Galbraith moved to the Ruger farm near Janesville. In
recognition of his ripe experience the authorities of the University of
Wisconsin secured his services as lecturer at farmers' institutes, a
forerunner of his great work of later years. In 1894 he was elected
secretary of the American Clydesdale Association, retaining that office
until 1901, when he was chosen vice president, and in 1907 he was
honoured with the presidency, serving in that capacity until he left the
United States for Canada, eight years later.
About 1900 Mr. Galbraith
reentered the horse business, importing and dealing in Clydesdales,
Suffolks and Percherons. He was associated with his son Graeme in this
venture and the business was conducted under the style of Alexander
Galbraith & Son, with headquarters at Janesville. For six years Mr.
Galbraith was president of the American Shire Horse Society and he also
served as secretary of the American Suffolk Horse Association from the
time of its organization until 1909, when his son succeeded him in the
office. The Hackney horse likewise claimed a share of his attention and
for some years he was a director of the American Hackney Horse Society.
In 1901 Galbraith & Son opened a branch stable in Brandon, Manitoba,
from which point they distributed about three hundred stallions, and in
1908 the headquarters of the firm was moved from Janesville, Wisconsin,
to DeKaIb, Illinois. Three years later, in appreciation of his work for
the betterment of horse breeding and agriculture in general Mr.
Galbraith was presented with an illustrated testimonial by the College
of Agriculture of the University of Wisconsin.
It was in his capacity as
a judge of draft horses that Mr. Galbraith made his greatest
contribution to the agriculture of North America. At the Chicago World's
Fair of 1893, at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904, and at the
Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 at San Francisco, he was
called oil adjudicate types. In the International show ring at Chicago
and at Madison Square Garden in New York, his decisions are equally well
known. During thirty-nine years of live stock shows in Chicago he failed
only twice to appear, either as judge or exhibitor. The famous
Philadelphia horse shows have called on him eight times, the state fairs
of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia and
New York have sought his viewpoints, while Toronto Ottawa, Montreal,
Guelph, Winnipeg, Brandon, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and
Vancouver have profited by his judgment and cooperation. His services
have not been confined to lessons in type, but he has set up for
horsemen a very high ideal of the privileges and duties of the
exhibitor.
In July, 1915, at the
instance of the Hon. Duncan Marshall, then minister of agriculture for
Alberta, Mr. Galbraith came to Edmonton as superintendent of fairs and
institutes and lecturer in the agricultural schools of the province, in
which capacities he has since served. No man has ever made a more
notable record iii this office and his work is characterized by the
highest degree of efficiency and ability. His previous experience in
this connection at the University of Wisconsin had been broadened by
lectures delivered by him at the agricultural colleges and universities
of Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan,
so that he entered upon his duties with a greatly broadened viewpoint.
During his first seven years of service he superintended from eighty to
one hundred and twelve agricultural fairs annually, appointed the judges
for all, and attended the majority of them. Each year lie has assumed
charge of demonstration trains that have toured the province of Alberta
in the interests of better agriculture, while he has lectured frequently
at the six Provincial Schools of Agriculture and has taken charge of the
Short Course School, held in tents in different parts of the province
during the winter season. He was recently elected secretary- treasurer
of the Alberta Agricultural Fairs Association, an organization in
control of all the provincial fairs in cooperation with the government.
At Glasgow, Scotland, on
the 4th of June, 1879, Mr. Galbraith was united in marriage to Miss
Christina Macnicol, a daughter of Peter and Jean (McFarlane) Macnicol.
Mr. and Mrs. Galbraith have six children namely: Alexander Graham, who
married Nelly Rumrill and resides at Janesville, Wisconsin; Peter
Charles, who wedded Alice Barlow and is living at Detroit, Michigan;
John Gladstone, whose home is in Chicago, Illinois, and who married Edna
Ratcliffe; Victor Arrol, who is unmarried and is also a resident of that
city; Christina Macnicol, who is the wife of Chester A. Morse of
Mattoon, Illinois; and Jean, who is still at home with her parents.
Mr. Galbraith served for
thirteen years in the Volunteer army in Glasgow, Scotland, and during
more than five years of that period was a first lieutenant. He has done
much to promote a knowledge of Scottish ideals and traditions on this
side of the water and in 1886 he assisted in organizing the Rock County
Caledonian Society in Janesville, acting as its secretary for seven
years and as its president for the ensuing six years. In 1894 he
introduced the game of golf to Wisconsin, setting out an eighteen-hole
course on his farm, and he was the first president of the Sinnissippi
Golf Club, the pioneer organization of this character in the Badger
state. While a resident of the United States he voted the republican
ticket and as a British subject he supports the candidates and
principles of the Liberal party. He is an earnest member of the First
Presbyterian church and his fraternal connections are with the Masons
and the Knights of Pythias. At the time Mr. Galbraith came to Alberta
his lifelong friend and coworker, R. B. Ogilvie, paid him the following
tribute in a letter to the Hon. Duncan Marshall: "It will not be from
Alexander Galbraith, the experienced and practical stockman, nor from
Alexander Galbraith, the versatile writer, but from Alexander Galbraith,
the man, that the province of Alberta will get the greatest service!" He
has Preached the lesson of true equine type in every important show-yard
in the United States and Canada, by demonstrating, either in the
capacity of exhibitor or judge, the fundamentals of draft horse power,
and in this connection his name is known from one end of this continent
to the other. He has few equals and no superiors in his chosen field of
labor. His life has been one of intense activity and usefulness, guided
by high ideals and far-reaching and beneficial in its effects. |
