The origin of the breed "Yorkshire Terrier" is from England. Both England and Scotland must
share the honor of its ancestors. I am not sure what started the debate on history of the Yorkshire,
but I can be sure of the results. A battle that almost caused the true origin of the breed to be lost.

England and Scotland both for some reason not giving fame to each other over the end result
being the Yorkshire Terrier. For me a breeder and having a great love for the breed and a strong
need to follow my own Yorkshire Terriers bloodlines. All of my research has shown me I owe
them both great honors for my beautiful and graceful adornment of long silky haired love one who
lay curled at my feet.

It is true that the early Yorkshire Terriers were first of all shown as "The Broken-Haired Scotch
Terrier".
In 1860 at one show in Birmingham England, all the winners in the Broken-Haired Scotch were
actually Skye Terriers, not Yorkshire Terriers.
The following year at the Kennel Club Show at Leeds all the specimens were of the breed later to
be known as "Yorkshires". So many people think that the Yorkshire got his start solely from the
Skye Terrier......But for those who have researched your Yorkshire Terriers history back into time
that does not seem to be the case..... Many dogs where shown under the title of Terrier early in
the breeds history. Many a debate is found in books and writings on the breed. Where one person
feels they know all the facts another will say the same. Both having different ideas and thoughts
on the breeds and or their ancestors.

If you look at the Clydesdale or Paisley and Skye Terriers. Which where all Scotch Terriers. You
would be hard pressed to say they did not share a common ancestor.

I think the Clydesdale and Paisley are the same breed, just named differently for the towns they
lived in. For these dogs came from Scotland. Finding the common ancestor is a job. Being open
minded and looking beyond England shores is a big factor in this search. I am sure that many
other breedings were done between other dogs such as the Maltese and others. Writings from
breeders that far back are very few and most that is know is by word of mouth and memory. You
can pick them out by the size of their eyes and their coats. I can see why this breeding stopped
early on. From what I see they did not carry over traits that were very becoming. No doubt there
were many attempts at mixing breeds. Many fell by the side and the one that made it to
perfection was the Yorkshire Terrier..

The Clydesdale or Paisley Terrier were almost extinct in 1859. I wonder how much of the mixing
of the breeds had an effect on this. The Waterside Terrier dates back to the 17th century. As you
look back at photos and follow the research of the breed you can clearly see where breeders see a
link between the breeds.

Some believe the Yorkshire was a comparatively new breed only evolving in the nineteenth
century. I think they began their ancestral evolution in early England around 1750. It may well
have been the workers that traveled to work on farms that first carried this breeds ancestors back
and fourth. Allowing matting at a much earlier time than some think. Could this act have been
one factor in the breeds evolution? The men from Paisley I think may of been the first to mate
their dogs with the Waterside Terrier.

Huddersfield Ben is a result of multiple inbreeding on both sides of his bloodlines. We will touch
on this later on. Maybe that is why there is so much hush-hush and secrecy back then. It could in
part be the very fiber that set the stage for the genes being set that formed the strain so many got
their start from.

But then you must also look at Champion Ted also. Both dogs owned by Mrs. Foster. In
researching my pedigree I show that Champion Ted's name shows before Ben's every time.
Champion Ted being a much smaller dog with a wealth of coat. He was an outstanding dog with
many wins to his title.

You must read a great deal of books that were written by breeders of the day. Talk to the
breeders that carried your lines before you. It takes a great deal of research and an
understanding of the times and breeds to start to get an idea of what the first breeders where
looking for in their dogs. So, you know what they had and what they wanted to improve on,
getting a good idea of their dogs and strains help. Be prepared to spend a good penny on
pedigree's.


Huddersfield Ben is to many the most well known of the early Yorkshires. But even he is aired in
a mist of wonder. Many times I have found differences in his pedigree and most forget to show his
mothers side at all.
You can tell by the writings the ladies and gents of the time cared not to remember the dam's
side of the pedigree and only noted so far back on his sires side. At first I thought this was due to
ill record keeping, but now I feel that is not the case.

It may be due to not wanting people to know the lines where made by inbreeding via mother and
son.

I am not knocking on doors of 1800's to keep the battle going nor to ease it, only to find my
bloodlines place in the history of this beautiful dog so many have come to share and love. But to
show some light on this subject we must take a trip back in time to the very doors some fear to
knock on.

So I begin with my lines and names that come before Huddersfield Ben. Yes, before.
Huddersfield Ben is giving the honor of being the dog we mostly know as the Father of the breed
that we know as the Yorkshire Terrier. It is neither fair nor accurate to say this is the beginning of
the bloodlines. You have to go back farther than him to be accurate. To be accurate you must
find the truth as it was then, not how people tell it now. Researching your pedigree is just part of
the journey. This information is taken from material shown to be that of the late Mrs. Jonas Foster
of Bradford England.

Ref:


In her writing of her Champion Bradford Hero's pedigree it includes all the best dog for thirty-five
years back. She states that they were all Scotch Terriers. The name Yorkshire was giving to the
terriers due to the fact that the breed was then improved on by breeders in Yorkshire county
England.



In the English Stockkeeper an article was written by Mr. Ed Bootman of Halifax England and
was published in 1887 that shows more light on the origin of the dogs of the breed. This is of great
interest to me for these are the very dogs my bloodlines lead me back to. I give you this in the
text it was published in and it is as follows:

Ref:
Swifts Old Crab, a cross-bred Scotch Terrier, Kershaw's Kitty, a Skye and Old English terrier
bitch kept by J. Whittam, then residing in Hatter's Fold, Halifax, were the progenitors of the
present race of Yorkshire Terriers. The dogs were in the zenith of the fame forty years ago.
(Around 1847) The owner of Old Crab was a native of Halifax, and a joiner by trade. He worked at
Oldham for some time as a journeyman and then moved to Manchester, where he kept a public
house. Whether he got Old Crab at Oldham or Manchester I have not been able to ascertain. He
had him when in Manchester and from there sent him several times to Halifax on a visit to Kitty.
The last tip would be about 1850.
Crab was a dog of about eight or nine pounds, with a good terrier head and eye, but with a long
body, resembling the Scotch Terrier. The legs and muzzle only were tanned and the hair on the
body would be about three to four inches in length. He has stood for years in a case in a room at
Westgate Hotel; a public house, which his owner kept when he returned to his native town, where
I believe the dog, may be seen today.
Kitty was a bitch different in type from Crab. She was a drop-eared Skye, with plenty of coat of a
blue shade, but destitute of tan on any part of the body. Like Crab, she had no written pedigree.
She was originally stolen from Manchester and sent to a man named Jackson, a saddler in
Huddersfield, who, when it became known that a five pound reward was offered in Manchester
for her recovery, was then sent her to a person named Harrison, the a waiter at the White Swan
Hotel, Halifax, to escape detection, and from Harrison she padded into the hand of Mr. J
Kershaw of Beshop Blaise, a public house which one stood on the Old North Bridge , Halifax.
Prior to 1851 Kitty had six litters, All of which were by Crab. In these six litters she had thirty-six
puppies, twenty-eight of which were males and served to stock the district with rising sires. After
1851 when she passed into the possession of Mr. F Jagger, she had forty-four puppies making a
total of eighty.
Mr Whittams female whose name I cannot get to know, was an Old English Terrier, with tanned
head, ears and legs, with a sort of grizzle back. She was built on the lines of speed. Like the
others she had no written pedigree. She was sent to the late Bernard Hartley of Allen Gate,
Halifax, by a friend residing in Scotland. When Mr. Hartley had got tired of her, he gave her to his
coachman, Mason, who in turn gave her to his friend Whittam. Whittam used her for years in
breeding. Although she came from Scotland, it is believed the parents were from this district.

Mr Bootman has fully identified the three dogs first employed to manufacture the breed, together
with their names. Ownership, characteristics, and other facts concerning them, that there can be
no doubt as to the authenticity of the history of the breed.


The two sisters Mrs. Gordon and Bennett noted breeders and handles whom I owe in part for my
some of the dogs in my bloodlines. And who have done most of the homework for us in placing
the above named dogs in their rightful place. To point out that the description of three dogs as:

Crab with a terrier head, three to four inch coat and a long body with tan on the legs and muzzle
was most likely a Waterside Terrier.

Kitty with plenty of coat of blue shade but destitute of tan on any part of the body was no doubt a
Sky or Paisley Terrier.

Whittam nameless female with her racier build and tanned head and legs with a sort of grizzle
back was likely to have been out of Old English Terriers from the Manchester area.


So for me it gives me peace of mind. This is more in keeping with what seemed to be the history
of the Yorkshire Terrier and answer to why there was so much rife and mystery. It may fill in
many unanswered questions also.

The unknown name of the dam of Old Dolly may be Whittam's nameless female. The theft of
Kitty I am sure is responsible for many pedigree's not being completely right in that time frame.
This would also give reason to why there was such conflict over the dogs early years in record
keeping.

She must have been worth more to the people who had stolen her than the five pounds reward
offered for her return or they would took her back and claimed the five pounds and just say they
found her. So if your hiding a stolen dog you are not going to tell everyone you have Kitty.

We know she had more offspring after she was stolen, you don't know what the story was that
went with her. I am sure she must have been a fine female for someone to have taken the risk of
stealing her. That in itself is a shame. Case in point of why some pedigrees differ at this point, it
hides the truth. You just would not advertise a stolen dog. So Kitty I am sure was giving a new
name for onlookers sakes.

The textile workers of Clydesdale and Paisley were noted to have had a small terrier with a long
coat and would take them to work with them in order to rid the wool mills of mice and rats. I am
sure it also kept the little guys well fed also. Keeping them near while working I am sure keep
them safe and handy to aid their miss if a mouse should pop up. Earlier home millers would keep
their tiny terrier near them so they could with ease keep their coat combed and tangle free.
Keeping such a long hair terrier near all the lint and dust from milling was taken care of with a
fast brushing many times a day. I am sure the idea of oil was a natural step at this point. This
allowed them to grow a beautiful long coat. Surely the oil that came from the process of wool
making for a fine dressing they would of found most useful for their dogs coat. Keeping the coat
oiled gave it a much better chance to grow a fine coat.

As the industrial revolution began to grow in England, so did the areas of Lancashire and
Yorkshire. Textile workers of Clydesdale and Paisley saw this as their chance to improve their
lives by moving to these areas to find better jobs for themselves. So when they moved so did their
dogs. The terriers they took with them were the purebreds Clydesdale or Paisley Terrier, some
had some Skye Terrier and rough-coated Black and Tan Terrier (it may be a Broken-Haired
Scotch Terrier.) Some of the Clydesdale and Paisley dogs whom I am fairly sure may have
already had some Waterside Terrier mixed in from earlier times.

I am sure as with the gathering of so many different people whom many had and loved their dogs,
the art of breeding took a new step. Now that these dog owners where around a larger selection
of dogs they started to put together traits and looks that they liked in the breed.
It is in this time the breeding of these dogs took its greatest steps. Maybe by accident or by
design no one will ever know. I believe that the Waterside Terriers were in fact part the breed
from which the color and markings came from. They also had a long coat. What wonders we
would of seen in the type and verity of dog flesh at the time.

When a single breeder started to take note of the good and bad qualities of a breed, they started
the selective breeding program that added in the development of that breed. Remember that
each purebred started from a gene pool of his ancestors. In the case of the any bred the breeders
kept what they thought was a good look or trait and removed what they thought was bad. Sounds
like Frankenstein, not really. It is just having a good understanding of nature at it's finest. Along
with a good eye and judgement to mate the right lines.

Being that they now lived in or around Yorkshire, they at some point the pups from these early
breeding where being called Yorkshire Terriers.

Lancashire and Yorkshire grew in masses. They had trade with many countries and as more
people came to these areas to do business and travel they to found the breed charming and
wanted a pup of their own. These strains left England and went to other countries. So the
Yorkshire Terrier started its trip from small beginnings to the Yorkshire Terrier of today. The
tiny terrier has touched hearts all over. It did not take long at all and this tiny terrier was in high
demand and the cream of the crop at dog shows all over

Now to Huddersfield Ben's pedigree.

Huddersfield Ben as most know was the result of inbreeding. Most will tell you that is by his dam
Lady also being his mat. That would make his offspring by inbreeding. The fact is Huddersfield
Ben himself was a result of inbreeding as well as Lady. Who was his mother as well as his mate.

In a five generation pedigree of Ben you see not only was his dam Lady show on both sides but
also the names of Bounce, Old Ben, Young Dolly, Bob, Old Sandy, Teddy and Albert. The only
names I don't see repeated is Kitty and Old Sally being on the dam's side. Old Dolly's mother's
name is not shown, but she also is on both sides of the pedigree. Later I may be able to shine
some light on this also. Maybe this is the part no one wanted known. At that time maybe they felt
this bit of information was best left unsaid. Maybe due to the inbreeding or to the fact of the origin
of the dogs that came before him. This we will never know fully.

In my research I have found that Mrs. Foster Champion Ted comes before Huddersfield Ben. In
researching the Pelleon and Ozmilion dogs of my pedigree I found that the breeder and author
Osman Sameja noted the same in one his books of his research in his pedigrees as well.

Some may feel or note that to research the history of breed is an endless task and for the most
part will lead nowhere. That is kind of hard for me to dim as true. While looking may only give us
more questions not looking will surely answer none. To me it is well worth the time and effort.

My extended pedigree goes back 30 generations.
Champion Albert 3587 born 1869 who's dam was Rose and Old Shandy's 3652 who's sire was Old
Crab are to date some of the earliest dogs in my sires bloodline. I have a large collection of photos
on my bloodlines ancestors some back to the earliest drawings. I know there are sound written
pedigrees at least back to 1861. But from 1844 there are only tiny writings and retold stories of the
dogs that where kept for ratting.

That I am sorry to say was in that day a sport and for the bets there was money to be made. Kitty
and Old Crab where owned and lived in a house that held such a sport. They were famed at being
top of the sport. Killing almost a hundred rats in a given time frame. Bets where won and lost
each weekend.
The origin of the Yorkshire Terrier....