Artist: Othmar J. Hoffler (1893–1954)
Jonathan Hall Truman
TRUMAN, JONATHAN HALL (1842–1923), inducted by 1920
Jonathan Truman—a man who, perhaps more than any other, helped open British markets to American cattle imports—was born in Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire, England. At age eighteen, he took over the management of his ailing father’s livestock business. In 1874, Truman invested in a shipment of American cattle but initially had difficulty convincing British buyers to accept imported stock and beef. The animals showed well, so starting in 1877, Truman began to spend nine months of the year at the Chicago markets, buying and shipping fat cattle and sheep overseas. On average, he shipped about 30,000 head per year to England. In 1884, he established Truman Pioneer Stud Farm in Bushnell, Illinois, and started exporting Shire horses from England. By 1900, the Shire, Percheron, and Belgian stable was his primary business. After 114 crossings of the Atlantic, Jonathan Truman left the farm in his sons’ hands and retired to England.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 192