What bloodlines our Beagles are and where they come from.

By:  Jim Lane

Laneline Beagles 

L. M. Watson was born on a farm a few miles from Boston, Missouri in 1887. He was the youngest of four children and was as he said  “the bashfulest kid that ever lived.” He had fire-red hair and the temper to go with it. Before his family migrated to Missouri, his grandfather was born in Ohio, and migrated to the Cumberland Mountain region of Kentucky near the Tennessee border (Salesburg was the town that was cited.) to practice the trade of saddle maker. In Kentucky and Tennessee, Watson’s grandfather became interested in foxhounds. His employer “Wash” Mauphin, who was a friend of the famous Walker brothers, became the owner of the foxhound Tennessee Lead. Watson was intrigued by the stories that his grandfather told about that great hound. A few years later, Watson said that his grandfather left for Indiana where he married his grandmother and together they came across the Wabash River, down the Mississippi, and finally on horseback to Missouri. The settlers in Missouri usually built cabins along the streams in order to ensure an adequate water supply. Watson’s family settled along the Yellow Creek. The settlers in this vicinity were called “Yellow Creekers.” 

Watson said that, to the best of his recollection, it was in 1909 that he saw his first beagle. He had read a lot about beagles in the magazine Fox and Hound (the forerunner of Hounds and Hunting magazine), and so he wrote to a man named Harry Stroh, of Oregon, Illinois, who had advertised for a trainer for some of his young hounds.  Watson told Stroh that he knew nothing about beagles specifically, but quite a lot about hounds in general and that he had plenty of time and game to work the hounds on.  So, Stroh agreed to Watson’s proposal and shortly he sent Watson two hounds (by rail) for training. These hounds turned out to be Ganymede (Davey) Crockett, and Ganymede Chirrup. The sire of these hounds was Imported Driver, an English hound and the dam of Crockett was Elora Blue Diamond.  Blue Diamond was the finest Blue Cap bitch and the best producer that Mr. Hiram Card had ever produced. L.M. Watson couldn’t have found better blood if he had spent years searching the country and here it was right in his lap without him knowing it. 

Most of 1911 and 1912 were spent training hounds.Finally, Watson bought his first three hounds; one from Stroh, one from Willet Randall, and one from Dr. C.W. Sanford of Arlington Heights, Illinois. The latter hound, a female, is the really important one of the three. Her name was Elora Blue Peach, and she had been imported by Dr. Sanford from Mr. Hiram Card of Canada. So, you see one of L. M. Watson’s first three foundation bitches was three-fourths “Blue Cap” breeding, and I mean solid Blue Cap too, right from Hiram Card himself. This is a significant point that we should remember. L. M. Watson started out with the very best that could be had in his day, and then he built well on that solid foundation.

In the 1920’s William Vander Maas and his brother-in-law spent a vast sum of money buying and breeding hounds. Foundation stock con­sisted of hounds of a then prominent family but despite all their efforts, they were rewarded with not a single ribbon. Later they observed that most of the good hounds they saw at the trials were coming from Yellow Creek Sport bloodlines. About 1932 Mr. Vander Maas went to the Shady Lake Kennels of Harvey Low, who was the only one he knew at the time who was line breed­ing, the Yellow Creek bloodlines.  It was during this visit that he first saw Fd. Ch. Yellow Creek Ben. He was so deeply impressed with the ability of this hound that he vowed then and there to someday become the owner of the Yellow Creek Kennel. From Mr. Low, “Vandy” pur­chased Mill of Shady Lake. She had already been bred to Fd. Ch. Yellow Creek Ben. From this litter he kept a male called Autumnleaf Sheik. “Autumnleaf” was the kennel name used by Vandy prior to his purchase of the Yellow Creek Kennel. 

“Vandy” began negotiating with Mr. L.M. Watson for the purchase of a hound named Yellow Creek Bright Byes. Due to Mr. L.M. Watson’s financial difficulties and family obligations this eventually led into negotiations for the Yellow Creek Ken­nel name and the nine hounds that Mr. Watson owned at the time. However, the kennel was sold to Commodore Dewey Watson, of Bristol, Virginia {no relation} due to the fact that there were conflicts in the direction and the breeding philosophies and “type of dogs” that Mr. L.M. Watson had in mind compared to Mr. Vander Maas. This new ownership did not last long because Mr. Vander Maas made an offer to Dewey Watson that he simply could not refuse, so from him “Vandy” purchased The Yellow Creek Kennel name, together with Yellow Creek Dora. The purchase of Yellow Creek Bright Eyes was also finally negotiated. So, Mr. William Vander Maas be­came owner of the kennel sometime around 1932 or very shortly there­after. 

“Vandy” passed ownership of the kennel to Mr. Bob Brown of Sussex, New Jersey in November 1982. Mr. Vander Maas was 82 years at that time.  Bob Brown stated that “Vandy” passed away in October 1988 at the age of 88.  Mr. William Vander Maas bred 25 field champions. He had two hounds inducted into the Beagling Hall of Fame, Fd. Ch. Yel­low Creek Ben II and Fd. Ch. Elrich’s Yellow Creek Nifty. Vandy lived off of his hounds, not many people can do that. He bred 25 field champions and many, many other field champions came from his stud dogs. Unlike the transition of the 1930’s transition of the Yellow Creek Kennel ownership,  this time the “transition” from one owner to another for the Yellow Creeks did not represent much of a change or “style of dog” at all, for Bob Brown met Mr. Vander Maas in 1970 and had been a close friend and “understudy” of  Vandy for quite some time and his philosophy of breeding was essential­ly the same as that of Mr. Vander Maas.  In 1991 Bob Brown retired from the New Jersey State Police after twenty years of service and moved to the area of Somerset, Kentucky where he maintained and carried out the breeding philosophies of Mr. Vander Maas as he continued Yellow Creek Kennels with very good results and success for what he was trying to accomplish, until 2006 when Bob Brown passed on.   

Another gentleman that did not have ownership of Yellow Creek Kennels but had absolutely solid Yellow Creek blood and many would say resemble the Yellow Creek of “old” is Mr. John Toy of Berlin City, Ohio.  Mr. Toy stated, “My brother Joe and I have had the Yellow Creek (bred) hounds dating back to October 1939. We have owned puppies from some of the finest Yellow Creek hounds. A lot of old names that are familiar to me, as my brother and I had puppies out of some of the greatest like Gray’s Linesman, Pleasant Run, Nu-Ra Buddy, Sammy R, also puppies from Lee Madden’s stock and from the greatest champion I’ve ever seen, FC True Tone Dandy, owned by Mr. Lawrence from Salem, Ohio. Mr. Toy stated; “It was sad to read about Lee Madden’s passing away. He was truly a fine gentleman, sportsman and profes­sional dog breeder. Mr. Madden and Elmer Gray were my idols.” Regarding the breeding of his hounds. Mr. Toy said he kept his pups 3/4 to 7/8 Yellow Creek, and they could consistently place in the field and on the bench. I don’t think you can ask more than that from a hound. Mr. Toy stated; “Our brood stock is full Yellow Creek with one excep­tion. Indian Run Buck, which is crossed with my full Yellow Creek bitches. Indian Run Buck is down from the old gun dog stock.”  Mr. Toy said further about the cross of Indian Run Buck on the Yellow Creek bitches, that he wanted to basically keep pure Yellow Creek stock, but he found it necessary to outcross to maintain a medium fast hound. He discovered three females owned by Ron Ramsey, a fine gentleman, excellent beagler, breeder and former licensed judge. Mr. Ramsey’s females were down from Billy Grimshaw. As you know, Billy Grimshaw is out of Yellow Creek Gerard. Indian Run Buck and Mr. Ramsey’s Grimshaw blood added to Yellow Creek Rocky and Yellow Creek Hawkshaw gave Mr. Toy some of the finest running pups that he had witnessed in his career. This mating gave him hard hunting, good line control, and excellent check dogs. Mr. Toy did not and would not cross his Yellow Creeks with just anything out there.

We must all remember, in the mid to late 1800’s records have four major hunting beagle lines.  Ashburnham’s, North Worcestershire, Cheshire and Royal Rock.  Many different lines derived from these and hundreds from those and even more from them…etc…  If you have a registered beagle that has a pedigree, if you go back far enough you will find at the end of the line one of these four names. A name that will also be present will probably be Thorpe. A line that formed with the cross of Royal Rock and Cheshire.  The line that affects me {Laneline Beagles} the most is Asburnham’s. Around 1875 Sire: Mr. Shadwell’s Leader was bred to Dam: Sir Arthur Ashurnham’s Musis. They produced Sir Arthur Ashburnham’s Blue Cap. The Blue Cap line was formed and was a major contributor in the hunting beagle world.  Around 1888 Bluecap was used to start the Elora line.  Many dogs go back to this line from UBGF to Large Pack on Hare and many in-between. What causes dogs of the same bloodline to be so different are the unrelated outcrosses over the years. Around 1915 the Elora was used to start the Yellow Creek line. Many and I do mean many as in hundreds of lines either derived or were greatly influenced from the Yellow Creek line.  Just to mention a few; Sammy R, Concord, Argo, Grays Linesman, Pearson Creek, Wilcliffe, Black River,  Fish Creek, Warfield, Weir Creek, Little Ireland,  and I could go on and on, fast dogs, slow dogs, medium speed dogs etc…  So, if so many bloodlines derived from the same source than why are they so different?  Because of the unrelated outcrosses that individual’s make or have made over the years.  I am not labeling anything particularly “wrong” or “right” or “bad” or “good”, I am just saying dogs that sometimes carry the same bloodline are many times as different as night and day. 

Laneline Beagles consists of my brother "Joe Lane" and myself "Jim Lane". We have bred dogs for a long time.  We grew up with our father raising beagles and gun hunting in North East Ohio.  Most of the hounds in the pedigrees of our dogs have not been trialed but rather used as gun dogs.  The top side of one of my pups is a line bred dog of the Dingus MacRae line named Barney.  He came from Larry Perry of West Virginia.  Larry has a system on his line breeding the Dingus line that has been very successful.  Mr. Perry is probably the most honest and “to the point” beagler I have met and he knows pedigrees like people should know the Bible.  In Barney’s first four generations, FC Dingus MacRae is there three times also FC Indian Hills Majer, FC Lar-May Huntmaser, IFC Cunninghams Annie, FC Dingus’ Big Shot, FC New City Cruiser, FC MacRae Little Pete, and CFC Kingwood Shorty.  The bottom side of my pup is solid Yellow Creek.  The Yellow Creek stems from the old {L. M. Watson} Breeding.  I have traced my pedigrees back all the way to Ashburnham’s, with a few outcrosses.  But those few outcrosses determine a lot for different individuals.  My Yellow Creeks don’t have a great number of total outcrosses in the last 100 years but the out crosses that were made, were to dogs that were used to gun hunt on cottontail and hare. Dogs that lifted their heads and have a lot of “foot”.  So to sum it up, years ago Mr. Watson sold Yellow Creek Kennel and the kennel for a short time was in Bristol, Virginia with Dewey Watson at the helm. Than once again Yellow Creek Kennel and most of the dogs were sold to a Mr. Vander Maas in New Jersey.  John Toy {Indian Run Kennel} of Ohio also bought some of the Yellow Creek Hounds. John Toy also bought some hounds from Mr. Vander Maas. Years later, John actually out crossed his Yellow Creeks with the Branko line but mainly linebred his own hounds.   

Mr. Vander Maas (who was a master at formulating Field Champions), in his later days along with Mr. Bob Brown, {who later purchased Yellow Creek Kennels from Mr. Vander Maas} out crossed to what would best go with their program to gun hunt and field trial in the UBGF/SPO format.  Mr. Brown (who owned Yellow Creek Kennel) moved to Kentucky and was very well known, respected and successful with his Yellow Creeks in the UBGF the way they are.

I have just chosen to go a different direction. I have chosen the Dingus Macrae line for my out cross because Dingus brings extreme hunt, desire and stamina. When he was on the circuit they called him “Mr. Consistency” and “The Rabbit Machine They Couldn’t Stop”.  When you out cross, you want it to lead you and compliment your breeding in the direction you want to go. I also like the Dingus line because he is not exactly a total out cross. If you look at Dingus’s pedigree notice the two Grand Sires and Grand Dams.

INT FC Larmay Toastmaster -  Five of eight of his grand sires and dams go back to Yellow Creek. Two of the remaining three go back to Elora which is the line that created Yellow Creek.  One is a total outcross. 

High Peak Babbling Pebbles – In her three generation pedigree Dagwood’s Labaan appears three times. He goes back to Elora, with a small portion going back to the Thorpe line.  One of the other crosses goes directly back to Yellow Creek and the other also goes back to Elora which created Yellow Creek.

Int FC Wally Of Floline – One half goes back to Yellow Creek.  1/4 goes back to the Thorpe line and 1 total outcross.

Int FC Cunningham’s Janie – 1/4 goes directly back to Yellow Creek.  Half is Fish Creek. When you look at the Fish Creek dogs you will notice that they are not line bred dogs, but there is a couple line bred dogs that are in their pedigrees that go back to Elora.  1/4 is a total outcross.  I have what I feel is the total package.  Our dogs are fast hounds that have good hunt and drive the rabbit hard. Running to catch, while maintaining the line quite well and very quick on the check. Most of all, I am pleased with what I have. When the rubber meets the road, your feeding, training, hunting and living with your dogs, nobody else.  First and most important,  your dogs should please you. God Bless & Good Luck, Jim Lane