SOUSA (1902)


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND | PARENTAGE & OWNERSHIP | SIBLINGS & SHOWS | BREEDING & PROGENY
PHOTOS | SOCIAL MEDIA | REFERENCES

Photo: A. Radclyffe Dugmore, Country Life In America, September 1908. Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

'Ch. Sousa' stands as an American-bred blue-eyed white male who was a living link between newly imported lines out of England, and an older admixture of white Persian/Angora bloodlines, that had been developed within the United States from foundation stock that had been brought to the American continent in earlier times. His maternal pedigree included such early hallmark cats as 'Royal Norton' (1898), the famous mainstay of Mrs. Leland Norton's 'Drexel' Kennels in Chicago; also going back to 'Brushwood Caprice'(1893), the dam of Mrs. Colburn's 'Brushwood Paris'; as well as 'Madge'(Norton), an original white female imported directly from Persia. It was from a direct pairing of 'Royal Norton' and 'Madge Norton' that the lovely 'Bydie Young' was produced.

For fanciers of White Long-hairs during this period, there were only two main centres into which the majority of the most prominent breeders of whites were located, namely centred in an around both Chicago and New York. In Chicago there was Mrs. Leland Norton (whose lines were based on 'Royal Norton'), Mrs. W. Eames Colburn (with lines based upon her 'Brushwood Paris'), Mrs. Josiah Cratty, (with 'Jungfrau Eiger' bloodlines imported from the continent), and Mrs. Clinton Locke, (with lines going back to 'Wendell' and 'Lord Gwynne'). In New York, there was Mrs. Champion and her daughters recently emigrated from England (with predominantly 'White Friar' bloodlines), Mrs. Brian Brown (with 'White Huzzar' lines) and the relatively new Miss Ava Pollard, who also began with lines from both 'White Friar' and eventually 'White Knight'.

PARENTAGE & OWNERSHIP:

        Unknown
    Prince of Pearls, Blue-eyed White
    |   Unknown
Sousa, Oct-19-1902, Blue-eyed White, M
    |   Royal Norton, Blue-eyed White
    Dainty (Maplewood), Copper-eyed White
        Fluffkins

'Sousa' was born against this historical background on 19th October, 1902. His sire, was a newly imported blue-eyed white male 'Prince of Pearls' (BCC: 684)7, who had once resided with Mrs. Pettit in England, but had been imported by Miss Nellie Harvey Wilson (now Mrs. Hurlbert), who lived at that time in Indianapolis, Indiana. This represented a new and unknown line into the mix, although all that we can find with regard to 'Prince of Pearls' is that he was bred by Mr. Dawson in England, from two unnamed cats imported directly from Persia and owned by friends of Mr. Dawson. Mrs. Pettit, his former owner in England was in the habit of naming all of her cats 'Pearl', her original male and female being ' King of the Pearls' and 'Queen of the Pearls' respectively and her most famous home-bred females being 'Beautiful Pearl' and 'Piquante Pearl'.

Maternal forebears of 'Ch. Sousa'
Images courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection
Below: 'Royal Norton' maternal grandsire of 'Sousa'.
Photo: Captain Kidd and Sinbad the Sailor (1903) by Caro Senour1


Below:'Brushwood Caprice' maternal Grand-dam of 'Royal Norton'.
Photo: Concerning Cats (1900) by Helen M. Winslow.8


Below: 'Taffy' (Buff and White), maternal Grand-sire of 'Royal Norton'
Photo: Concerning Cats (1900) by Helen M. Winslow.8

Below:'Madge' (aka Madge Norton), maternal Grand-dam of 'Maplewood Dainty'.
Photo: Harpers Bazar, 14th December, 18989


'Sousa' was bred by Miss Abby M. Clark, of Carthage, Indiana, out of a daughter of 'Royal Norton' named 'Maplewood Dainty'(BCC:613)7. 'Dainty' carried a raft of original white bloodlines, including 'Brushwood Caprice' (BCC:207) and 'Taffy', the sire and dam of 'Chiffon', the dam of 'Royal Norton'. On her maternal side, 'Dainty's' grand-dam was 'Madge Norton', another import from Persia and the damn of the lovely 'Bydie Young'. With 'Prince of Pearls' being located relatively close, the opportunity to combine these established lines with something new would have been very appealing.

Mrs. George H Gould, who was to become the new owner of 'Sousa', was based in Ithaca, New York, and needed to forge her own path with new imported bloodlines in order to compete at any level with Mrs. Champion, her daughters Dorothy and Ethel Champion, and the up and coming Miss Ava Pollard. No doubt she had kept tabs on the latest imports and had discovered that a litter was imminent sired by 'Prince of Pearls'.

SIBLINGS & SHOWS:

There appear to be no full siblings from this specific combination, only one dam-sibling, and a small number of sire-siblings. These include:

'Kit' (dam sibling) Copper-eyed white male, born 24th June, 1900, (ACA:456)4 sired by Mrs. Colburn's 'Torrington Red Knight', bred by Mrs. Abbie M. Clark and owned by R.J. Ward, Indianapolis, Indiana. Sire Siblings:

'Ti Ki Pearl' Copper-eyed white male, born 23rd April, 1902 (BCC:957)7 out of 'Fairy Pearl' (Imported), bred by Mrs. C.E. Hurlbert, and owned by Mrs. C.G. Swope of Dresden, Ohio.

'Sweet Briar Prince of Pearls' Blue-eyed white male, born 23rd June, 1902 (ACA:6)4 out of 'Corinne' bred by Mrs. C.E. Hurlbert and owned by Mr. F.G. Hasselman of Indianapolis, Indiana.

'De Reske' Copper-eyed white male, born 6th October, 1903 (CFA:381)6 out of 'Taidei'(BCC:450), bred and owned by Mrs. I.L. Drake of Fort Worth, Texas.

Shows:

'Sousa' was shown for the first time in Rochester, New York in November 1905, where he won first prize in the 'Open Class', first in Novice and four Specials, one for best white male cat in show. He was exhibited for the second time at the Madison Square Garden show New York in January 1906. On that occasion he won first prize in the 'Open Class' and a medal for best blue-eyed male in show. This was followed by a first prize in Cleveland, Ohio in 1907. ¹

BREEDING & PROGENY:

As a blue-eyed white stud, 'Ch. Sousa' was just one in a growing list of blue-eyed white males being retained for breeding in order to expand the available gene pool in the United States, the colour variety being one of the most sought after among long-hairs, alongside the silver (or chinchilla). His traceable list of progeny is not large, but two of his sons in particular, and their progeny, would help to establish a new dynasty of whites, carrying the 'Kilravock' cattery name into long-hair breeding history.

'Kilravock Don Giovanni' and 'Kilravock Don Leone'
Noted litter siblings and sons of 'Ch. Sousa', born 9th July, 1908

Illustration of 'Don Giovanni' by H.V. Furness. Photo: The Cat Review, May 19145
Photo of 'Don Leone': Stud Book & Register of The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc., Volume 26
Image courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

'Ch. Sousa's' progeny of note, in chronological order were:

  • 'SUZETTE' Copper-eyed white female, born 13th April, 1905 (ACA:159)4. Dam: 'Coquette'. Bred and owned by Mrs. George H. Gould. 'CAYUGA LADDIE' Blue-eyed white male, born 27th September, 1905 (ACA:422)?. Dam: 'Diane of Rosedale'. Bred by Mrs. Ione Owen, Ithaca, N.Y. Owned by Mrs. Josephine Hodges, Newark, N.J.

  • 'MY SWEETHEART' Blue-eyed white female, born 2nd March, 1906 (ACA:580)4. Dam: 'Midget'. Bred by Mrs. J.H. Durfey, Ithaca, N.Y. Owned by Mr. George Mclean, Amesbury, Mass.

  • 'SOUSELLE BELLE' Blue-eyed white female, born April, 1907(ACA:1065)4. Dam: 'White Lady'. Bred by Mrs. E.H. Church, Corsicana, Texas. Owned by Mrs. M.W. Belle, of Dallas, Texas.

  • 'KILRAVOCK DON GIOVANNI' Blue-eyed white male, born 9 July, 1908 (ACA:1352)4. Out of 'Kilravock Magnolia II'. Bred by Miss J.R. Kroeh, Orange, N.J. Owned by Mrs. J.F. Renner, Sausalito, California. Sire of, amongst others, 'Woodverge Sweet William' (1910) and 'Kilravock Don Giovanni II'(1916).

  • 'KILRAVOCK DON LEONE' Blue-eyed white male, born 9 July, 1908 (ACA:2562)4. Out of 'Kilravock Magnolia II'. Bred and owned by Miss J.E. Kroeh, Orange, N.J. (Litter brother to 'K.Don Giovanni'. Sire of, amongst others, 'Ch. Kilravock Janet (1910); 'Ch. Kilravock Don Leone II' (1911); 'Kilravock Donna Carrolla' (1911) and Kilravock Lady Juanita.

  • 'KILRAVOCK MAGNOLIA III' Blue-eyed white female, born 23 May, 1909 (CFA:776)6. Out of 'Kilravock Magnolia II'. Bred and owned by Mrs. J.E. Kroeh, Orange, N.Y.: dam of, amongst others, 'Kilravock Magnolia Flower (1915); 'Ch. Kilravock Brer Rabbit' (1917); 'Kilravock Ivory II' (1919), and 'Kilravock Magnolia IV'

Grandsons of 'Ch. Sousa' - 'Woodverge Sweet William' & 'Kilravock Don Leone II'
Left: 'Sweet William' sired by 'Kilravock Don Giovanni'. Photo: The Cat Review, June, 191310
Right: 'Don Leone II' sired by 'Kilravock Don Leone'. Photo: The Cat Review, December 191711
Images courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

PHOTOS:

Mrs. George H. Gould's 'Double Champion Sousa'
Photo: Captain Kidd Jr. and Sinbad The Sailor (1908) by Caro Senour 1
Images courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

'Double Champion Sousa'
Photo: A. Radclyffe Dugmore, Country Life In America, September 19082
Images courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

'Champion Sousa', in the ownership of Mrs. I.L. Drake, Ft. Worth, TX
Photo: The Cat Review, April, 191112
Images courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

SOCIAL MEDIA :

Stud advertisements for 'Kilravock Don Giovanni' a Blue-eyed White son of 'Ch. Sousa'.
Left: From the Western Cat Review, September 1910.³3
Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection
Right: From The Cat Review, December 191013
Courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

In Summary:

The piecing together of snippets of feline history in order to create a cohesive image for our readers, is akin to putting together a jig-saw puzzle. In the history of the white longhair in the United States, 'Ch. Sousa' represents just one small piece in that puzzle, but one which links both backward in time to the early pre-registry beginnings of the cat fancy in the late nineteenth century, and also forward into the heady days of the early twentieth century. He was just one of a number of foundation stones upon which Miss J.R. Kroeh of 'Kilravock' cattery built considerable success and a reputation for breeding quality blue and copper-eyed whites. His legacy is not just in the short list of his own progeny, but in providing, through his sons and grandsons, an ever-expanding gene pool from which almost every white longhair in the United States today has benefitted.

REFERENCES:

  1. Captain Kidd Jr. and Sinbad The Sailor, by Caro Senour, 1908
  2. Country Life in America, September, 1908
  3. Western Cat Review, September, 1910
  4. Stud-Book of the American Cat Association, Vols.1-5
  5. The Cat Review, May, 1914
  6. Stud Book & Register of The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc., Vols.1-2
  7. Stud-Book & Register of the Beresford Cat Club of America, Vols 1-4
  8. Concerning Cats, by Helen M. Winslow, 1900
  9. Harpers Bazar, December 14, 1898
  10. The Cat Review, June, 1913
  11. The Cat Review, December, 1917
  12. The Cat Review, April, 1911
  13. The Cat Review, December, 1910
  14. Photos and quotations as per sources quoted

Registers associated with this article include The Incorporated Cat Fanciers Association of Great Britain (TICFAGB), National Cat Club (NCC), The Cat Club (CCR), Beresford Cat Club (BCC), Feline Federation Francaise (FFF), Siamese Cat Registry (SCR), US Register & Studbook for Cats (USR)including Supplement(USRS), The Studbook of the American Cat Association (ACA), and the Studbook & Register of the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA).

 


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