Lord Beresford: A Spontaneous Rancher from Mexico

A.S. Dawson, chief engineer, Canadian Pacific Irrigation Division.  (CPID) Charles Beresford, First Lord of the Admiralty, British Navy Duke of Sutherland Lord Desborough

• Lord D. J. Beresford was a British Lord who had settled in Mexico. He owned a ranch that ended up housing fugitives from the U.S. 

• Beresford was easygoing and rather indifferent to the perhaps sketchy past of the people working his land. 

• More often than not, Beresford would end up in the local tavern, enjoying a drink or four.  

• After one of these drinking sprees, Beresford ended up so ill he would have died if not for the care of a barmaid named Flo. Flo brought him home, nursing him until he was back to full health.  

• Lord Beresford repaid this debt by bringing Flo back to his ranch with him, where she settled into the role of caring for the house and ranch.  

• Beresford thought so well of Flo that he allowed her to start her own herd of cattle on his land. 

• Lord Beresford had an adventurous spirit, so when news came from Jim Patterson that the Red Deer River had good grazing land, he was intrigued. 

• Beresford decided to move to Canada, so he left his ranch with Flo and took up plenty of ranch equipment by train. 

• He started a successful ranch, despite leaving his cattle to graze on Charlie Parks’ land.  

• In 1906, Lord D. J. Beresford was killed in a train wreck in North Dakota, leaving his ranch in Canada to be sold and continue to develop into the ranchland it is today.   Bibliography  Brooks, Between the Red Deer and the Bow. Delday, Eva. Brooks, Alberta, 1975. Print.