Tehama - The Magazine

22 TEHAMA - THE MAGAZINE, October 2014 three separate volumes, A, B and C, of which the last one is split into two books, and a book of index that list the brands the office registered from 1856 to about 1938. The first brand was symbolized by JT. "The recording fee for a brand today is $60 for two years and will go up to $70 in November," said Jean Barton, a long-time Red Bluff cattlewoman. "In 1856, it was 50 cents," Ross said. The office began working on a project of digitally recording brands in 2013 as a part of a process in loaning them to the Tehama County Museum. Some of them had been found in a box in the courthouse basement and others had been found in a bag in another location after being rescued by a local cattleman, Ross said. In the old days, brands were brought in on a piece of leather, sometimes in the shape of a cow's head or sometimes just a small piece cut off a saddle that had been branded. After they were brought into the recorder's office and a description written in the book, the piece of leather was often stamped with information filled in about who recorded the brand and when. Other times, there was a piece of paper attached with the information, some of which had nearly worn off over the years, Ross said. There was also often notation of ear marks used as well as the brand to further the ability to identify one's cattle. The office also collected information on sheep and turkey brands, the latter of which was done by clipping off part of the claw. In one brand entry from 1908, the record notes the brand was to clip the middle toe of the right foot. While some families have changed cattle brands through the years, others are still using those of their ancestors. Ross's grandparents used UHL and her parents used CF, which stood for Charlotte Brand Exhibit at Tehama County Museum

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