Tom Candy Ponting came to the United States in 1847, landing in New York City, and finally making his way to Etna, Ohio. Here he was employed by a Mr. Matthews, to sell mutton from a wagon in the market house in Columbus, where they attended twice a week. Mutton sold for 15 cents to 25 cents per quarter in those days, while beef sold for 2½ cents to 3 cents per pound. After a short time, Mr. Ponting quit his job selling mutton, went to Columbus, bought a horse and saddle, and went into the country to buy cattle. The first cattle that he ever bought in the United States were eight head which he purchased from a Mr. Bishop eight miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio. In the spring of 1848, Mr. Ponting, in company with a Mr. Vickery, another Englishman, visited Racine, Janesville, Watertown, Madison, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, looking for a location to start a butcher shop. Although there was plenty of need for butcher shops at these places, they did not locate because cattle were so scarce in the country. From Milwaukee, Mr. Ponting came to Chicago to study the situations there. He found no regular markets and only two places where they sold stock. While in Chicago, he met a Mr. Bradley, who had driven some cattle from McLean county, near Leroy. Mr. Bradley had sold all of his cattle except forty cows with calves. He sold these to Mr. Ponting, who drove them to Wisconsin and sold them to immigrants, a few at a time. He sold them for $15 to $25 per head and still made money. He returned to Chicago and again met Mr. Bradley, who had brought a boat load of sides of bacon up from Peoria. He had purchased this bacon from the farmers, hauled it to Peoria, and shipped it up the Illinois river to Chicago, where he sold it to grocery stores. This was the only means to dispose of the bacon put up by the farmers, as there was no hog packing done in Chicago at that time. Mr. Bradley wanted Mr. Ponting to go with him to McLean county, but as Illinois was known in those days as a very sickly state, Mr. Ponting was afraid to venture. While in Chicago at this time, he met a Mr. Lewis and Mr. Heyworth who had come up from Vermilion county with a drove of cattle. Mr. Heyworth was taken sick here and Mr. Ponting was employed to assist Mr. Lewis in taking the cattle on to Milwaukee.