PIERRE CHOUTEAU AND FAMILY:

Pierre Chouteau, a member of a St. Louis fur trading family, was born in St. Louis, Missouri (January 19, 1789), the son of Jean Pierre and Pelagie (Kiersereau) Chouteau. He entered the fur trade business with his father (1809); organized and participated in a number of fur companies (1831-1838): Bernard Pratte and Company, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., and Company, Chouteau and McKenzie; and operated a rolling mill in St. Louis (1850). He was also an original incorporator of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad (1851). He died in St. Louis, Missouri (September 6, 1865).

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The collection includes biographical information, calendars of fur trade documents, and correspondence between Pierre Chouteau, Jr., fur traders, agents, and other individuals associated with the fur trade. In addition to Henry Chouteau, Ramsay Crooks, George Davenport, Hercules L. Dousman, Kenneth McKenzie, Henry M. Rice, Joseph Rolette, Henry H. Sibley, Joseph M. Street, correspondents include William B. Astor, Frederick Bates (Governor of Louisiana), Charles William Wulff Borup, William Clark, William Henry Harrison (Governor of Indiana Territory), and Charles D. St. Vrain (American Fur Company agent at Rock Island).

The papers deal with the Chouteau's connections to the American Fur Company's trade in the upper Mississippi River region centered around Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and Rock Island, Illinois, and contain information on aspects of the fur trade; relations with Indian tribes; conflicts between the Sauk, Fox, and Dakota; the Black Hawk and Seminole wars; the sale of Dubuque lead mines, and the payment of Dakota debts by the sale of lands west of the Mississippi.

Other topics discussed in the papers include travel expenses, inventories and financial accounts; the ordering and shipment of supplies for fur trading posts and agencies; provisions supplied to military units; the state of the fur trade, and plans by Charles William Wulff Borup and Henry Sibley to oust Henry M. Rice from the fur trade and the territory. The articles of agreement for Pierre Chouteu, Jr. and Company (1849) are also present.

Letters dated October 16, 1799 (2 items), September 11, 1829, May 20, 1834, and January 4, 1844 are in French and do not include translations.

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Access Restrictions:

Access to reserve materials requires the curator's permission.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Pierre Chouteau and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Location of Originals:

Portions of the correspondence and other papers were copied from originals in the Pierre Chouteau-Maffitt Collection, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Missouri.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 2885; 2909; 8178; 8309; 7853; 16,438; 16,440; 16,441; 16,442

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 990017320350104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Dakota Indians.

Fox Indians.

Fur trade -- Mississippi River Valley.

Sauk Indians.

Persons:

Borup, Charles W. W. (Charles William Wulff), 1806-1859.

Chouteau, Henry.

Crooks, Ramsay, 1787-1859.

Davenport, George.

Dousman, Hercules L. (Hercules Louis), 1800-1868.

McKenzie, Kenneth, 1797-1861.

Nicollet, J. N. (Joseph Nicolas), 1786-1843.

Renville, Joseph, 1779-1846.

Rice, Henry M. (Henry Mower), 1816-1894.

Rolette, Joseph, 1781-1842.

Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1891.

Street, Joseph Montfort, 1782-1840.

Organizations:

American Fur Company.

Columbia Fur Company.

Minnesota Outfit.

Sioux Outfit.

United States. Army -- Supplies and stores.

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