250 Years Ago ... Let's Meet Auguste Chouteau*

As January turned into February in the little village of Nouvelle Chartres, Laclede and his companion, Auguste Chouteau, no doubt were in the midst of planning for the building of Maxent & Laclede's new trading post and settlement at the location they had chosen a couple of months previously.  In fact, later in February Laclede would send Chouteau to start the building process while Laclede remained at Nouvelle Chartres, no doubt trading. 

Who was this young man, Auguste Chouteau? 

In 1764, Chouteau was no more than fourteen years old, which seems a young age to be entrusted with the tasks that Laclede entrusted him with. But in the 1700's, boys of 14 were eligible to serve in the militia and it was not unusual for them to leave home and become apprenticed to a master craftsman or, if they were literate and knew their numbers, be hired as a clerk to a merchant. 

Chouteau was the son of Rene Auguste Chouteau, who had emigrated to New Orleans some time prior to September 20, 1748 when he married 15 year old Marie Therese Bourgeois. She was born in New Orleans on January 14, 1733 to Nicolas Charles Bourgeois and Marie Joseph Tarare. Rene Auguste Chouteau kept an inn and tavern in New Orleans. His son, Auguste Chouteau was probably born the year following the marriage.  

By 1752 the elder Chouteau had abandoned his wife and baby son and returned to France. There was a family tradition that Chouteau was abusive to Marie Therese.  But whether he was physically abusive, he abandoned a very young woman and small child leaving her to fend for herself.  By 1763, Marie Therese was calling herself Veuve (Widow) Chouteau, more an indication that no one expected Chouteau to return to New Orleans rather than any real knowledge as to whether he was alive or not. In fact, Chouteau was not dead.  In 1767 he returned to New Orleans, only to find that his wife and son had moved to the new settlement of St. Louis with Pierre Laclede. 

Within a few years after the elder Chouteau abandoned her, Marie Therese met Pierre Laclede.   She was still legally married to the missing Chouteau, and in any event divorce was not allowed in French Catholic territories, so they could never marry.  But Laclede and Madame Chouteau (as she was always known) seemed to be as committed to each other as any married couple and they had four children together:  Jean Pierre (1758), Marie Pelagie (1760), Marie Louise (1762) and Victoire, born March 3, 1764 when Laclede was in the Illinois country.  As Shirley Christian says in her book Before Lewis and Clark, Laclede and Marie Therese "followed a policy of never admit and never explain."  Thus, even though everyone knew that Chouteau had been missing for years, Marie Therese had all of her children baptised as the legitimate children of Rene Auguste Chouteau and so none of Laclede's children bore his name.  (This would cause confusion for historians and geneologists in the future). 

Laclede became, in fact if not by law, the step-father of Auguste Chouteau and it seems that they had a close relationship.  Laclede  was a well educated man and he saw that Auguste Chouteau became educated.  When young Auguste Chouteau was old enough, Laclede employed him as his clerk.  He took Chouteau with him on the 700 mile journey up the Mississippi to found St. Louis, leaving behind (temporarily) the pregnant Marie Therese and the other three children.  Eventually Laclede would send Chouteau and a group of men up the river to begin the process of building the new St. Louis.

In his old age, Auguste Chouteau would write his memoirs in which he is unfailingly complimentary of Laclede.  He called him "a man of great merit, capable from his experience, of conducting with skill and prudence the interests of the company."  It was Chouteau himself, however, who would  become the patriarch of St. Louis, its leading citizen and a very rich man.  

*Part of my continuing blog series leading up to the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis in February 2014. 

250 Years Ago ... Laclede and Chouteau Scope out Locations for St. Louis*

By this time, in 1763, Laclede and Chouteau were settled into their new residence at Nouvelle Chartres. It makes sense that they would have begun their trading, including obtaining introductions by Commander De Neyon to the various Indian tribes in the area.

But Laclede had no intention of investing a great deal of time into business in Nouvelle Chartres, he was impatient to choose a location for his new trading post at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. At some point in December, Laclede set out on an exploratory trip up the river to view the Western Bank of the Mississippi River below the Missouri and choose a location for his post.

Years later, his companion, Auguste Chouteau, would remember this trip:

After all the business of trade was done, he occupied himself with the means of forming an establishment suitable for his commerce, Ste. Genevieve not suiting him, because of its distance from the Missouri, and its insalubrious situation. These reasons decided him to seek a more advantageous site. In consequence, he set out from the Fort de Chartres in the month of December, took with him a young man in his confidence, and examined all the ground from the Fort de Chartres to the Missouri. He was delighted to see the situation [where St. Louis at present stands]; he did not hesitate a moment to form there the establishment that he proposed. Besides the beauty of the site, he found there all the advantages that one could desire to found a settlement which might become very considerable hereafter. After having examined all thoroughly, he fixed upon the place where he wished to form his settlement, marked with his own trees, and said to Chouteau, "You will come here as soon as navigation opens, and will cause this place to be cleared, in order to form our settlement after the plan that I shall give you." We set out immediately afterwards, to return to Fort de Chartres where he said, with enthusiasm, to Monsieur De Neyon, and to his officers, that he had found a situation where he was going to form a settlement, which might become, hereafter, one of the finest cities of America -- so many advantages were embraced in this site, by its locality and its central position, for forming settlement.

 It is doubtful that Laclede actually said that last part, about founding a city that would become one of the finest cities of America.  Chouteau was remembering this years later, after the Louisiana Purchase by the United States, and that "memory" seems likely to be a bit of political correctness.  It is more likely that Laclede was enthusiastic about the opportunity for commerce up the Missouri River and then down to New Orleans. 

No one knows exactly when this reconnaissance trip took place, but today there was a commemoration ceremony at the Arch followed by a 1763 era Christmas dance at the Old Courthouse.  It was as good a day as any to celebrate that first landing.

*Part of my continuing blog series leading up to the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis in February 2014.

250 Years Ago* ... Laclede Buys Property in Nouvelle Chartres; Sets up Shop

By November 19, 1763, Pierre LaClede and his companion, Auguste Chouteau, had been in the Fort de Chartres area for not quite two weeks.  Unlike today, the Mississippi River valley did not have Comfort Inns to check into, so Laclede and Chouteau were probably staying with a local family.  They needed a more permanent place to stay for at least a few months.

Laclede had already been outbid on the Jesuit property put up for auction only a few days after his arrival. Now an opportunity presented itself.  A soldier of the garrison was was willing to sell his house which backed up to the King's Road, the main road that led from the little village of St. Phillipe, north of the fort, through Nouvelle Chartres and south, past Prairie du Rocher to Kaskaskia.  If you were a merchant, it would be a good location for people to stop and talk to you about your wares.  The soldier, Jean Girardin, had acquired the house from the wife of Jean Prunet, who was on the verge of bankruptcy.  Prunet's wife claimed that she had a power of attorney from her husband to sell the property but she was now not able to produce it. Girardin was required to give the buyer an indemnity to cover damages  if Prunet or his wife showed up to claim any ownership of the house.

Laclede purchased the house on behalf of the Company.  It appears that he paid 7500 livres for it, much less than the amount he had bid for the Jesuit property.  This sum also appears to be less than the 15,000 livres that Girardin had paid Prunet's wife for the property.

It would provide a good place to stay for Laclede and Chouteau.  It was a two room furnished house with a lot.  A fence enclosed the property, as was common in French colonial villages.  It also came with 17 head of cattle.

However anxious Laclede and Chouteau were to venture up the river and scout a location for their new trading post, they would winter in Fort de Chartres. 

The following is the deed executed for Maxent, Laclede & Co.'s new location in Nouvelle Chartres (from The Village of Chartres).

Was present in person Jean Girardin, private in the troops detached of the Marine, garrisoned in Illinois, residing in New Chartres, who by the presents has acknowledged and confessed to have on this day, sold, ceded, quitted and conveyed, and promises to warrant against all troubles, debts, dowers, mortgages, evictions, substitutions and all other incumbrances whichever generally, unto Messrs. Maxant, Laclede and Co., merchants, residing commonly in Illinois here present and accepting acquirer for himself, and Messrs. Maxant and Co., to wit:

one house built on sills, consisting of two rooms, two closets, a shed, the lot belonging to said house, of which the parties cannot tell the dimensions, and on which there is a barn covered with straw, a pigeon house, a well of wood and other conveniences; said lot enclosed with cedar posts on all its faces bounded on one side by Ignace Hebert, on the other by Girardot, in front by a street opposite the lot of Girardot, in the rear by the King's road, the whole situate in New Chartres, and further all the furniture now in said house of whatever description they may be, and of which the parties have not thought proper to make a more ample statement, further seventeen head of cattle, one thousand weight fowls, and such as the whole now stands and lies and which said Mr. Laclede says he well knows for having seen and visited the same,

without reserving or retaining anything on the part of said Girardin to whom the whole belongs as having acquired verbally from Veronique Panisse, wife of Jean Prunet dit La Giroflee, who has a power of attorney of her said husband for the sum of 15,000 livres, which was applied for the payment of the debts of said La Giroflee, and without that sale the creditors of Jean Prunet would have had said house sold at auction, being said land of the king's domain and up to this day free from any charge, rent or dues;

 to be enjoyed and disposed of by said Laclede, Maxant and Co., their heirs and assigns, conveying unto them all rights of property, names, actions, reasons and other he has or may have on the property aforesaid, willing that said acquirer may be seized and put in possession by whom it may pertain, appointing to that effect as his attorney the bearer of the presents, giving him full power; and as it is found that said Panisse, wife of said Prunet dit la Giroflee, had not any power of attorney from her husband to authorize her to sell the said house, and that she could not in consequence execute a regular deed, said parties have agreed that in case of a reimbursement from La Giroflee in order to reenter in possession of his house or any other troubles he could apprehend said Girardin, binds himself to indemnify said Mr. Laclede, and to give good and sufficient security of said sum of 7500 livres, and that as soon as Girardin shall review the said bills of exchange of 7500 livres, and this has been stipulated by express clause and as to secure said Mr. Laclede against any troubles from said Prunet and wife; and for the execution of the presents, the parties have appointed their domicile in their respective residences aforesaid, where all acts of justice shall be made.

 For thus has been agreed between the parties.

Promising. Binding. Renouncing.

Done and executed in Illinois in my office in the year 1763, the 19th of November in presence of Messrs. Laysard and Jean LaGrange, merchants who have with the parties and the Notary signed the presents after reading.

 Layssard; Laclede Liguest; Jean Gerardin; Lagrange, wit.; Labuxiere, Notary.

*Part of my continuing blog series leading up to the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis in February 2014.