John David Albert (May 24, 1810April 24, 1899) was an American

mountain man A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up ...

Early life

John David Albert was bornSt. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church, Baptismal Record in Hagerstown,

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for the ...

, and was baptized in St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church. Albert was orphaned in 1812 around the age of two. His father died in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and his mother soon after, leaving Albert to live with a sister in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

Frontiersman

After working on a

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open wat ...

in 1833, Albert went west in 1834 with a group of approximately sixty hunters to

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

. He soon became part of the Western department of the

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States. During the 18th century, furs had become a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British co ...

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

. In 1836, he was sent to the

South Platte The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. Its ...

area, where the weather trapped him for the winter on the

Cache la Poudre The Cache la Poudre River ( ), also known as the Poudre River, is a river in the state of Colorado in the United States. Name The name of the river () is a corruption of the original Cache à la Poudre, or "cache of powder". It refers to an ...

. In the spring, he went to Fort William, later known as

Bent's Fort Bent's Old Fort is an 1833 fort located in Otero County in southeastern Colorado, United States. A company owned by Charles Bent and William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain built the fort to trade with Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Plains Indians and ...

, on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

. From March to October 1838 he was employed at Fort Jackson by Peter Sarpy and

Henry Fraeb Henry Fraeb, also called Frapp, was a mountain man, fur trader, and trade post operator of the American West, operating in the present-day states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. __TOC__ Early life Fraeb, of German heritage, was from St. Louis, ...

. In 1847 he was employed at Simeon Turley's Mill and Distillery about north of

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colo ...

at Arroyo Hondo. He was one of eight to ten mountain men who defended the mill in a siege by approximately 500 Mexicans and Indians during the

Taos Revolt The Taos Revolt was a populist insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Provisional governor Charles Bent and several ...

. Seeing the approaching mob,

Charles Autobees Charles Autobees (1812–1882), whose last name was also spelled Urtebise and Ortivis, was a fur trader and pioneer in the American Old West. He was the founder of Autobees, Colorado. Early life Charles Autobees was born in St. Louis in 1812 to ...

rode to Santa Fe to get help. The remaining mountain men held off the attack into the night, when Albert and Autobees' half brother

Thomas Tate Tobin Tom Tobin (1823–1904) was an American adventurer, tracker, trapper, mountain man, guide, US Army scout, and occasional bounty hunter. Tobin explored much of southern Colorado, including the Pueblo area. He associated with men such as Kit Car ...

escaped separately on foot in the confusion of the fighting. Albert and Tobin were the only two men to escape Turley's Mill alive. In three days, Albert walked to the trading post at

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

, through winter conditions with no coat, having escaped only with his weapons and shooting bag. Tobin walked to Santa Fe. John David Albert later settled in the

Taos Valley Taos Valley, also called Lower Taos Canyon, is a valley located in Taos County, New Mexico. It is bounded by the Rio Grande Gorge; the deep ravine, or Arroyo Hondo, of the Rio Hondo; and the Taos Mountain range. Included in the valley are Ranch ...

, marrying Juliana Popé, the daughter of William Popé. He carried mail out of the

Spanish Peaks The Spanish Peaks are a pair of prominent mountains located in southwestern Huerfano County, Colorado, Huerfano County, Colorado. The Comanche people, Comanche people call them Huajatolla ( ) or Wa-to-yah meaning "double mountain". The two peak ...

post office at Cuchara station, trapped on the

Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

and Cucharas rivers, and is credited with building the fort at La Plaza de la Leones. He was a close friend of Jim Baker, and co-led the parade of Denver's

Festival of Mountain and Plain The Festival of Mountain and Plain was an annual celebration of pioneer days in the Old West held in early October in Denver from 1895 to 1899, and in 1901 with a final attempt at revival in 1912. Organized by The Mountain and Plain Festival Assoc ...

with Baker in 1895.

Death

Albert survived three wives, all of whom were partially or fully Mexican and all of whom died while married to him, and fathered 21 children before his death in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. He is buried in the old Catholic Cemetery at

Walsenburg, Colorado The City of Walsenburg is the Statutory City that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,049 at the 2020 census, down from 3,068 in 2010. History Walsenbur ...

References

* * * * * * * * *
Online book review
at Denver Post. * *

newspaper collection. **

newspaper collection. ** **

Early life

Frontiersman

Death

References

Further reading