Alexander "Alex" Faribault (June 22, 1806 – November 28, 1882) was an American trading post operator and territorial legislator who helped to found Faribault, Minnesota and was its first postmaster. Born in Prairie du Chien,

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

, his father was the fur trapper Jean-Baptiste Faribault. His mother was Elizabeth Pelagie Ainse, a half-Dakota daughter of Joseph-Louis Ainse, a British superintendent at Mackinac. He was considered

mixed-blood The term mixed-blood in the United States and Canada has historically been described as people of multiracial backgrounds, in particular mixed European and Native American ancestry. Today, the term is often seen as pejorative. Northern Woodlan ...

. Alexander Faribault married Mary Elizabeth Graham in 1825. Mary was a member of another prominent French-Dakota family. This helped contribute to Faribault's successful business enterprises. He owned a trading post and in 1851 served in the Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives. During the Dakota War of 1862, he fought in the

Battle of Birch Coulee The Battle of Birch Coulee occurred September 2–3, 1862 and resulted in the heaviest casualties suffered by U.S. forces during the Dakota War of 1862. The battle occurred after a group of Dakota warriors followed a U.S. burial expedition, incl ...

, the bloodiest battle in the war for American soldiers. During the siege, Alexander Faribault pleaded for peace. Speaking Dakota, Alexander pleaded to Big Eagle, "You do very wrong to fire on us. We did not come out to fight; we only came out to bury the bodies of the white people you killed." After most Dakota were ordered into exile from their Minnesota homelands in 1863, Faribault sheltered a number of Wahpekute and Mdewakanton people on his farm. His son-in-law was William Henry Forbes, who also served in the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. Faribault died in Faribault, Minnesota, after suffering a "paralytic shock" (

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

) the previous month. His house, the Alexander Faribault House, was built in 1853 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faribault, Alexander 1806 births 1882 deaths People from Faribault, Minnesota People from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Minnesota American city founders Members of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople