Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh (9 January 1831,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

– 29 March 1899,

Wilford, Idaho Wilford is an unincorporated community in Fremont County, in the U.S. state of Idaho. History The first settlement at Wilford was made in 1883. Wilford was officially founded my Thomas Smith. A post office called Wilford was established in 1887, ...

) was an English-American trapper, scout, and guide at the end of the 19th century, primarily in the area now known as

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, United States. He has been called "possibly the West's last mountain man." He was the guide for F. V. Hayden's survey of the

Teton Range The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park, ...

in 1872.

Leigh Lake Leigh Lake is located in Grand Teton National Park, in the U. S. state of Wyoming. The glacially formed lake is wide and long from north to south. Situated just southeast of Mount Moran, the lake is at the terminus of both Paintbrush and Leigh ...

was named for Richard Leigh, and nearby Jenny Lake for his first wife, by Hayden's expedition. He corresponded frequently with his longtime friend, Charles B. Penrose, leaving behind diaries and letters that provide a personal, historical, and geographical documentation of the area. He was mentioned by

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in 1892, as a local hunter around

Two Ocean Pass Two Ocean Pass is a mountain pass on North America's Continental Divide, in the Teton Wilderness, which is part of Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest. The pass is notable for Parting of the Waters, where one stream, North Two Ocean Creek, ...

. His moniker "Beaver Dick" was reportedly given to him by

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

as a tribute to his

trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur trade, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and w ...

skills. In 1964, Beaver Dick Park was established near

Rexburg, Idaho Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg ...

. Despite what the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

reported, it has never been an Idaho State Park.

Life

Born in

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1831, Leigh emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 7. He briefly lived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

before joining the Hudson Bay Company in Canada, where he became a fur trapper in the northwestern territories. He then fought in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

. Following the war, Leigh settled in the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...

and later the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

Valley, continuing his trapping pursuits. In 1863, Leigh married a

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

woman named Jenny, establishing a home on the western slopes of the

. The couple raised five children together: Dick Jr., Anne Jane, John, William, and Elizabeth. Leigh gained recognition for his expertise in hunting, trapping, and guiding expeditions. Notably, he constructed a free

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

at Eagle Nest Ford on the

. He acted as a liaison between settlers and the

tribe. Leigh guided Ferdinand Hayden's expedition through

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

in 1871. His contributions were acknowledged by the expedition, with

, Jenny Lake, and String Lake (formerly Beaver Dick Lake) named in his honor and his wife's. In 1876, Jenny and all their children died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

contracted from a visiting Indian woman. Leigh survived and remarried in 1879 to Susan Tadpole. He had three children with Susan: Emma, William, and Rose. Through the end of his life, he continued guiding hunting parties. While camped near Two Ocean Creek in 1891, he was visited by

and his hunting party and Teddy and Richard conversed about their experiences and stories. He remained a respected figure within the community until his death in 1899. He was buried in Wilford, Idaho. A letter from Beaver Dick Leigh describing the

sickness and deaths of Jenny and five children can be found in

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

and Olaus Murie’s book Wapiti Wilderness, p. 89.

References

1831 births 1899 deaths American fur traders English emigrants to the United States People from Manchester People from Jackson Hole, Wyoming Mountain men People from Wyoming Territory {{OldWest-bio-stub