Chouteau was the name of a highly-successful ethnically-French furtrading family based in Saint Louis,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, which they helped found. Their ancestors Chouteau and Laclède initially settled in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. They then moved up the Mississippi river and established posts in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, particularly along the Missouri River and in the Southwest. Various locations were named after the family.

People

* Marie-Therese Bourgeois Chouteau (1733-1814), matriarch of the family :children of Marie-Therèse Bourgeois Chouteau and René Augustin Chouteau Sr. ::* René Auguste Chouteau (1750-1829), founder of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

:::*Auguste Aristide Chouteau (1792-1833), fur trader :::*Henri Chouteau I (1805-1855), railroad executive, killed in Gasconade Bridge train disaster ::::*Henri Chouteau II (1830-1854), married Julia Deaver :::::*Azby Auguste Chouteau Sr. (1853-?),

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and one of the founders of Minnesela, South Dakota, husband of Cora Baker (great-great-granddaughter of

Isaac Shelby Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...

) ::::::*Azby Chouteau Jr. (1884-?) ::::::*Henri Arminstead Chouteau III (1889-1952),

realtor Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agent ...

Benedict Richards, Marjorie. ''Minnesela: The City That Never Happened. Spearfish,'' SD: Northern Hills Printing, 1972. Print. :::*Edward Chouteau (1807-1846), trader :::*Gabriel Chouteau (1794-1887), served in

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

:::*Eulalie Chouteau (1799-1835), married René Paul (1783-1851), first surveyor of St. Louis ::::* Gabriel René Paul (1813-1886), Union Army general in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

:::*Louise Chouteau, married Gabriel Paul :::*Emilie Chouteau, married Thomas Floyd, US officer in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

:Children of Marie-Therèse Bourgeois Chouteau and

Pierre Laclède Pierre Laclède Liguest or Pierre Laclède (22 November 1729 – 20 June 1778) was a French fur trader who, with his young assistant and stepson Auguste Chouteau, founded St. Louis in 1764, in what was then Spanish Upper Louisiana, in present-da ...

(also founder of St. Louis, Missouri): ::*Victoire Chouteau, (1760-1825), wife of Charles Gratiot Sr., financier of the

Illinois campaign The Illinois campaign, also known as Clark's Northwestern campaign, was a series of engagements during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militia led by George Rogers Clark seized control of several British outposts ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

:::*

Charles Gratiot Charles Chouteau Gratiot (August 29, 1786 – May 18, 1855) was born in St. Louis, Spanish Upper Louisiana Territory, now the present-day State of Missouri. He was the son of Charles Gratiot, Sr., a fur trader in the Illinois country during ...

, (1786-1855), builder of Fort Meigs and

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

and participant in Battle of Mackinac Island :::*Henry Gratiot (1789-1856), soldier in the Black Hawk War ::::*Adèle Gratiot (1826-1887), wife of Elihu B. Washburne (1816-1887), U.S. Secretary of State and

U.S. Ambassador to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations w ...

::* Jean Pierre Chouteau (1758-1849){{Cite book , last = Beckwith , first = Paul Edmond , title = Creoles of St. Louis , publisher = Nixon-Jones , date = 1893 , location = St. Louis :::*

Auguste Pierre Chouteau Auguste Pierre Chouteau (9 May 1786 – 25 December 1838) was a member of the Chouteau fur-trading family who established trading posts in what is now the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Chouteau was born in St. Louis, then part of Spanish colonia ...

(1786-1838), founder of posts in Oklahoma and

Chouteau, Oklahoma Chouteau is the second-largest town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,059 at the 2020 census. History Chouteau, originally called "Cody's Creek", became a stop on the Katy railroad in 1871. It soon became a thrivin ...

::::*Emilie Sophie Chouteau (1813-1874), wife of Nicolas DeMenil and owner of Chatillon-DeMenil House :::* Pierre Chouteau Jr., nicknamed 'Cadet', (1789-1865), founder of posts on Upper Missouri River, including Fort Pierre and

Chouteau County, Montana Chouteau County is a county located in the North-Central region of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,895. Its county seat is Fort Benton. The county was established in 1865 as one of the original nine coun ...

, and partner to Bernard A. Pratte in the Pratte & Chouteau Trading Company. :::*

François Chouteau François Gesseau Chouteau (February 7, 1797 – April 18, 1838) was a French-American pioneer fur trader and entrepreneur from the prominent Chouteau fur-trading family. He is widely regarded as the "Father of Kansas City". Chouteau was born i ...

, first official European settler of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

::::::*

Yvonne Chouteau Myra Yvonne Chouteau () (March 7, 1929 – January 24, 2016) was an American ballerina and one of the "Five Moons" or Native Americans in the United States, Native ''prima ballerinas'' of Oklahoma. She was the only child of Corbett Edward and Luc ...

(1929-2016), 20th-century

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

classical ballerina, one of the "

Five Moons The Five Moons were five Native American ballerinas from the U.S. state of Oklahoma who achieved international recognition during the 20th century. The five women were Myra Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin, and sisters Mar ...

" of Oklahoma; 5th-generation descendant of Jean Pierre Chouteau ::*Marie Pelagie Chouteau (1760-1812), grandmother of Emilie Pratt, wife of Ramsay Crooks (1780-1859), General Manager and President of the

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...

and business partner of Jean Pierre Chouteau

Places

Choteau, Montana Choteau is a city in and the county seat of Teton County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,721 at the 2020 census. Choteau is named after French fur merchant, trader and explorer Pierre Chouteau, Jr., who is also the namesake of ...

* Chouteau Creek, Mayes County, Oklahoma *

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,091. Pierre is the eleventh-most populous city of South Dakota, and the second-least populo ...

(named for Pierre Chouteau Jr.) * Chouteau Bridge across the Missouri River in Kansas City * Chouteau's Landing in

* Chouteau Avenue in St. Louis The family sold the Chouteau posts along the upper Missouri River in 1865 after the American Civil War to Americans James B. Hubbell, Alpheus F. Hawley, James A. Smith, C. Francis Bates. Hubbell, based in Minnesota, already had some licenses from the federal government to trade with Native Americans in the West. He and his colleague Hawley formed a partnership with these men to set up a business. They formed the Northwestern Fur Company and operated it through posts along the upper Missouri River until 1870. They closed the business due to losses of equipment and furs during the Sioux uprising and warfare during the 1860s, which resulted in a volatile environment that made it too difficult to operate.Lucile M. Kane, "New Light on the Northwestern Fur Company"
''Minnesota History Magazine,'' Winter 1955, pp. 325-329

References

External links

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
"Henri Arminstead Chouteau."
Find a Grave. N.p., 29 Sept. 2007. Web. French families Business families American families of French ancestry