Jean Joseph Rolette
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Jean Joseph Rolette (September 24, 1781 – December 3, 1842), often known as Joseph Rolette, was a prominent
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
r and member of the Mackinac Company who operated a trading post in
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...
.


Youth and early career

Rolette was born in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in 1781 to ethnic French parents. As a young man he trained for the priesthood at a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
there, but he did not complete his studies. After leaving the seminary, he became involved in the fur trade. He worked briefly in
Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...
before establishing a trading post for the Mackinac Company in the remote village of
Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien may refer to: Places *Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second- ...
sometime between 1801 and 1805, in what is now the state of Wisconsin in the United States. In 1811, the Mackinac Company was reorganized as the South West Company, and Rolette became a major partner in the business. It is believed he had two partners in 1815, when the company was acquired by American
John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...
. Astor's
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 ...
established a monopoly in this region and much of the West.


First marriage and family

In 1807, Rolette married 14-year-old Marguerite Dubois, the "mixed-blood" daughter of Antoine Dubois; her mother was the sister of Chief Wabasha II. They had at least two daughters, Emilie (later known as Emilie Rolette Hooe) and Elizabeth Rolette. Marguerite died in 1817.


War of 1812 and after

During the
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 ...
, Rolette, like many other French-Canadian fur traders in the
Old Northwest The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...
, was an active supporter of the
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against the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. He participated in the British capture of
Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...
in the
Siege of Fort Mackinac The siege of Fort Mackinac was one of the first engagements of the War of 1812. A United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and Native Americans in the United States, Native American force captured the island soon after the outbreak ...
, and later commanded a British militia unit in the Siege of Prairie du Chien. Animosity between Rolette and the Americans at Prairie du Chien continued for some time after the war. Canadian fur traders on the other side of the border were no longer granted licenses by the US government and were cut off from many of their clients. Despite this, in 1821 Rolette was appointed as an associate justice of
Crawford County, Wisconsin Crawford County is a county in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,113. Its county seat is Prairie du Chien. History Along with Brown County, Crawford County is one of Wisconsin ...
. In 1830 he briefly served as chief justice of the county.


Second marriage and family

Rolette married Jane Fisher in 1818. She was a local woman twenty-three years his junior. She was related to noted fur trader Michel Brisbois. The couple had had two children during the 1820s,
Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
, who was elected to the Minnesota Territorial Legislature in 1851, and Virginia.


Entrepreneur

Meanwhile, Rolette's business continued to prosper. In 1820 Rolette made an alliance with Astor's powerful American Fur Company and became the company's sole agent in Prairie du Chien. This, coupled with numerous investments in real estate, propelled Rolette to become the wealthiest man in the village, and he was often called "King Rolette" by his friends. Among the American Indians with whom he traded, he was known as "Five More" because he would always try to bargain for five more furs. However, in 1826, Rolette's authority began to wane as Hercules L. Dousman arrived in Prairie du Chien to work for the American Fur Company. The two operated as equal partners for some time, but Dousman slowly came to rise past Rolette in the business. In 1836, Jane Fisher Rolette became the first woman in
Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...
to file for divorce, but she backed off and settled for a legal separation instead. As part of the separation contract, Joseph Rolette agreed to construct his wife a two-story stone house on the riverfront in Prairie du Chien. Known as the Brisbois House, this structure is now a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
and is owned by the
Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...
. In the
Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...
, Rolette lost significant wealth and became indebted to Dousman and the American Fur Company. Then in 1842 the American Fur Company declared bankruptcy, and in order to continue in the trade Rolette entered into a joint venture with Dousman,
Henry Hastings Sibley Henry Hastings Sibley (February 20, 1811 – February 18, 1891) was a fur trader with the American Fur Company, the first U.S. Congressional representative for Minnesota Territory, the first governor of the state of Minnesota, and a U.S. mi ...
, and
Pierre Chouteau Chouteau was the name of a highly-successful ethnically-French furtrading family based in Saint Louis, Missouri, which they helped found. Their ancestors Chouteau and Laclède initially settled in New Orleans. They then moved up the Mississippi ...
to organize a new company which would take its place on the upper Mississippi. While Rolette was given an ownership stake in the new company, he was not given any control over its operation. Only a few months later, Rolette died in debt to the new company, and most of his estate was seized by the remaining partners. Dousman also married Rolette's widow Jane Fisher Rolette two years later. Rolette's estate was sold at a sheriff's sale (i.e.,
public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...
) in 1845. At the time of his death, Rolette was building what would become known as the Rolette House.


References


Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolette Jean Joseph Canadian fur traders 1781 births 1842 deaths People from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin People of New France People from Michigan Territory