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

mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

Early life

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

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. The population was 154,705 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Hagerstown, Maryland, Hagerstown. 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 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 ...

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

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

Frontiersman

After working on a

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

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 w ...

in 1833, Albert went west in 1834 with a group of approximately sixty hunters to trap. He soon became part of the Western department 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 ...

at Fort Laramie. In 1836, he was sent to the South Platte area, where the weather trapped him for the winter on the Cache la Poudre. In the spring, he went to Fort William, later known as Bent's Fort, 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 Colorado, specifically ...

. From March to October 1838 he was employed at Fort Jackson by Peter Sarpy and Henry Fraeb. In 1847 he was employed at Simeon Turley's Mill and Distillery about north of Taos 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 popular 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 severa ...

. Seeing the approaching mob, Charles Autobees 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 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 Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

, 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, marrying Juliana León, the daughter of Miguel Antonio León. He carried mail out of the Spanish Peaks post office at Cuchara station, trapped on the

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

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 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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. He is buried in the old Catholic Cemetery at

Walsenburg, Colorado Walsenburg is the Colorado municipalities#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat of and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, most populous municipality in Huerfano County, Colorado, Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. ...

References

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Online book review
at Denver Post. * *

newspaper collection. **

newspaper collection. ** **

Early life

Frontiersman

Death

References

Further reading