ENCYCLOPEDIA of the HISTORY of ST LOUIS

Saugrain, Antoine Francis, physician, was born in Versailles, France, February 17, 1763. In his young manhood he met in Paris Dr. Benjamin Franklin, and through his representations was induced to come to,this country. After spending some time in philadelphia, he left there in the winter of 1787-8 and came west as far as Pittsburg,Pennsylvania. The following spring he joined the party of Frenchmen that established a settlement on the site of the present city of Gallipolis, Ohio.

He married, in 1793,Genevieve Rosallie Michaud, and in the year 1800 came from Gallipolis to St. Louis, accompanied by his Familv and that of this father-in-law, John Michaud. Having studied medicine, he entered at once upon the practice of his profession here and, when Upper Louisiana was formally transferred to the government of the United States in 1804, he was the only physician practicing in St. Louis. From that time until his death, which occurred May 20, 1820, he "was actively engaged in practice and held a prominenc place among the physicians of the period.

A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
FOR READY REFERENCE.
EDITED BY
WILLIAM HYDE AND HOWARD L. CONARD

Capt William Clark 1770-1838

Birth: Aug. 1, 1770 Death: Sep. 1, 1838

Explorer - Born in Caroline County Virginia, Clark moved with his family to Louisville, Kentucky in 1785. In 1789, he joined the militia. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the regular army in 1792, and was assigned to Anthony Wayne's regiment, participating in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. One of the men briefly under his command was Meriwether Lewis.

Clark left the army in 1796. In 1803, Captain Meriwether Lewis invited Clark to share the leadership of a corps of exploration in an extensive journey into the vast uncharted area newly acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase. Clark acted as mapmaker and artist, portraying in great detail the life they observed. Clark was credited with rescuing the expedition from disaster on more than one occasion.

After Clark's successful return from the Pacific coast three years later, President Jefferson awarded him 1,600 acres and made him brigadier general of militia for the Louisiana Territory as well as superintendent of Indian affairs. He held that post the rest of his life. From 1813 he served as governor of the Missouri Territory.

Clark died in St. Louis where a 35-foot gray granite obelisk was erected to mark his grave. His descendants raised $100,000 to rehabilitate the deteriorated obelisk and rededicated it with a ceremony on the bicentennial of the start of Corps of Exploration. The western American plant, Clarkia Onagraceae, related to the evening primrose, is named after him.

William Carr Lane 1789-1863

In 1823 William Carr Lane became the first Mayor of St. Louis.
He later served as the fifth Mayor as St. Louis.

Born: December 1, 1789
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Died: January 6, 1863
St. Louis, Missouri
Term: 1823 - 1829 1837 - 1840
Party: Whig

Dr. Lane was elected Mayor, serving six one-year terms in succession, and after almost nine years out of office, elected again three more times -- once to fill out the unexpired term of Mayor Darby, then for two full terms. At Lane's first election he received 122 votes to Auguste Chouteau's 70. Mayor Lane, speaking to the first Board of Alderman concerning the City's future said: 'The fortunes of the inhabitants may fluctuate, you and I may sink into oblivion, and even our families become extinct, but the progressive rise of our City is morally certain. The causes of its prosperity are inscribed upon the very face of the earth, and we are as permanent as the foundations of the soil and the sources of the Mississippi.'

Upon becoming Mayor of 4000 people, William Lane found the town one of unpaved streets. Under his guidance the narrow streets were graded and improved and Main Street was paved. A small Town Hall was erected. The first Health Commission was formed and given power to abate nuisances. Physicians were required to make weekly reports of deaths. St. Louis got ready to receive its first world famous visitor. In 1825 General Lafayette visited America and came to St. Louis by steamboat. He stayed at the substantial stone home of Major Chouteau. A grand ball was given in LafayetteÆs honor on the night of April 29, 1825.

The basic Ordinances for the establishment of City government were passed during Mayor Lane's administration. The Official City Seal -- a steamboat carrying the United States Flag -- was adopted. The City was divided into three wards. Procedures for elections were written into law. Fast driving was prohibited: horses should not exceed a moderate trot or pace. Fire arms were not to be discharged within the City. The Mayor's salary was $300 per year.

Manuel Lisa 1772-1820

Famous fur trader of Spanish descent who built the "Old Rock House" on the St. Louis riverfront.

Birth: Sep. 8, 1772
Death: Aug. 12, 1820

Manual Lisa, a bold St Louis merchant who spearheaded the opening of the northern and far-western fur trade following the Louisiana Purchase, was born on September 8, 1772, in New Orleans.
When Lisa arrived in St. Louis, Auguste Chouteau and Pierre Chouteau dominated fur trading operations along the lower Missouri with the benefit of a monopoly of the Osage trade awarded by Spanish authorities.

Lisa dramed of further exploring the great Northwest. To that end he established the t. Louis Missouri Fur Company in 1809. Despite his efforts, company profits declined and folded in 1814. In 1819 Lisa formed another Missouri fur Company. But this endeavor also failed.
While living among the Omaha Indians Lisa took an Indian wife, Mitain. Following her death in 1818 he married Mary Hempstead Keeney.

Despite his business failures, Lisa left his mark on the fur trade. In addition to opening the Northwest trade to the US, he promoted the connection between business success and good relations with the Indians. Through his successes and his travels, the highly respected and sometimes feared Lisa earned the title “the king of the Missouri”.

Joshua Pilcher 1790-1843

Birth: Mar. 15, 1790
Death: Jun. 5, 1843

Born in Virginia, Pilcher came to St. Louis during the War of 1812. Originally a hatter by trade, he became involved in the mercantile business & was associated with Colonel Thomas Riddick for a while. Around 1820 he engaged in the fur trade of the upper Missouri River & spent a number of years in this venture, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various tribes of that region. At the death of General William Clark in 1838, Mr. Pilcher was appointed by President Van Buren to succeed him in the office of Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis.

After Manuel Lisa died, the remaining partners signed a new contract, and Joshua Pilcher became the field representative in charge of the company's outposts and their fur traders. It was primarily through his efforts that the reorganized company enjoyed a degree of success. He was a merchant and banker in St. Louis, but had joined Lisa's company due to personal financial problems. He was a junior partner and served an apprenticeship as a trader among the Indian tribes in what was to become northeastern Nebraska.

From 1820 until at least 1824, Pilcher's primary base of operations on the Missouri was a trading post built by Manuel Lisa. The post is believed to have been about five miles southeast of present-day Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. Shortly before the Lisa post was abandoned, newer quarters were built at Bellevue around 1822 or 1823 and became the field headquarters and trading post of the Missouri Fur Company under the direction of Pilcher.

John Mullanphy 1758-1833

Birth: 1758 Near Enniskillen, Co. Fremanagh, Ireland
Death: Aug. 29, 1833 St Louis Missouri

Merchant, philanthropist, b. near Enniskillen, Co. Fremanagh, Ireland, 1758; d. at St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. 29 August, 1833. At twenty he went to France where he served in the Irish Brigade until the Revolution drove him back to Ireland.

In 1792 with his wife and child he emigrated to Philadelphia, thence going to Baltimore where he remained until 1799. He next went to Kentucky where he opened a store in Frankfort, but left there in 1804, and settled finally in St. Louis, then a French settlement.

His enterprise in business brought him

large returns which he invested in real estate. He was in Baltimore during the War of 1812 with England, and took part in its defence, and later was with Jackson in 1815 at the battle of New Orleans. His business instinct prompted him to then buy a large quantity of cotton at low rates, which the ending of the war enabled him to sell at an immense profit. He had fifteen children, and spent his last years in dispensing much of his great fortune in charity.

In 1827 he established the St. Louis Convent of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, the second in the United States. The following year he gave a hospital to the Sisters of Charity. A church, the Jesuit novitiate, and a convent for the Sisters of Loretto at Florissant, were also his gifts, and when he died 25,000 dollars was left in his will for education and charity.

His children continued his benefactions. His only son, Bryan, who died in 1851, a bachelor, lived an eccentric life. He was mayor of St. Louis in 1847, and for four years judge of the County Court. His will left one-third of his estate (about 200,000 dollars) as a trust fund "to furnish relief to all poor emigrants passing through St. Louis to settle in the West." Changed conditions have frustrated that intention, and it is now devoted to charity.

John Mullanphy's name is perpetuated in St. Louis by the hospital and orphan asylum so designated, and the name of his daughter, Mrs. Ann Biddle, is preserved in the Biddle Home and St. Ann's Foundling Asylum which she founded.

Jean Pierre Chouteau Jr 1758-1849

Birth: Oct. 10, 1758
Death: Jul. 9, 1849

Pierre was the son of Madame Chouteau and Pierre de Laclede Linguest. Along with his brother Auguste, Pierre helped to initiate the fur trade in the St. Louis region. He also made important contributions in merchandising, banking and real estate. Growing up in a frontier trading outpost, Pierre took up residence in one of the Osage villages by the time he was 17.

He eventually became the family's resident Osage agent. Upon completing a journey to Washington, he returned to St. Louis as Louisiana's first American Indian agent. He was also a justice of the peace and was elected to the St. Louis Board of Trustees. He served as the first Board chairman & was on 6 of the 12 boards chosen between 1810 and 1822.

Henry von Phul 1784-1874

Birth:

Aug. 14, 1784

Death:

Sep. 8, 1874

Businessman. Henry Von Phul was one of the most successful of the pioneer businessmen in St. Louis' early history. In 1811, von Phul came to St. Louis from Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, he took a keel boat to New Orleans, then to Madeiras.

He returned to St. Louis and established a general store. After steamboats started to land in St. Louis, he became owner of some of the largest boats. While he had started out on his own in business, he later took on partners and ultimately built a business that was one of the largest in the West.

Von Phul held many distinguished positions in St. Louis, and his honor and trustworthiness were never questioned. Any action or plan to build up the city, expand its commerce or promote its attractiveness received his encouragement and support.

He married Rosalie Saugrain in 1816, and in 1874, he and his wife celebrated their fifty-eighth anniversary. They received congratulatory letters from all quarters. Shortly thereafter, he was taken ill and died. Before he died, he insisted upon paying every dollar he morally or legally owed, with interest. Final settlements were made in accordance with his notion of right, despite its significant impact on his fortune.

Charles Gratiot 1786-1855

Birth:
Aug. 29, 1786 Saint Louis
Missouri, USA
Death:
May 18, 1855




General Gratiot was the grandson of Madame Chouteau (mother of August Chouteau, the founder of St. Louis.) As a boy he was present at the ceremony of three flags when the Louisiana Territory became part of the United States.

He was one of five young men honored by President Thomas Jefferson with appointments as cadets to West Point. He served with honor in the War of 1812, received the vote of thanks for Congress & rose to the head of the Engineers Corps.

It was Gratiot who sent a young engineer named Robert E. Lee to St. Louis in 1835 when a shift in the channel of the river was about to wipe out river traffic. Lt. Robert E. Lee, who later became General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy, built a series of jetties in the river, controlling the flow of the channel, performing a service for the North that made possible the building of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis.

Daniel Boone 1734-1820

Birth: Nov. 2, 1734
Death: Sep. 26, 1820

Frontiersman. Born in Pennsylvania, the sixth of twelve children to Quaker parents, Squire Boone, a weaver and blacksmith and Sarah Jarman Morgan. As a boy, Boone received an elementary education. The Boone family left Pennsylvania around 1750 and eventually settled in North Carolina. In 1756 Boone married neighbor Rebecca Bryan. The couple would produce ten children.

In 1769, he set out with five others to explore the border region of Kentucky territory. They passed Cumberland Gap and on June 7, and set up camp at Station Camp Ceek. They explored Kentucky as far west as the falls of the Ohio. In 1773 he returned home, sold his farm and set out with his family, two brothers, and five other families, to settle in Kentucky. They were intercepted by Shawnee in an attack that resulted in the death of Boone's oldest son, James. The party was forced to retreat to the Clinch River. Two years later, Boone succeeded in founding Boonesborough, Kentucky near present day Lexington.

During the American Revolution Boonesborough became the site of several battles. It was besieged at least three times over a period of months. The Battle of Blue Licks on August 19, 1782, almost ten months after the surrender at Yorktown, was a decisive victory for a combined force of 1000 British regulars and tribes from the Ohio nations. It also cost the life of Boone’s second son, Israel.

After the war, in 1792, Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the 15th state. Litigation arose that questioned many settlers' title to their lands. Boone lost all his property due to lack of clear title. In 1795 he settled on the Femme Osage Creek, in St. Charles County, Missouri. He was appointed commander of the Femme Osage district, and received a large grant of land for his services, which he subsequently lost because he failed to make his title good. His claim to another tract of land was confirmed by Congress in 1812, in consideration of his services. Rebecca Boone died in 1813.

The St. Louis Enquirer of October 14, 1820 ran an obituary notice that read: “DIED. On the 26th ult. [Sep.] at Charette in the ninetieth year of his age, the celebrated Col. DANIEL BOONE, discoverer and first settler of the State of Kentucky.” In 1845 in a controversial move, the remains of Boone and his wife were relocated from Missouri to Kentucky. There is some controversy surrounding the final disposition of the Boones’ remains. Some say Daniel and Rebecca’s remains are still in Missouri, and the wrong bodies were removed and re-buried. Others have demanded the return of the bodies to MO.

Auguste Chouteau 1740-1829

Birth:

Sep. 26, 1740 New Orleans, Orleans ParishLouisiana, USA

Death:

Feb. 24, 1829 St. Louis city Missouri, USA


Co-founder of the city of St. Louis. Born in New Orleans, Rene Auguste Chouteau was the son of Marie Chouteau and the step-son of Pierre Laclede. In 1763, Laclede received a contract to trade with the Native Americans on the west side of the Mississippi River. Chouteau, and his younger brother Pierre, accompanied Laclede to the area.

They selected a spot on the western bank for their trading station and named it St. Louis. After Laclede's death in 1778, August continued Laclede's fur-trading business and expanded it. By 1794, Chouteau enjoyed a monopoly on the trade with the Osage tribe. He also helped finance most of the other individuals and companies involved in the fur traffic of the Louisiana Territory.

After the Louisiana Territory was sold to the United States in 1803, Chouteau was appointed one of the three justices of the first territorial court. Lewis and Clark reported meeting the Chouteaus and stayed for a time with Pierre. Chouteau was the political patron of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, who built his early career championing the legal interests--especially land claims--of well-to-do conservative French St. Louisans. During the remainder of his life, Chouteau held a number of public offices, but his primary interest always was his business, which continued to prosper.

At his death Chouteau was the wealthiest citizen in St. Louis and the town's largest landowner. Chouteau was originally buried in downtown St. Louis. His body was later moved to Calvary Cemetery.

Antoine Pierre Soulard 1766-1825

Soulard was born in Rochefort, France in 1766. He followed in his father's footsteps and became an officer in the French Royal Navy, but was forced to leave France during the Revolution. By 1795 Soulard was living in St. Louis and was appointed the King's Surveyor General of Upper Louisiana.

In 1795 Soulard made an important map of the middle Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which was later copied and used by Lewis and Clark in 1804. On November 16, 1795, Soulard married Julie Cerre, daughter of St. Louis merchant Gabriel Cerre.

When the Americans arrived in St. Louis in 1804 they appointed Soulard surveyor general, but by1806 he was dismissed, primarily because he was too personally interested in the results of surveys due to land grants he had received. Soulard spent much of the rest of his life trying to regain title to lands granted to him by the Spanish crown.

He died in his home in St. Louis on March 10, 1825. His wife Julie continued to fight for the titles to their lands, and by 1836 had re-secured the deed to the area of St. Louis' Soulard Market. She died on May 9, 1845. A section of the modern City of St. Louis is named Soulard after Antoine and Julie Soulard.

Antoine F. Saugrain 1763-1820

Dr. Antoine Francois Saugrain was born 17 February 1763 in Versailles, France – died 5 March 1820 in St. Louis, Missouri. Saugrain was educated in Paris as a physician and chemist by Antoine Fourcroy and Mathurin-Jacques Brisson.

In 1783 he traveled to North America to serve as a mineralogist for

Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent at New Orleans, where he was admitted to the practice of surgery. In 1787 Dr. Saugrain traveled to the United States bearing a letter of introduction to Benjamin Franklin. He became part of a scientific expedition to explore the Ohio River led by the botanist Picque in 1788. However, Saugrain was injured during an Indian raid and returned to France. Dr. Saugrain was soon forced to flee France because of his royalist beliefs at the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789.

He returned to the United States and helped found a French émigré community at Gallipolis, Ohio. It was there that he married Genevieve Rosalie Michau on March 20, 1793. In 1799 the Saugrains moved to St. Louis. Dr. Saugrain was the city's only physician until the United States took possession of St. Louis following the Louisiana Purchase.

Saugrain prepared specimens for Meriwether Lewis to send to President Thomas Jefferson in early 1804. He also provided the Lewis and Clark expedition with medical supplies.

Dr. Saugrain was the first physician west of the Mississippi river to use the Jenner cowpox vaccine to prevent smallpox, beginning in 1809. From a public health perspective, his willingness to vaccinate anyone, regardless of ability to pay is especially noteworthy. The Missouri State Historical Society has a copy of an advertisement of Dr. Saugrain’s offering vaccine to all persons of indigent circumstances as well as to doctors who lived outside of his practice area.

Outside of medicine Dr. Saugrain also had interests in mineralogy, physics and chemistry. Saugrain experimented with early versions of phosphorus matches and manufactured thermometers and barometers at Gallipolis.