Antoine Robidoux

Antoine Robidoux (1794–1860) was a fur trapper and trader in the American Southwest, and son of Joseph Robidoux III and his wife Catherine Marie Rollet. His family were of French-Canadian descent and were strongly connected to the history of the North American fur trade.[1] One of his five brothers, Joseph Robidoux IV, established the Blacksnake Hills Trading Post that eventually developed as the town of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Antoine visited Utah on 13 November 1831 or 1837.

Antoine was born in St. Louis and spoke English, French, and Spanish. In his early years he helped his father extend his business westward,[2] taking up residence in Santa Fe, gaining Mexican citizenship, and after marrying the Governor's daughter Carmel Benevides, he received near-exclusive license to trade and trap in the Ute country of what is now western Colorado and eastern Utah.[3] In 1828 he built Fort Uncompahgre, the first permanent trading settlement west of the Rockies in the Spanish intermountain corridor between Santa Fe and the Uinta Basin. Just a few years later he purchased the Reed Trading Post.

Fort Uncompahgre was destroyed by Indians in 1844 and the fur business declined with changes in the European market.[3] Over the next decade Antoine worked as guide and US army interpreter. In 1846 he was wounded in battle and applied for a government pension.

Antoine married Carmel Benavides (1812-1888) in 1828. Carmel was the daughter of a Spanish officer was killed fighting the Comanches. They adopted a girl Carmelete, who married Isador Barada. Barada and his brother Edmund were arrested in 1849 for illegally operating a gaming house and fined $50 each. Their subsequent appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court resulted in a reversal of their conviction.[4]

He died in 1860 in St. Louis, Missouri.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Robidoux Chronicles: French-Indian Ethnoculture of the Trans-Mississippi West. Trafford Publishing. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 Bartholomew, Becky. "OLD ANTOINE ROBIDOUX LEFT HIS MARK IN UTAH". Utah History to Go. State of Utah. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 O’Rourke, Paul (Winter/Spring 2009–10). "Antoine Robidoux, Notorious Trapping and Trading Entrepreneur". Telluride Magazine. Retrieved 21 November 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ Stevens, E. W. (1850). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Count of the State of Missouri, Volume 13. State of Missouri.

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/trappers,_traders,_and_explorers/antoinerobidoux.html

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