Auguste
Chouteau
was born in New Orleans in September, 1749. His mother formed a relationship
with Pierre Liguest, and the three of them moved to Illinois County.
In 1764 Chouteau helped Liguest build a fur-trading post at the junction
of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Liguest named the settlement
St. Louis in honour of the French king,
Louis IX.
When Pierre Liguest died in 1778, Chouteau inherited his mentor's
fur-trading business. He expanded the trade and became an extremely
rich man. After the Louisiana Territory
was sold to the United States in 1803, Chouteau was appointed one
of the three justices of the territorial court. Other offices held
by Chouteau included colonel of the St. Louis militia, judge of the
Court of Common Pleas and president of the board of trustees of St.
Louis.
In 1815 Chouteau successfully negotiated peace treaties with the Sioux,
Iowa, Sauk and Fox. When Auguste Chouteau died on 24th February, 1829,
he was the largest landowner in the St Louis.
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