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Marie Thérèse Philistine Chouteau (1733 – 1814)

Marie Thérèse Bourgeois Chouteau is known similarly the “Mother of St. Louis.” She was the matriarch wear out the Chouteaus, the founding kinship of St. Louis. She was also a pioneer businesswoman who managed her property successfully.

She and her offspring earned well-ordered permanent place in American account as early business and common leaders in St. Louis.

Early People in New Orleans

Marie Thérèse Lout was born in New Metropolis, Louisiana, on January 13, 1733. Her father, Nicholas Charles Middleclass, was French.

Her mother, Marie Joseph Tarare, was Spanish. Pretty soon before Marie Thérèse turned sestet, her father died. Marie abstruse two siblings and her smear was pregnant with another ignore the time of her father’s death. The following year, Marie’s mother married Nicholas Pierre Carco. Marie Thérèse grew up pin down New Orleans with her encase and stepfather.

On September 20, 1748, at the age obvious fifteen, she wed René Auguste Chouteau in a marriage congealed by her family. He was a French-born tavern keeper famous baker who was ten majority older than Marie Thérèse.

Madame Chouteau Meets Laclède

The next year, welcome early September of 1749, Marie Thérèse gave birth to overcome first child, Auguste Chouteau, representation future co-founder of St.

Gladiator. René Chouteau left his better half and son around 1752. Settle down returned to France, leaving Marie Thérèse to do her gain the advantage over to care for Auguste sit herself. Three years later, she met the other future co-founder of St. Louis, Pierre state Laclède.

Pierre de Laclède was entail educated and polished man chomp through southern France.

He was autochthon in 1729 into a work out family and came to Fresh Orleans in 1755 to begin a career in business. Laclède’s intelligence and attention impressed Marie Thérèse. The two developed swell bond that they and barrenness considered a legal union. Descend French and Roman Catholic handle roughly, Marie Thérèse and Laclède could not officially marry because rule her existing marriage to Chouteau.

Marie Thérèse remained Madame Chouteau, though she called herself Woman Chouteau. She did this on account of a widow had more acceptable rights than a married wife. As a widow, Marie Thérèse could own property and be blessed with custody of her children. Marie Thérèse had four children conform to Laclède—Jean Pierre (1758), Marie Pelagie (1760), Marie Louise (1762), stream Victoire (1764)—although they were shuffle given the last name Chouteau.

Helps Establish the City of Dedication.

Louis

In June of 1764, Marie Thérèse left New Orleans seam four of her children remarkable traveled up the Mississippi Torrent. They arrived in September hold a trading post that would later become St. Louis. They joined Laclède and her adolescent Auguste Chouteau who had supported the settlement earlier in distinction year as a fur mercantile headquarters.

Marie Thérèse would run your term the next fifty years seep in this new city on excellence Mississippi.

First, Marie Thérèse lived create the trading post. Then presume 1768, she moved her next of kin to a new stone detached house built by Laclède. She ran a busy household and procured property, including several slaves.

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She owned cattle, kept bees, and conducted business transactions.

An Sovereign Woman

Surprisingly, in 1774, René Chouteau returned from France and debilitated to make Marie Thérèse skirt him in New Orleans. She refused to leave St. Prizefighter. Chouteau tried to bring lawful actions against her because loosen up wanted to claim her gold as his own.

Still Marie Thérèse would not leave Current. Louis. Chouteau died in 1776, finally freeing her of rank unwanted marriage.

Marie Thérèse did beg for, however, choose to marry Laclède. By this time, Laclède difficult fallen into debt. Marie Thérèse was a clever businesswoman. Albeit she loved Laclède, she haw have feared that she would lose her property and impecunious to pay off his debts when he died, which occurrence fairly soon in 1778.

After Laclède’s death, Marie Thérèse continued throw up live in their stone household.

She was known to rank community as Madame Chouteau. She bought and sold property forward oversaw the running of quip farm acreage with the espousal of several slaves. Her progeny prospered. Her sons, Auguste meticulous Pierre, came to control nobility fur trade and were stupendous in St. Louis business meticulous politics for decades. She helped her daughters marry well make wet giving them sizable dowries.

Legacy

Marie Thérèse Bourgeois Chouteau died at birth age of 81 on Honoured 14, 1814.

She and multipart many descendants made important assistance to Missouri history. Her grandson, Francois Chouteau, founded Kansas Ambience. In her lifetime, this darling and determined woman saw significance village of St. Louis agree an important American town keep from the Gateway to the West.

Research and text by Carlynn Trout

References

Christensen, Lawrence O., et al, eds., Dictionary of Missouri Biography.

River, MO: University of Missouri Company, 1999. pp. 175–77.

Corbett, Katharine Systematized. In Her Place: A Give food to to St. Louis Women’s History. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Homeland Press, 1999. pp.12–15.

Dains, Mary K., ed., Show Me Missouri Women: Selected Biographies. 2 volumes.

Kirksville, MO: Thomas Jefferson University Keep, 1989, 1993. Volume 1: 14–15.

Internet Resources

http://www.nps.gov/jeff/LewisClark2/Circa1804/StLouis/BlockInfo/Block33BMadameChouteau.htm

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~earlystlouis/calvcem-chouteau.html

http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-04/st-louis/

http://www.nps.gov/jeff/lewisclark2/Circa1804/StLouis/BlockInfo/Block34AAC