Joseph Robidoux IV (1783–1868), was an American fur trader credited as the founder ofSt. Joseph, Missouri, which developed around his Blacksnake Hills Trading Post.[1] His buildings in St. Joseph, known as Robidoux Row, are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. Of French Canadian descent, he was born inSt. Louis, as were his mother and most of his brothers, when it was a predominately French-speaking colonial town.
After he established his trading post on the Missouri River, it (and the later St. Joseph), became a center for his family enterprise offur trading. He operated it with his five brothers along the Mississippi and especially theMissouri River systems.
Robidoux was the oldest of the six sons ofJoseph Robidoux III (born in Sault-au-Recollet,Montreal, 12 February 1750-, date of death unknown), afur trader, and Catherine Rollet (born inSt. Louis, Missouri, October 20, 1767; died in 1868). Joseph Robidoux IV was born August 5, 1783, in Saint Louis, as were the six of his seven brothers who survived to adulthood. This was before it was acquired by the United States as part of the 1803Louisiana Purchase of French territory west of theMississippi River.
Joseph Robidoux IV was the grandson ofJoseph Robidoux II (b. 13 September 1722 • Montreal, St-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, L'Île-d'Orléans, Quebec, Canada) and Marie-Anne Leblanc (b. 13 January 1728 • Île-Dorléans, Montmorency, Quebec, Canada). He grew up inSt. Louis, Missouri, where his father introduced him and his brothers Francois, Pierre Isidore, Antoine, Louis, and Michael to the family business offur trading at an early age. (Weber, pg. 36)
In 1799, at the age of 16, Joseph began accompanying fur traders to the upperMissouri River, where they traded with a variety of Native American tribes.[2][3]
In 1803, Robidoux was sent by his father to organize a trading post atFort Dearborn, the site of present-dayChicago. His early success there annoyed other traders, who engaged Indians to harass the young man and drive him from the area. During this time he fell in love with the daughter of the villageblacksmith. The father did not give permission for his daughter to marry Robidoux, purportedly saying that some of the Robidoux family had surrendered their soul to the devil.[4]
In 1805, Joseph's wife of four years, Eugénie Delisle, died. She and Joseph had had two children, a daughter, Messanie, who preceded her mother in death, and a son, Joseph F. Robidoux. Later using the given name of Joseph, he also became a trader.
In 1809, the senior Robidoux established atrading post near the site of present-dayNorth Omaha, Nebraska. He operated his trading post in the Council Bluffs area until 1822, when theAmerican Fur Company bought him out and offered him $1,000 a year to refrain from competing with them. A later post at the North Omaha site was operated by and named forJean Pierre Cabanné. During the years of theWar of 1812 and hostilities with British forces along the northern frontier, the Robidoux brothers had to pull their activities back to the St. Louis area.[3]
In 1813, the widower Robidoux married Angélique Vaudry. They had seven children together: six sons and one daughter (Faraon, Julius, Francis, Felix, Edmond, Charles, and Sylvanie).
After Robidoux returned to St. Louis about 1823, he worked as a baker and confectioner. In 1826, he was hired by theAmerican Fur Company to establish a trading post at the Blacksnake Hills (near the site on theMissouri River of present-daySaint Joseph, Missouri.) He remained their employee for four years, at the salary of $1,800 a year, before becoming an independent trader.
Built prior to 1830, Robidoux's home was located on the northwest corner of 2nd & Jules streets in Saint Joseph. It was the first building in the settlement. The house was later removed toKrug Park as a historic attraction.
Robidoux prospered in the years between 1830 and 1843, employing as many as 20 ethnic French men to engage in trade with the Native Americans to the west of his post. When Missouri entered the union in 1821, the state's western boundary was based on theKaw River mouth in the Kansas CityWest Bottoms (approximately 94 degrees 36 minutes West longitude). The land where St. Joseph is now located belonged by treaty to theIowa and the combinedSauk andMeskwaki tribe. As a licensed trader, Robidoux was legally allowed to be in the area as a trader.
Robidoux was the most spectacular example of several enterprising white settlers who encroached on Indian land. Faced with the possibilities of more encroachment, the tribes in 1836 agreed to sell what is now the northwest corner of Missouri for $7,500 to the federal government in a deal atFort Leavenworth, Kansas. It was presided over byWilliam Clark (one of the leaders of theLewis and Clark expedition). The transaction, called thePlatte Purchase, added an area almost the combined size ofRhode Island andDelaware to the State of Missouri.
During this era, one of Robidoux's African-American slaves,Jeffrey Deroine, sued for his freedom, claiming abuse by Robidoux. Deroine lost the case, but his friends later purchased his freedom. Deroine rose to prominence for his skills as a trader and linguist, becoming a well-known U.S. Government translator and diplomat.[5]
In 1843, Robidoux hired Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper to design a town for him on his land around the trading post. Under Kemper's plan the town was to have been called Robidoux, a feature Kemper thought would appeal to the trader. But, Robidoux preferred Smith's plan, as it featured more narrow streets, thus leaving more land for him to sell in the form of lots.
Plans for the town were filed with the clerk of Common Pleas in St. Louis on July 26, 1843. Shortly thereafter, Robidoux began selling lots, with corner lots going for $150.00 and interior lots $100.00.
Saint Joseph prospered quickly in the years after its founding, growing from a population of 800 in 1846 to 8,932 in 1860. Joseph Robidoux remained a prominent citizen. His early trading offices are known as Robidoux Row; the complex is listed in theNational Register of Historic Places. He led many development issues until his death, at the age of 85, in 1868. Present-day Saint Joseph retains the downtown streets which he named for his children and his second wife Angélique.
Joseph was married three times. His first wife was Eugénie DeLisle (1704–1805?), who was also ethnic French. Joseph and Eugenie had two children:
Secondly, Joseph married a Native American woman when he operated a trading post at Scott's Bluff from 1849-1851. She may have been Shoshone. The couple had one child:
The widowed Robidoux married again. His third wife was Angélique Vaudry, great-granddaughter of Jean-Baptiste Chevalier, one of the early founders ofFort Michilimackinac. The couple had six children who lived to adulthood:
Robidoux had two illegitimate children with Angeline Caroline Jones. Joseph Henry Robidoux Papst was born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1853 and Madora Rubidoux Papst was born in 1855.
Robidoux died on 27 May 1868, and was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in St. Joseph. His body was relocated to the Mount Olivet Cemetery in 1908 after the original cemetery was abandoned. Losing money to gambling, he did not die a rich man.
Great, great grand-daughter,http://www.FrenchAndEnglish.com
Arrière petite-fille,http://www.DianeGoullard.com
5. Rabideau, Clyde M. Beaver Tales, Trappers, Traders, Mountain Men & Scoundrels, 2002, Joseph Robidoux, The Family Patriarch, 2005, Descendants of Andre Robidou, 2011, Heartlnut Publishing
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