Marie-Therese Bourgeois Chouteau
Encyclopedia
Marie-Therese Bourgeois Chouteau (January 14, 1733 – August 14, 1814) is the matriarch of the Chouteau
fur trading family which established communities throughout the Midwest.
She was born in New Orleans to a French
father (Nicolas Bourgeois) and Spanish
mother (Marie Joseph Tarare).
When she was 15 an arranged marriage
was made to tavern keeper and baker René Auguste Chouteau, Sr. on September 20, 1748.
According to commonly accepted histories, René deserted her after she gave birth to René Auguste Chouteau
in 1749.
She is said to have taken up with Pierre Laclède
around 1755 and was to bear four children with him including Jean Pierre Chouteau
in 1758.
After Laclede (along with his stepson Auguste Junior) established St. Louis, Missouri
in 1764, he is said to have built her a house in 1767. The same year the elder René Chouteau demanded that authorities return her to New Orleans. In 1774 Louisiana Governor Luis de Unzaga
ordered her to return. However she did not and the order was ignored until the elder Chouteau died in 1776. .
Laclède died in 1778. Upon her death in 1814, she set her Indian slave free. She was buried on the grounds of the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
(which is now on the grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
. However when bodies were dug up in 1849 to move them to Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries
during a cholera
epidemic, her body could not be found.
ISBN 0252068971 and Before Lewis and Clark: The Story of the Chouteaus, the French Dynasty That Ruled America's Frontier by Shirley Christian ISBN 0374529582.
However there have been challenges to the story including challenges by her descendents.
Part of the challenge were considered efforts to show that she did not have a relationship outside of marriage. Other challenges were based on formal records.
Records at the St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
indicate that all the Chouteau children were baptized there and indicated the elder Chouteau was the father. Further records indicate that Laclède did not leave his inheritance to the Chouteaus while the elder Chouteau did.
The legend says that Laclède and Marie had a common law
marriage and that Laclède signed away part of his property to them to protect them and maintain the appearance that Marie was in a proper civil law
relationship with the elder Chouteau.
However, one 1790s account, published in translation, by a French officer serving the Spaniards, Nicolas de Finiels, notes no founding role for Chouteau and even goes as far as to say there was already a hamlet at the site of St. Louis even before the founding of St. Louis. The tale of Chouteau's role in the founding of St. Louis does not appear in the historical introduction of the first St. Louis city directory in 1820, and his name was not mentioned at all at the first celebration of the town's past in 1847. A New Orleans militia census conducted after Laclede had departed New Orleans shows him still at home with his mother and brothers.
The earliest St. Louis historian, Wilson Primm, dismissed the story. Auguste's role in the founding is based on his own testimony in a land dispute in the 1820s, and on an unsigned manuscript "Journal" attributed to him announced found by his sole surviving son, Gabriel, in 1857.
Chouteau
Chouteau was the name of a highly successful French fur-trading family based in St. Louis, Missouri, members of which established posts in the Midwest and Western United States...
fur trading family which established communities throughout the Midwest.
She was born in New Orleans to a French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
father (Nicolas Bourgeois) and Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
mother (Marie Joseph Tarare).
When she was 15 an arranged marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
was made to tavern keeper and baker René Auguste Chouteau, Sr. on September 20, 1748.
According to commonly accepted histories, René deserted her after she gave birth to René Auguste Chouteau
René Auguste Chouteau
Rene Auguste Chouteau , also known as Auguste Chouteau, was founder of St. Louis, Missouri, a successful fur trader and a politician. He and his partner had a monopoly for many years of fur trade with the large Osage tribe on the Missouri River...
in 1749.
She is said to have taken up with Pierre Laclède
Pierre Laclède
Pierre Laclède or Pierre Laclède Liguest was a French fur trader who, with his young assistant and "stepson" Auguste Chouteau, founded St...
around 1755 and was to bear four children with him including Jean Pierre Chouteau
Jean Pierre Chouteau
Jean Pierre Chouteau was a French-Canadian fur trader, merchant, politician and slaveholder. An early settler of St. Louis, Missouri, he became one its most prominent citizens. He and his brother Auguste Chouteau, known as the "river barons", negotiated the many political changes as the city...
in 1758.
After Laclede (along with his stepson Auguste Junior) established St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
in 1764, he is said to have built her a house in 1767. The same year the elder René Chouteau demanded that authorities return her to New Orleans. In 1774 Louisiana Governor Luis de Unzaga
Luis de Unzaga
Luis de Unzaga y Amezaga , also known as Luis Unzaga Y Amezaga, was a Spanish Governor of Louisiana from 1769 to 1777 as well as a captain general of Venezuela and Cuba....
ordered her to return. However she did not and the order was ignored until the elder Chouteau died in 1776. .
Laclède died in 1778. Upon her death in 1814, she set her Indian slave free. She was buried on the grounds of the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
The Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, formerly the Cathedral of Saint Louis, and colloquially the Old Cathedral, was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1845 the only parish church in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of two Catholic basilicas in St...
(which is now on the grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was designated as a National Memorial by Executive Order 7523, on December 21, 1935, and is maintained by the National Park Service .The park was established to...
. However when bodies were dug up in 1849 to move them to Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries
Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries
Bellefontaine Cemetery and the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri are adjacent burial grounds, which have numerous historic and extravagant tombstones and mausoleums. They are the necropolis for a number of prominent local and state politicians, as well as soldiers of the...
during a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic, her body could not be found.
Challenges to the legend
Virtually all contemporary histories of St. Louis attribute a founding role to her including The First Chouteaus: RIVER BARONS OF EARLY ST. LOUIS by William E Foley and C David RiceISBN 0252068971 and Before Lewis and Clark: The Story of the Chouteaus, the French Dynasty That Ruled America's Frontier by Shirley Christian ISBN 0374529582.
However there have been challenges to the story including challenges by her descendents.
Part of the challenge were considered efforts to show that she did not have a relationship outside of marriage. Other challenges were based on formal records.
Records at the St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
Saint Louis Cathedral , also known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans; it has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the United States...
indicate that all the Chouteau children were baptized there and indicated the elder Chouteau was the father. Further records indicate that Laclède did not leave his inheritance to the Chouteaus while the elder Chouteau did.
The legend says that Laclède and Marie had a common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
marriage and that Laclède signed away part of his property to them to protect them and maintain the appearance that Marie was in a proper civil law
Civil law (area)
Civil law in continental law is a branch of law which is the general part of private law.The basis for civil law lies in a civil code. Before enacting of codes, civil law could not be distinguished from private law...
relationship with the elder Chouteau.
However, one 1790s account, published in translation, by a French officer serving the Spaniards, Nicolas de Finiels, notes no founding role for Chouteau and even goes as far as to say there was already a hamlet at the site of St. Louis even before the founding of St. Louis. The tale of Chouteau's role in the founding of St. Louis does not appear in the historical introduction of the first St. Louis city directory in 1820, and his name was not mentioned at all at the first celebration of the town's past in 1847. A New Orleans militia census conducted after Laclede had departed New Orleans shows him still at home with his mother and brothers.
The earliest St. Louis historian, Wilson Primm, dismissed the story. Auguste's role in the founding is based on his own testimony in a land dispute in the 1820s, and on an unsigned manuscript "Journal" attributed to him announced found by his sole surviving son, Gabriel, in 1857.