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François Chouteau

American pioneer (1797–1838)

About

François Gesseau Chouteau (February 7, 1797 – April 18, 1838) was a French-American pioneer fur trader and entrepreneur from the prominent Chouteau fur-trading family. He is widely regarded as the "Father of Kansas City".

Chouteau was born in St. Louis, which was co-founded within New Spain by his uncle Auguste Chouteau. He learned the family business from his father, Jean Pierre Chouteau, who presided over a vast trading empire. St. Louis was the center of American fur trade, sometimes called the "king of the fur trade". In 1819, he married Bérénice Thérèse Ménard, daughter of Pierre Menard, the first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. For their honeymoon, they scouted up the Missouri River to find a site for their new trading post.

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