| OCR Text |
Show FALL 2013 pp 386-404_UHQ BReviews/pp.271-296 9/16/13 1:22 PM Page 389 BOOK REVIEWS Ashley come readily to mind. Less well known, but as significant, was the Robidoux family. Joseph Robidoux and a son of the same name arrived in St. Louis from Canada in 1771. In the following years, the younger Joseph fathered six sons (including one named Joseph), all of whom became active in the westward expansion of the first half of the nineteenth century. The six Robidoux brothers are the focus of Robert J. Willoughby’s new study. A history of the Robidoux brothers and their contributions to western histor y has been slow in coming largely because of a lack of documents. The brothers were all literate, yet they left only a few records of their businesses and travels. Most of what can be gleaned of the Robidoux family comes from others’ mention of them. Willoughby, however, does an excellent job of piecing a history together from the meager records. After a good introduction to the fur trade of the late eighteenth century, Willoughby details how three dates were significant to the West and the Robidoux family: in 1763, with the end of the French and Indian War, ownership of the land west of the Mississippi River transferred from the French to the Spanish; in 1783, the end of the American Revolutionary War marked the beginning of an American presence in the region; and in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase resulted in ownership by the young United States. The shifting ownership of St. Louis greatly impacted the French families of the city. In the years prior to the War of 1812, Joseph Robidoux III and some of his five brothers traded extensively with the Native tribes of the lower Missouri. They went toe-to-toe with the Chouteaus and others, and they used every means possible to enhance and secure trade with Native people, including taking several “frontier wives.” In the succeeding years, they went beyond the fur trade, expanding into shipping and mercantile businesses. Brothers Antoine and Lewis went to New Mexico in 1823. From there, they led trapping expeditions to Utah in 1824 and again in 1825, possibly in partnership with Etienne Provost. Later in the decade, they established Fort Uncompahgre on the Gunnison River in Colorado—the first trade fort west of the continental divide. Later, both Antoine and Lewis became active in politics in New Mexico. The most famous of the six was Joseph III, the founder of the city of St. Joseph, Missouri. St. Joseph became the most-used jumping-off town for the western trails. Some years later, the brothers capitalized on the Oregon and California trail business by freighting and establishing a trading post at Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. Lewis became a leading citizen in southern California as he built a trading post and ranch on the Santa Ana River, not far from San Bernardino. This study is well researched and written. Willoughby creates a distinctive biographical approach as he interweaves the business activities of the six 389 |
