DUBUQUE, Julien

Julien Dubuque

DUBUQUE, Julien. (Trois Rivieres, Canada, Jan. 10, 1762-western shore of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER, Mar. 24, 1810). Miner, fur trader, farmer. Dubuque, for whom the city is named, traveled toward the site of his future home in 1783 after hearing of rich deposits of LEAD in the region. Following the St. Lawrence River through the Great Lakes, he is believed to have journeyed through the Fox River valley and down the Wisconsin River to Prairie du Chien.

In 1788 Dubuque arrived at a settlement of MESQUAKIE along the Mississippi River. He obtained an agreement that allowed him to mine lead, and often used members of the tribe to prospect for new MINING sites. Often Dubuque sent halfbreeds or Canadians to do the actual labor. On other occasions, he allowed the Mesquakie to do the mining.

Feeling less than secure in the legality of his claim, Dubuque petitioned the Spanish governor general, Baron de Cardondolent, in 1796 for a clear title. His claim then stretched approximately twenty-one miles along the river. The governor granted Dubuque claims to the MINES OF SPAIN with the understanding that no trade could be carried out with the Native Americans of the region without the permission of Andrew Todd, an Irish trader with influence among the Spanish officials. Dubuque was not to be bothered for long by this restriction. Todd died of yellow fever soon after the agreement was signed.

Dubuque enjoyed considerable fame throughout the Mississippi Valley. Short and stocky, he was described as suave, sociable and fun loving. In addition to the respect he received from the natives of the region, Dubuque threw himself into the festivities of St. Louis where he entertained audiences by playing a fiddle and dancing to his music. Dubuque enjoyed the acquaintance of many of the era's most influential people. Meriwether LEWIS, in writing to William Clark prior to leaving on their epic exploration to the Pacific Ocean, asked Clark to pay his respects to Dubuque. As governor of the Louisiana Territory, Lewis included the name of Dubuque among those the American government could trust in the region. The federal government showed this trust in 1808 when Dubuque was appointed Indian agent at Prairie du Chien. While in St. Louis, Dubuque also entered into business dealings with Rene Auguste CHOUTEAU.

The question of Dubuque's marital status continues to be unresolved. In personal letters, Dubuque referred to a "Madam Dubuque." He is believed to have married POTOSA, the daughter of Chief PEOSTA. The fact that no mention of a wife was made during the settling of his estate has been used to suggest a wife, if one existed, was a Native American who may have simply gone back to her tribe.

Dubuque was also a shrewd businessman. From business records it is known that Dubuque annually sold hundreds of thousands of pounds of lead at five cents per pound. In addition to the estimated $20,000 annual income from lead mining, Dubuque also had income from agriculture and the FUR TRADE. In 1805 Dubuque was visited by the then-ill Zebulon Montgomery PIKE. Told that there were no horses available to ride to the mines, Pike was forced to ask ten questions about Dubuque's production of lead. He received only the most elusive answers.

It was perhaps to strengthen his claim that Dubuque sold Auguste Chouteau half of his claim for $10,848.60. Chouteau was then able to persuade his friend Governor William Henry Harrison to add a clause to a treaty negotiated with the SAUK and Mesquakie. The treaty recognized that the west bank of the Mississippi belonged to these tribes. The clause stated, however, that the treaty did not affect Spanish land grants in the area.

Despite his business successes, Dubuque was almost constantly in debt from 1803 until his death. A generous man, Dubuque supported many people who worked at his mines. He also lived in an unusually fashionable manner for life on the frontier of those years. Dubuque enjoyed the services of Patrice Roy and Josette Anyette as servants. At the time of his death, an inventory of his possessions included expensive household items and fifty-eight books including eight volumes of political science and the works of Montesquieu.

Upon his death, Dubuque was buried by his Native American friends on a bluff high above Catfish Creek overlooking the Mississippi River. His grave, marked with a cedar cross, was covered with a wooden shelter complete with a gable roof and open window through which Native Americans believed the soul of the departed could leave. Among those who observed this grave was Stephen Watts KEARNEY.

Years of weathering gradually destroyed the monument above Dubuque's grave. On Sunday, October 31,1897, the remains of Dubuque, laid inside a walnut box made by the DUBUQUE CABINET MAKERS' ASSOCIATION, were buried inside the JULIEN DUBUQUE MONUMENT familiar to visitors today.