St. Louis Fur Trade Cases, 1800 - 1834 · St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project

St. Louis Fur Trade Cases, 1800 - 1834

Item set

Title: St. Louis Fur Trade Cases, 1800 - 1834
Description: These case files consist of 82 court cases dealing with the St. Louis fur trade. Interaction with Native American tribes is mentioned in several of the documents, either in relation to trade, trading expeditions, illegal sale of whiskey, or occasionally, as part of a criminal investigation.

Case files may include the following documents: promissory notes, assignment of notes and debts, petitions filed by attorneys, affidavits, writs, witness depositions, motions, orders, verdicts, and appeals.
Abstract: These case files consist of 82 court actions that bring the international St. Louis fur trade to life. Fur trade proved to be one of the most profitable undertakings for the territorial entrepreneur. The abundance of animal pelts encouraged a number of colorful characters to move up and down the Mississippi Valley region, playing a key role in the settlement and development of the Upper Louisiana area. St. Louis dominated the Upper Louisiana fur trade; several successful companies, including the famous Missouri Fur Company of Manuel Lisa and partners, were in business there. Unique to the collection are a number of cases that reference Native American tribes and subsequent interaction with fur trades. The cases primarily involve trade disputes, many of which refer to various tribes living in or around the territory, and later state, of Missouri.
Volume: 1.0 cubic foot
Provenance: St. Louis Circuit Court, Office of the Circuit Clerk

The case files described in this finding aid were filed as civil, chancery (equity), or criminal proceedings in the St. Louis Court of Common Pleas of the St. Louis Circuit Court between 1800 and 1848; the majority of the documents date from 1800 to 1830. These case files remain part of the larger St. Louis Circuit Court Case File Records Series and are presented here as an artificial, subject-oriented records series to facilitate research in a distinctive area of national, regional, and local history.

All records were created in the course of business by the Circuit Court, its inferior courts, and predecessors as provided for by federal and state law. Upon the separation of St. Louis City and St. Louis County as provided for in the 1875 constitution, the city retained custody of all court records previously produced. These records have remained in the custody of the St. Louis Circuit Court since that time, both in the historic Old Courthouse, constructed in 1839-1852, and the Civil Courts Building, constructed in 1930. The records are now housed at the Missouri State Archives-St. Louis.
Scope and Content: These case files consist of 82 court cases dealing with the St. Louis fur trade. Interaction with Native American tribes is mentioned in several of the documents, either in relation to trade, trading expeditions, illegal sale of whiskey, or occasionally, as part of a criminal investigation.
Case files may include the following documents: promissory notes, assignment of notes and debts, petitions filed by attorneys, affidavits, writs, witness depositions, motions, orders, verdicts, and appeals.
Physical Description: Case files may consist of the following: hand-written documents or document fragments; preprinted summonses with handwritten entries; and newspaper clippings or advertisements. The contents of each tri-folded case file have been flattened and cleaned of dirt and coal dust that accumulated through the years. Items used to attach documents, such as straight pins, ribbons, wax, thread, and starch wafers, have been removed to allow for filming and scanning. Due to age, environment, use and paper type, many of the documents have sustained damage over the years and are very fragile. These documents have been placed in protective polyester sleeves. Selected documents will receive additional conservation treatment. All case files have been housed in archival folders and boxes.
Arrangement: All circuit court case files are arranged in chronological order by Year, Term of Court, and Case Number, as assigned by the clerk of court. Documents within each case file are arranged chronologically by date filed with the court. These case files retain their original placement within the Circuit Court Case file series. This artificial series was digitally scanned retaining that original order.
Separated Material: Oversized records have been removed from the case files to permit flattening, provide proper safe storage and handling, and access. References to the separated material have been placed in each folder from which documents have been removed.

The Missouri Historical Society has in its collection, some case files and other records from the St. Louis Circuit Court that may relate to these case files. (Box list, Saint Louis (Mo.). Circuit Court Records, 1804-1967, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis.)

Any additional gaps that occur in the records series are due to misfile, loss or damage.
Is Part Of: United States Supreme Court Case, 1854-1856