The amazing life of Jeffrey Deroine : enslaved trader, prairie diplomat, and Missouri settler / Greg Olson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olson, Greg, 1959- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Deroine, Jeffrey, 1806-1859.

Deroine, Jeffrey.

African Americans--Missouri--Biography.

African Americans.

Enslaved persons--Missouri--Biography.

Enslaved persons.

Fur traders--Missouri River Region--Biography.

Fur traders.

Translators--United States--Biography.

Translators.

Iowa Indians--History--19th century.

Iowa Indians.

Missouri--History--19th century.

Missouri.

Missouri--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 168 pages : illustrations, maps, genealogical table ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Columbia : University of Missouri Press, [2026]

Summary:

"Born into slavery in St. Louis in 1806, Jeffrey Deroine (de-ro-NAY) worked and lived in the heart of a rapidly changing nation. Forced to work in the fur trade on the Missouri River, he experienced Missouri's rapid transformation from territory to statehood. As a trader, he helped his hometown grow from a small trading center into a large river town. Later, he participated in the founding of the frontier city of St. Joseph, Missouri. Though scraps of his life are still present in the historical record, specifics have proven elusive. Still, it is important to tell Deroine's life story, as it gives us a look both into the life of an enslaved man and the struggles of a free person of color in pre-Civil War Missouri. His life spanned a critical point in the history of the state, and he seems to have spent most of it at the very heart of the action. Though not well known, the story of Jeffrey Deroine is significant because it illustrates the nuanced intersectionality of lives on the American frontier. Deroine was a man of both French and African descent who lived much of his life among Indigenous people. Born into slavery, he became a free person of color who was a businessman, owned property, and enslaved others. His life defied expectations and stereotypes, and a consideration of it allows us to better understand the history of Missouri and the West"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A Picture of a Man

From Montreal to St. Louis

Early St. Louis

Jeffrie v. Joseph Robidoux

"A Sort of Sub-Agent, Interpreter, and Trader"

Knights of the Forest in the Gilded Halls of Europe

"Diplomat in the Wilderness"

St. Joseph, Missouri

Family and Legacy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780826223494

0826223494

OCLC:

1541905031