- Andrew Henry (fur trader)
Major Andrew Henry (c. 1775 – 1832) was an American
fur trader who, withWilliam H. Ashley started theRocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822. Born "circa" 1775 inFayette County, Pennsylvania , Henry was tall, slender, with dark hair, blue eyes and a reputation for honesty.Biography
Henry went to
Nashville, Tennessee in his twenties but moved on to Louisiana in 1800 (before theLouisiana Purchase ) to the lead mines near present-dayPotosi, Missouri , and in 1806 he bought a share of the mine.In 1809 he joined with
Manuel Lisa ,Jean Pierre Chouteau and William Clark to found theMissouri Fur Company . He soon led an expedition to theThree Forks in the Montana mountains, where he built "Fort Henry". In 1811, Henry explored the Montana-Idaho wilderness and discoveredLake Henry . During the same expedition he built a post near present-daySaint Anthony, Idaho .After many difficulties, especially with the
Blackfoot Indians, Henry returned toSaint Louis, Missouri in January, 1812. When theWar of 1812 was declared Henry enrolled in the army, rising to the rank ofmajor .In 1818 Henry married Mary Flemming, daughter of one of the owners of the lead mine. Mary Flemming was of French birth and considerably younger than Henry; the marriage was a happy one for them both and produced four children. Henry returned to lead mining.
In 1822, he started the
Rocky Mountain Fur Company withWilliam H. Ashley . The new company tried to send three keelboats up theMissouri River . Henry led an expedition of 150 men, 60 horses and one keelboat to the mouth of theYellowstone River and built a post that came to be known as Fort Henry. The next boat, under the command of Daniel Moore, sank, along with ten thousand dollars worth of provisions. Ashley equipped a third boat and was able to get through to Henry, and then returned to Saint Louis.In 1824, after a profitable season and many harrowing adventures, Andrew Henry retired from Lisa's company and returned once more to lead mining. He died, intestate,
January 10 ,1832 .
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