1. Colonel George Davenport, born George William King, was a 19th-century English-American sailor, frontiersman, fur trader, merchant, postmaster, US Army soldier, Indian agent, and city planner.
18 Facts About George Davenport
1. 2.
George Davenport spent much of his life involved in the early settlement of the Mississippi Valley and the "Quad Cities".
3.
George Davenport was born in 1783 in Lincolnshire, England, becoming an apprentice to his uncle, a merchant captain, and going to sea at an early age.
4.
George Davenport was imprisoned until the spring when he was released and allowed to return to his home country.
5.
George Davenport married Margaret Bowling Lewis, a widow 14 years his elder, in 1814, and they remained married until his death.
6.
However, all of George Davenport's children were born out of wedlock which has long been somewhat of an open secret.
7.
George Davenport's only known daughter, Elizabeth, was born through a relationship with Catherine Pouitt, a laundress at Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, in 1835.
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James Wilkinson 8.
George Davenport, while recovering in the New York hospital on his doctor's advice, decided to settle in the United States of America, moving to Rahway, New Jersey for a time, before enlisting in the United States Army at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1806.
9.
George Davenport remained in the army for ten years, participating in the War of 1812 under General James Wilkinson.
10.
Around this time, George Davenport entered a partnership with fellow pioneer and fur trader, Russell Farnham.
11.
In 1833, George Davenport moved from his double log cabin and built his home on a lower part of Rock Island near the old fort.
12.
On this site, the town of George Davenport, Iowa, was officially founded on February 23,1836.
13.
George Davenport departed the American Fur Company following the signing of the treaty and retired to private life on his Rock Island estate.
14.
George Davenport often travelled to St Louis, Missouri, sailing on his keel boat, and resided there or in Washington City during the winter months.
15.
George Davenport laid out plans for an addition to the small town of Moline, Illinois.
16.
On July 4,1845, the George Davenport family went to the Illinois mainland, from their home on Rock Island, to celebrate Independence Day.
17.
Colonel George Davenport stayed behind, however; and sometime during the late afternoon, a band of local bandits forced their way into George Davenport's home.
18.
George Davenport was still alive when the men finally left his home and was able to describe them to authorities before he died.