1. Toussaint Charbonneau was a French Canadian explorer, fur trapper and merchant who is best known for his role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition as the husband of Sacagawea.
20 Facts About Toussaint Charbonneau
1. 2.
Toussaint Charbonneau's genealogy compiled by the PRDH project at the Universite de Montreal shows a strictly French ancestry.
3.
When Toussaint Charbonneau married Sacagawea in 1804, he was already married to Otter Woman, another Shoshone woman.
4.
Toussaint Charbonneau eventually considered these women to be his wives, though whether they were bound through Native American custom or through common-law marriage is undetermined.
5.
Toussaint Charbonneau was asked to join the expedition as a translator.
6.
Toussaint Charbonneau panicked and nearly capsized the boat, which would have meant the loss of valuable equipment and papers.
7.
Toussaint Charbonneau did make several contributions to the success of the expedition.
8.
Toussaint Charbonneau was helpful when the expedition encountered French trappers from Canada as he shared their language.
9.
Toussaint Charbonneau was paid $500.33, plus a horse and a lodge, for his nineteen months with the expedition.
10.
Toussaint Charbonneau even asked if it was possible for Jean Baptiste to stay with the expedition to be raised by Clark.
11.
Toussaint Charbonneau initially declined Clark's offer, as he preferred life with the Mandan and Hidatsa.
12.
Toussaint Charbonneau bought land from Clark and briefly took up farming.
13.
Toussaint Charbonneau gave it up after a few months, selling the land back to Clark for 100 dollars.
14.
Toussaint Charbonneau left Sacagawea and his two sons Toussaint and Jean Baptiste in Clark's protection.
15.
Toussaint Charbonneau then took a job with Manuel Lisa's Missouri Fur Company, and was stationed at Fort Manuel Lisa Trading Post in present-day North Dakota.
16.
Toussaint Charbonneau earned from $300 to $400 per year from the government.
17.
Toussaint Charbonneau may have gained this position by the patronage of William Clark, who was from 1813 the governor of the Missouri Territory; upon Clark's death, Charbonneau's employment with the government came to an abrupt halt.
18.
Toussaint Charbonneau is said to have abandoned another employer, James Kipp, while on a fur expedition in 1834.
19.
Toussaint Charbonneau is known to have had a total of five wives, all young Native American women whom he married when they were sixteen years old or younger.
20.
Toussaint Charbonneau's last known wife, an Assiniboine girl, was 14 when she married him in 1837; he was more than 70 years old.