William Backhouse Astor Sr. was an American business magnate who inherited most of his father John Jacob Astor's fortune. He worked as a partner in his father's successful export business. His massive investment in Manhattan real estate enabled major donations to the Astor Library in the East Village, which became the New York Public Library.
The long rifle, also known as the longrifle, Kentucky rifle, Pennsylvania rifle, or American longrifle, is a muzzle-loading firearm used for hunting and warfare. It was one of the first commonly-used rifles. The American rifle was characterized by a very long barrel of relatively small caliber, uncommon in European rifles of the period.
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very high level of craftsmanship, requiring the skills of a top-level machinist, a very skilled woodworker, and even an engineer. Gunsmiths perform factory-level repairs and renovations to restore a well-used or deteriorated firearms to new condition. They may make alterations to adapt sporting guns to better fit the individual shooter that may require extensive modifications to the firearm's stocks and metal parts. Repairs and redesigns may require fabrication and fitting of unavailable parts and assemblies constructed by smiths themselves. Gunsmiths may also renew metal finishes or apply decorative carvings or engravings to guns. Many gun shops offer gunsmithing service on the premises.
Henry Deringer was an American gunsmith. He is best known for inventing and giving his name to the derringer pistol.
William Henry Ashley was an American miner, land speculator, manufacturer, territorial militia general, politician, frontiersman, fur trader, entrepreneur, hunter, and slave owner. Ashley was best known for being the co-owner with Andrew Henry of the highly-successful Rocky Mountain Fur Incorporated, otherwise known as "Ashley's Hundred" for the famous mountain men working for the firm from 1822 to 1834.
Joseph Robidoux IV (1783–1868), was an American fur trader credited as the founder of St. Joseph, Missouri, which developed around his Blacksnake Hills Trading Post. His buildings in St. Joseph, known as Robidoux Row, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Of French Canadian descent, he was born in St. Louis, as were his mother and most of his brothers, when it was a predominately French-speaking colonial town.
The surname Hawken comes from the Nordic given name Haakon, the name of seven Norwegian kings. The given name evolved to Hakon, and variations include: Håkon, Haakon, Horken, Hörken, Hawkin, Hawkins, and Hawken. Hawken is a possible variation of the English language surname "Hawkins".
Chouteau was the name of a highly successful, ethnically French fur-trading family based in Saint Louis, Missouri, which they helped found. Their ancestors Chouteau and Laclède initially settled in New Orleans. They then moved-up the Mississippi river and established posts in the Midwest and Western United States, particularly along the Missouri River and in the Southwest. Various locations were named after this family.
The Hawken rifle is a muzzle-loading rifle that was widely used on the prairies and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States during the early frontier days. Developed in the 1820s, it became synonymous with the "plains rifle", the buffalo gun, and the fur trapper's gun. It was displaced after the Civil War by breechloaders and lever-action rifles.
Jean-Pierre Chouteau was a French Creole fur trader, merchant, politician, and slaveholder. An early settler of St. Louis from New Orleans, he became one of its most prominent citizens. He and his family were prominent in establishing the fur trade in the city, which became the early source of its wealth.
Pierre Chouteau Jr., also referred to as Pierre Cadet Chouteau, was an American merchant and a member of the wealthy Chouteau fur-trading family of Saint Louis, Missouri.
Auguste Pierre Chouteau was a member of the Chouteau fur-trading family who established trading posts in what is now the U.S. state of Oklahoma.
Luther Martin Kennett was a U.S. Representative from Missouri and mayor of the City of St. Louis.
Horace E. Dimick was a gunsmith and firearms dealer active in St. Louis, Missouri from 1849 through the early 1870s. Dimick expanded from a small custom gun store, to a larger emporium selling a variety of firearms and even manufacturing cannons. Dimick was respected for the quality of his firearms, but especially well known for his percussion rifles, especially his highly accurate plains rifles. During the Civil War, Dimick became nationally famous for providing the rifles for the elite sharpshooters of the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Joshua Pilcher was an American fur trader and Indian agent. After the death of Manuel Lisa in 1820, Pilcher became the owner and president of the Missouri Fur Company, based in St. Louis. He was appointed US Superintendent for Indian Affairs (1838-1843) in the region after William Clark.
Samuel McFadden Glassford was an American politician from Pennsylvania. Raised in Kentucky, Glassford followed his family to farm in Johnson County, Illinois. He then followed his father to St. Louis, Missouri where Glassford engaged first in the sugar trade, then purchased some coal mines. He returned to the family farm in Illinois in 1860 and amassed a large estate. He served two terms in the Illinois Senate in the 1870s.
Harman and Co. was a well-known and respected English banking firm in the City of London. It was founded around 1740 by Quaker partners Jonathan Gurnell (1684-1753) and Joseph Hoare, and was in business until 1846. The firm traded extensively with Portugal and were agents for the Russian Imperial Court in St. Petersburg.
The Hamiltons of the United States are a family of Scottish origin, whose most prominent member was Alexander Hamilton (1755/57–1804), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Their ancestors and relations in Scotland included the Lairds of Kerelaw Castle in Stevenston, North Ayrshire, of the Cambuskeith branch of Clan Hamilton.
United States 