On 20 Sep 1748, at the age of fifteen she was married to René Auguste Chouteau, a native of Bearn, France who had come to New Orleans in early youth and was a baker and tavern keeper. The arranged marriage proved unhappy and Marie’s husband René had abandoned her and their son Auguste and returned to France in July of 1767. She thereafter took up in the company and common law marriage to Pierre Laclède and had by him four children: Jean Pierre and daughters Pelagie, Marie Louise, and Victoire - all of whom were given her legal married name of Chouteau.

In 1777 a very ill Pierre Laclède fell deeply into debt and went to New Orleans in an attempt to settle his financial matters. On his return to St. Louis, he died on a boat anchored on the Mississippi not far from the Arkansas Post on 27 May 1778. He was buried in an unmarked grave.

Widow Chouteau as she was known, continued on and was known to be a very good business woman and manager of Laclède's fur trading enterprises. She was well respected and considered the matriarch of the founding family of St. Louis. She died in St. Louis on 14 Aug 1814 at the age of eighty-one and seven months.

On 21 September 1786, he married Marie Thérèse Cerré who was the daughter of Gabriel Cerré and Catherine (Gerard). She was born at Kaskaskia, 26 Nov 1769 and died in St. Louis on 14 Aug 1842, aged 72 years, 8½ months. They were the parents of Marie T., Catherine, Augustus A., Gabriel S., Eualie, Louise, Emelie, Henry P., and Edward R. Chouteau.

Colonel Chouteau died in St. Louis at the age of aged 78 years and 5 months. His 50,000 acre estate included a library of over six hundred books, and at the time it was probated, thirty-six slaves had ben sold at public auction. His remains were originally buried in the churchyard of the Old Cathedral, but later removed to Calvary.

His inscription, engraved in French, translates: "Born New Orleans the 26th of September, 1750 sent by M. L. de Laclede. He was the first to arrive in this then savage land and founded the town of St. Louis the 15th of February, 1764. His life has been a model of civic and social virtues. He died the 24th of February, 1829 and rests in this tomb."

*Note: Birth date of Colonel Chouteau varies from source to source, indicating he was born in 1839, 1840, 1849 and 1850.

A successful trader, he built a fort and established a trading post on the Osage and traded with the Osage, Pawnee, and Kansas tribes. He was made a Major in the militia and chosen as a member of the community council and later appointed as a Sub-Agent for the Indians with whom he had traded.

He married Pelagie Kersereau on 26 Jul 1783, who died at the age of twenty-six on 09 Feb 1793 leaving four children. After her death, he married Miss Brigitte Saucier, of Cahokia, on 14 Feb 1794. After thirty-five years of marriage, she died on 18 May 1829, leaving five sons.

Major Chouteau, as he was known, survived this second wife over twenty years. He died 10 Jul 1849, at the age of ninety years and nine months.

Following his death, Julia gave herself up to the care of her large estate, her family, and to numerous works of charity. They were the parents of Emilie (died shortly after birth), Pierre, William, Ann (died shortly after birth), Emelie, Charles, Julia who married Edward Walsh, and Ann "Nancy" who was the wife of Charles F. Bates.

Note: Charles and Julia's son Pierre Chouteau (1849-1910) and wife Lucille M. Chauvin (1860-1933) are listed on the right of the tomb (shown below)

She died in Pierremont on 22 Jan 1894 and John in Louisiana on 17 Jan 1906. They were the parents of: Charles Chouteau born in 1872; Margaret Mary born in 1875 and died in 1877; Ashbel Burnam born in 1878; Nevil Gratiot born in 1880; and Harold M. Henshaw born in 1884.

Known as an accomplished writer and critic, he collected and preserved old documents, papers, and books illustrating the early conditions in St. Louis. He was a director of the Louisisana Purchase Expedition as well as a member of the Missouri Historical Society.

On 27 Nov 1882 he married in St. Louis, Lucille M. Chauvin, daughter of Robert who was also one of the old French families, but the couple was for many years separated.They were the parents of Lucille M. who married James Turner, and Pierre Chouteau, Jr.. Pierre died on 21 Nov 1910 at the age of sixty-one after a portracted illiness at St. Luke's hospital.

Lucille and Pierre had been long separated, their daughter Lucille having been born in 1883 and their son, Pierre Jr., having been born in 1898. She was widowed in 1910.

Although his headstone indicates he was born in 1858, his death certificate, of which Ed Walsh was the informant, indicates he was born in 1857. He had been treated for chronic nephritis (inflamation of kidneys), and died as a result of acute bronchitis. He was laid to rest on the 29th of May and was aged 64 years, 7 months and 13 days at the time of his death.

Updated 25 Mar 2009
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