Charles H. Beaubien (October 22, 1800 – February 6, 1864), also known as Alexis Beaubien, Don Carlos Beaubien and Charles Trotier, was a Canadian-born American fur trader who was one of two investors who owned of northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado in the Beaubien-Miranda and

Sangre de Cristo Land Grant The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico consists of of mostly arid land. It was awarded by the government of New Mexico to the Beaubien family in 1843. The land grant was originally settl ...

Early life

Beaubien was born in Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Nicolet, Quebec. His birth name was Alexis Beaubien (Sieur de Beaubien is a title, his birth surname is most likely Trotier). He studied for the priesthood, and was tonsured in 1820. When he dropped out of the priesthood he changed his name to "Charles" in 1820 and moved to the United States (probably at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

where he worked in the fur business with the

Chouteau 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 Mississipp ...

family). There are numerous stories about how he moved west. He was licensed by William Clark to enter Indian Territory in NM on December 29, 1823. From another New Mexico History we have that Charles Hipolyte Trotier, Sieur de Beaubien, left the Dominion of Canada for the United States during the War of 1812, and came to New Mexico in 1823, in company with a number of French Canadians who were making investigations in New Mexico. Beaubien went beyond the Territory controlled by the United States and moved into territory controlled by Mexico and eventually settled at Taos, New Mexico where he applied to become a citizen of Mexico. As it was the custom for administrators, notaries and scriveners to translate Christian names, his name was recorded as "Carlos" instead of "Charles," and so he often appears as Carlos Beaubien in all New Mexico records. In 1827 he married Maria Paula Lobato in Taos in a ceremony conducted by

Antonio José Martínez Antonio José Martínez (January 17, 1793 – July 27, 1867) was a New Mexican priest, educator, publisher, rancher, farmer, community leader, and politician. He lived through and influenced three distinct periods of New Mexico's history ...

who would later become his nemesis. He started a business in Taos.

Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant

In 1840 New Mexico Governor

Manuel Armijo Manuel Armijo (ca. 1793–1853) was a New Mexican soldier and statesman who served three times as governor of New Mexico. He was instrumental in putting down the Revolt of 1837, he led the force that captured the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, and h ...

imposed a tax on non-native residents in New Mexico and Beaubien's businesses were regularly raided. Beaubien, hoping to open businesses away from direct Mexican control, enlisted

Guadalupe Miranda Guadalupe Miranda (1810-c. 1890) was a Mexican public official who was mayor of Ciudad Juárez and recipient of the Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant. Early life Guadalupe de Miranda was born in Ciudad Juárez (then called El Paso del Norte). His fath ...

, the secretary of the government, to petition for a grant of on the eastern side of the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains ) , country= United States , subdivision1_type= States , subdivision1= , parent= Rocky Mountains , geology= , orogeny= , area_mi2= 17193 , range_coordinates= , length_mi= 242 , length_orientation= north-south , width_mi= 120 , w ...

. Armijo approved the grant on January 4, 1841 with the provision that the land be settled within two years. Settlement was delayed by incursions from Texans. In 1843, Beaubien and Miranda signed away one-fourth of their grant to Charles Bent in exchange for help in establishing ranches along the Ponil, Vermejo, Cimarron and Rayado rivers.

Sangre de Cristo Land Grant

Later in 1843 Beaubien applied for a grant in the

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It co ...

east of the Rio Grande and extending to the summits of the

in southern Colorado. As he already had one grant, the new grant went to his 13-year-old son Narciso and a Taos business associate Stephen Louis Lee. Armijo approved the grant on January 12, 1844. Settlement was delayed by the Mexican–American War in 1846 which changed the political landscape. When

Stephen W. Kearney Stephen Watts Kearny (sometimes spelled Kearney) ( ) (August 30, 1794October 31, 1848) was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army. He is remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexican–American Wa ...

set up government in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

in 1846 and established Charles Bent as governor. Beaubien was named one of the judges on the Supreme Court. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the war affirmed the legality of Beaubien's grant. Settlement along the Rio Culebra began in 1850. Hispanic settlers from New Mexico founded the town of San Luis in 1851. San Luis was the first permanent settlement in Colorado.

Taos Revolt

Beaubien was holding court in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico when the Taos Revolt erupted in January 1847. In the revolt, Beaubien's son Narciso (freshly arriving from school in Cape Girardeau, Missouri) and his partner Stephen Louis Lee, and Governor Bent were killed. After Sterling Price put down the rebellion, Beaubien was to be the judge to overseeing the trial of his son's murderers prompting Father Martinez to accuse him of "endeavoring to kill all the people of Taos." Beaubien turned to his sons-in-law

Lucien Maxwell Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell (September 14, 1818 – July 25, 1875) was a mountain man, rancher, scout, and farmer who at one point owned more than . Along with Thomas Catron and Ted Turner, Maxwell was one of the largest private landowners in Uni ...

and

Jesus Abreu Jesus Gil Abreu (September 1, 1823 – June 30, 1900) was an American rancher and pioneer who owned a New Mexico ranch that now comprises Philmont Scout Ranch. Early years He was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His father was on the staff of New ...

to develop the land grant. In 1851 he semi-retired from public service. In 1863 he sold the Colorado land grant to

Colorado Governor The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...

William Gilpin for approximately four cents an acre ($41,000).

References

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