Jean-Baptiste Faribault (October 19, 1775 – August 20, 1860) was a trader with various groups of Native Americans and early settler in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. His father, Barthélemy Faribault, a lawyer of

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, settled in Canada towards the middle of the 18th century and served as military secretary to the French army in Canada. After the occupation of the country by the English, he retired to private life in Berthier and he held the office of notary public. Faribault was born in Berthier,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

, and received a good school education; after several years of mercantile employment in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, he entered the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

, most probably in the employ of Parker, Gerrard, and Ogilvy. In May 1798, he went with others to the island of

Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region ...

or Mackinac, one of the depots of this company. For over ten years, he traded with the Pottowatomic Natives at Kankakee, with the Dakota or the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

, Natives at Redwood, on the

Des Moines river The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe N ...

, and at Little Rapids, on the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

just upstream of present-day

Carver, Minnesota Carver is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, United States. Located along the Minnesota River, the population was 3,724 at the 2010 census. The city is named after early explorer Jonathan Carver. Geography According to the United States Cen ...

, on behalf of the Northwest Fur Company.Carver Historic District - 2008 MINNESOTA SESQUICENTENNIAL EDITION
City of Carver, 2008, Accessed July 20, 2009. During his residence at Little Rapids, in 1805, he was married to Elizabeth Pelagie Ainse, a half-Dakota daughter of Joseph-Louis Ainse, a British superintendent at Mackinac. In 1809, he settled in the small village of

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...

, and commenced trading, on his own account, with the Indians of the Winnebago, Fox, and Sioux tribes. In addition to that, he conducted an exchange of lead with

Julien Dubuque Julien Dubuque (January 1762 – 24 March 1810) was a Canadian of Norman origin from the area of Champlain, Quebec who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa, which was named after him. He was one of the first European men to settle in ...

, at the point now occupied by the city of that name. Faribaults1850

During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Faribault refused to enlist in the British army, and suffered imprisonment and the loss of all his goods in consequence. After the conclusion of the war, in 1815, he became a citizen of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and recommenced his trade at Prairie du Chien. In 1819, he removed to

Pike Island Pike Island ( Dakota: ''Wita Tanka'') is an island at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in the southwestern-most part of Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The island is managed as part of Fort Snelling State Park a ...

in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, which his wife received ownership of under an 1820 treaty, and in 1826 to ''St. Peter'' (

Mendota, Minnesota Mendota ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The name is a mispronunciation of the Dakota word for the location, , which in Dakota tradition is the center of the world. The word in this use means "the confluence of the Mi ...

), opposite the military post of

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint An ...

. There he remained until the last years of his life, which were spent with his children in the town of

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,453 at the 2020 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highwa ...

, which is named for his eldest son,

Alexander Faribault Alexander Faribault (June 22, 1806 – November 28, 1882) was an American trading post operator and territorial legislator who helped to found Faribault, Minnesota, and was its first postmaster. Born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Prairie ...

. Faribault County in southern Minnesota was named after Jean-Baptiste. He was much attached to the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith of his childhood and presented a house for a chapel to

Lucien Galtier Lucien Galtier ( – February 21, 1866) was a French Catholic priest. He was the first Catholic priest to serve in Minnesota. He was born in southern France in the town of Saint-Affrique, department of Aveyron. The year of his birth is somewhat u ...

, the first resident missionary in Minnesota (1840). He died at Faribault, Minnesota, on August 20, 1860.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faribault, Jean-Baptiste 1775 births 1860 deaths Canadian fur traders Pre-Confederation Quebec people People from Mendota, Minnesota People from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin