Stuart, Robert
Stuart, Robert
Stuart, Robert, 1785–1843, American explorer, b. Scotland. He emigrated (1807) to Canada and became a fur trader. He joined in John Jacob Astor's Astoria venture, and in 1812 he led the overland party east. This party was the first known to have used the South Pass and to have followed the main route of the Oregon Trail. Later, as a partner in the American Fur Company, he directed trade around Mackinac, and he also did much for the development of Michigan.
Bibliography
See P. A. Rollins, ed., The Discovery of the Oregon Trail (1935, repr. 1972); K. A. Spaulding, ed., On the Oregon Trail (1953).
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Stuart, Robert
(1785–1848) trader; born in Callander, Scotland. He emigrated to Canada (1807) and joined the Pacific Fur Company (1810). He was active in the Astoria colony (1810–12) and headed the American Fur Company in the upper Great Lakes area (1820–34). He settled in Detroit and became superintendent of Indian affairs for Michigan (1841–45).The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.