ABSTRACT: Letter by John Brown regarding fur trapping, 1835.
SCOPE: This letter, dated July 7, 1835, was written by John Brown of Peoria, Illinois to his parents in Morris County, New Jersey. The letter describes plans for possible fur trapping expeditions in the Rocky Mountains and the “Winnebago swamps.” Brown enumerates the necessary equipment for this kind of expedition and extends an invitation to his friend William Laurence to join the group. He also discusses the rapidly increasing population in the area, the prices of goods, and his work on the construction of the Peoria County Courthouse.
EXTENT: Four pages.
ACCESS: Due to the fragile nature of this collection, physical access may be restricted. Please contact the library for further information. Information on conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building on the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ north campus. The letters are available for remote & online viewing on the UMSL Digital Library as the M-562 Brown, John Trapping Correspondence.
PREFERRED CITATION: The preferred citation for this collection is “From the Special Collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri – St. Louis."
