America, 1814

[Rebel - KGC]

New Orleans, Louisiana was "hopping"; the French wanted to "expand" WEST; St. Loo, MO was considered FRENCH Louisiana... with BIG "Ole Muddy", the "connecting link". New France was ALREADY "Canada", with French Fur-Trappers "coming down" to St. Loo, MO, and going WEST!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Gonna do R & I on the FRENCH Quarter of "St. Loo"; MAY be info of "interest" re. Fort Jefferson (south of "St. Loo"). Ward was there, one of the Hutter Bros was born there; hmmm... An ISLAND! Aka Jefferson Barracks; established by George Rogers Clark in 1780. SO! Jefferson Barracks/Fort Jefferson was US ARMY; used to recruit/train soldiers for the MEXICAN WAR... getting INTERESTING!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

St. Loo, MO became capital of the Louisiana territory, PROBABLY after the BRITS defeat (War of 1812). 1819...? MUCH "French Influence"; New Orleans, LA was "French"... St. Loo, MO became "French"... INTERESTING!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Which brings us to Lynchburg, Va., 1819; TJB was elected Captain... was it in Lynchburg, Va. OR... St. Loo, MO...? In St. Loo, did they have "French connections"...?

 

[ECS]

The first banks in St Louis were started by French fur traders who accepted furs as collateral for loans.
Two brothers of the Kennerly branch of the Risqué extended family began a mercantile outfitters business in St Louis, but I doubt that they carried diamonds-not much need for diamonds in a frontier town, as St Louis was at that time.

 

[bigscoop]

A lot of interesting stuff once you start down these paths.