Firmin Rene Desloge
Encyclopedia
Firmin Rene Desloge descendant of French nobility
, came to the new Louisiana Purchase territory of Missouri
in 1823 as a partner in the mercantile business with his uncle, Jean Ferdinand Rozier
. Ferdinand Rozier had come to America in partnership with John James Audubon
in 1806; the partnership having been funded by Firmin Desloge's grandfather, Claude Rozier. The Desloge Mercantile business in Missouri consisted of fur trading, hardware, clothing, lead smelting and ore trading and distillery.
Firmin Rene Desloge, tarried into the business of lead smelting and mining in Potosi, Missouri
by training with his uncle Ferdinand Rozier and Rozier’s partnership with John Audubon; from the trading of ore at his mercantile and from acquiring properties and claims throughout the region in the early 1800s. While his fur trading aspect was successful enough, by the time the fur trade became embroiled in battles among the Campbells, Chouteaus, Ashleys, John Jacob Astor, the American Fur Company and the Missouri Fur Company, Firmin Rene Desloge had begun to focus attentions on the ground under his feet. Starting literally with open-ground diggings, some left open by Indians and frustrated miners, Firmin Rene Desloge, had a nose for identifying rich veins and understanding the geology with confidence.
The trading and mercantile business had started along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers by Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier and continued with Firmin Desloge. Ste. Genevieve, on the Mississippi River and of strong French descendency, played as a key trading location with new arrivals to the new frontier and with the local indigenous Indians. The fur trading business expanded greatly with the opening of trade routes up the Missouri River to the Mandan and Hidatsa Indian regions.
Ferdinand Rozier and Firmin Desloge, as part of their mercantile and trading businesses, were very active in the fur and pelt trading business. Desloge and Rozier did business with the Missouri Fur Company, founded by a group in St. Louis including Pierre Chouteau, Sr., Auguste Chouteau, Jr., William Clark, and others; as well as with their competition, the French Fur Company, owned by another group including Chouteaus and Pratte.
Firmin Rene Desloge built his own then modern smelting furnace circa 1824 as an extension of his Potosi, Missouri mercantile business. His son, Firmin Vincent Desloge
expanded mining operations and expanded management to Bonne Terre, Missouri
.
Formed from the original family lead mining business in Potosi was the Desloge Lead Company
, which, after various expansions and consolidations, became Desloge Consolidated Lead Company
, one of the largest lead mining concerns in the world at the time.
French nobility
The French nobility was the privileged order of France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods.In the political system of the Estates General, the nobility made up the Second Estate...
, came to the new Louisiana Purchase territory of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
in 1823 as a partner in the mercantile business with his uncle, Jean Ferdinand Rozier
Jean Ferdinand Rozier
Jean Ferdinand Rozier was born in Nantes, France to Francois Claude Rozier and Renee Angelique Colas . In 1802 he served in the French Navy. Jean Ferdinand immigrated from France to New York in 1806, eventually settling in the village of Ste...
. Ferdinand Rozier had come to America in partnership with John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
in 1806; the partnership having been funded by Firmin Desloge's grandfather, Claude Rozier. The Desloge Mercantile business in Missouri consisted of fur trading, hardware, clothing, lead smelting and ore trading and distillery.
Career
Firmin Rene Desloge, tarried into the business of lead smelting and mining in Potosi, Missouri
Potosi, Missouri
Potosi is a city in Washington County, Missouri, United States. Potosi is about 10 miles north of Belgrade. The estimated population in July 2008 was 2,698. It was 2,662 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
by training with his uncle Ferdinand Rozier and Rozier’s partnership with John Audubon; from the trading of ore at his mercantile and from acquiring properties and claims throughout the region in the early 1800s. While his fur trading aspect was successful enough, by the time the fur trade became embroiled in battles among the Campbells, Chouteaus, Ashleys, John Jacob Astor, the American Fur Company and the Missouri Fur Company, Firmin Rene Desloge had begun to focus attentions on the ground under his feet. Starting literally with open-ground diggings, some left open by Indians and frustrated miners, Firmin Rene Desloge, had a nose for identifying rich veins and understanding the geology with confidence.
The trading and mercantile business had started along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers by Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier and continued with Firmin Desloge. Ste. Genevieve, on the Mississippi River and of strong French descendency, played as a key trading location with new arrivals to the new frontier and with the local indigenous Indians. The fur trading business expanded greatly with the opening of trade routes up the Missouri River to the Mandan and Hidatsa Indian regions.
Ferdinand Rozier and Firmin Desloge, as part of their mercantile and trading businesses, were very active in the fur and pelt trading business. Desloge and Rozier did business with the Missouri Fur Company, founded by a group in St. Louis including Pierre Chouteau, Sr., Auguste Chouteau, Jr., William Clark, and others; as well as with their competition, the French Fur Company, owned by another group including Chouteaus and Pratte.
Firmin Rene Desloge built his own then modern smelting furnace circa 1824 as an extension of his Potosi, Missouri mercantile business. His son, Firmin Vincent Desloge
Firmin V. Desloge
Firmin V. Desloge was an American lead mining pioneer in the disseminated lead fields of the Southeast Missouri Lead District.-Life:...
expanded mining operations and expanded management to Bonne Terre, Missouri
Bonne Terre, Missouri
Bonne Terre is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. The population was estimated in 2008 as 6,854. It was 4,039 at the 2000 census. The community was originally settled by the French in 1720 after lead ore was discovered...
.
Formed from the original family lead mining business in Potosi was the Desloge Lead Company
Desloge Lead Company
Desloge Lead Company is the original Desloge family lead business in Missouri. The Desloge family businesses in lead and mercantile in Missouri dating from 1824, and including the Missouri Lead Mining and Smelting Company in 1874 and the Desloge Lead Company in 1876...
, which, after various expansions and consolidations, became Desloge Consolidated Lead Company
Desloge Consolidated Lead Company
Desloge Consolidated Lead Company is a historically significant Missouri lead mining company owned by a great industrialist baron family of the 19th and 20th centuries in the new American Frontier - starting just after the Louisiana Purchase, in the Southeast Missouri Lead District.-History:The...
, one of the largest lead mining concerns in the world at the time.