Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard (August 22, 1802 in Windsor, Vermont

Windsor, Vermont

Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2000 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in August 1764 by Captain Steele Smith and...

, – September 14, 1886 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American fur trader, insurance underwriter and land speculator. Hubbard first arrived in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

on October 1, 1818 as a voyageur

Voyageurs

The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...

. He went on to build Chicago

Chicago

's first stockyard and help foment a land boom for Chicago in the East.

Early life

Hubbard was born in Windsor, Vermont, to Elizur Hubbard and Abigail Sage Hubbard. When his father, a lawyer, lost his money around 1812 in speculative ventures, he took the family north and settled in Montreal. In 1818, Hubbard was indentured to John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...

's American Fur Company

American Fur Company

The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...

for five years at $120 per year.

Hubbard first arrived in Chicago in 1818 as a member of a brigade led by Antoine Deschamps. Hubbard carried an introduction to John Kinzie

John Kinzie

John Kinzie was one of Chicago's first permanent European settlers. Kinzie Street in Chicago is named after him.-Early life:...

, a trader in Chicago, whose son, Morris, had befriended Hubbard. Although Hubbard eventually became a major booster of Chicago and one of its leading citizens, he wouldn't make his permanent home in the city until 1834.

On several trips throughout Illinois, he became the adopted son of Chief Waba of the Kickapoo and married Watseka

Watseka

Watseka or Watchekee was a Potawatomi Native American woman, born in Illinois, and named for the heroine of a Potawatomi legend. Her uncle was Tamin, the chief of the Kankakee Potawatomi Indians....

, niece of Chief Tamin of the Kankakee. After he walked for 75 miles in a single night to warn the town of Danville

Danville, Illinois

Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is the principal city of the'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 32,467. It is the county seat of...

of an impending raid by Indians, he earned the nickname "Pa-pa-ma-ta-be," or "Swift-Walker." When a local Indian tribe questioned his ability to perform this feat, he challenged their champion walker to a race. Hubbard's challenger lost by several miles and was unable to move the next day. Hubbard seemed to be unaffected.

Life in Chicago

Upon settling in Chicago in 1834, Hubbard purchased a cabin near Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

from Billy Caldwell

Sauganash

Billy Caldwell, baptized Thomas Caldwell , known also as Sauganash, was a British-Mohawk fur trader who was commissioned captain in the Indian Department of Canada...

and became one of the village's first trustees.

In the 1830s, Hubbard served in the Illinois General Assembly. While there, he advocated ending the Illinois and Michigan Canal

Illinois and Michigan Canal

The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...

at the Chicago River

Chicago River

The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...

instead of the Calumet River

Calumet River

The Calumet River refers to a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the neighborhood of South Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana.-Background:...

.

In Chicago, Hubbard became a leading figure in the fur trade

Fur trade

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

and opened the first meat packing plant in Chicago as part of his work to supply Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of...

with meat. In support of this business, he built the first warehouse, known as "Hubbard's Folly," in Chicago on the south bank of the Chicago River, near modern day LaSalle Street

LaSalle Street

LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Sieur de La Salle, an early explorer of Illinois. The portion that runs through the Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district...

.

Building his fortune in meats and furs allowed Hubbard to enter into the insurance business, and he was the first underwriter in Chicago. Following the Great Chicago Fire

Great Chicago Fire

The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...

in 1871, he was nearly bankrupted by the insurance payments he had to make, but he was able to survive the setback.

Hubbard was the owner of the Lady Elgin, a steamship which was rammed by a schooner and sank in 1860. Although Hubbard accepted insurance money for the loss, he never abandoned ownership of the ship, which was discovered in 1989. 1860 also saw Hubbard elected alderman of Chicago's 7th Ward.

In the late 1860s, Hubbard began work on his autobiography and had produced an 800 page manuscript which was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire

Great Chicago Fire

. Following the fire, he set to work to reproduce the manuscript, only completing it up to 1829 at the time of his death.

After the fire

Hubbard recovered from his financial setbacks following the Great Chicago Fire, but his health began to deteriorate. In 1883, he became ill and in 1884, he had his left eye removed. The following year, his right eye was removed. Hubbard died on September 14, 1886 and was buried in Graceland Cemetery

Graceland Cemetery

Graceland Cemetery is a large Victorian era cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park Road...

Early life

Life in Chicago

After the fire

Further reading