Silas Bent (judge)
Encyclopedia
Silas Bent was a judge on the bench of the Missouri Supreme Court from 1817 to 1821. His son Charles was a fur trader and appointed as the first territorial governor of New Mexico. His sons William
, George and Robert had been in business with Charles and built Bent's Fort and other outposts of trade in the American Southwest.
on April 4, 1768, one of twelve children, to Silas Bent (1744–1818) and Mary Carter (1747–1831). Bent was a descendent of John Bent (1596–1672) and Edmund Rice
(1594–1663), both of whom were founders of Sudbury, Massachusetts
. His father, also called Silas, may have been involved in the Boston Tea Party
(there are differing opinions) and became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Massachusetts Militia.
Bent studied law in Wheeling, West Virginia
under Philip Dodridge from the late 1780s. Upon marrying Martha Kerr, some time prior to 1800, he and his wife relocated to Charleston, West Virginia
, where three of their children were born: Charles
, Juliannah (also known as Julie Ann) and John. Bent spent brief periods running a store, serving as postmaster of the courthouse in Brooke County, Virginia, and sitting as a judge in the court of common pleas. He moved his family to Washington County, Ohio
where he was appointed deputy surveyor in 1803 to Rufus Putnam
, surveyor-general, and where their daughter Lucy was born in 1805.
In 1806 Bent became principal deputy surveyor for the new territory of Louisiana
, purchased by the US from Napoleon in 1803. He settled with his family in St. Louis on September 17 of that year. Bent became the first presiding judge of the St. Louis district court of common pleas on August 20, 1807; presiding judge on the St. Louis court of common pleas on November 9, 1809; and auditor of public accounts. President James Madison
appointed him on February 21, 1813 as a member of the bench
of the Missouri Supreme Court, where he served until 1821 when Missouri became a state. From 1821 until the year of his death, Bent was a clerk at the St. Louis County Court.
Bent had a stone house and water mill built in 1807 on the river bank in the St. Louis area town of Carondolet.
. Charles
, born in November 11, 1799 in Charleston, West Virginia
, was the first to enter the trapping and trade business. George Bent recounted that his uncle worked about 1816 in the Upper Mississippi region for the American Fur Company
. The historian David Lavender wrote that about 1817, Charles worked for the Missouri Fur Company
, possibly starting out as a clerk. After establishing his own trading business with Ceran St. Vrain
in 1832, Charles Bent was appointed as the first territorial governor of New Mexico in 1846.
William
, born May 23, 1809 in St. Louis, entered the fur trade with his brother as a youth, about 1823 or 1824, beginning with learning to trap. At that time in the United States, boys of that age typically started a trade or career. About 1832 Charles and William took as their partner Ceran St. Vrain. George and Robert, born in St. Louis, joined in their brothers' enterprise. William Bent married a Cheyenne woman, Owl Woman
. Their son George Bent
, became an important informant of Cheyenne history and traditions, as well as serving as a soldier during the American Civil War
and as a Cheyenne warrior.
Silas Bent's other children include:
William Bent
William Wells Bent was a frontier trapper, trader, and rancher in the American West who mediated among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding United States. With his brothers, Bent established a trade business along the Santa Fe Trail. In the early 1830s Bent built an...
, George and Robert had been in business with Charles and built Bent's Fort and other outposts of trade in the American Southwest.
Biography
Silas Bent was born in Rutland, MassachusettsRutland, Massachusetts
Rutland is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,973 at the 2010 census. Worcester County's only buffalo herd is located in Rutland, at Alta Vista Farm...
on April 4, 1768, one of twelve children, to Silas Bent (1744–1818) and Mary Carter (1747–1831). Bent was a descendent of John Bent (1596–1672) and Edmund Rice
Edmund Rice (1638)
Edmund Rice , was an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony who was born in Suffolk, England, and lived in Stanstead, Suffolk and Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire prior to sailing with his family to America. He arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in summer or fall of 1638, presumed to be first...
(1594–1663), both of whom were founders of Sudbury, Massachusetts
Sudbury, Massachusetts
Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, population 17,659. The town was incorporated in 1639, with the original boundaries including what is now Wayland. Wayland split from Sudbury in 1780. When first incorporated, it included and parts of Framingham, Marlborough, Stow...
. His father, also called Silas, may have been involved in the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
(there are differing opinions) and became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Massachusetts Militia.
Bent studied law in Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
under Philip Dodridge from the late 1780s. Upon marrying Martha Kerr, some time prior to 1800, he and his wife relocated to Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
, where three of their children were born: Charles
Charles Bent
Charles Bent was appointed as the first Governor of the newly acquired New Mexico Territory by Governor Stephen Watts Kearny in September 1846....
, Juliannah (also known as Julie Ann) and John. Bent spent brief periods running a store, serving as postmaster of the courthouse in Brooke County, Virginia, and sitting as a judge in the court of common pleas. He moved his family to Washington County, Ohio
Washington County, Ohio
Washington County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 61,778. Its county seat is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for George Washington. Washington County is included in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia-Ohio...
where he was appointed deputy surveyor in 1803 to Rufus Putnam
Rufus Putnam
Rufus Putnam was a colonial military officer during the French and Indian War, and a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
, surveyor-general, and where their daughter Lucy was born in 1805.
In 1806 Bent became principal deputy surveyor for the new territory of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, purchased by the US from Napoleon in 1803. He settled with his family in St. Louis on September 17 of that year. Bent became the first presiding judge of the St. Louis district court of common pleas on August 20, 1807; presiding judge on the St. Louis court of common pleas on November 9, 1809; and auditor of public accounts. President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
appointed him on February 21, 1813 as a member of the bench
Bench (law)
Bench in legal contexts means simply the location in a courtroom where a judge sits. The historical roots of that meaning come from the fact that judges formerly sat on long seats or benches when presiding over a court...
of the Missouri Supreme Court, where he served until 1821 when Missouri became a state. From 1821 until the year of his death, Bent was a clerk at the St. Louis County Court.
Bent had a stone house and water mill built in 1807 on the river bank in the St. Louis area town of Carondolet.
Children
Four of Bent's sons entered the lucrative fur tradeFur 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...
. Charles
Charles Bent
Charles Bent was appointed as the first Governor of the newly acquired New Mexico Territory by Governor Stephen Watts Kearny in September 1846....
, born in November 11, 1799 in Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
, was the first to enter the trapping and trade business. George Bent recounted that his uncle worked about 1816 in the Upper Mississippi region for the 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...
. The historian David Lavender wrote that about 1817, Charles worked for the Missouri Fur Company
Missouri Fur Company
The Missouri Fur Company was one of the earliest fur trading companies in St. Louis, Missouri. Dissolved and reorganized several times, it operated under various names from 1809 until its final dissolution in 1830. It was created by a group of fur traders and merchants from St...
, possibly starting out as a clerk. After establishing his own trading business with Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain , also known as Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, was a major fur trader near Taos, New Mexico, where he and his partner William Bent established the trading post of Bent's Fort. St...
in 1832, Charles Bent was appointed as the first territorial governor of New Mexico in 1846.
William
William Bent
William Wells Bent was a frontier trapper, trader, and rancher in the American West who mediated among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding United States. With his brothers, Bent established a trade business along the Santa Fe Trail. In the early 1830s Bent built an...
, born May 23, 1809 in St. Louis, entered the fur trade with his brother as a youth, about 1823 or 1824, beginning with learning to trap. At that time in the United States, boys of that age typically started a trade or career. About 1832 Charles and William took as their partner Ceran St. Vrain. George and Robert, born in St. Louis, joined in their brothers' enterprise. William Bent married a Cheyenne woman, Owl Woman
Owl Woman
Owl Woman , was a Cheyenne princess. She married an Anglo American trader named William Bent, with whom she had four children. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame for her role in managing relations between Native American tribes and the Anglo American men...
. Their son George Bent
George Bent
George Bent was the mixed-race son of the fur trader William Bent, the founder of the trading post named Bent's Fort; and Owl Woman, a Cheyenne. Born near present-day La Junta, Colorado, Bent served as a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War and a Cheyenne warrior...
, became an important informant of Cheyenne history and traditions, as well as serving as a soldier during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and as a Cheyenne warrior.
Silas Bent's other children include:
- Juliannah (also known as Julie Ann), born in Charleston, West Virginia, became the first wife of Lilburn BoggsLilburn BoggsLilburn Williams Boggs was the sixth Governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840. He is now most widely remembered for his interactions with Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell, and Missouri Executive Order 44, known by Mormons as the "Extermination Order", issued in response to the ongoing conflict...
, who later became governor of Missouri; she died in 1820. John, born in Charleston, West Virginia, became a distinguished lawyer in St. Louis. Lucy was born in 1805 in Ohio.
- Four more children were born in St. Louis; Silas juniorSilas Bent (naval officer)Silas Bent III was a naval officer in the U.S. Navy prior to the American Civil War. Silas Bent sailed both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and was recognized by the Navy for his contributions to oceanography which were published by the Navy...
served in the Navy. He was a flag Lieutenant on the expedition to Japan under Matthew C. Perry. Later he was appointed to the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners. Edward died at age six. Dorcas married judge William C. Carr. Mary married Major Jonathan L. Bean