Caldwell, Archibald
Archibald Caldwell Soundex Code C434
Archibald Caldwell Indian trader
Archibald Caldwell, (Wednesday, April 30, 1806-). Archibald was born in Pearisburg, Giles County, Virginia.
He was the son of a sister to Jonas Clybourne who married Emily Hall (sister of Benjamin Hall;
He arrived with his wife on horseback via Fort Wayne on Sunday, July 1, 1827;
He was a cousin to an Archibald Clybourn who had earlier come from Virginia, together with Caldwell`s sister, Louisa Caldwell;
from 1828 to 1830 ran the Wolf Point Tavern for James Kinzie, for which he was granted - Chicago`s first - tavern license on Tuesday, December 8, 1829, by the commissioners of Peoria County; occasionally did blacksmith work;
in the spring of 1829 he abandoned his wife for an Indian woman, Josette;
in June 1830, sued by Emily for a divorce that was uncontested [For Mrs. Caldwell`s complaint in the records of the circuit court at Peoria, see the following text as read by her attorney on Tuesday, June 8, 1830];
Emily later married the discharged soldier [see] Cole Weeks;
also in June Caldwell was paid $5.50 by Peoria County for ironing a turnpike scraper, - Chicago`s first - official account of road improvements;
by 1831 he had moved with Josette to the vicinity of Green Bay where they had five boys and a girl, and "all lived in Indian style";
in 1834 he piloted the schooner Jefferson from Green Bay to Chicago, remaining until the next year;
he remarried at Green Bay and became an Indian trader;
in 1876 he was a farmer at Kenosha, Wisconsin, with 10 children living in the vicinity;
was still alive in 1880, living at Black Creek, Wisconsin.