French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau (1767 – 1843) won Sacajawea in a card game. She later gave birth to her first child Jean Baptiste “Pomp” (1805 – 1866) around the time before Meriwether Lewis (1774 – 1809) and William Clark (1770 – 1833) visited where the couple resided in upper Missouri River region, near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1804. They hired Toussaint to act as the expedition’s interpreter and guide, mainly because Sacajawea was fluent in Hidatsa and Shoshone languages whereas he wasn’t.
Of all her contributions to the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803 – 1806), perhaps none was more important than her mere presence with the European group of men. In point of fact, the native American tribes they encountered along the way regarded the expedition as essentially “friendly” because of her amicable nature. As a result, they enjoyed safe passage during their two year journey to the Pacific Ocean.
Toussaint Charbonneau was the great-great-grand grandson of the sister of Jacques de Noyon (1668 – 1745). He was the first man of European descent to explore the Boundary Waters region west of Lake Superior as a fur trader After Sacagawea’s death, Toussaint resumed his metier in the trade, leaving his son behind with Capt. Clark who raised him in St. Louis.
She carried her son on her back during the entire trek. He would later carry the burden of her celebrity and fame for the rest of his life. When he was eighteen, he befriended German explorer Duke Paul Wilhelm of Württemberg (1797 – 1860) who later took him to Europe. He spent six years there living amongst royalty while learning four languages. He fathered a son in Germany who died three months after his birth.
Sacajawea holds a special place in American history. There are dozens of memorials and sculptures commemorating her life located throughout America, especially in the northern tier of the country. Her memorials include:
-Sacagawea River
-Lake Sakakawea
-USS Sacagawea, one of several United States ships named in her honor
-Sacagawea dollar
-Mount Sacagawea, Fremont County, Wyoming, and the associated Sacagawea Glacier
-Sacajawea Peak, Wallowa County, Oregon
-Sacagawea Peak, Gallatin County, Montana
-Sacagawea Peak, Custer County, Idaho
-Sacajawea Patera, a caldera on Venus
Several films and documentaries have been made about her extraordinary, but tragically short life.
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Sacajawea “Bird Woman” Charbonneau
BIRTH 1784 in Shoshone, Idaho
DEATH 09 APRIL 1884 IN Fort Washaki, Wyoming
wife of 4th cousin 5x removed CHARBONNEAU-GARNIER-GIROUX-MERON-BRULE
WikiTree
Genealogy of Canada
Wiki
SOURCES
Sacajawea
Sacajawea
The Journals of Lewis and Clark
The Essential Lewis and Clark
Interpreters with Lewis and Clark: The Story of Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau
Sacagawea’s Child: The Life and Times of Jean-Baptiste (Pomp) Charbonneau
YouTube videos
Toussaint Charbonneau
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
Sacajawea
Lewis & Clark Expedition
The Patricians 