Jacques Clamorgan

Jacques Clamorgan was an adventurer, fur trader and land owner in the United States. He was from the West Indies.

Life

In 1781, Clamorgan arrived in St. Louis, then under Spanish regime and soon became wealthy. He laid claim to more than 1 million acres of Upper Louisiana land, granted by the Spanish authorities. The US government after de Louisiana Purchase offered $8 million (In 2011 $US) in response to Clamorgan's Spanish titles of property. Clamorgan refused to accept the money. Due to Clamorgan's power in the region he was given a seat in the Court of Quarter Sessions, a governmental body that existed for St. Louis composed of Judicial, Executive and Legislative powers.

In a tax-evasion effort, Clamorgan set his slave concubine free in order to give her some of his land holdings. Ester, the freed slave, sued Clamorgan for rightful ownership of this land when he demanded it back. Ester won through a series of lawsuits and became one of the richest colored people in the area.

Death

Clamorgan died in November 1814, leaving behind several mulatto children and his vast wealth. His grandson, Cyprian Clamorgan, wrote a book entitled The Colored Aristocracy of St. Louis.