Born: Great Barrington, Massachusetts, April 1782.
Died: St. Charles, Missouri, January 31, 1863.
Father: Dr. John Sibley – Surgeons mate during the War for Independence; established Fayetteville (N.C.) Gazette; Indian Agent at Natchitoches 1804-1814.
Mother: Elizabeth Hopkins, daughter of Reverend Samuel Hopkins. Married: 1780, Died: 1790.
1805: Appointed at age of twenty-three by Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, to serve under Rudolf Tillier as assigned agent (factor) at St. Louis. Salary: $700.00 per annum.
1808 (May 26): Received appointment to the “U States Factory at the Osage River in the Territory of Louisiana.” Salary – $800.00 per annum plus $365.00 annual subsistence pay.
1808 (July): Arrived in St. Louis informed of the relocation of the trade house from the Osage River to the Fire Prairie.
1808 (August 12): Departed with boats for the Fire Prairie Arriving at the “Bad Luck Hills”, on the “Big Eddy” on September 4.
1808 (September 28): Received appointment from Territorial Governor Meriwether Lewis to office of Justice of the Peace for the establishment near the Fire Prairie.
1811 (May 11): Leaves Fort Osage on excursion among the Indian Tribes. Travels to the Grand Saline (Woodward County, Oklahoma) and returns to Fort Osage on July 11, 1811.
1811 (July 1): Annual salary raised to $1,000.00 per annum.
1811-1812 (Nov. – April): Spends winter in Natchitoches with his father and brothers then travels to Washington City. Departs for Fort Osage in April.
1813 (June): Evacuates Fort Osage to St. Louis due to the War with England.
1813 (Sept.): Establishes temporary factory at Arrow Rock, Missouri.
1815 (May): Begins preparations for the reopening of the Fort Osage Factory.
1815 (Aug): Marries Mary Easton in St. Louis. He is thirty-three and she is fifteen years old.
1816: Received appointment from Territorial Governor William Clark to office of the Peace for Howard County.
1820: Received commission as Postmaster at Fort Osage.
1822: Factory system closes.
1825-1827: Heads U.S. government team assigned to mapping the Santa Fe Trail.
1859: At the age of sixty-nine and in poor health, appointed by the Governor of Missouri to “organize and get into operation a State Lunatic Asylum at Fulton.”
Other Interesting Facts
Sibley subscribed to the National Intelligencer .
In January of 1811, Sibley ordered a pair of “plain strong gold earrings.” He had been advised that this might help with his weakening eyesight.
George Sibley’s Journal from 1808-1811, along with a selection of letters, have been published by the Lindenwood University Press and is available for purchase on Amazon.com or in the Fort Osage Gift Shop.