Wolfskill, William (20 March 1798–03 October 1866), frontiersman, trader, and rancher, was born in Boonesborough, Madison County, Kentucky, the son of Joseph Wolfskill, Jr., and Sarah Reid, farmers. In late 1809 the family moved to Boone’s Lick, Howard County, Missouri. William was sent back to Kentucky in 1815 to attend school for two years and then returned to Missouri, where he remained. In May 1822 he joined William Becknell’s second Santa Fe trade expedition. In New Mexico, Wolfskill and fellow Kentuckian ...
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Wolfskill, William (1798-1866), frontiersman, trader, and rancher
Joe A. Stout Jr.
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Yount, George Concepción (04 May 1794–05 October 1865), fur trapper and farmer
S. Matthew Despain
Yount, George Concepción (04 May 1794–05 October 1865), fur trapper and farmer, was born in Dowden Creek, North Carolina, the son of Jacob Yount and Amarilla (maiden name unknown), farmers. George’s grandfather changed the family name from Jundt, its original German spelling, when he immigrated from Alsace in 1731. The Yount family moved often during George’s early years and left North Carolina to settle eventually in the White River region of southwestern Missouri. Young George received no formal education but became well versed in frontier living. He fought in the War of 1812, after which he started his own farm. In 1818 he married Eliza Wilds from Kentucky. Ill feelings developed between Yount and his father-in-law after a neighbor took Yount’s savings—his father-in-law believed him less than competent as a husband. In an effort to recoup his fortune and reputation, Yount joined a Santa Fe caravan as a teamster (the same caravan with which young runaway ...
