John Henry Weber
| John Henry Weber | |
|---|---|
| Born |
c. 1779 Altona, Hamburg, Germany |
| Died | 1859 (aged c. 80) Bellvue, Jackson County, Iowa |
| Nationality | German-American |
| Occupation | Frontiersman, trapper, fur trader, hunter, explorer |
| Employer | Rocky Mountain Fur Company |
| Known for | The Naming of Weber River .From this place-name stems the names of today's Weber University, County, Canyon, and others. |
John Henry Weber (1779–1859) was an American fur trader and explorer. Weber was active in the early years of the fur trade, exploring territory in the Rocky Mountains and areas in the current state of Utah. Both Weber State University and Weber County, Utah were named for Weber.
John Henry Weber was born in the town of Altona, then near Hamburg in Germany, which is now a part of Hamburg. Weber immigrated to the United States where he was hired by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department to keep records for the government-owned lead mines in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri.
Weber became acquainted with William Henry Ashley and Andrew Henry who conducted the beaver trade in the drainage of the Upper Missouri River. He joined a Rocky Mountain Fur Company expedition which departed St. Louis, Missouri in the spring of 1822. Other trappers in this group included: Jim Bridger, David Jackson, Jedediah Smith, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Hugh Glass, James Clyman, Daniel T. Potts, and Milton Sublette. This was the first party of American trappers to cross the continental divide.
Upon reaching the mouth of the Yellowstone River, the company divided into two independent brigades, with Weber serving in a leadership position. During the summer of 1824, Weber's brigade crossed South Pass and the Green River Valley and descended into the Bear River region in time for a fall hunt. As winter approached, the company journeyed to Bear Lake, then to the Bear River's northern bend and finally south into what is today Utah's Cache Valley. The brigade spent the winter of 1824–25 on Cub Creek near present-day Cove, Utah. While in Cache Valley, the group discussed the possible course and ultimate outlet of the Bear River. According to his own account, the young Bridger was selected to settle the question by floating down the river. For many years Bridger was credited for the discovery of the Great Salt Lake. More recent evidence suggests, that Canadian-American Etienne Provost and his trapping party, working out of Taos in Mexican territory, visited the southern edge of the inland sea earlier in the same winter.
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