US frontier settler, guide, and
Indian agent, who later fought for the Union side in the Civil
War. He was a fearless man of the wilderness. Carson City, Nevada,
was named after him.
Carson, Kit (Christopher) (1809–1868)
US frontier settler, guide, and
Indian agent, who later fought for the Union side in the Civil
War. He was a fearless man of the wilderness. Carson City, Nevada,
was named after him.
He was born on December 24th 1809 in Madison County and was the ninth of fourteen children. Kit was the smallest boy in the family and never grew to more than 5ft 6ins. He was an expert shot and at 8 years old could shoot a squirrel at 50 yards.
Around 1836 he married an Arapaho Indian girl and they had one child Adaline who received a convent education. Following the death of his first wife he married a Mexican girl named Maria Josefa Jaramillo in 1843
Carson emigrated from Kentucky to Missouri as a hunter and trapper. His knowledge of Indian languages and habits made him a useful guide on Fremont's Rocky Mountains explorations 1842–45. Carson served under Fremont during the conquest of California 1846–47, and settled in New Mexico 1853, becoming US Indian agent at Taos.
Kit died in Fort Lyons on May 23rd 1868.