Following the Louisiana Purchase, negative rumors circulated about its first governor, James Wilkinson, who had been appointed by President Thomas Jefferson. Some of the residents of the eastern Missouri Territory showed their support for Wilkinson by sending letters to the president. This collection is called the Wilkinson Memorial.

The residents who signed the letters lived in St. Louis, St. Charles (SC), St. Ferdinand (SF), and Ste. Genevieve (SG). In addition, residents from Cape Girardeau and New Madrid areas of the Louisiana Territory are included; however, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid residents are not indicated by a location designation. The list includes only one female. The transcription used the original spelling for each name.

The city indicator may follow the name of the resident. If the resident signed with an X, it is so indicated. This information was taken from Carter’s Territorial Papers, volume 13.

To locate your ancestors, use this record in conjunction with the 1805 Tax List included in this website.

St. Louis Genealogical Society member Jeananne Beuer, along with assistance from George F. Wilson, prepared this list for publication in the 1981 St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly, volume 14, number 1, pages 8–11; number 2, pages 56–57; number 3, page 104.

The Wilkinson Memorial: A Roster of Men in the Missouri Territory, 1805


Last modified: 10-Oct-2023 16:46