McKenzie, Kenneth, 1797-1861

Fur trader and wealthy St. Louis businessman.

Emigrating from Scotland in 1816, McKenzie worked as a clerk for the North West Company and later oganized and served as president of the Columbia Fur Company. When this firm merged in 1827 with the American Fur Company, McKenzie guided the operations of its Upper Missouri Outfit from Fort Union, N.D. After an ill-fated attempt to evade federal liquor shipment prohibitions by distilling whisky for the Indian trade, McKenzie retired in 1834 to a lucrative business career in St. Louis.

...