Jarrot, Vital

Born: 1805-09-10 Cahokia, Illinois

Died: 1877-06-05 Rapid City, South Dakota

Flourished: 1805-1865 Saint Clair County, Illinois

Jarrot enlisted in the Illinois militia and served as adjutant general during the Black Hawk War in 1832. After inheriting a large amount of land from his father, Jarrot became a wealthy and prominent figure in the Cahokia area. A newspaper publisher and lawyer, he also represented St. Clair County in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1838-40, where he served alongside and became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln, and again from 1857 to 1861. Like Lincoln, Jarrot was a Whig who later became a Republican. In March 1865, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Jarrot as Indian Agent to the Upper Platte Agency, upon which Jarrot moved to the Black Hills area.

History of Saint Clair County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1881), 103, 107; Ellen M. Whitney, comp., The Black Hawk War, 1831-1832: Illinois Volunteers, vol. 35 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1970), 1:123, 141; John Clayton, comp., Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 207, 221-23; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), St. Clair County, IL, 32; Gravestone, Holy Family Church Cemetery, Cahokia, IL; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of St. Clair County (Chicago: Munsell, 1907), 1:303; Vital Jarrot to Lyman Trumbull; Appointment of Vital Jarrot as Indian Agent for the Upper Platte Agency.