b. Quebec, Canada 1781
d. Prarie du Chien, Wisconsin 1842

He was educated at the Jesuit Seminary in Quebec in preparation for the priesthood, but deserted his studies for the fur trade, and by 1805 was in the West. Associating with Scottish traders from Montreal, who combined under various titles to trade in the area, Rolette entered the Upper Mississippi region at a time when the fur trade was highly profitable. He made his home in Prairie du Chien and soon became its wealthiest resident.

During the War of 1812, Rolette, like other French-Canadians, aided the British; he participated in the capture of Fort Mackinac in 1812, and in 1814 helped raise Indian recruits for the defense of Prairie du Chien. A colorful and temperamental figure, Rolette was often at odds with other traders, with British officers, and, after 1816, with American commanders at Fort Crawford. In 1811 Rolette and his partners associated with John Jacob Astor to form the short-lived South West Co., and about 1820 he joined Astor's American Fur Co., managing the business at Prairie du Chien until Hercules Dousman (q.v.) arrived in 1826. Rolette had numerous side enterprises; his large canoes afforded convenient carrying service for goods and passengers; in 1830 he joined with James H. Lockwood (q.v.) to rebuild a sawmill in the Chippewa Valley; and he had heavy investments in Prairie du Chien real estate. Rolette was naturalized in 1823, was appointed associate judge of the Crawford County court in 1821, and in 1830 became its chief justice, but was soon removed from this post. Dissipation, mortgage foreclosures by the American Fur Co., and the Panic of 1837 contributed to his ruin, and he died a poor man.

Dict. Amer. Biog.; W. H. C. Folsom, 50 Years in the N.W. ([St. Paul] 1888); P. L. Scanlan, Prairie du Chien ([Menasha, Wis.] 1937); WPA MS.

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