fur trader and Indian agent; in 1802, opened a post on the site of Chicago with his brother-in-law, John Kinzie; as a trader at Peoria, 1804-1812, he supported the U.S. in the War of 1812; agent for the Sauk and Fox 1818-1830 at Rock Island, Ill., where he was respected by both Black Hawk and Keokuk; replaced in 1830 by a political appointee, despite his alliances with and knowledge of the Indian nations of the Upper Mississippi.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Thomas Forsyth Miscellaneous Papers for details.

View Forsyth's journal of 1819 at Wisconsin Historical Collections.

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[Source: Dictionary of American Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999)]