Fred Dubois - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Dubois was of part French-Canadian descent. His paternal grandfather, Toussaint Dubois, was an immigrant who distinguished himself at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Dubois' father, Jesse Kilgore Dubois, was an official at the United States Land Office in Palestine, Illinois, a former judge and state legislator, an early supporter of the Republican Party, and a close friend of fellow Illinois Republican Abraham Lincoln. In 1856 the elder Dubois was elected Illinois State Auditor and moved the family to the state capital, Springfield.

Fred Dubois studied at Yale from 1870 to 1872, where he was elected to Scroll and Key. He then participated in business until 1875, when he was appointed to the board of railroad and warehouse commissioners of Illinois. He held this position for one year, resigning shortly before the death of his father. In 1880, he moved to Idaho Territory with his brother, Jesse Dubois, Jr. (1850–1908), a doctor.

In 1882, Dubois was appointed to be the United States Marshal for the Idaho Territory. During this period Dubois launched a successful campaign to disenfranchise Mormon voters in Idaho Territory on the grounds they broke the law by practicing polygamy.

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