Early Years
William Wells Bent was born May 23, 1809 St. Louis, Missouri, a son of Silas Bent and his wife. His father was later appointed as a justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. William was one of the Bents' eleven children. The first three were born in Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia) and the remaining children were born in St. Louis after the family migrated there.
Three of William's brothers, George, Charles, and Robert, partnered with him in trading with Native Americans in the West. Charles was the oldest son, born in 1799, and the remaining brothers were born in or after 1806. Later based in Santa Fe, Charles Bent lived in Taos. He served briefly as the first territorial governor of New Mexico before being killed in January 1847 during the Taos Revolt.
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