Charles Bent

Charles Louis Bent was born in Charleston, Virginia, the oldest of the ten children of Judge Silas Bent, and his wife Martha Kerr.

The other children were: Juliannah, Joh, Lucy, Dorcas, William, Mary, George, Robert, Edward, and Silas.

U.S. Army and Bent & St. Vrain Company

After leaving the army, in 1828, Charles and his younger brother, William, took a wagon train of goods from St. Louis to Santa Fe. There they established mercantile contacts and began a series of trading trips back and forth over the Santa Fe Trail. In 1832, he formed a partnership with Ceran St. Vrain, another trader from St. Louis, called Bent & St. Vrain Company. In addition to its store in Taos, New Mexico, the trading company established a series of "forts", fortified trading posts, to facilitate trade with the Plains Indians, including Fort Saint Vrain on the South Platte River and Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River, both in Colorado, and Fort Adobe on the Canadian River. Bent's Fort, outside La Junta, Colorado, has been restored and is now a National Historic Site.

Territorial Governor

Following the occupation of New Mexico as part of the Mexican-American War, many of the inhabitants of New Mexico were not happy about the new American rule. Some mourned the loss of the old connection with Mexico, others feared the loss of their private goods, and others hated Bent, the New Mexican Territorial Governor who served under the U.S. war-time occupation, because of his negative attitude towards Mexicans. In December 1846, the influential families in the state started to plan a revolt against their new rulers. Governor Bent and Colonel Sterling Price found out about the conspiracy and some of the leaders of the movement were arrested, but two important ones were able to escape.

In 1835, Charles "Carlos" Bent married Maria Ignacia Jaramillo, who was born in Taos, New Mexico. Maria's younger sister, Josefa Jaramillo, would later marry Kit Carson.

Charles and Maria had five children: Alfred, Estifina, Teresina, George (died as infant), and Virginia (died as infant). Alfred was murdered at Taos on December 9, 1865. Yiorgos Caralambo (a.k.a. Greek George) was allegedly hired as the assassin by people with interests in the Maxwell Land Grant, 1/4 of which Alfred and his two sisters inherited from their father Charles. Lucien B. Maxwell, Charles Beaubien, and Guadalupe Miranda held large other portions of the grant.

Charles's brothers Robert and George died at Bent's Fort (1846 and 1841, respectively).