Julien Dubuque: Portrait of a Pioneer by Robert Klein provides a new in-depth look at the life of the first white settler in Iowa and his relationship with the Native American tribes of the Upper Mississippi region. This farmer, miner, and trader established a small trading post where a village or 30 or so people worked and lived at a time when the United States was just in its early formation period with its thirteen colonies.
As a lifelong Dubuquer, past president and longtime board member of the Dubuque County Historical Society, and a co-founder of the Loras College Center for Dubuque History, Klein has a strong interest in the history of city and its eponym. Klein stated, “I wrote this book because I wanted to know more about Julien Dubuque than I found in the previous biography that appeared 100 years ago. Julien Dubuque deserves more recognition than he has received until now. This is a step in that direction.”
Writing this book was no easy task. As Klein explained, “Dubuque left no journal, no diary, no family photo album, and few direct pieces of evidence. There is no secret cache of emails, or tweets to be found. Among the new resources used, and now printed in the book, is the inventory of personal items left in his estate after his death in March of 1810.”
The new biography is currently available for sale at Loras College Barnes & Noble Bookstore and River Lights Bookstore in Dubuque. Of course, it also can be borrowed from the Loras Library.
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