Historical Tyson Landowners

Coalter’s land in 1862 on Julius Hutawa’s 1862 Atlas of the County of St. Louis.

john david coalter

John David Coalter is estimated to have lived from 1795-1880. His last name had multiple spellings, such as Colter and Coulter. He owned land that would later become part of Tyson Research Center from 1862-1878.  

Coalter was a politician and lawyer. He was elected as a representative for St. Charles County to the Missouri State Legislature in 1836, 1838 and 1844. He was a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention in 1845. In court, he was described as a “model of diction and literary elegance.” One source names Coalter as a general, indicating possible involvement in the Civil War or War of 1812.  

Coalter’s parents were David Coalter and Ann Carmicle. His siblings were Beverly Coalter, Maria Coalter, Catherine Coalter, Fanny Coalter, Caroline Coalter, and Julia Coalter. Julia married Edward Bates, a prominent lawyer and politician. Their son, John Coalter Bates, was a WashU alumnus, Civil War general for the United States, and later a military governor in Cuba and the Philippines. John David Coalter married Mary Meanes and had at least one child, of unknown name.  

John Coalter’s only record of enslavement is the 1864 emancipation of Lucy Ann White.

Resources 

Bios of Early Pioneer Families in Missouri, Page 139. (1876). MoGenWeb. Retrieved from https://stcharles.mogenweb.org/bios_of_early_pioneer_families_pub_1876.pdf.  

Biro, E. Tyson Border Polygon. (2023) Tyson Research Center.  

Edward Bates. (21 June 2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bates.  

Image 1 of Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916: John D. Coalter to Edward Bates, Sunday, December 13, 1863 (Samuel B. McPheeters). (n.d.). [Online text]. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved June 21, 2024, from https://www.loc.gov/resource/mal.2864900/?st=text.  

John Coalter Bates. (21 June 2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Bates.  

Kearns, E. Coalter’s Land 1870 ArcGIS Polygon. (2024) Washington University in St. Louis.  

Missouri Legislators C. (n.d.). Missouri Secretary of State Archives. Retrieved June 21, 2024, from https://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/historicallistings/molegc 

Missouri: 1845-46 Constitutional Convention. (n.d.). The Political Graveyard. Retrieved June 21, 2024, from https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MO/ofc/cncn2.html.  

St. Charles County, Men in Pioneer Days. (n.d.). American History and Genealogy Project. Retrieved June 21, 2024, from https://northeast-missouri.genealogyvillage.com/ctyhist/st-charles-men-in-pioneer-days.html 

St. Louis Integrated Database of Enslavement | Washington University in St. Louis. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2024, from https://sites.wustl.edu/enslavementstl/search/.  

This Tyson landowner profile was researched and written by Undergraduate Fellow Emmett Kearns and edited by Undergraduate Fellow Juliana Morera during summer 2024.