We’re surrounded by places named for historic figures—John Bozeman, Sacajawea, Charles & Angelique Anceney, Nelson Story. However, the namesake of our valley is largely invisible. Many locals know that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark named the Gallatin River after a politician, but not much more about this friend and colleague of Thomas Jefferson. Tourists and transplants even ask if Gallatin was a French fur trapper, or is an “Indian word.”

Who was Albert Gallatin? His life is remarkable for more than having been the longest-serving U.S. Treasury Secretary. His influence on our nation goes far beyond fiscal policy; for one, he was a strong proponent of the Bill of Rights, believing that the original Constitution did not do enough to protect personal freedoms. He is one of our unsung heroes. He also has many downstream connections to Montana.

​Gallatin’s first name wasn’t actually Albert. He was christened Abraham (‘Father of Nations’) like Lincoln, the man who created the Montana Territory. Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was born in the Republic of Geneva in January, 1761. He was one of the junior founders of our country, a few years younger than Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe (and Mozart), born a full decade after James Madison.

Albert was a bit of a Tom Sawyer. By age 10, he’d lost both his parents and was in the care of a distant relative who also lived in Geneva, a city (Swiss after 1815) known for its mix of progressive reasoning and conservative Calvinist focus on hard work, frugality, and learning.

​Forty miles southeast of Geneva, Mount Blanc rises as the Alps’ tallest peak; farther east along this chain looms the Matterhorn. To its NE is St. Gotthard Pass, near the sources of the Rhine and the Rhône. It’s appropriate that the name of our valley’s river has Alpine roots. Out of the Missouri’s three forks, the Gallatin spends the most time rushing between forested slopes and canyon walls.

​In May of 1779, Gallatin graduated from the College of Geneva, which, in typical Calvinist fashion, was free to citizens. As one of the city’s aristocracy, he could have stayed and entered public life. However, he empathized with the local artisans and small traders striving for more political participation; running for office would have contributed to the status quo.

​The military was also an option. A friend of Voltaire’s, his grandmother was, ironically, also a pal of Frederick II of Hesse, whose troops were fighting for King George III against the American Revolution. Frederick would enter him as a Lt. Colonel if he’d like to assist the British cause? Albert’s reply: “I would never serve a tyrant.”

​The idea of America fascinated Gallatin. In 1780, he and a former classmate skipped town and sailed to Massachusetts. They first said nothing to their families, but on the coast of France they had an adult moment and decided that writing letters home was wise. Once she learned he was abroad, his former caretaker tried her best to track him down. She even requested help from an American friend in Europe—none other than Benjamin Franklin. 

Albert visited Boston, but found its stuffy rules and closed society worse than Geneva. He befriended a family from near his hometown; they suggested he go north. He spent a year at Fort Gates near Machias, Maine during the final quarter of the Revolution. There, he practiced his English. In France, he’d bought bundles of tea to sell in the “New World.” His mercantile endeavors in Maine didn’t yield much, so, once back in Boston, he hawked his Souchong in the city known for its harbor Tea Party, another bit of irony. Afterward, he found a position teaching French at Harvard. Dark-haired, plain-faced, and thriftily-dressed, Gallatin was liked by his students. He was intelligent, genuinely friendly, and serious without being dull.

In the Spring of 1783, Albert met René Rapicault’s agent, Jean Savary. Rapicault had lent money and supplies to Virginia during the Revolution. Jean needed a translator upon returning south, and Gallatin eagerly agreed. He finished tutoring and they took off from Boston overland to Virginia. In Richmond (where Jim Bridger was later born at his parents’ inn) Gallatin was introduced to many influential figures. Governor Patrick Henry (“Give me liberty or give me death”) was impressed, calling Gallatin “most sensible and well informed!”

​At this time, Albert and Jean caught land fever. Land north of the Ohio River belonged to Congress, but the south shore was open for sale. Savary took the cash he had and bought tracts for himself and Gallatin, who would receive an inheritance when he turned 25. In April of 1784, they set off across the Appalachians to view land along the Monongahela River (“Mon”) in SW Pennsylvania. On September 24, while at George’s Creek, Albert met George Washington. The general was likewise touring land purchases west of the mountains. Washington was intrigued with Albert, who boldly spoke up during a discussion on routes, and asked him to be his agent. Gallatin politely declined.

​The next summer, Gallatin and Savary explored again. This journey was a Corps of Discovery expedition in miniature. With 15 surveyors and hunters, they rowed off in dugouts on the “Mon” to Pittsburgh, then far down the Ohio River, more a Huck Finn than a Tom Sawyer move. They then walked back through dense forest to Pennsylvania. Lewis & Clark surely recalled Albert’s 550-mile trek when they traversed Big Sky Country.

​Gallatin built the farm of Friendship Hill and founded the town of New Geneva, both near George’s Creek in Fayette County. To the northeast, his friend Zachariah Connell, a militia captain during the Revolution, started Connellsburg. This was the birthplace and boyhood home of William A. Clark, one of Montana’s “Copper Kings.” Clark knew Bozeman’s valley was named after a founding father of his home county. Unfortunately, he didn’t use Gallatin as a character model.

In 1791, while Albert was in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Whiskey Rebellion erupted. Western farmers were angry at a steep federal tax on stills and spirits—our nation’s first internal crisis. President Washington sent militias to quell the uprising and arrest its leaders. Gallatin acted as referee, sympathizing with the farmers but urging against further violence.

​Two years afterward, Albert married Hannah Nicholson, the bright daughter of Commodore James Nicholson of Maryland and New York City. Her insights and connections aided him over many years. They had six children: Catherine, Sophia, Hannah (each of whom died young), Frances, James, and Albert. Sophia’s grave is south of Friendship Hill, today a National Historic Site.

In 1795, Gallatin was elected U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. There, he established the Ways and Means Committee. Five years later, when Thomas Jefferson was elected with Gallatin’s help, the president appointed him Treasury Secretary. He kept this position for a dozen years, working tirelessly to reduce the nation’s Federalist-inflamed debt. Gallatin steered the country into solvency, to the point that when Napoleon offered to sell not just New Orleans but all of Louisiana Territory, the U.S. was able to pay in part with cash. When Lewis & Clark placed Gallatin’s name on the map, they were gladly honoring a man who had made the expedition possible.

In his many travels between Friendship Hill and Philly, NYC, and Washington D.C., Albert stopped in Somerset, Adams, and York Counties. Crossroads here were stepping stones for Swiss-German Amish and other Pennsylvania Dutch migration to Ohio, Illinois, and the West. Many along Gallatin’s route had relatives who settled in Montana. Familiar names include Birky/Burkey, Stucky/Stuckey, Kagy, Moser, Stahly/Staley, Lehman, Kountz/Koontz, Weiss/White, Heffner/Haffner, Hoffman/Huffman, and Schenk/Shank. Methodist preacher William W. Van Orsdel or “Brother Van” was also from this route; he was born in Adams county in 1848. These families were some of the rural voters who sent Gallatin to state and national positions.

​Gallatin later co-signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. In the 1820s he was U.S. ambassador to France and the UK, where he extended joint occupation of Oregon Country, including Montana west of the Divide. ​In 1841, Gallatin co-founded the American Ethnological Society. He’d been interested in Native American languages and cultures since his time in Maine and pursued this as serious study even before his retirement. Albert Gallatin, the “Father of American Ethnology” died at age 88, August 12, 1849, the same year as President Polk, Dolly Madison, Chopin, and Edgar Allen Poe.

​With mention of Native tongues and Albert, we come full circle. Many Native peoples call the Gallatin the ‘swift river,’ such as Shoshone Ketta-Ogwai. It’s the quick, lively stream, compared to most of the Madison, and especially the Jefferson. Gallatin is from Old French galle ‘enjoyment, vitality, boldness.’ This is also the root of gala, gallant, regale, and gallimaufry —a hodgepodge-like trail mix or hunter’s hash, but originally a spicy sauce for trout and other river fish. In sum, a gallatin is a ‘lively one,’ a fitting name for the lively valley we live in!