François Xavier Aubry

François Xavier Aubry (; December 3, 1824 – August 18, 1854) was a French Canadian merchant and explorer of the American Southwest. His achievements include speed records riding the Santa Fe Trail and early exploration of the 35th parallel north west of the North American continental divide.

Youth and early ventures Aubry was born to Joseph and Magdeleine (Lupien) Aubry in Saint-Justin, Quebec on December 3, 1824. There he grew up on a farm. When he was 18, he moved to St. Louis where he worked as a store clerk. After seeing the profits available for merchants transporting goods along the Santa Fe Trail, Aubry saved his money to purchase several wagons and draft animals. He then obtained a line of credit with which to purchase trade goods and left on his first trip down Santa Fe trail from Independence on May 9, 1846 as part of a trader's caravan. After selling his goods in Santa Fe, Aubry returned with enough profits to fully pay off his loans. In 1847 he moved to Independence, Missouri and began working full-time as a freighter along the trail.

While working the Santa Fe Trail, Aubry decided that speed was the key to maximizing his opportunities. Beginning on August 3 the party was harassed by a group of Indians that Aubry called "Garroteros". (Probably Yuman or Mohave) The harassment changed on August 14 when a chief, feigning friendship, approached Aubry's campsite. At the end of a meeting the chief took Aubry's right hand, a signal that resulted in his warriors pulling out hidden clubs and attacking Aubry's party. In September 1854, Missouri newspapers published an account of Aubry's final journey which spawned interest in a railroad route along the 35th parallel north. Eventually the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was built mostly along the route that Aubry had explored.

Legacy A number of places were named for the explorer, many spelled "Aubrey" due to misspellings by early map makers. Fort Aubrey, located in a place suggested by Aubry and used to protect the Aubrey Cutoff, is in Kansas. In Arizona, the town of Aubrey Landing (a.k.a. Aubry City or Aubry) was located near the confluence of the Colorado and Bill Williams Rivers, while two mountains, Aubrey Peak (Hualapai Mountains) and Aubrey Peak (Rawhide Mountains), are in Mohave County The Aubrey Valley, in Yavapai County, bears his name as does a street in Prescott.

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