Benoist Troost

Dr. Benoist Troost (born Benedictus Troost; also Benoît Troost, Benoit Troost; November 17, 1786 – February 8, 1859) was an Americanized Dutch geologist, physician, and pioneer, who was one of the founders of the Town of Kansas.

Dr. Benoist Troost
1859 George Caleb Bingham portrait of Troost
Born	Benedictus Troost November 17, 1786 's-Hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Died	February 8, 1859 (aged 72) Kansas City, Missouri, US
Nationality	Dutch
Other names	Benoît Troost Benoit Troost
Occupations	Geologist pioneer physician
Known for	Cofounder of Town of Kansas
Family	Gerard Troost (older brother)

Early life and geology

Benoist Troot was born to Catholics Everardus Josephus Troost and Anna Cornelia van Heeck on November 17, 1786 in 's-Hertogenbosch. He was the younger brother of Gerard Troost.^[1]

From July 1807 to March 1810, he was employed by Napoleon III to oversee his mineral collection. While working for Napoleon, he lived in Paris and was a scholar of the National Museum of Natural History.^[2]

In 1813, Troost married Rachel Tage, the sister of his brother’s wife, Margaret.^[1]

In 1816, Troost went to New Jersey on a geological trip organized by William Maclure. Troost stayed in the United States, and in the mid-1820s, with his older brother, Gerard, they mapped the geology of Philadelphia and the land of the American frontier.^[2]

Kansas City

Troost moved to the Town of Kansas and became the first resident physician.^[3] In 1846, he married Mary Ann Troost, the niece of Troost's friend and Kansas City pioneer William Gillis.^[4] He was listed as a trustee when the Town of Kansas incorporated in 1850, then again when the Missouri General Assembly reincorporated the town as Kansas City, Missouri.^[5][6] He was the city's first resident physician. In 1854, he founded the Kansas City Enterprise newspaper. In 1857, he incorporated the city's first Chamber of Commerce. He died on February 8, 1859 in William Gillis' mansion in Kansas City, Missouri.^[7][8]

Legacy

Troost is the namesake for Troost Avenue in Kansas City. In 2022, the street was proposed to be renamed to "Truth Avenue" because Troost owned slaves.^[9]

References

1. Euston, Diane (July 31, 2022). "DR. BENOIST TROOST: BEYOND THE STREET WHICH BEARS HIS NAME. . . FOR NOW". Martin City Telegraph.
2. Corgan, James X. (June 15, 2014). Geological Sciences in the Antebellum South. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-5798-6.
3. Lee, Janice (2003). "Biography of Benoist Troost (1786-1859), Physician and Early Settler".
4. says, Bob Wolff (March 14, 2022). "The Old Gilliss House Hotel tells the story of Kansas City's growth". Retrieved February 19, 2024.
5. Schmidt, Hannah (January 11, 2017). "Taste & See KC: The history of Troost Avenue". KSHB-TV. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
6. Stark, Cortlynn. "Yes, Kansas City's Troost Avenue was named for a slaveholder. And that's not all we found". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
7. Union Historical Company; Birdsall, Williams & Co. (1881). History of Jackson County, Missouri. Missouri State Library. pp. 414, 418, 437.
8. Lee, Janice (2003). Biography of Benoist Troost (1786–1859), Physician and Early Settler – KC History. Missouri Valley Special Collection. Kansas City, Missouri: Kansas City Public Library. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
9. Stark, Cortlynn (May 28, 2021). "Yes, Kansas City's Troost Avenue was named for a slaveholder. And that's not all we found". The Kansas City Star.

External links

• Find a Grave