Early Years
John Colter was born in Augusta County, Virginia, near the town of Stuarts Draft around 1774. Sometime around 1780, the Colter family moved west and settled near present day Maysville, Kentucky. As a young man, Colter may have served as a ranger under Simon Kenton. He was 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall. The outdoor skills he had developed from this frontier lifestyle impressed Meriwether Lewis, and on October 15, 1803, Lewis offered Colter the rank of private and a pay of five dollars a month.
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