William Becknell
William Becknell was born in Amherst,
VA in 1787 or 1788. After marrying Jane Tusler in 1807, he and Jane moved to Missouri Territory. There, in 1810, Becknell served under Daniel Morgan Boone, the son of the pioneer Daniel Boone, in the War of 1812.
Following the war, Becknell’s wife died
and he remarried. To support his family, he worked as a ferryman on the Missouri River and managed the Boone’s Lick Salt Works After buying shares in the Salt Works business, he faced hefty debt. The Panic of 1819 also took a toll on his business because there was a limited amount of credit and hard currency.
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The Panic of 1819 is often referred to as the First Great Depression
With debt amounting to what would
now be $20,000, Becknell was jailed for a brief amount of time before being released and required to pay off his debt by 1822. With no other option, he left Franklin, MO with $300 worth of trade goods. In an article published in the Missouri Intelligencer, Becknell stated he left Franklin, MO in September 1821 "For the purpose of trading for horses and mules and catching wild animals of every description." He and the people who joined him on his trading trip were not the first individuals in search of a route to Santa Fe but they were the first to reach the city in November 1821. The residents of Santa Fe were excited to purchase the goods Becknell had to offer. They were also willing to pay high amounts of silver for articles like cotton cloth and calico. Overall, his investment of $300 in trading goods provided him with a return of $6000.
He had completed his first trip via horse
and decided to use a wagon on his second trip. He also took what is now known as the Cimarron Route instead of the Mountain Route which he had used on the first trip. Many suffered and died of thirst in the Cimarron Desert. However, for those who survived, the second trip was exponentially profitable and provided a $91,000 return for $3000 worth of trading goods. Finally, after a third trip in 1824, he helped surveyors hired by the Congress map his route and became known as the "Father of the Santa Fe Trail".
Becknell later served in the Missouri
State Legislature and as a Captain during the Black Hawk War of 1832. He later moved to present-day Texas's Red River County where he led a cavalry unit during the Texas War of Independence. He also served in the legislature of the Republic of Texas. Becknell died on April 30, 1865 in Red River County.
