William Becknell

French colonists in St. Louis had a monopoly on trade with Santa Fe, which was granted by the Spanish crown before the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1822, Becknell altered his route to Santa Fe in order to find a trail more suitable for wagon trains so that he could enable transport of more trade goods.

During the War of 1812, Becknell served in the United States Mounted Rangers under Captain Daniel Morgan Boone, a son of the famed explorer.

[3] Jane Becknell died of unknown circumstance, possibly in childbirth, around the time of her husband's military discharge.

According to an advertisement Becknell placed in the Missouri Intelligencer newspaper, his intent was "trading for horses and mules and catching wild animals of every description.

"[3] Becknell and his group were not the only ones searching for a convenient trade route to Santa Fe, but that fall they were the first to reach the city, in mid-November 1821.

The people of Santa Fe were eager for the variety of goods which Becknell offered from his string of pack horses.

After a month of trading, Becknell and his party left Santa Fe on December 13 with their saddlebags overflowing with silver.

[2] Reaching Missouri in January 1822, Becknell almost immediately began planning his next trading trip to Santa Fe.

The wagon train left Franklin in May 1822 and suffered considerable hardship, with both animals and people nearly dying of thirst in the parched Cimarron Desert.

They paid some of that total as dividends to shareholders who had helped fund the trip, and even the smallest investor reaped great returns.

Retaining his rank of captain, Becknell served in the Missouri state militia during a Native American uprising in 1829 and again during the 1832 Black Hawk War.