William Alexander Becknell was born in Virginia in either 1787 or 1788. He married Jane Trusler in 1807, and moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1810 with his new family.
​
After serving in the US Mounted Rangers during the War of 1812, Captain Becknell moved to Franklin, Missouri, a hotspot for frontier-bound travelers. He got into the business of ferrying on the Missouri River and salt trading, after purchasing a salt work called Boone's Licks from one of his commanding officers in the army, Daniel Boone. The salt lick was actually the end of Boone's Lick Trail, a trail following the Missouri River from eastern Missouri to western Missouri. This trail was an important factor in the settling of western Missouri.
​
Becknell was deeply in debt by 1821, due to a variety of causes. His purchasing of Boone's Licks was one, as was borrowing a large amount of money to unsucessfully run for political office in 1820. However, the greatest factor to Becknell's debt was what was known as the "Panic of 1819". One of the so-called "growing pains" of the United States, the Panic happened as America tranformed from a colony economically dependant on Europe, to an independent economy. As a result of more conservative credit policies by the Federal Reserve, banks started to fail, and credit was much harder to come by. In 1821, Becknell was over $1,200 in debt. He was briefly jailed, and was told by a judge that he had one year to repay his 5 creditors, or face jail again.
​
His first trip to Santa Fe, in 1821, was with five people and one of the first trading expeditions to reach New Mexico. Previously, trade between the United States and Mexico was fairly limited, and Becknell's trip was considered fairly risky. However, as Becknell traveled, the Spanish rule of Mexico was being overthrown by Mexican rebels under Agustín de Iturbide. As Becknell approached Santa Fe, he met a group of soldiers. Much to his surprise, they welcomed him and rushed him to the city, where he sold his goods for a handsome profit.
​
The trip took seventy seven days, but this would be shortened to fifty days as more efficient routes were found. His next trip involved the first covered wagons used on the trail, and subsequent trips involved trappers and other traders. He also helped the United States government map and mark the trail in 1825.
​
For the rest of his life, he would be involved in the militia, as well as being elected to the Missouri House of Representatives and managing elections.
​
He died on April 25th, 1856, at his estate in Texas.
​
​
​