Saul Becknell was born in 1801 in the Rockfish Creek area of Amherst County, Virginia to Thomas and Sarah Becknell. Saul’s father Thomas was named for his own uncle Thomas who had fought in the Revolutionary war with his two brothers, Micajah and James. Two of these three siblings, James and Thomas, were killed at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, leaving only Micajah to carry on the Becknell name. Micajah would later marry Phoebe (Landrum) in 1782.
The couple would go on to have four sons: Micajah Jr, William, Thomas, and John. Micajah (Sr)‘s grandfather had been a soldier during the French and Indian war while Micajah’s wife Phoebe’s own father had been a revolutionary soldier of some renown. Thus the life of adventure, fighting, and the hardships of the soldier was common fare in the Becknell family's history.
Saul’s father Thomas made his living in western Virginia farming, hunting, and as a trader, much as did his brothers and their father before them. The family name, Becknell and its variant, Bicknell, was derived from a place called Beckley in County Sussex, England. The family had resided in this area of Virginia since 1758, when the Amherst County records record the transfer of 100 acres of land to one William Becknell by Howard Cash, father of this particular William's wife.
Around 1811, the family had spread out from Virginia as Saul’s uncle William relocated to the St Louis area, and then shortly after, westward to the frontier town of Franklin Missouri. In 1812, war with the British broke out all over the Americas from the Atlantic to the frontier. In 1813, William joined Nathan Boone’s mounted militia. In the Missouri area, British agents from Detroit had persuaded the Indian tribes including the Sac, Fox, Sauk, and Cree to attack American settlers. William Becknell fought in several engagements against these, including the Battle of Credit Island, American forces led by Major Zachary Taylor. In 1814, after having won renown, Saul’s uncle was promoted to Ensign under James Callaway, and then in 1815, found himself leading the defense of Fort Clemson after Callaway was killed by a British musket ball.
In 1815, William returned to farming, trading horses, and freighting in partnership with Saul’s father Thomas. Young Saul grew up soaking up stories of his uncle’s exploits and found himself yearning for adventures of his own. The highlight of his young Saul's life was a trip going westward to Missouri to visit his uncle. His youth was spent farming, hunting, and fishing, though he also excelled at his studies, particularly that of applied mathematics, which would later serve him well in his chosen profession of land surveyor. He was about 5’8 tall, roughly 160 pounds, possessing a dark reddish brown mop of hair, and strong in flexibility and in body. His companions would describe him as possessing a good character, but with something of a quick temper and a firm sense of right and wrong, which he defended.
In 1820 Uncle William decided to run for a position in the Missouri legislature, though he lost his election. Unfortunately He had also borrowed money for this and now owed five creditors debts totaling almost $1,200.00.
Even more unfortunate, this turned out to be a very bad time to be in debt. In 1819 the country experienced a major recession. The “Panic of 1819” was caused by a combination of events which were to become a familiar cause of the nation’s future periodic financial downturns. The Bank of the United States, in 1818 adopted a policy of contracting its lending to local banks. Prior to that, just after the end of the War of 1812, there was land speculation in the Great Lakes area which was uncontrolled. It fueled inflation and was dependent upon bank credit.
That contraction of bank credit, combined with the debt incurred by the US as a result of paying for fighting the War of 1812 (from 1812 to 1815 the US debt went from $45 million to $127 million) in addition to the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, meant that very little money was in circulation. The eventual result was the calling-in of most debts by both local banks and individual lenders. This immediately caused the economic stagnation or bankrupting of both individuals and businesses.
This was what caused the personal, technical bankruptcy of Becknell.
William Becknell had assets in both land and in livestock as well as his various businesses in excess of what he owed. However his creditors would accept only hard currency- gold or silver coin. The fledgling Federal government had allowed local banks to print money that was not backed sufficiently by hard currency or bullion. Because creditors had no confidence in the paper currency system and because they usually had little need for goods or land in exchange for the settlement of the debts owed to them, they insisted upon being paid in hard currency only.
However, due to the Federal government not minting enough hard currency, people had to rely upon Spanish silver and gold coin. But, there was very little of that available and what existed was hoarded. Coins were so scarce that people began to cut Spanish coins into eight pieces, called ‘bits’. Thus debtors, like Becknell, had no practical way of paying back their debts.
Since there was no hard currency available William could not resort to selling his land or goods to pay off his debts. According to the law at the time, if debtors could not meet their creditor’s demands for repayment those debtor’s could be thrown into “debtors prison”.
Such was the situation uncle William found himself. He was thrown into the local jail and only released because a friend of the family’s bailed him out. The county judge gave him until 1822 to pay his debts, else he would be thrown back into jail. William was outraged at being put in jail when he had not committed a crime and was still a well-thought- of war hero and still a Captain in the militia protecting the people of Missouri. As he related to Thomas and Saul ( now nearing twenty years of age), he determined to redeem his good name no matter how it had to be accomplished. Thus he outlined his plan for an expedition to Santa Fe (where the hard (silver) money was) to trade.
He enumerated his plan, using figures supplied by Lt Zebulon Pike (who had led an expedition to Spanish CO and been captured by the Spanish and held prisoner until 1809) as he published information detailing his experiences. This information would include a detailed comparison between the selling price of goods in the Spanish territory vs what those goods would typically fetch in Missouri. His publications indicated potential for good profit, for those daring enough to venture it – the Spanish were in decline and losing control of their vast empire and feared that the upstart Americans would take over New Mexico territories. American traders and explorers were often caught, imprisoned, and their goods confiscated.
Despite the dangers, Saul got it in his head to accompany his uncle William. After much lively discussion with his immediate family, he at last got permission to join the expedition as a junior member and apprentice to Jack Ferrel, a surveyor who would accompany the traders.
The expedition would head south west across Kansas to the Arkansas river, then following that river to the Purgatoire River in what would later be Colorado. Next, they crossed the steep, rock strewn Raton Mountains.
After successfully negotiating the Mountain passes, the group headed across the mesas and the plains until they ran into a column of troops led by Pedro Gallego. Though neither group spoke the other’s language, Gallego was able to convey that trade with Santa Fe and the East was now desired! Later, in Santa Fe, they learned that Mexico had just earned independence mere months before.
On Jan 30, 1822, the expedition arrived back in Franklin Missouri, after having been gone some five months. Uncle William sliced open one of the rawhide bags which was filled with silver coins. The metal dropped into the gutter and Saul looked on with something between amusement and disgust as the creditors scrambled eagerly on hands and knees, grabbing them up, muck and all. The expedition had turned out to be a great success, turning $300 worth of trade goods into $6000 silver coins, clearing William of his debts, and restoring the family name. An added benefit though, Saul had gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in the bargain.
William spent the next few months preparing to return to Santa Fe. He offered Saul a position again, but Saul was filling homesick and declined. As his uncle was preparing to blaze what would become the Cimarron trail, Saul returned to Amherst County Virginia, to the delight of his mother and father. Aiming to settle down and start a farm of his own, Saul married Elizabeth Caldwell, eldest daughter of James Caldwell, a respected banker.
They were happy for a time, until Elizabeth caught ill with yellow fever and died August 28th, 1828. Heartbroken and bitter, Saul wallowed in grief and alcohol for months until confronted by a local minister. He didn’t know or care much for the minister’s God (though he had been raised in the faith) – after all, how could such a loving deity as the minister described allow his young wife to perish horribly as she had, without so much as a child? Yet, he knew that in some ways, the minister was right. The way he had been living since that fateful day was not living. He needed to pick up, move on before he destroyed himself. Yet he felt there was nothing here for him now in Virginia. Only memories turned bitter, and so, he began to turn his heart west. When word came of another expedition assembling in Missouri, this time to the West Coast, Saul did not even have to consider. He sold his farm, bought himself a horse suitable to the journey, and headed west, hoping to sell his services as a surveyor and experienced scout and trailman.
