Santa Fe Prisoner
John McKnabb, one more of those unfortunate ones who accompanied the disastrous Santa Fe expedition in 1841, was a native of Scotland, and came to Fort Bend County in 1837. He was at Austin during the early building of that place, when the Indians harassed the few settlers almost continually.
In 1841, when the expedition to Santa Fe was inaugurated, John McKnabb was there, and volunteered, as many other young men did, for the perilous trip, and suffered all the hardships of the long march across the plains and sandy deserts; want of water and provisions being the main cause of their sufferings while making their way through to the line of New Mexico. They were all finally captured by the Mexicans and carried to old Mexico, where they worked on the streets, lay in dungeons, and suffered all manner of indignities at the hands of their captors for nearly two years before they were finally released and al-lowed to come home.
On the return trip Mr. McKnabb took shipping at Vera Cruz and came to Galveston, and from there to Richmond, Fort Bend County. He died in 1894, and was buried on his farm on the Brazos River, five miles above Richmond. He has one son, A. D. McKnabb, now in the saddlery business in Richmond.