Knaebel family.

John H. Knaebel was born in Belgium in 1840 and immigrated with his parents to Brooklyn, New York. He began to practice law in New York City and moved with his family to Santa Fe, New Mexico territory in 1880. In 1891 he and his family again moved to Denver, Colorado and began practicing law, specializing in private land claims, particularly Spanish grant titles. Knaebel returned to Santa Fe in 1909 and supported New Mexico's statehood efforts.

Knaebel was married to Susan Dykeman Pray (d. 1894) while in New York City and they had two sons, Ernest and Arthur. Arthur worked as a prospector near Bland, New Mexico and Ernest (1872-1947) began practicing law inNew York and New Mexico after graduating from Yale in 1897. Ernest prosecuted public land frauds for the U.S. government and served as assistant U.S. attorney in Colorado from 1902-1907. From 1907-1916 Ernest worked in Washington, D.C. for the Department of Justice and directed the Public Lands Division and litigation concerning public and Indian lands. In 1916 he served as reporter of opinions for the U.S. Supreme Court, a position he held until his retirement in 1944. Ernest married Cornelia Park in 1900 and they had two sons, John Ballantine and Charles.