Colonel Daniel Boone aka: Daniel Morgan Boone (Sr.)
b. , c. Nov. 2, 1734, Berks County, Pa.; d. , c. Sept. 26, 1820, St. Charles, Mo., U.S. (Encyclopædia Britannica Online)
"I have shown you the family records, which in my father's own handwriting show his birth to have been Oct. 22, 1734. This date is according to the old calendar, or Old Style, as he and my mother always expressed their disapproval of adopting th e New Style calendar." Nathan Boone
DIED.-On the 26th ult. [Sep.] at Charette Village [which was on Femme , Osage Creek, in St. Charles County, Mo.], in the ninetieth [actually 85th] year of, his age, the celebrated Col. DANIEL BOONE, discoverer and first, settler of the State of Ke ntucky.
another source says Died: 26 Sep 1820 Place: St. Charles Co., Mo At Age 85yrs, 11mos., And 4 Days

- October 22, 1734 Old Style date which he always insisted on using --

I've seen this quote in several forms-2 examples:
I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks. - Daniel Boone
or
I can't say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. - Daniel Boone

More than any other man, Daniel Boone was responsible for the exploration and settlement of Kentucky. His grandfather came from England to America in 1717. His father was a weaver and blacksmith, and he raised livestock in the country near Readi ng, Pennsylvania. Daniel was born there on November 2, 1734.
If Daniel Boone was destined to become a man of the wild, an explorer of unmapped spaces, his boyhood was the perfect preparation. He came to know the friendly Indians in the forests, and early he was marking the habits of wild things and bringin g them down with a crude whittled spear. When he was twelve his father gave him a rifle, and his career as a huntsman began.
When he was fifteen, the family moved to the Yadkin Valley in North Carolina, a trek that took over a year. At nineteen or twenty he left his family home with a military expedition in the French and Indian War. There he met John Finley, a hunte r who had seen some of the western wilds, who told him stories that set him dreaming. But Boone was not quite ready to pursue the explorer's life. Back home on his father's farm he began courting a neighbor's daughter, Rebecca Bryan, and soon the y were married.
In 1767 Boone traveled into the edge of Kentucky and camped for the winter at Salt Spring near Prestonsburg. But the least explored parts were still farther west, beyond the Cumberlands, and John Finley persuaded him to go on a great adventure.
On May 1, 1769, Boone, Finley, and four other men started out. They passed Cumberland Gap and on the 7th of June, they set up camp at Station Camp creek. It was nearly two years before Boone returned home, and during that time he explored Kentuc ky as far west as the Falls of the Ohio, where Louisville is now. There was another visit to Kentucky in 1773, and in 1774 he built a cabin at Harrodsburg. On this trip, Boone followed the Kentucky River to its mouth.
Colonel Richard Henderson of the Transylvania Company hired Boone as his agent, and in March 1775, Boone came again to the "Great Meadow" with a party of thirty settlers. They began to clear the Wilderness Road and by April they were establishin g their settlement at Boonesborough.
Boone left the Bluegrass in 1788 and moved into what is now West Virginia. Ten years later he again heard the call of unknown country luring him, this time to the Missouri region. As his dugout canoe passed Cincinnati, somebody asked why he was l eaving Kentucky. "Too crowded" was his answer. He lived in Missouri the rest of his life, although he twice revisited Kentucky before he died at the age of 85.
He was buried beside his wife in Missouri. A quarter of a century later they were brought back to the Bluegrass and laid to rest in Frankfort's cemetery. There they rest, on a bluff above the river and town, on a "high, far-seeing place" like th e ones he always climbed to see the land beyond. . . a monument to the new country in the wilderness which they had helped to explore and settle.
Story by Col. George M. Chinn, Director, Kentucky Historical Society
Note 1: Colonel Daniel Boone spent the winter of 1769-70, in a cave, on the waters of Shawanee, in Mercer county. A tree marked with his name is yet standing near the head of the cave.
Note 2: In 1775, having been engaged as the agent of a Carolina trading company (as mentioned above) to establish a road by which colonists could reach Kentucky and settle there, he built a stockade and fort on the site of Boonesboro. The first g roup of settlers crossed the Cumberland Gap to Boonesboro by the road established by Boone, later called the "Wilderness Road". During the American Revolution the community suffered repeated attacks, and in 1778 Boone was taken captive by India n raiders. The settlement, however, was eventually established as a permanent village.
Hollywood-style movies made on the subject:
"Daniel Boone", 1936. George O'Brien. Rating: **1/2
"Daniel Boone, The Trailblazer", 1956, color. Rating: **1/2

" DANIEL BOONE "......................VINTAGE PRINT (1920) OF THE FAMOUS PIONEER...........BOONE, Daniel (1734-1820). At a time when most Americans were content to live along the Atlantic coast, Daniel Boone was one of the restless pioneers who p ushed westward through the wilderness. Often accompanied by their families, these men and women explored, cut trails, and sometimes established new communities. Daniel Boone was born near what is now the city of Reading, Pa., on Nov. 2, 1734. H e was the sixth of 11 children in a Quaker farming family. Daniel probably had no regular schooling, but he learned about cattle, horses, wagons, blacksmithing, and weaving. An aunt taught him to read and write. On his 12th birthday, when he wa s already an expert hunter and trapper, his father gave him a new rifle. He spent long days in the woods, learning to shoot and trap and developing great physical strength and agility. When Boone was about 16, his family sold their farm and trek ked south. In the Yadkin River valley in North Carolina they staked out a farm and settled down. In 1755 Boone joined Gen. Edward Braddock's expedition that attempted to drive the French from Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). An ambush by French an d Native American forces ended the Braddock expedition, but Boone escaped . Returning home, Boone married his childhood sweetheart, Rebeccah Bryan, who often traveled with him. He visited the Kentucky wilderness in 1767 and returned in 1769 to sp end two years hunting and trapping. Once he and a companion were surprised by Indians but escaped while their captors slept. When Indian tribes went to war in Lord Dunmore's War (1774), Boone helped defend frontier forts. Boonesborough. In 177 5 Col. Richard Henderson, a Carolina judge, hired Boone to take 30 men to cut a trail 300 miles (480 kilometers) through the wilderness of the Cumberland Gap to the Kentucky River. The trail became the Wilderness Road from eastern Virginia into K entucky. The group built log cabins and started a fort at the end of the trail. They named the settlement Boonesborough (now Boonesboro). When settlers began to move into Kentucky, the local Shawnee became alarmed and attacked Boonesborough an d other settlements. On July 14, 1776, a Shawnee raiding party captured and carried off Boone's 14-year-old daughter, Jemima, and two friends. Following the raiders with some companions, Boone rescued the girls. During the American Revolution Bo one became a captain in the Virginia militia (1776). He was captured by the Shawnee (1778), but Boone escaped. He made his way on foot 160 miles (260 kilometers) in four days, reaching Boonesborough in time to warn the settlers that the Indian s were about to attack. When the Kentucky Territory became part of Virginia, Boone was elected to the Virginia legislature (1781). Captured when British cavalry raided Charlottesville, where the legislature was meeting, Boone was later freed. Ba ck in Kentucky, he joined in the pursuit of Indians who had attacked Bryan's Station. The Kentuckians rushed into an ambush, but Boone again escaped. Later years. In 1784 John Filson, an explorer and historian, published the book 'The Discovery , Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky', a work containing an "autobiography" of Boone. The book spread Boone's fame as a frontiersman who helped extend the new nation beyond the Allegheny Mountains. Boone, however, was still a poor man. Be cause he had neglected to file papers or pay taxes, he did not own any of the thousands of acres of land he had claimed in Kentucky and had helped to open to settlement. Again he and his family moved, this time up the Ohio River and into the Kana wha Valley in what is now West Virginia. At times Boone kept a store or tavern, guided settlers over the mountains, or sold horses. In 1791 he was elected to the Virginia legislature a second time. In 1799 the Boones again moved west. In the L ouisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River, Boone received a tract of land from the Spanish governor and was appointed a magistrate. But he found himself landless again when the United States bought the territory from France in 1803. In ab out 1810 Boone returned to Kentucky and paid old debts and bills. He later settled down in Missouri with his family. He died on Sept. 26, 1820. He was buried by his wife on a hilltop overlooking the Missouri River. Years later his body was take n back to Kentucky.

A legendary hero even at the time of his death, his fame spread worldwide when in 1823 Lord Byron devoted seven stanzas to him in "Don Juan."


The romantic legend leading to the marriage of Daniel Boone and Rebecca Bryan has Daniel leveling his long-rife at Rebecca as she was on her way to the spring to fetch some water. Daniel, displaying his aptitude for tracking game, followed his "d eer" back to her fathers house where he met and "fell in love with Rebecca......so the story goes.....".


In the year 1900 there was founded, in the New York University, the Hall of Fame, wherein it was planned to honor one hundred and fifty great Americans, thirty foreign born Americans and sixty American women. The persons whose duty it was to sele ct the names of the persons to be thus honored being empowered to vote every five years, completing the list in the year 2000. At a meeting held in the year 1915, of the electors whose ballot admits to the Hall of Fame, the names of seven great Am ericans were added to the list of those previously admitted, and among the seven was that of "DANIEL BOONE, PIONEER," the subject of this sketch.

On July 9, 1921, Ray Baker, director of the mint, announced the completion, at the Philadelphia mint, of the quarter of a million dollars in special fifty cent pieces, authorized by congress in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of Mis souri statehood.

"The coin is the regulation half dollar size. The obverse shows the head of Daniel Boone with the dates 1821 and 1921, on either side of the figure. On the reverse are figures of an Indian and of a Missouri pioneer, with twenty-four stars. At t he top is the legend, 'Missouri Centennial' and at the bottom, 'Sedalia,' where the Missouri celebration is to be held." (K. C. Star, July 10, 1921.) Missouri being the twenty-fourth state to be admitted into the Union.

We have followed Daniel Boone throughout the course of his life, down to the most recent honor paid his memory, and will here let him rest; confident are we in the belief that while the names of other men who were endowed with more learning or wh o rose higher in the councils of his day will have been forgotten, the fame of Daniel Boone will continue and will be a source of pride to each of his descendants.
JESSE PROCTER CRUMP.

. . . While the men were held as captives, several were adopted by Shawnee families. While it may seem strange to us, this ritual was very common during the Revolutionary War - and before. Daniel Boone, who had become very fond of Chief Blackfis h, was adopted by Blackfish. Because Boone wore a heavy pack and walked slowly, the Shawnee thought he resembled a turtle. Boone was given the Shawnee name "Sheltowee" which means "Big Turtle." . . .

Boone, Daniel - Mythologized early U. S. pioneer responsible for the exploration of Kentucky. Although his Masonic membership is unprovable, here is what Nathan Boone had to say about his father's funeral: "Father's body was conveyed to Flander s Callaway's home at Charette, and there the funeral took place. There were no military or Masonic honors, the latter of which he was a member, as there were then but very few in that region of the country." (Hammon, Neal O. (ed.) "My Father, Da niel Boone- The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone." Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1999. p. 139.)

"Many heroic exploits and chivalrous adventures are related to me which exist only in the regions of fancy. With me the world has taken great liberties, and yet I have been but a common man." . . . Daniel Boone

He said: "I explored from the love of nature, I've opened the way for others to make fortunes, but a fortune for myself was not what I was after."

"Many heroic exploits and chivalrous adventures are related to me which exist only in the regions of fancy.
With me the world has taken great liberties, and yet I have been but a common man." ....Daniel Boone


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Saturday, 08 Mar 2003

Fort Boonesborough
Located on the banks of the Kentucky River
in present Madison County, Kentucky

At the unveiling of the bust of Colonel Daniel Boone of Kentucky in the Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C., on May 12, 1926, he was memorialized as "the founder of the First American democracy in 1775, with the building of its capitol, Fort Boonesbo rough, on the site of Boone's Kentucky home of 1770."


Fort Boonesborough, named for Daniel Boone, was begun in April, 1775 and is called the "Birthplace of Kentucky." This is a sketch of what the fort looked like when the Boones lived there according to Moses Boone, son of Squire Boone, brother of Da niel Boone. Moses lived at the fort with his family.

Moses Boone [23 Feb 1769, NC - 08 Mar 1852, IN] stated that the fort contained about one acre and was one-third longer than wide. This calculates to about 180 feet by 240 feet. Moses's sketch of the fort agrees with Col. Richard Henderson's sketc h in almost all areas. Moses stated that after his uncle Daniel returned from captivity (with the Indians) in 1778 the fort was put in repair with new stocking added where needed and the walls were extended to the east. He said that a second stor y was added to the stockades (on each corner) but that they were not roofed as they ran out of time before the attack which resulted in the fort remaining under seige by Indians for 11 days.

The "town" of Boonesboro was layed out in 1775 by Daniel Boone, Richard Henderson and the Transylvania Company, and was the first chartered town in Kentucky. Town lots were sold at the very first lottery held in what would be the state of Kentucky . After peace was established with the Indians, Boonesborough served as a trading place until the early 1800s. The population of the town dwindled to 68 people by 1810, and by 1820, the year that Colonel Daniel Boone passed away, was no longer con sidered a town. Collins' 1847 "History of Kentucky" refers to Boonesborough as "a small and dilapidated village."

Boonesborough State Park is southeast of Lexington at the end of Athens-Boonesborough Road. It is in northern Madison county along the Kentucky River on KY 627 and KY 388.

• Married: 14 AUG 1756 in Rowan Co., North Carolina
• Note: Daniel Boone and Rebeccah Bryan were married August 14, 1756, the ceremony being performed by Squire Boone who was then a Justice of the Peace for Rowan County, North Carolina.

1. James Boone b: 3 MAY 1757 in Davis Co., North Carolina
2. Israel Boone b: 25 JAN 1759 in Davis Co., North Carolina
3. Susannah Boone b: 2 NOV 1760 in Rowan Co., North Carolina
4. Jemima Boone b: 4 OCT 1762 in Rowan Co., North Carolina
5. Levina Boone b: 23 MAR 1766 in Yadkin River, Rowan Co., North Carolina
6. Rebecca Boone b: 26 MAY 1768 in Wilkes Co., North Carolina
7. Daniel Morgan Boone b: 23 DEC 1769 in Virginia
8. Jesse Bryan Boone b: 23 MAY 1773 in Yadkin Valley, Rowan Co., North Carolina
9. William Boone b: 20 JUN 1775 in Clinch River, Virginia
10. Nathan Boone b: 2 MAR 1781 in Boones Station, Fayette Co., Kentucky

1. Type: Book
   Author: Neal O. Hammon
   Periodical: My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper interviews with Nathan Boone
   Publication: University Press of Kentucky (the)
   Page: 70, 71
   Page: 115
   Page: 28
   Page: 136, 137
2. Type: Web Site
   URL: http://booneinfo.com/daniel.htm
3. Type: Web Site
   Title: Famous Trials - Daniel Boone
   URL: http://www.lawbuzz.com/famous_trials/daniel_boone/why_treason.htm
   Date: 1/21/2002
4. Type: Web Site
   Author: (copyright) 1998-2002 by Edward L. King
   Title: Famous Masons
   URL: http://www.masonicinfo.com/famous1.htm