Daniel Boone

2 November 1734 – 26 September 1820

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was an American frontiersman and pioneer whose exploration and settlement of Kentucky made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He blazed the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and founded the settlement of Boonesborough in 1775. Despite his fame, he lost his Kentucky land claims and spent his final years in Missouri.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Daniel Boone.

Life events

Born near Reading, Pennsylvania
2 November 1734

Daniel Boone was born to Quaker parents in a log cabin in the Oley Valley of Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Family moved to the Yadkin River valley in North Carolina
1750

The Boone family left Pennsylvania and eventually settled in the Yadkin River valley on the North Carolina frontier.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Married Rebecca Bryan
14 August 1756

Boone married Rebecca Bryan in North Carolina; the couple eventually had ten children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Made his first long hunt into Kentucky
May 1769 – 1771

Boone spent two years exploring and hunting in the wilderness of Kentucky, becoming intimately familiar with the region.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Blazed the Wilderness Road and founded Boonesborough
March 1775

Working for the Transylvania Company, Boone marked a trail through the Cumberland Gap and established the settlement of Boonesborough on the Kentucky River.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Captured by Shawnee warriors and adopted into the tribe
February 1778 – June 1778

Boone was captured while making salt at the Blue Licks and adopted by the Shawnee chief Blackfish before escaping months later to warn Boonesborough.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Helped defend Boonesborough during a Shawnee siege
September 1778

Boone led the successful defense of Boonesborough against a siege by Shawnee forces during the American Revolutionary War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Served in the Virginia General Assembly
1781

Boone was elected as a representative from Kentucky, which was then part of Virginia, serving several terms as a legislator.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Moved to Missouri after losing his Kentucky land claims
1799

Having lost his lands in legal disputes, Boone emigrated with his family to Spanish-controlled Missouri, where he served as a local magistrate.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Died at his son's home in Missouri
26 September 1820

Boone died near Defiance, Missouri, at the age of 85; his remains were later reinterred in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓