Daniel Boone

[LincolnMan]

I have been a student of Daniel Boone for long time. We all know that Boone journeyed through the Cumberland Gap on the way to the "dark and bloody ground". - and that Abraham Lincoln (Thomas Lincoln's father) was among that party on that particular trip. I am always amazed at the places Daniel Boone went to. Did you know he visited and bought property in Pensacola? His wife Becky refused to move there. When in his 50's, he and Becky went to Maryland to visit. Of course, he eventually left Kentucky and settled in Missouri. Legend has it that before he died in 1820- he had even explored out as far west as the Yellowstone area. Truly fascinating person! Abraham Lincoln's story may have been quite different if his grandfather hadn't agreed to follow Boone to Kentucky. Maybe we would never have heard of Abraham Lincoln!

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Forgot to add this: Boone even spent time in my hometown Detroit- as a P.O.W. During the Revolution!

[RJNorton]

Wonderful post, Bill. In the past, folks have written me asking if Abraham Lincoln were related to Daniel Boone. In researching this I found that William E. Barton had traced the lineage of Abraham Lincoln and found that the connection to Daniel Boone was through another branch of the Lincolns, not the Lincolns who were Abraham's ancestors. However, the error (assuming Mr. Barton's research is accurate) that Abraham Lincoln and Daniel Boone were related has been repeated in some books.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Abraham Lincoln's story may have been quite different if his grandfather hadn't agreed to follow Boone to Kentucky. Maybe we would never have heard of Abraham Lincoln!

Didn't Mary's grandfather Levi Todd follow Boone to Kentucky, too?

[LincolnMan]

Eva: I think so. I do remember that he and Boone shared significant history together at certain points. For instance, they both participated in the Battle of the Blue Licks. It's somewhat a miracle that either survived that one- as it was an American loss. Daniel Boone's own son (Israel) was killed in that action.

[LincolnMan]

Wonderful post, Bill. In the past, folks have written me asking if Abraham Lincoln were related to Daniel Boone. In researching this I found that William E. Barton had traced the lineage of Abraham Lincoln and found that the connection to Daniel Boone was through another branch of the Lincolns, not the Lincolns who were Abraham's ancestors. However, the error (assuming Mr. Barton's research is accurate) that Abraham Lincoln and Daniel Boone were related has been repeated in some books.

I have read from many sources that Boone and Lincoln were related. I'm not familiar with the source you cite. What's your opinion on it, Roger?

[RJNorton]

Bill, I agree I have seen it often in books. Also, I must admit I don't spend a lot of time with genealogy. I do think Barton was a dedicated researcher. Forum member, Mike Burkhimer, author of "100 Essential Lincoln Books" writes, "Barton can be admired for his research and his detective work, and this book (The Lineage of Lincoln) is his greatest contribution to the Lincoln field." Maybe Mike will see this thread and comment. Bill, if you happen to have access to The Lineage of Lincoln Barton's comment about Boone being related to another branch of Lincolns is on p. 46.

[LincolnMan]

Thanks a Roger - it's a good reference. I'm related to Boone through one of his sisters- so my interest is personal also.

[LincolnMan]

We know the Boone and Lincoln families came to America from England. I wonder if the two families were from the same area in England?

[LincolnMan]

In 1820, when Lincoln was 11 years old, Daniel Boone died in Missouri. At that time young Lincoln had his step-mother. They were living in Indiana. These are the type of things I wonder about- did the news of Boone's death reach the Lincoln homestead? Did they have access to newspaper print at all? Was young Lincoln in awe of the "legend" of Boone? Did Lincoln take the trips to New Orleans later on because, partly, he was inspired by the adventures of Daniel Boone? We know Lincoln read about the life of Washington. Boone, after all, was a contemporary of Washington.

[LincolnMan]

Boone was the most famous frontiersman of his time, obviously. There was another famous frontiersman that was contemporary to Boone. His name was Simon Kenton. He is largely forgotten. I'm not sure why Boone is so well remembered but not Kenton. Of course, the NBC TV series about Daniel Boone brought his name more into the modern era. If you're from Ohio you might know Kenton- as he was very well-known there at one time. Author Allen W. Eckert featured Kenton in his book The Frontiersman.

[AussieMick]

We know the Boone and Lincoln families came to America from England. I wonder if the two families were from the same area in England?

There are now several websites which claim to profile surnames and identify localities for frequency.

It gets a bit problematical in that locations of names in the 17th and 18th C may not correspond well to the frequencies in the 21st. But I see that Boone is a common name in Northern Ireland ... and in Norwich (in Norfolk ... the big Eastern 'bulge' of England).

Lincoln is obviously more common. But Norwich is specially mentioned as being where Lincoln is a high frequency surname. And to a lesser extent Londonderry (Northern Ireland).

... warning : This is quite addictive ( I tried 'Trump' and see that the surname is quite common in the Ipswich area , 45 miles from Norwich)


https://named.publicprofiler.org/

( BTW, of course Northern Ireland is not 'England' but I wont go into the politics of that)

[Steve]

We know the Boone and Lincoln families came to America from England. I wonder if the two families were from the same area in England?

Daniel Boone's father, Squire Boone Sr., was born in Devon County near the southwest tip of England:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8318...uire-boone

Lincoln's immigrant ancestors supposedly came from around the town of Hingham in the County of Norfolk in eastern England. Though, considering the family's surname of Lincoln, there's a good chance that, in the even earlier generations prior to what's been documented, the family originally came from Lincolnshire, the county to the north of Norfolk. Here's a link to a map which may be helpful:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bradninc...230688!3e0

[LincolnMan]

We know the Boone and Lincoln families came to America from England. I wonder if the two families were from the same area in England?

Daniel Boone's father, Squire Boone Sr., was born in Devon County near the southwest tip of England:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8318...uire-boone

Lincoln's immigrant ancestors supposedly came from around the town of Hingham in the County of Norfolk in eastern England. Though, considering the family's surname of Lincoln, there's a good chance that, in the even earlier generations prior to what's been documented, the family originally came from Lincolnshire, the county to the north of Norfolk. Here's a link to a map which may be helpful:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bradninc...230688!3e0

Excellent! Thank you for posting this.

[Tom Bogar]

Bill, I couldn't agree with you more. I just read Eckert's Frontiersmen as part of research on my current book on theatre on the frontier (yes, it was there almost from the start), and found myself amazed at the trials and exploits of Simon Kenton. Why had I/we never heard of this guy? What a stunningly remarkable man, and evidently true to life. Eckert's research is clearly extensive, and other sources back him up. The book, IMO, was a wonderful read.

[Steve]

I had never heard of Kenton before Bill's post too, here's a link to his Wikipedia page for anybody who's curious:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Kenton