I recently finished reading Robert Morgan’s biography of Daniel Boone. As you might suspect, the real Daniel Boone was quite unlike the character portrayed in film. According to Morgan, he didn’t even wear that iconic coonskin cap. But, reading the book motivated me to revisit the history of my own ancestors who had moved to Kentucky in those early days. I began a list of those I knew had migrated to Kentucky before 1800 and was surprised that the list added up to over 16. Just to give you a little perspective, Daniel Boone first visited Kentucky in about 1769. He wasn’t the first white in that part of the country; others had done some exploring and hunting before this date. But, Boone's association with the exploration and settlement of Kentucky is set in our cultural history. Boone became famous for this association, in America and Europe even during his own lifetime. In our culture, Boone represents an image of the typical early frontiersman. By 1775 Boone and a crew of men were hacking a path through the Cumberland Gap, just months ahead of a group that were to begin the settlement of Boonesboro. Boone’s life took many twists and turns and I encourage you to read the book as it is an excellent portrait of a man who was an expert when it came to the outdoors, but a dismal failure in most matters of business.
The earliest Kentucky settlements, called forts or stations, were especially vulnerable. The small communities were far from supplies and subject to frequent Indian attacks instigated and fueled by the British. A system of protection of the settlers was still being formulated. The British desired to keep colonial settlement out of these interior lands, and supplied guns and offered scalp bounties to tribes who would help them achieve this goal. If these early settlements had failed it is very possible that the region might have been lost to the British in the final settlement of the Revolutionary War. We all learned that the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown was in October of 1781, but the Treaty of Paris that officially ended the Americana Revolution was not signed until September of 1783. In between those two dates skirmishes were still prevalent along the frontier. One of the last battles of the Revolution, the Battle of Blue Licks, was fought in Kentucky in August of 1782. In that battle about 50 British rangers along with 300 American Indians ambushed 182 Kentucky militiamen, killing 72. Boone was there, and his son died in the attack. According to Morgan’s biography just the mention of this battle would bring Daniel Boone to tears even years later.
Because of the hardships and dangers, many who initially trekked to Kentucky, returned to their former homes in Virginia and the Carolinas, but whether due to stubbornness or desperation for economic advancement, enough stayed on to establish a foothold in this wilderness. These earliest settlers moved into the north central part of the state, known as the Bluegrass, seeking to take advantage of its fertile farmland. Game was also abundant, especially in the early years. Herds of buffalo roamed the interior meadows and vast cane fields. One explorer noted seeing a herd of at least 1,500 at a salt spring. But, once the population of Kentucky began to multiply, game became scarce and 1820 marked the last time buffalo were even seen in the state. Settlers started pouring into Kentucky after the Revolution, and by the first U.S. Census in 1790 approximately 74,000 people lived in this part of what was then a county of the state of Virginia. In 1792 Kentucky became our 15th state.
Isaac Hite was my first ancestor to have entered Kentucky. He is my 5th great grandfather. He was one of the first surveyors in Kentucky and knew many of the persons we associate with the early Kentucky frontier, including Daniel Boone, John Floyd, James Harrod and George Rogers Clark.
-Mary
Boone: A Biography, by Robert Morgan
No comments:
Post a Comment