In my opinion, the events and activities of Squire Boone Jr.’s life are at minimum equal to his brother Daniel’s exploits. While Daniel Boone has been immortalized for generations … it seems to me that Squire’s activities are sometimes overlooked. He was a hero’s hero. What fascinating history!
The famed historian, John Filson, wrote about Daniel Boone’s fantastic frontier experiences. Daniel’s popularity was also boosted to subsequent generations by Fess Parker’s portrayal in the Disney series, Daniel Boone.
Whether you are studying Squire Boone Jr's activities as a gunsmith, businessman, carpenter, Indian fighter, pastor, politician, or frontiersman, he was a man of accomplishment. I am sharing a timeline of events in his life…
A Squire Boone Jr. Timeline
1744 Squire Boone Jr. (the subject of this timeline) was born on October 5th, to the Boone family in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was younger than his famed brother, Daniel Boone by ten years.
1747 At age five, his family relocated to the Shenandoah Valley, near Winchester, Virginia.
1749 The family again relocated … this time to the Yadkin Valley in Rowan County, North Carolina.
1759 At age 15, Squire was sent back to Pennsylvania to apprentice as a gunsmith under his cousin Samuel Boone.
1764 After completing apprenticeship, he returned to his family in North Carolina.
1765 Squire Boone and Jane Van Cleave married on August 8th.
1765 Later in the year, Squire, Daniel, and three others trekked to Florida. They did not think the land they saw (near the Altamaha River) was suitable for settlement and returned home.
1766 A son, Daniel, is born to Squire and Jane.
1766 A son, Jonathon, is born to Squire and Jane. (I do not know if Daniel and Jonathon were twins)
1767 A daughter, Jane, is born to Squire and Jane.
1769 A son, Moses was born to Squire and Jane.
1769 In November, Squire volunteered to search for his brother Daniel and brother-in-law John Stewart who had not returned from an exploratory trip to Kentucky. He was accompanied in this search by Alex Neely. Squire eventually found his brother Daniel. The brothers decided to hunt thru the winter. Neely does not want to winter in Kentucky and starts the trek back to North Carolina.
1770 In late spring Daniel told Squire he decided to stay in Kentucky. Squire decided to return to North Carolina. They make a pact to meet, defining the location and date. On his return trip to North Carolina, Squire was robbed by Indians of the pelts and he and Daniel collected. Squire returned to North Carolina unharmed and let the families know Daniel was alive.
1770 Squire battled Indians on the headwaters of the Clinch River.
1772 A son, Isaiah, is born to Squire and Jane.
1773 Squire battled Indians in Powell’s Valley when the settlers were ambushed.
1764 A daughter, Sarah, is born to Squire and Jane.
1775 Squire battled Indians at Twetty’s Fort battle.
1775 In May, as part of Kentucky’s first legislature, Squire Boone introduces a bill to preserve the range.
1775 Squire was among the thirty men led by Daniel Boone that blazed the Wilderness Road. This road led from the Cumberland Gap into what is now Madison County. The group assembled a log fort and named it Fort Boone. It later became known as Boonesborough.
1776 A daughter, Elizabeth, is born to Squire and Jane.
1776 On August 7th, Parson Squire performs the first marriage west of the Appalachian Mountains when he performed marriage service for Samuel Henderson and Elizabeth Calloway.
1777 A son, Enoch, is born to Squire and Jane.
1777 Squire battled Indians at Harrod’s Fort. This battle included hand to hand combat.
1778 Squire battled Indians at Fort Boonesborough in 1778. This battle included hand to hand combat. Simon Girty was present at the siege.
1779 A daughter, Rachel, is born to Squire and Jane.
1779 After the siege of Boonesborough, Squire moved his family to the settlement that eventually became Louisville. He brought 13 families to Shelby County and built Squire Boone’s Station. The station also was known as Painted Stone. Squire battled Indians here.
1780 Parson Squire Boone delivered the first sermon at Painted Stone. The Painted Stone area is part of modern Louisville Ky.
1781 A wounded arm in April during an Indian attack on Painted Stone left Squire’s right arm an inch and a half shorter than his left arm. The settlers abandoned the station and headed for nearby Linn’s Station. Squire was injured and could not make the trip, so he and his family stayed behind. Those bound for Linn’s Station were attacked and many were killed. There were few survivors.
1782 Squire battled Indians at Painted Station.
1782 Squire lost much of the land he had claimed while working for wealthy land speculators and was forced to settle elsewhere in the county.
1785 A daughter, Mary, is born to Squire and Jane.
1787 Squire lost more land. He and Samuel Boone, his cousin, head south to start a settlement near Vicksburg Mississippi. They were met by hostile Indians. They then traveled to New Orleans and opened a gun shop.
1790 The Spanish Government closed the gun shop and confiscated his inventory. Squire then returns to Kentucky.
1790 Squire served in the Virginia Legislature. It met in Richmond Virginia. He was the primary sponsor of primary sponsor of the bill to charter the town of Louisville.
1799 Squire and Daniel Boone move to Missouri. Squire stays a few years then returns home with one of his sons. When he arrives in Kentucky, he learns that his remaining land has been lost to land sharks and back taxes.
1804 Squire settled south of Corydon Indiana about 1804. His cousin Samuel settles nearby.
1809 Squire established Boone’s Mill and opened it for business.
1813 Two years before his death, Squire built the first Baptist Church in the State of Indiana with the help of one of his sons.
1815 August 15, Squire Boone Jr. died. His sons buried him in a cave on his property where he had once hid from hostile Indians. The burial cave of Squire Boone was sealed by his sons and his remains were left undisturbed for many years; but in the mid-20th century, relic hunters began taking parts of his coffin and even some of his bones. The cave eventually became a commercial attraction (Squire Boone Caverns) with guided tours. According to Boone Cavern staff, Squire Boone’s remains were placed into a new coffin (circa 1973) which can be seen at the end of the cavern tour.
Squire was severely wounded eleven times, and he carried many of those injuries with him for life. While he is sometimes overshadowed by stories of Daniel, Squire Boone Jr. was very well known in his day. This brave man was a skilled gunsmith, carpenter, farmer, Indian fighter, pastor, politician, and a frontiersman.
Sources: Wikipedia, The Incredible Adventures of Daniel’s Kid Brother, Squire (Conway), Familysearch.com, Squire Boone (Jillson), and squireboonecaverns.com No copyright infringement intended...
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I have researched the Boone family in detail because I descend from their aunt, Sarah Boone. Sarah married Jacob Stover.
When I put the Squire Boone timeline together, it intrigued me that for a short time prior to their trek to the Carolinas, the Boone (Daniel and Squire’s father) family moved to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia for a short period of time when they left Pennsylvania. In 1747 they moved to the Shenandoah Valley, near Winchester, Virginia. Then in 1749, they relocated again to the Yadkin Valley in Rowen County, North Carolina.
Several tribes used the Shenandoah Valley as hunting grounds, among them the Shawnee, Iroquois, Occoneechee, Monocans, and Piscataways. There was a strong native presence, but no tribes laid claim to the land.
Settlers found land in the area to be cheap and abundant.
Why did the Boone family go to Virginia before going to the Carolinas?
Jacob (Stauber, Stauffer) Stover was born about 1685. In 1714, around the time of his marriage, Jacob Stauber was granted land, on Oley Creek, Philadelphia (now Berks County). About that same time, when he was 30, He married Sarah Boone. He and Sarah Boone eventually had 5 children.
In 1720 Jacob Stover received a grant of 8,000 acres along the South Fork of the River at the base of Massanutten Mountain.
In 1730, there is a record of Jacob Stover’s sale of land in Augusta County (now Rockingham County), to George Boone of Oley; one tract of 500 acres and another of 1000 acres described as near the end of North Mountain, on a small branch of the Shenandoah, part of 5060 acres laid out for Stover by the Council of Virginia July 1730.
On November 11, 1735, Jacob Stover sold two tracts of land to the Boone family, the said tracts containing 500 and 1000 acres respectively, and being situated near the end of North Mountain, so called, on a small branch of Shenandoah River… part of 5000 acres laid out for Stover by the Virginia Council, June 17, 1730.
In 1738 a wife, Margaret Stover, signed a deed for land sold by Jacob Stover to another person. One would assume Sarah Boone Stover died in Philadelphia a year or two prior. Sarah’s father died in 1744, and within his will, she was not named as one of his survivors.
The Massanutten, where the Boone's purchased land, was commonly referred to as the North Mountain, and the Blue Ridge as the South Mountain. Boone’s Run probably bears its name from that family. It flows southeastward out of Runkle’s Gap, in the Massanutten, directly toward Elkton, then turns northeastward and enters the river two miles below Elkton. It is difficult to determine whether Stover sold this land from his upper or lower tract.
Why was land being issued to Stover by the Council of Virginia? In total, he was granted nearly 10,000 acres under the agreement that he would bring in 100 settlers to the area. There are numerous land sales recorded as he pursued his goal....