As mentioned in the previous post, we periodically find accounts of a musket ball or rifle ball passing through one individual and into another.  Such is the case concerning a shot fired by Daniel Boone. I found this story concerning Daniel Boone in an old British book about the Kentucky Frontier.   The story was titled, “The Double Shot… “Daniel Boone, the famous hunter, fighter, and pioneer, had many exciting adventures and marvelous successes. One of the most singular experiences in his warfare on the savages occurred about 1780, when about two miles south of Owingsville.  Boone was making one of his solitary journeys from Boonesborough to the Upper Blue Licks. As he came near a deserted station about twelve miles east of the present site of Mount Sterling, he perceived fresh signs of Indians; so he continued his journey cautiously until he came to a clear spring near the bank

When I put the Squire Boone timeline together for a previous post, it intrigued me that for a short time prior to their trek to the Carolinas, the George 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 Daniel and Squire Jr’s family go to Virginia before going to the Carolinas? Jacob (Stauber, Stauffer) Stover was born about 1685. In 1714, around the

I recently found a detailed article concerning the formation of Kentucky  at the Kentucky Genealogical Society website.  It was written by the former publisher of “Bluegrass Roots”, Landon Wills, and I am sharing a summary of the article.  Bluegrass Roots was a great source of information and was published until he passed in 1998. In 1776, Virginia divided Fincastle County and one new county was called Kentucky. Soon after the end of the American Revolution, a separation movement began in Kentucky. There would soon be a strong plea to separate from Virginia and join the United States. Prior to December 31, 1776, Kentucky was part of Fincastle County, Virginia. Virginia then re-organized their counties and established Kentucky County.     In 1780, Kentucky County, Virginia, was divided into Fayette County, Jefferson County, and Lincoln County. Many early settlers were finding their way into these area. Boone’s Trace (or Wilderness Road)

State seals were used by government authorities to attest to and give validity to public records and documents.   I am sharing the images of the original concept seals.  According to the author, these seals were found thru the offices of the secretaries of state.    The source for this information is  “American History Comprising Historical Sketches of the Indian Tribes” by Marcius Willson 1847…                         Welcome to “Sharing the Stories of History with Tim Mann”!                                             Meet Timothy A. Mann, a passionate historian born and raised in the heart of Shelby County, Ohio where Tim’s roots run deep in the rich soil of American history. As the author of articles and books, including “Frontier Miscellany Concerning the Miami County Ohio Militia,” “Colonel John Mann, His Kith and Kin,” and “Frontier Militia – The War of 1812,” Tim’s literary

The last time I saw Ol’ Badger at Fort Boonesboro, I asked him how he lost an eye.  It was clear the question made him uncomfortable and he did not answer.   It is rumored that his eye was removed by his traveling companion during a domestic dispute. Rough and Tumble” or “Gouging” was a form of fighting in the United States during the eighteenth century. Goals included gouging out an opponent’s eye or other methods of disfigurement, including biting.  This type of fighting generally took place in order to settle disputes.  Gouging was common in southern colonies by the 1730s.  Participants would sometimes schedule their fights, and victors were considered as heroes.  When a dispute arose, fighters could either agree to fight “fair”, meaning according to Broughton’s rules, or “rough and tumble”. Ears, noses, lips, fingers and genitals could be disfigured during “rough and tumble” fights. The emphasis on

John Richard Parker, (1830 – 1915), was the son of Silas and Lucinda Parker in Crawford County, Illinois. His grandfather, John Parker, was recruited to settle his family in north Texas and  establish a settlement fortified against Comanche raids.   The Parker family, its extended kin, and surrounding families established fortified blockhouses and a central citadel—later named Fort Parker. In 1836, hundreds of Native American warriors, composed of Comanche and Kiowa  allies, attacked the new community which was unprepared for the ferocity and speed of the Indian warriors. Like his sister Cynthia who was 9 years old, John Richard Parker, at an age 5 or 6, was among those captured. The Comanche’s population had increased in large part by adopting captured women and children into the tribe, the former as child-bearing slaves and the latter as tribal members. The Comanche made little distinction from tribal members born into the tribe, and

Speaking of frontiersmen ..   Bland Ballard has been the subject of a number of biographical sketches. This post contains two similar but different accounts of Ballard’s life.  The first excerpt from Lewis Collins’ History of Kentucky (Covington: Collins & Co., 1882) is the best summary of his life and times (with the exception of an incorrect date of birth), and appears to rely upon original interviews conducted with Bland Williams Ballard Jr. Bland W. Ballard was born near Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 16, 1761, and died in Shelby co., Ky., Sept. 5, 1853 – aged 92 years. His remains are interred in the State Cemetery at Frankfort. The Ballards with others settled near the present Shelbyville in 1787, and here on 31 March of the following year they were attacked by Indians. The father, stepmother and several children were killed, but Ballard by a heroic defense, in which he was

James Harrod was born circa 1745 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, -one of twelve children born to John and Sarah Harrod. He grew up a frontiersman, and became skilled at hunting and trapping.   Harrod served in the French and Indian War and became a scout and ranger. In 1774, he lead an expedition to survey the land to soldiers who served in the French and Indian War. He and 37 men traveled down the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to the mouth of the Kentucky River, into what is now Mercer County, Kentucky. The men established the first pioneer settlement in Kentucky, Harrod’s Town.   In 1775, Harrod led a group of settlers to Harrodstown to stay. He successfully opposed Richard Henderson’s colonization schemes for the area. When Virginia created Kentucky County on December 31, 1776, Harrodstown was designated the county seat. In 1777, Harrod served as a justice in Kentucky

Phebe Tucker Cunningham This story is a fantastic snapshot Phebe Tucker Cunningham’s life on the frontier.  The narrative was taken from the “Chronicles of Border Warfare” by Alexander S. Withers, 1831, and can be found in several DAR/SAR applications. In 1785, six Indians came to Bingamon Creek, (a branch of the West Fork) and made their appearance upon a farm occupied by Thomas and Edward Cunningham. At this time the two brothers were dwelling with their families in separate houses, but nearly adjoining, though not in a direct line with each other. Thomas was then on a trading visit east of the mountain, and his wife and four children were collected in their room for the purpose of eating dinner, as was Edward with his family, in their house. Suddenly a lusty savage entered where were Mrs. Thomas Cunningham and her children, but seeing that he would be exposed to