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 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, daughter of George Boone III and Mary Milton Maugridge, in Pennsylvania. He and Sarah Boone eventually had 5 children. (Sarah was the aunt of Daniel and Squire Boone Jr.)
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 George Boone, 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 George III died in 1744, and within his will, she was not named as one of his survivors.
The Massanutten, where George Boone 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 George Boone. 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.
Some family histories state that in effort to meet the 100 person quota, Stover returned to Switzerland for a short time to recruit settlers. Other family histories state that he had difficulty meeting the quota, so he listed the names of settlers farm animals as members of the settlers households.
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 contributions have enlightened and inspired countless history enthusiasts.
