Who Lived on the Bear Creek/Boone Tract? Squire Boone and Son Daniel Never Lived There, So Who Did?
Authors, storytellers, and historians frequently say that Squire Boone and his son Daniel lived on Bear Creek which is frequently referred to as the “Boone Tract” in present-day Davie County, North Carolina. However, this is another Boone myth and totally false. So where did Squire and Daniel actually live during their time in North Carolina, and where did this story and misinformation originate? Also, who actually lived there?
In the spring of 1749, Squire Boone traveled from Pennsylvania to North Carolina to explore the area before a possible move. He took with him his son and daughter, Daniel and Elizabeth, and Daniel’s lifelong friend, Henry Miller. They traveled along trails that would later be known as the Great Wagon Road and continued south on a part of the trail known as Morgan Bryan’s Wagon Road that’s between today’s Roanoke, Virginia, and the Shallow Ford on the Yadkin River.
Once they reached the east side of the Shallow Ford, they probably stopped at Edward Hughes’ ordinary (tavern) before crossing the Yadkin River to talk about this new land. Squire knew Edward in Pennsylvania, and their families were connected by siblings’ marriages. Once they crossed the Yadkin, they passed through lands owned by the Bryans (who they also knew in Pennsylvania) and probably also discussed prospective land purchases.
While searching for land, it appears that they camped at a site along the Yadkin River that became known as Boone’s Ford (previously known as Alleman’s Ford). It’s located about six miles north of a place now called “The Point” where the South Yadkin River flows into the North Yadkin River. Just above this location on the east side of the river is a fertile bottom land that became known as Boone’s Bottom, and there was a log structure built on the west side of Boone’s Ford, either at this time or in 1750, that became known as Boone’s Fort.
Finished with their explorations, Squire, Daniel, Elizabeth, and Henry Miller returned to Pennsylvania. On April 11, 1750, Squire and Sarah Morgan Boone sold their 158-acre Exeter Township farm, and on May 1, 1950, they left Pennsylvania for North Carolina. They and their large family followed the same route that they used the previous year during their exploratory trip. Some sources say that the Boones stopped in Winchester, Virginia and may have stayed there for two years. However, Lyman Draper documented that it was a brief stay, and there’s additional evidence supporting Draper.
Documentation showing Squire Boone’s earlier arrival in North Carolina is a land entry in 1750 showing a warrant to measure and lay out 640 acres for Squire Boone lying on Grant’s Creek (alias Lichon Creek) and now known as Elisha Creek. This is frequently referred to as his “Dutchman’s Creek” tract. When this land was surveyed, Squire Boone is named as a “chainer” indicating that he was walking the land long before the grant was issued on April 30, 1753.
Evidence shows the Boones first settled on the east side of the Yadkin where they are shown as living on land adjacent to a survey completed by James Carter dated February 27, 1752. Carter knew the Boones, and his daughter Mary married Jonathan Boone (Daniel’s brother). There’s also documentation in the Draper Manuscripts showing that Squire and Sarah Morgan Boone and their family first lived on the east side of the Yadkin River and near today’s Boone Cave Park. In 1753, they completed the purchase of two separate 640-acre tracts from Lord Granville.
When the large area of Rowan County, North Carolina was formed from Anson County in 1753, Squire Boone became a reasonably prominent colonial official. He served on the first Vestry of the Anglican Parish of St. Luke, was a civil administrator of a large area of Rowan County and was appointed one of the first Justices of the Court of Common Pleas. In the Minutes of the Court of Common Pleas, Squire Boone is listed as one of the Justices, and after his name, it’s recorded that, “Squire Boone’s residence is on the Yadkin at Boone’s Ford.”
Squire Boone’s purchases of two 640-acre tracts from Lord Granville were finalized in 1753. One is referred to as the Bear Creek or “Boone Tract” (west of present-day Mocksville) and the other is referred to as the “Dutchman’s Creek” tract (east of present-day Mocksville). The following paragraph shows the initial purchase of the Dutchman’s Creek tract by Squire Boone and then the transfer to his son Squire in 1759.
Rowan County Deed Book 3, page 137 shows on April 30, 1753, the “Land granted from Granville to Squire Boone, Esq., of Rowan County, Province of North Carolina, 640 acres land in Parish of (not given) Rowan County, N. C. lying on the South side of Grant’s Creek otherwise Licking Creek. (3 shillings to every 100 acres).” Rowan Deed Book 4, page 196 shows on April 12, 1759, the land gift from “Squire Boone of Rowan County, N. C., and Sarah, his wife, let Squire Boone, Jr., son of said Squire Boone, Sen’r., have for love and affection and for (?) pounds, 640 acres land in Rowan County, lying on South side of Grant’s Creek, otherwise Licking Creek. (This land was granted to Squire Boone, Sen’r., by Granville on April 30th, 1753). Signed Squire Boone and Sarah Boone, Witnesses: Thomas Banfield, Richard Neely and Charles Hunter. Proven, Rowan County Court, October 1759. Let it be registered. Tho’s. Parker, Clerk.”
Squire Boone, Sr. and his family lived on the Dutchman’s Creek tract as verified by a letter dated February 17, 1843, from Daniel Bryan to Lyman Draper. Daniel Bryan writes, “When Dan’l [Boone] was sixteen years old his father Squire Boone Moved to North Carolina and settled on Dutchman’s Creek at the Buffalow Lick, where he died in 1763.” Daniel Bryan was born in 1758 as the second son of William and Mary Boone Bryan. Mary Boone was Daniel Boone’s younger sister, and William Bryan was the uncle of Rebecca Bryan Boone. Daniel Bryan was born at and lived on his parents’ land along the Yadkin River in the Bryan Settlement in North Carolina. He was also the grandson of both Squire Boone, Sr. and Morgan Bryan, Sr. and was also the nephew of Daniel Boone and a first cousin of Rebecca Bryan. This close relationship to the Boones and living nearby as family would make his statements an accurate source about his family and where they lived.
Daniel lived with his parents at the Dutchman’s Creek site until he married Rebecca Bryan, although there are some accounts that Daniel also lived with Morgan Bryan, Rebecca’s uncle, at times before marrying Rebecca. After they were married in 1756, Daniel and Rebecca moved to the Sugar Tree Creek site and lived there until they moved farther up the Yadkin River in 1767.
When Squire and Sarah Boone moved onto the Dutchman Creek tract, who moved onto the Bear Creek or “Boone Tract” when Squire completed that purchase? Review of three legal documents leads one to believe that Israel Boone and his family moved onto and lived at the Bear Creek tract.
It was common for early settlers to establish and operate a tavern or “Public House.” In the records of the Court of Common Pleas for Rowan County, there are two entries in Volume I, pages 43 and 44 on July 11, 1754, involving Israel and Squire Boone with respect to this subject. The first entry shows, “Israil Boon Petitioned this Court for a License to keep Publick House where he Now Lives. Security Proposed James Carter & Squire Boon. Granted.” The second entry says, “Squire Boon Petitioned this Court for A license to keep Public house at his plantation. Security Alexander Osburn & James Carter Esqrs. Granted.” The words for the entry about Israel saying “where he now lives” indicate that he doesn’t own the land, and his father offering security might indicate that Squire is the owner. The second entry for Squire says, “at his own Plantation.” This language indicates that Squire owns the land and is living there, which is at his “Dutchman’s Creek” property.
There’s another legal document that indicates where Israel might have lived. The Rowan County Minutes in January 1765 quote a road overseer as saying, “from the South Yadkin to Israel Boons old Place.” The South Yadkin was just south of the Bear Creek tract where Israel was probably living with his family.
In order to understand the origin of the myth about Squire and his son Daniel living on the Bear Creek tract west of Mocksville, one needs to examine each of the first property sales transactions. The initial deed from Granville to Squire Boone for the 640-acre Bear Creek tract was on December 29, 1753, and is found in Rowan County Deed Book 3, page 164. On October 12, 1759, Squire and Sarah Morgan Boone sold the Bear Creek tract to Daniel and Rebecca Bryan Boone, and this can be found in Rowan County Deed Book 4, pages 195-197. As mentioned above, Daniel and Rebecca never lived here and continued to live at the Sugar Tree Creek site near her Bryan family.
On February 21, 1764, Daniel and Rebecca Bryan Boone sold this 640-acre tract to Aaron Van Cleve as shown in Rowan County Deed Book 4, page 450. Aaron Van Cleve became the father-in-law of Squire Boone, Jr., when he married Aaron’s daughter Jane in 1765. Aaron Van Cleve lived at this Bear Creek tract and sold 200 acres of it to his son Benjamin, and he sold this 200-acre tract in 1782 to John Dick. He lived and farmed here for fourteen years, and when he moved to Wilkes County in 1796, he sold his 200 acres to Jacob Helfer. Jacob farmed this land until his death in 1813 and left the land in his last will and testament to his two sons Davis and Daniel. Daniel changed his last name from Helfer to Helper. In 1817, Daniel married Sarah Brown and farmed this land until his death at the age of 37. His children were born on this farm, and the youngest child born here in 1829 was Hinton Rowan Helper. His mother remarried John Mullican who died in 1876, and she died in 1880. In 1888, Hinton Helper was living in New York City, and he signed a deed to this tract of land conveying any interest he might have in it on July 3, 1888, which can be found in Davie County Deed Book 12, page 255.
What is the origin of this misinformation or myth about Squire and his son Daniel living on the Bear Creek tract west of Mocksville? In the 1800’s historian Lyman Draper gathered volumes of information about early American pioneers.
The myth that Daniel and Squire Boone lived on the Bear Creek tract appears to begin with Hinton Helper, when he wrote Lyman C. Draper in 1883 about the house in which he was born that was located on Squire Boone’s Bear Creek tract. Easier access to the account in the Draper Manuscripts can be found on pages 26 and 27 of James Wall’s History of Davie County, and he mentions at the time he wrote his history that the homesite is that of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Evans. Hinton Helper wrote that, “the ancient logs still solid and visible in the present Evans house might have been part of the original Squire Boone structure.” James Wall adds, “However, such is not the case.” Hinton Helper stated that, “some of the logs from the original Squire Boone house were later used to build a temporary kitchen.”
James Wall continues writing about Helper’s description as follows:
“Helper wrote a very detailed description of the Squire Boone house, standing in ruins, when he was a boy. He states that it was one story, eighteen by twenty-two feet in size, and built of twelve by eighteen-inch face logs. The roof was on a sixty-degree slope, and there was only one door. The entire house, including the roof shingles, was pegged together. The heavy plank door, hung on wooden hinges, had about eighteen handmade nails in it. The floor was of heavy oak boards adzed smooth. Helper says that the chimney was seven feet wide in front and six feet wide behind with a very fireplace and built of soapstone rocks and wood chinks with mud. A smaller log building, twelve by fourteen feet with a hard smooth dirt floor and built of round post oak logs, stood near the house.”
Hinton Helper’s uses his claim about ancient logs being inside the Evans house and a description of a log cabin as his only evidence that Squire and Daniel Boone lived on the Bear Creek or “Boone Tract.” He provides no other evidence. However, Draper was advised in 1843 by Squire’s grandson, who was also a nephew of Daniel Boone and lived near both, that neither Squire nor Daniel lived at Bear Creek. There are documents that suggest Israel Boone lived on the Bear Creek tract, so is it a cabin he built around 1754? Aaron Van Cleve bought this property in 1764and lived there, so is it a cabin he built? Draper apparently didn’t believe Helper either, because when you read his biography about Daniel Boone that was finally published in 1998, he indicates that neither Squire nor Daniel lived on the Bear Creek tract.
Daniel Bryan’s testimony to Lyman Draper was that Squire lived at Dutchman’s Creek until his death and that Daniel Boone lived at Sugar Tree Creek until he moved to the Upper Yadkin. Many writers and historians continue to ignore the evidence that indicates that they didn’t live on the Bear Creek tract. Is this the case of when people repeat an incorrect fact so many times that it ultimately becomes the truth? Apparently this has become so for many telling the stories about the life of Daniel Boone.
West of Mocksville along US Highway 64 (which was once known as Boone’s Road), there are two historical highway signs that mark the property that is the subject of this article. One numbered M-47 with the title “Boone Tract” is just east of the bridge crossing Bear Creek and was installed by the NC Division of Archives and History in 1979. It reads, “In 1753 Lord Granville granted 640 acres on Bear Creek to Squire Boone who sold it in 1759 to his son Daniel. This was a part of the original Boone tract.” The second sign is just a little east of the first. It’s numbered M-33 with the title “Hinton R. Helper” and was installed by the NC Division of Archives and History in 1975. It reads, “Author of The Impending Crisis, a bitterly controversial book which denounced slavery; U.S. Consul at Buenos Aires, 1861-66. Born 150 yds. N.”
Sources:
Abstracts of Court of Common Pleas, Rowan County, North Carolina.
Anson County, North Carolina Deed Records.
Barnhardt, Mike, “There’s a New Oldest Grave at Joppa: Israel Boone Buried Here in 1756,” Davie County Enterprise Record, May 14, 2009, pages 1 & 8.
Belue, Ted Franklin, Editor, The Life of Daniel Boone by Lyman C. Draper, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 1998.
Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, Acts of the North Carolina General Assembly, 1753, Chapter VII, p. 383.
Draper, Lyman Copeland, Draper Manuscripts, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.
Hammond, Neil O., My Father Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone, The University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, Kentucky, 1999.
Kamper, Ken, An Accurate Summary of the Life of Daniel Boone, Daniel Boone History Research – Newsletter No. 6, December 2021.
Kamper, Ken, A Researcher’s Understanding on the Boone Family Move to North Carolina, No. PK17.0211, February 2017.
Linn, Jo White, Abstracts of the Deeds of Rowan County, North Carolina, 1753 – 1785, Books 1 through 10, Salisbury, North Carolina, Privately published, 1983.
Linn, Jo White, Abstracts of the Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan County, North Carolina, Volume I – 1753-1762, Volume II – 1763-1774, Volume III – 1775-1789, Salisbury, North Carolina, Privately published, 1977, 1979, 1982.
Manuscript Collection, The State Historical Society of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri.
Ramsey, Robert W., Carolina Cradle: Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier 1747-1762, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1964.
Rouse, J.K., North Carolina Picadillo, Kannapolis, North Carolina, 1966.
Rowan County Deeds, Salisbury, North Carolina.
Spraker, Hazel Atterbury, The Boone Family, The Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont, 1922.
U.S Quaker Meeting Records 1681-1935.
Wall, James W., Davie County: A Brief History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1976.
Weiss, Kathryn H., Daniel Bryan, Nephew of Daniel Boone: His Narrative and Other Stories, Self-published by Kathryn H. Weiss, 2008.
www.dncr.nc.gov
