Citing from:
- My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone, Neal O. Hammon, 1999 University Press of Kentucky;
- Daniel Boone, John Mack Faragher, 1992, Henry Holt and Company LLC
- Trans-Allegheny Pioneers, John P. Hale, 1971 – Harold J. Dudley, Ed.; Roberta Ingles Steele, Publisher
- See also Daniel Boone In The Kanawha Valley, Joe W. Savage, Charleston Gazette, 1924
From family stories, newspaper articles, and historic excerpts, I was unable to piece together one missing bit of info: How in the world did Daniel Boone know “my” Vanbibbers? I mean, why did he give Matthias Vanbibber, my 5th-Great Grandfather, his rifle, a powder horn, and hunting ephemera?
John P. Hale, who published his book in 1886 (I have the 3rd Edition), stated that Boone “probably settled at the mouth of the Kanawha [River] as early as 1786, as there is a deed for land in Kentucky, signed and acknowledged by himself and wife, at Point Pleasant [WV or “western Virginia”], April 28, 1786, and on record in Fayette Co, KY.” I spent some time searching for said record in the Card Catalog at FamilySearch.org for said record without finding it. This could be because I wasn’t being diligent enough. But I did search both Fayette County and Bourbon County, KY. The Fayette County Courthouse records were burned on the night of January 31, 1803 but there are “Burnt Records” starting with 1786. Hale’s interest began about the 1840s so, with a date and place as precise as “April 28, 1786 Fayette County, KY” I tend to think he may have actually seen this deed. How fortunate we are these days with our databases, copy machines, scanners, and camera phones that capturing such evidence for posterity is simplified. Such was not so until recently, however: Hale could only state what he knew or saw. (*NOTE: it is possible that some jerk stole the document for him/herself or the document was viewed and never returned to its rightful location. I have been to courthouses in which the very document that I wished to see was not there and could not be located).
Nathan Boone, youngest son of Daniel and Rebecca, fails to give us a specific year that the family moved to Point Pleasant. Lyman C. Draper makes a telling statement, however, in the second paragraph of Neil Hammon’s book, Chapter 7 – Point Pleasant, I quote:
“I have a document which shows that in October 1789, Daniel Boone was recommended to the governor by the court of Mason County, (West) Virginia, for the commission of lieutenant colonel and that he was qualified for this commission on April 4, 1791.” Now, we know that Mason did not become a county until 1804 and that in 1789, Kanawha County (encompassing Point Pleasant) was formally founded on October 5, 1789 from Greenbrier County. (Please see my previous post: Van Bebber/Vanbibber History). Therefore, in the timeframe in which Draper spoke (1851), the county was indeed then (as it still is) Mason County.
In Chapter Eight of John Mack Faragher’s book, he states simply that “The Boone’s moved to a cabin here with their three boys [Daniel Morgan, Jesse Bryan, and Nathan Boone]. A century later old residents pointed to an old log structure still standing on the bank of Crooked Creek said to have been their house.” Again, no precise date as to when the Boones moved to Point Pleasant, WV from Limestone (nka Maysville), KY. Suffice it to say that searching John Filson’s “The Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boone” would do not one iota of good: Filson’s interview with Daniel Boone took place in 1783 and was published before the move to Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Nevertheless, I had found direction on how to connect the Boones with the Vanbibbers, and this most particularly through Lyman Draper and Nathan Boone.
Let me begin (referencing “My Father, Daniel Boone”) with Nathan’s brother, Jesse Bryan Boone. “In the summer of 1790, just a few days before he was married, Jesse B. Boone started for the mouth of Elk River, now Charleston (WV), where the (Kanawha) county seat was located. He went for a marriage license. Those were dangerous times, so he was accompanied by James and Matthias Vanbibber, brothers, and their cousin Isaac Vanbibber ((Jr.), who later married Elizabeth Hays, the granddaughter of my father, Colonel Daniel Boone). ”
The marriage date of Jesse Bryan Boone to Chloe Vanbibber, daughter of Capt. John Vanbibber and Chloe Staniford, is agreed upon as 12 September 1790 by other researchers. Personally, I am unable to discover any written documentation. I can however attest that Jesse Bryan Boone was still living in the vicinity of Point Pleasant on 11 June 1792 per the Tax List:
We descendants know that the James Vanbibber mentioned was indeed an older brother of Matthias and son of Peter Vanbibber II, first cousins of Chloe Vanbibber; that James and Matthias Vanbibber were sons of Peter Vanbibber II and wife Marjory Bounds (also the parents of Olive Boone whom Nathan married in 1799); and that Isaac Vanbibber (Jr) was the son of Isaac Vanbibber (Sr.) and wife Sarah Davis. Isaac Sr, as we know, died as a result of mortal wounds received at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. Isaac Jr was raised by his uncle and aunt, Peter Vanbibber II and Marjory Bounds.
While some stories tell us that “Jesse Boone” stayed in West Virginia after his father left, going back to Kentucky, I am not certain that is a fact. Both men are listed in the personal property tax lists of Fayette County, KY. This one listed after Jesse is no doubt Daniel Morgan Boone. Father Daniel appears on the next page as “Daniel Boone, Col.” but I am unable to determine whether the notation thereafter is “by son/sons. ___” or “by ___, ___ tracts.” Just because Daniel was not in the state of KY doesn’t mean someone wasn’t paying the taxes he owed on various properties within the state.
Now recall that in Chapter 7: Point Pleasant (My Father, Daniel Boone), Nathan tells us that Peter Vanbibber (II) died on 10 October 1796. This is as close to an exact date of death for Peter Vanbibber II than we’ve ever come. The administration of Peter Vanbibber II’s property AFTER his death is recorded in Kanawha County on 3 July 1797 – a fact I cannot prove this instant since I lost/misplaced the flash drive on which I stored this info along with the image. Those records as of today are available only via my local library. Couple that information with a search in Fold3 (via subscription),where you can find an application for Revolutionary War pension and other documentation for “Peter Van Bebber III” who was living in Ripley County, Indiana at the time and who gives an account of his participation as soldier, scout, and other services following the Battle of Point Pleasant. He further gives an account of his migration from Point Pleasant, WV to Ripley County, IN. (Peter mistakenly gives his birthplace as Botetourt County, VA in 1757 which we know can’t possibly be correct since Botetourt County wasn’t formed until 1770. Since the Halifax County Tax Lists show that is where father Peter II was living in 1755 and up, then Pittsylvania County, VA in 1767 and up, we know that Peter Vanbibber III was born, technically, in Halifax County, VA; see the Van Bebber/Vanbibber History).
Nevertheless, we also know that Peter III was living “in Ohio for many years” after removing from Greenbrier County (in which Point Pleasant existed until Kanawha > Mason were formed).
It was at Peter Vanbibber IIIs residence in Ohio at which Nathan Boone collected his wife, Olive Vanbibber along with, no doubt, permission to marry (likely since she was only about 16 years old), and walked back to Kentucky where the marriage took place. I quote:
“In the middle of September 1799, we packed our big pirogue, and my brother Daniel and I started down the river with our mother in the boat. My father drove the livestock by land, assisted by…. When we reached Limestone (nka Maysville, KY), I got my marriage license and returned seventy-five miles to Little Sandy (River), where Mrs. Peter Van Bibber then lived and on September 26, I was married to Miss Olive Van Bibber. We started our move to Missouri on October 1 and went all the way by land, by way of Lexington, Louisville, Vincennes, and St Louis.”
Nathan also reveals that his father, Daniel Boone, was joined by Isaac Vanbibber (Jr), NOT Matthias, on the move to Missouri from Kentucky. This is in Chapter 9: To Missouri in the book, “My Father, Daniel Boone.” It is from this account we learn that Peter Vanbibber was living on the Little Sandy River on the Ohio side of the Ohio River; and that Isaac Vanbibber (Jr) accompanied the Boones to Missouri, not my ancestor Matthias “Tice” Vanbibber, as so many accounts are wont for us to believe.
Then in the front of the book, “My Father, Daniel Boone,” we find a genealogy drawn up by Lyman Draper and presented to Nathan and Olive V. Boone upon his arrival (1851) at their home in Missouri for the purpose of the interview. In this we find the following details:
- Peter Vanbibber I m. Ann ___ (assumed to be Ann Honriette Gooding, no proof); their sons (in reverse birth order)
- John Van Bibber m. Chloe Staniford: daughter
- *Chloe Van Bibber m. Jesse Bryan BOONE, probably recorded in Kanawha County, WV where the license was obtained but not found;
- Peter Vanbibber II m. Major/Marjory Bounds: children
- Peter Vanbibber III b. 1757
- Jesse b. 1759 (not listed by Lyman Draper)
- Sophronia b. 1762
- Joseph b. 1781
- Jacob b. 1775
- John b. 1765 (see Isaac Sr. and Sarah Davis Vanbibber, below)
- James b. 1766
- Matthias b. 1772
- Elinor “Nellie” b. 1765 (m. first cousin, Peter Vanbibber Sr, son of Isaac Sr. and Sarah Davis in Greenbrier County, WV)
- Nancy b. 1767 (see Isaac Sr. and Sarah Davis Vanbibber, below)
- *Olive b. 1783 (m. Nathan BOONE, youngest son of Daniel Boone and Rebecca Bryan);
- Isaac Vanbibber Sr. (m. Sarah Davis); son
- *Isaac Vanbibber Jr. m. Elizabeth Hays, daughter of Susannah Boone & William Hays; granddaughter of Daniel BOONE & Rebecca Bryan).
- John Van Bibber m. Chloe Staniford: daughter
As ascertained through Greenbrier County Court records/transcripts made by Larry G. Shuck and Helen S. Stinson, we know that Isaac Vanbibber and Sarah Davis produced the following children (date of birth approximate), all but the first two given into the guardianship of uncle Peter Vanbibber II on 22 Mar 1786:
- Martha “Patsy” b. 1756 m. George Yoakum;
- Peter Sr., b. 1757 (m. first cousin Elinor/Nellie, see above);
- Matthew b. 1760
- John b. 1765
- Nancy b. 1767
- James b. 1769
- Isaac Jr., b. 1771 (see above)
The children of Isaac Vanbibber Sr. and Sarah Davis can be found in the Russell County, VA tax lists, with the exception of Matthew, as early as 1787.
I urge you to read “My Father, Daniel Boone” as well as John Mack Faragher’s account of Daniel Boone. Within the former, Nathan gives an account of Matthias Vanbibber coming west to Missouri to visit and the two went on a dangerous hunting expedition. It gives us an idea of just how well the two families were intertwined.
With this I have discovered how Daniel Boone knew my ancestor Matthias “Tice” Vanbibber and relatives; and how 3 of Daniel Boones descendants knew and married 3 of the Vanbibber descendants.
See also:
