Has your family passed down stories about relatives? Does your family claim relations to someone notable? Family stories may just be the clue you need to make a family connection. One of the stories passed down through my mom’s family was that we are related to the frontiersman Daniel Boone. In this post I will describe how I found the answer to the question about our connection to Daniel Boone, while searching for my third great grandfather’s relatives. For those who may not be familiar with Daniel Boone, I will start with a brief description of his notoriety in American history.

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) has been recognized as an American pioneer and frontiersman. Boone was credited for exploration beyond the borders of the first thirteen colonies, leading to the settlement of what is now Kentucky. In the later years of his life, he lived on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now known as St. Charles County, Missouri, which was part of the Spanish Louisiana at the time¹. A television series (1964-1970) about the legendary frontiersman².

My great-great grandfather Stark told my mom that the Stark’s were related to Daniel Boone; however, he did not know how. My mom was an avid genealogist. She was on a quest to determine how we were related to Daniel Boone (long before the days of Internet). My mom researched Daniel Boone and his family, but she was unable to find the link between the Stark family and the Boone family. One of the challenges my mom faced was that no one had determined who my third great grandfather, Pleasant Stark’s, parents were. Prior to the 1850 Census, only the head of household was named in the Census. By the time the names of all members of the household were listed in the Census, Pleasant was married, no longer living with his parents. The only other record my mom located was his marriage record. The record did include Pleasant’s stepfather’s name; however, the name is illegible³. Some family researchers questioned if Pleasant’s surname was Stark or if that was his stepfather’s name.

As more DNA connections are made in Ancestry.com, I periodically revisit the research of my family lines. About a year ago, I focused my attention on my Stark family line. I reviewed “hints” for my fourth great grandfather and I used the “DNA match” feature in the research. I searched for DNA connections with the surname “Stark” in their family trees. Based on the findings, I determined it was very plausible that Rueben Zachary Stark was Pleasant Stark’s father. I added Rueben to my family tree and began building out the Stark family line, reviewing the documentation supporting the family members.

During the additional research of the Stark family, I had an “ah-ha” moment that I might have found the connection to the Boone family. I found that Rueben Stark had a brother named Abner, who was married to Persis/Percis Boone.

Then I began the search to determine if and/or how Persis might be related to Daniel Boone. I started with a search of Persis’ direct lineage in Ancestry.com. I did not find Daniel Boone in her direct ancestry. At this point, I turned to Wikipedia to see if I could find the names of Daniel Boone’s parents. I found that his parent’s names were Squire Boone Sr. and Sarah Morgan. Next, I traced Squire Sr.’s lineage, searching for a common ancestor with Persis Boone. I found that Persis’ great grandfather George Boone IV was a brother to Squire Boone Sr., making Persis’ grandfather Josiah Boone and and Daniel Morgan Boone first cousins

The question is answered. The Stark family is not related to Daniel Boone, but Daniel’s cousin did marry into the Stark family. The question about Pleasant’s parents has not be resolved definitively, but my DNA connections in Ancestry.com strongly suggest that Pleasant’s father was Reuben Z. Stark and that Stark was Pleasant’s actual surname. Sadly, my mom passed before we had any answers to these questions.

Research Hints:

• Family stories can be used for clues in family research
• Non genealogical sources such as Wikipedia or googling names can be a source of information
• Search family beyond your direct lineage for additional clues

References:
¹Wikipedia, Daniel Boone, accessed 17 Mar 2021.
²Wikipedia, Daniel Boone TV Series, accessed 17 Mar 2021.
³Ancestry, accessed 17 Mar 2021