Lot 161: Autograph - Daniel Boone

Storied American frontiersman, soldier, and politician (1734-1820) whose varied exploits made him one of the young nation's first folk heroes. After earning a youthful reputation as a hunter of exceptional skill, Boone served with the British military during the French and Indian War. After pioneering a settlement in present-day Kentucky, Boone was captured and "adopted" by a Shawnee tribe during the Revolutionary War. After his escape, he continued to fight with the Continental Army and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1780. In the following year he was elected as a representative to the Virginia General Assembly, commencing a long and distinguished political career. After fighting in some of the last major campaigns of the war, Boone continued his work as a legislator, surveyor, businessman, and land speculator. Ever enticed by a sense of adventure and wanderlust, Boone moved his family several times, eventually settling in then-sparsely populated Missouri, where he served as a syndic (a judge/jury in the Spanish-controlled territory) and military commandant and indulged his passion for hunting and trapping. With his final words, 'I'm going now. My time has come,' Boone died at the age of 85. Rare manuscript DS, signed "Daniel Boone, D[eputy] S[urveyor]," one page, 12.25 x 14.5, June 18, 1784. Land survey for 50,000 acres of land for Philip and James Moor and John Donnaldson. The document begins, "Lincoln County, State of Virginia Survey'd for Philip and James Moor and John Donnaldson 50,000 Acres of Land on Nine Treasury Warrants...Enter'd the 5th June 1784. Beginning one Mile from the Mouth of Lawtons [Sexton] Creek at A at which mouth there is a large high Rock in Goose Creek where Lawtons Creek Empties, and at which Beginning there is three poplars and two Sugar Trees...." The upper right portion bears a 7 x 4 sketch of the area surveyed. Point A, known today as Boone's Rock, is identified on the survey drawing as "Beging A." At the bottom of the document, William Brooks and Septemus Davis are listed as "Chain-Men" and "Edmond Callaway, Marker." Double matted and framed with an engraved portrait of Boone, to an overall size of 24.5 x 20.5. In very good condition, with intersecting folds, one through a single letter of signature, scattered toning and creasing, and possibly some professional repairs and reinforcement to folds on reverse.Boone surveyed this parcel of land for these early settlers in his capacity as deputy surveyor of Lincoln County. During the process, he carved his initials into a large boulder at the mouth of Sexton's Creek-identified here as "Beging A"-to identify his starting point in these surveys. This rock-near where he had his favorite campsite-is still there. However, due to changes in the course of the stream over time, the initials are under water and cannot be seen. This very survey is referenced on various occasions by Kentucky's Owsley County Historical Society. A very rare and interesting part of frontier history. Oversized.