Daniel Boone Lives!
By Jan Larson (06/19/06)
Well, Daniel Boone himself is no longer alive, but his legacy as well as those of his siblings and descendants are alive and well. As you read this, I will have just returned from the sixth biennial family reunion of The Boone Society [1], held this year in Reading, PA.
The Boone Society was founded in the early 1990’s by a group of Boone descendants who happened to meet online and decided to get together for a “family reunion.” It was at that first reunion in 1996 that the group decided to formalize the Society and make the reunions a regular event. My wife, Connie, was a founding member and is a direct descendant of Mary Boone Bryan, a sister of Daniel Boone.
The Society has a number of on-going projects, including the “Boone DNA Project.” [2] The goal of this project is to build a database that will enable families to determine which, if any, of the various genealogical lines a particular family belongs to.
Other projects include the preservation of historical sites relevant to the Boone family including Fort Boonesborough State Park in Kentucky, the Daniel Boone Homestead in Pennsylvania, site of Daniel Boone’s birth in 1734 and the Daniel Boone Home and Boonesfield Village in Missouri, the site of Daniel’s death in 1820. Boonesfield Village serves as the “Boone Campus” of Lindenwood University. The university’s goal is to create a “living history” village that reflects life in the early 1820s.
Members of the Society are also active in the preservation of historical sites of smaller scale such as the gravesites of Daniel’s brother, Edward Boone and sister, Hannah Boone.
The Boone Society is a 501(c)(3) organization, open to the public, and is “an association of descendants, genealogists and historians who enjoy studying the lives and times of this remarkable family. It was formed as a reference service for researchers, a conduit for genealogists, clearing-house for bibliographical works.”
Daniel Boone and his family played significant roles in the westward expansion of the early settlers and the history of the Boone family is both educational and fascinating. The Boone Society is dedicated to preserving the heritage and history of this great family.
[1] http://www.boonesociety.com
[2] http://www.boone-dna.com
Copyright ©2006 Jan A. Larson All rights reserved.
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