My Genealogy Hound

Daniel Boone, Monument at the original gravesite, Marthasville, Missouri, photo

A photo of the monument at the original grave site of the famed frontiersman and explorer, Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca Bryan in the Old Bryan Cemetery, near Marthasville, Missouri in southern Warren County.

After a series of financial and legal difficulties in Kentucky, Daniel Boone and his family removed to Missouri in 1799 which at the time was under the rule of Spain. He lived here for the remainder of his life. Under an agreement with the Spanish, Boone received large grants of land and served as the "syndic" of the region which in effect was both judge and jury of all matters of the law brought before him. After living twenty years in Missouri, Daniel Boone died on September 26, 1820, at the home of his youngest son, Nathan Boone, located near Defiance, Missouri in St. Charles County. His body was then transported to the Bryan Cemetery near Marthasville, Missouri to be buried next his wife Rebecca who had died seven years previously. After lying at rest for twenty-five years, the bodies of Daniel and Rebecca Boone were removed from their graves in 1845 to be reburied at Frankfort, Kentucky where they remain today.

Or, maybe not? The graves of Daniel and Rebecca Boone were originally unmarked which was often the case on the wild frontier. It was not until many years later that the location of the original graves were marked or at least where it was thought that they had been buried in the small cemetery. As a result, many believe that the body removed to Kentucky was not that of Daniel Boone. A modern day examination by a forensic anthropologist of the plaster cast made of the skull at the time of the reburial has given evidence that the skull possibly belonged to an African-American of larger stature than Boone who was only about 5' 8" tall. So where are the remains of Daniel Boone and his wife? Those in Kentucky are pretty confident that the real remains of Boone and his wife are at the reburial site in Frankfort, Kentucky. Those in Missouri are equally confident that the remains of Boone are located where they have always been: in the Old Bryan Cemetery near Marthasville, Missouri.

The text on the tombstone or monument reads:

"Daniel Boone
Born in Philadelphia County
(Later Berks County)
October 22, 1734
(Modern: November 2, 1734)
Died in St. Charles County, MO
September 26, 1820
and Wife
Rebecca Bryan
Born January 9, 1739
Died March 18, 1813
Removed to Frankfort, KY 1845
Originally dedicated 1915
Rededicated July 25, 2009
Missouri State Society
Daughters of The American Revolution
Hardin Camp Chapter, NSDAR
Valley of The Meramec Chapter, NSDAR"