Daniel Boston

Daniel Boston, youngest son of Isaac and Rachel (Tomlinson) Boston, born in Somerset Co., Md., probably at Morumsco, about 1744; he died in Somerset Co., probably near Shell Town, before 16 Nov. 1832. He married (first?) about 1781 presumably Sarah Collins, daughter of Samuel and Anne Collins, who was born about 1756 and died before 12 June 1798, for on that date Daniel was appointed guardian for his children, Betsy, Sally, Daniel, Susan, and Solomon, all under fourteen; Thomas White and Littleton Carsley stood security (Som. Bonds EB 22:68); his oldest daughter, already sixteen, would not have had to be named in the bond. Daniel apparently married a second time, for his widow was Sally.

Daniel was doubly involved in the American Revolution, at first against his will. In the fall of 1775 William Barcley Townsend, a Tory sympathizer, organized a conspiracy for the king against the colony; a group of his fellows was to sail down the Chesapeake, join Lord Dunmore, and with him capture the Committee of Safety at Newtown. According to the Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Safety, one Thursday night in November Townsend, with a company of seventeen armed men, on his way down the Pocomoke River took possession of the sloop of Daniel Boston, keeping him aboard, but a mile below the mouth of the river the vessel ran aground on the mud banks. Cornelius Dickerson was reported to the Committee to have said, in Accomack County, "that if he had thought he wou'd have been taken up he most certainly never would have left Boston's vessel with whom he went to Norfolk and further saith that Levin Townsend press'd him... to meet and join him when he came to Pocomoke" (Md. Archives XII: 375-6, 379-80.)

Subsequently Daniel served in St. Asaph's Company of the Somerset Co. Militia, Benjamin Schoolfield, 1st Lt., and Robert Bayly, 2nd Lt. (Md. Rev. War Militia Lists, p. 187).

In the 1783 Somerset Co. tax list Daniel Boston appears as reputed owner of the tract "Crooked Island" on which was a small framed house. In the 1798 tax list Daniel appears in the Pocomoke Hundred (Somerset Co.) holding 50 acres, part of "Owen Glendore," adjacent land of Tabitha Ward, with a one-story wooden house eighteen by twenty feet.

In 1784 Daniel and his wife were among the legatees of his sister Rebeckah: Daniel was released from a note and was given £33 toward his sister's burying; his wife was to receive one striped linen gown and a striped petticoat. In 1792 Daniel was repaid by Tabitha Ward money owed him by the estate of James Ward (Som. Accts. EB 16:615). And by an account for the estate of Samuel Collins (his wife's nephew) 23 May 1797 Daniel Boston and William Ward owed money to the estate (Som. Accts. EB 16:74).

A debt to Caleb Milbourne provides what evidence there is for identifying Daniel's wife. By Milbourne's will, signed 21 June 1792 (prob. 9 Feb. 1796) the children of Sally Boston, Caleb's "daughter-in-law" (i.e. step-daughter), were bequeathed £15 and "all my book accompts against Daniel Boston" (Som. Wills EB 17:475). A notation to the account, passed 21 May 1799, read: "N.B. The widow of the deceased died shortly after him. The will mentions debts due from Daniel Boston which were left to Sally Boston's children, it does not appear from anything on record that any money was received from said Boston"; in the distribution of the estate in 1809 £15 was paid to Sally Boston's children (Som. Accts. EB 27:113).

On 27 Aug. 1787, for £102, Daniel purchased from William Ward a tract of 50 acres, called "Owen Glanders" or "O England," adjacent the land of Rose Evans (Som. Deeds 29:315); a notation in the margin reads "delivered to Daniel Boston 3 June 1834." On 5 Oct. 1790 Daniel witnessed the will of William Ward. In 1807 Daniel owed the estate of his brother Solomon of Accomack Co. a note for £11.5.6. On 15 July 1817 he stood bond with John P. Lankford for Robert Swan, executory of James Riggin.

On 16 Nov. 1832 Daniel's widow renounced administration of his estate, and on the 20th Daniel (Jr.) was appointed executor, with Henry Lankford and Obediah Riggin as securities (Som. Bonds JP 8:235-36). An inventory of his estate was made 4 Dec. 1832 by Levin Tyler and John J. Smith; it included, besides the usual farm and gardening tools, 2 yoke of oxen, a cow and 3 heifers; "1 fish Gig, 1 Gill net, 2 pr. Old Geers"; a pair of silver shoe buckles; a powder horn, 3 table clocks; and bed quilts, blankets, sheets, and bed bolsters, but no beds, though there was other furniture (Som. Accts. JP 11:208). Among those to whom money was owed by the estate were Samuel D. Milbourne for blacksmith work, Matthias Dashiell for the county levy for 1832, Henry Lankford for service as auctioneer, Littleton Dennis for attorney's fees, John J. Smith for appraising, and William S. Broughton $10.00 for making a coffin. By the final account and distribution the widow received her third, and each child received 1/5 of 2/3: son Daniel, daughters Ann, Betsy, and Susan, and son Samuel C. Boston (Som. Accts. JP 9:238).

Children (bron Somerset Co., Md., probably near Shelltown):

By first marriage:

1. Anne (Nancy), b. 1782; d. Somerset Co., probably near Shelltown, before 24 June 1862; on 24 Dec. 1830 with her sister Susan she bought from Daniel Boston "Houstons Adventure," for $200 (Som. Deeds GH 8:553); she was listed in the Federal Census of 1840 (p. 264) not far form her brother Daniel (p. 263); in 1860 she was living near Shelltown, with her sister Susan. According to her will, signed 16 Feb. 1845 (prob. 24 June 1862) she bequeathed $20 to the Rehobeth Baptist Church, but otherwise her nephew, Solomon C. Boston, was her sole legatee, and her executor (Som. Wills SCL 5:86).
2. Elizabeth (Betsy), b. c1784; living in 1832; mar. (Accomack Co., Va. 4 Oct. 1840) William Watts.
3. Sally, b. c1788; d. young.
4. Daniel, b. 10 Feb. 1791; d. 21 Feb. 1865; mar. Enatia Byrd.
5. Solomon, b. c1793; d. young.
6. Susan, b. 1797; d. Balitmore, Md. before 2 may 1872; mar. (lic. Som. Co. 15/16 May 1843) Jacob Bell (1784-1850/60); no children; in 1850 the Bells were living next to Daniel Boston; in 1860 Susan was living with her sister near Shelltown, but after the latter's death she moved to Baltimore; by her will, signed 1 Jan. 1869 (prob. 2 May 1872) she bequeathed all to her nephew Solomon C. Boston, notably her half interest in land 2 miles west of Shelltown, purchased by her and her sister from their brother (Baltimore Wills 32:285).

By second marriage:

1. Samuel Charles Henry, b. c1801; living in 1855 in Prince William Co., Va. (near Manassas); on 12 Jan. 1855 he sold to his brother Daniel for $50 his share in the tract his father had bought, "O England" (Som. Deeds 72:55).

Wise, Matthew M. The Boston Family of Maryland,. 2nd ed. p. 23.