The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke (1784)

The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke (1784)
Author: John Filson
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2017-09-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1609621166

Filson's seminal work on the early history of Kentucky, including the first published account of the life and adventures of Daniel Boone. Filson's work was an unabashedly optimistic account of the western territory, where Filson had acquired large land claims, whose value he sought to enhance by the publication of this advertisement and incitement for further settlement. Scarcely two years after the violent and tragic British and Indian invasion of 1782, Filson portrayed Kentucky as a natural paradise, where peace, plenty, and security reigned. Of some significance is Filson's recognition that the territory would be economically tied to the West, and especially the river ports of Natchez and New Orleans, rather than the Eastern seaboard. His reflections on the interests of the United States in acquiring and securing the western regions of North America predate the Louisiana Purchase by 18 years. The work, and especially the narrative of Daniel Boone, proved extremely popular, and was frequently reprinted and translated into French and German. It proved to be the first in a long tradition of rousing Western adventures associated with the westward migration of the Americans. This edition includes the complete text of the first edition, some notes, a biographical sketch of John Filson, and a discussion of the editorial procedures. It also includes the "Map of Kentucke" published in 1784 along with the book.

The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke

The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke
Author: John Filson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 152
Release: 1962
Genre: Indians of North America
ISBN:

"'If any word in the American story connotes enchantment, it is undoubtedly 'West,' and of the myriad elements of thsi magic, John Filson's 'Discovery, Settlement, and present State of Kentucke' is among the most potent. For this earliest history of Kentucky, containing the state's first published map, also provided the nation with the gigantic folk figure of Daniel Boone, whose exploits transcend time and distance. The form of Filson's Kentucky essay follows the usual eighteenth-century catalogue of topics: boundaries, rivers, soil and climate, produce, animals, inhabitants, 'curiosities,' land acquisition, and trade prospects... To this miscellany he added his account of Boone's western adventures, a narrative in autobiographical form that, despite the author's over-written style, conveys both the rugged simplicity of the subject's personality and the ceaseless violence of the early Kentucky frontier."--Pg. [4] of cover.

The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke: And an Essay Towards the Topography, and Natural History of That Important Country

The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke: And an Essay Towards the Topography, and Natural History of That Important Country
Author: John Filson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2011-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781596410053

John Filson's, "The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucky: And an Essay Towards the Topography, and Natural History of that Important Country: To Which is Added, an Appendix, Containing The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boone, One of the first Settlers, comprehending every important Occurrence in the political History of that Province ...," published in 1784, is the first descriptive account of Kentucky and the first narrative of Daniel Boone. The book was immensely popular and was translated into French and German numerous times, with a Paris edition appearing in 1785. Topics addressed include Kentucky's discovery and purchase, as well as boundaries, topography and terrain, climate, rivers, soil, inhabitants, rights of land, and trade. The 32-page Appendix, outlining the "Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon; containing a narrative of the Wars of Kentucke," is the first known narrative of Daniel Boone, and the portion of the book believed to be most responsible for drawing so much attention to the work. The Appendix also contains, "The Minutes of the Piankashaw council held in 1784;" "An Account of the Indian Nations inhabiting within the Limits of the Thirteen United States, their Manners and Customs, and Reflections on their Origin;" and "The Stages and Distances between Philadelphia and the Falls of the Ohio," as well as other geographical topics. Included is a drawing of Daniel Boone and a Map of Kentucky, which was drawn by Filson, and was the best, up to that time, for the topography of Kentucky country. Paperback, (1784), repr. 2011, Illus., Map, Appendix, 124 pp.

The Adventures of Daniel Boone

The Adventures of Daniel Boone
Author: John Filson
Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1616403446

The Adventures of Daniel Boone: The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke is an account of the newly-claimed and settled state of Kentucky in the late 1700s. Written in 1784, the work was immensely popular and translated into French and German many times, mainly because of the exciting Daniel Boone tales. The author, John Filson, was a Kentucky settler himself and promoted the exciting and attractive aspects of Kentucky in an effort to gather even more settlers and surveyors to the territory. The work includes a hand-drawn map of Kentucky and an appendix relating the exciting life of Daniel Boone. An essential reference for settlers (and dreamers) in the 16th century, this book is a valuable guide for any student of American history. JOHN FILSON (C. 1753-1788) was an American author and historian whose work mostly revolved around the settlement of Kentucky. Filson was born and raised in Pennsylvania, attended West Nottingham Academy in Maryland, and taught school in Kentucky. He interviewed settlers and pioneers across the state while he himself surveyed and settled land, compiling his findings into several different memoirs and accounts. Years later, after multiple lawsuits and financial troubles, Filson purchased the land that would later become Cincinnati, Ohio. He is believed to have died during a Shawnee Indian attack in 1788, though his body was never recovered.