23. Daniel Boone suffered several financial setbacks near the end of the 18th century
Boone’s tavern was a success, in part due to his fame. Situated in a thriving port on the Ohio River, numerous settlers visited it, eager to meet the famous frontiersman. Legend has it that Boone relocated whenever the population grew too large for his taste, seeking “elbow room”. That legend is false. He was a politically savvy businessman, speculating in land for himself and surveying tracts for others. Boone grew prosperous enough to own seven slaves. He was elected to the Virginia General Assembly three additional times. Land speculation led to several business failures, as disputes over claims led to lengthy legal maneuvers and indebtedness.
In 1788, he sold his tavern and moved to Point Pleasant, where he continued to work as a surveyor and operated a general store and fur trading post. After several years in the river town, he returned to Kentucky in 1795. Legal claims and counterclaims continued to erode his remaining assets. In 1799, frustrated with the American legal process, he moved to Missouri, taking most of his family with him. Missouri was then a part of Spanish Louisiana. The Spanish authorities assigned him as the regional judge, in a legal system in which he was simultaneously the jury, a position known as a syndic. He also received land grants from the Spanish government of Louisiana.