DANIEL BOONE SOLD HIM LAND, NINIAN CLAGGETT

Daniel Boone sold him land! Ninian Claggett came from Frederick, Maryland, likely through the Cumberland Gap, and he settled in an area known as Marble Creek, in what is now known as Fayette County, Kentucky. It was there that he started his family. Today we are looking at the life of Ninian MacGregor Claggett, one of the early settlers in the Kentucky Bluegrass, who is buried at the small family cemetery on the Prather estate, which is now on the grounds of, Raven Run Nature Preserve, Fayette County, Kentucky. 

Ninian was born in 1750, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, to Thomas Claggett, and Ann McGregor. The McGregor’s were wealthy landowners of the day, and probably lived a very comfortable life in colonial Maryland. The 1776 Maryland State Census records list Ninian there at age 26, on 100 acres, called Flint’s Grove, located in what was then called, the Upper Potomac 100 area, which is close to present day Frederick, Maryland. In 1778, at the age of 28, he married Ephron Wilson, and that same year, he took the fidelity oath, pledging allegiance to the state of Maryland, and denying obedience to Great Britain. With the land in the original 13 colonies being passed down the families, it was becoming very scarce, so a lot of people moved across the Appalachian Mountains, into Kentucky, and Tennessee.

At about 1795, Ninian and Ephron Claggett must have moved to Kentucky, where they built a farm of about 1800 acres. He bought some of his land from the pioneer legend, Daniel Boone. Needless to say, the possibility that my ancestor did business with Daniel Boone piqued my interest in my own family history, and after considerable effort, and help from Colonel Russ Carson, Jr, at Family Tree Nuts, we found the original bill of sale, dated October 13, 1795. For the sum of 60 pounds, my fourth great grandfather purchased 25 acres on Marble Creek from Daniel Boone, and it was there on Marble Creek where he lived until his death, in 1805. 

In his will, he left all of his land, his slaves, his tools, his furniture, and his crops, to his wife, and then on to his sons, and daughters after her death. When Ninian died, he was buried in the Prather family cemetery. Although most of the headstones in his graveyard have deteriorated over the years, we know that he is buried here, because in 2005, an inventory was done of all the graves, and he is listed as being buried here with all the members of the Prather family. As a matter of fact, he was the first person to be buried in this graveyard. What we don’t know yet is why he was buried in someone else’s family graveyard. We do know that his daughter married one of Baruch Prather’s sons, and the families were very close friends. It makes me wonder if maybe they were friends back in Maryland, because he was the first person buried in their family cemetery. 

This plot is typical of many of the early family cemeteries in that it has a rock wall around it, and it is placed on the property close to the main house. The Prather family lived and farmed on this property for decades, creating a rich history in the area. I’m curious as to why Ninian Claggett was buried here in the first place, and not on his own land, which was joined to Prather family land, but just like so many other things in genealogy, we may never know.

Today Marble Creek, being in the heart of the Kentucky Bluegrass, is home to many beautiful horse farms and estates, and it’s good to know that my ancestors were some of the first to inhabit this area. Records indicate that much of the land along Marble Creek was later sold, and most of the family moved to Henry County, Kentucky in the area of Turner Station. Today many of Ninian and Ephron Claggett’s descendants still live in Kentucky, and some down in Tennessee, and we are proud to honor and remember their legacy. Be assured, your family also has many great stories to be discovered. 

It was a powerful experience for my wife and I to visit Raven Run, the Prather family estate, and the cemetery where my fourth great grandfather is buried. It’s a great story, he lived here, raised his family, and Knew Daniel Boone. Be sure to see the video below at Ninian’s grave.

-Scott Denney, Historian, Family Tree Nuts