A man named William R. Daniel submitted a claim for 160 acres of bounty land in Missouri on January 4, 1819, for his service during the War of 1812. He was a Private in Captain J. Rothrock's Company, 38th Reg't of Infantry. The claim was settled January 4, 1819.
According to the land map, the property was located here, in De Witt, Carroll County, Missouri. It was 160 acres of land between Route 230 and Route 240. The property's edge is 1.28 miles from the banks of the Missouri River to it's east. You can have a look around with this interactive Google map but there's not much to see there:
William Daniel may not have ever lived on this land. He may have sold it upon receiving it. There were only two men named William Daniel counted on the census in Missouri in 1830. They were:
William Daniel living in Mississippi, Scott, Missouri, in a household of 4. He was age 40-49 (born bet. 1781-1790) and the woman of the house was age 50-59 (born bet. 1771-1780). There was a young man age 15-19 (born bet. 1811-1815) and a young woman age 10-14 (born bet. 1816-1820).
William Daniel living in Lincoln, Missouri, in a household of 6 including himself, age 30-39 (born bet. 1791-1800), and a woman the same age, presumably his wife. There were 2 boys under age 5 (born between 1825-1830), and one boy age 5-9 (born bet. 1821-1825). There was one young girl, age 10-14 (born bet. 1816-1820). Note: There were three Daniel households listed consecutively. William was listed between Nancy Daniel and George M. Daniel:
George M. Daniel's home had four occupants including himself, age 20-29 (born bet. 1801-1810), a boy under age 5 (born bet. 1825-1830), a young girl age 10-14 (born bet. 1816-1820), a young woman age 15-19 (born bet. 1811-1815).
Nancy's home had nine people including herself, age 50-59 (born bet. 1771-1780), and a young woman age 15-19 (born bet. 1811-1815), as well as seven slaves - a female age 24-35 and six children under the age of 10. In a book called "The New Stars", by Manie K. Morgan, she explains that "Slavery was less fundamental an interest in Missouri than lower south. It was like slavery in northern Kentucky - much more a domestic than a commercial institution. Slaves were mostly family servants and held in small numbers." Nancy was mentioned in History of Lincoln County, Missouri. On page 234, it states that Nancy Daniels was a daughter of John Riffle, who settled in Lincoln County in 1804. They were at Fort Howard during the War of 1812. On page 249, it states she was born in 1804, which doesn't align with the census. I found no mention of Mr. Daniels (or Daniel).
At this point, I'm not sure if William R. Daniels was the father of Austin Miles Daniels, who married Mary Ellen Wilkinson somewhere in Morgan County, Missouri, in 1836/37, but there is a possibility.
In 1843, Austin bought land in Florence or Richland Township, a mere 57 miles from William's land in De Witt, by today's boundaries. From there, he moved his family to Holt County, and they left Missouri by 1851, going to Oregon by ox cart.
While searching for more information about this William Daniel, I found this abstract on fold3.com:
This is interesting because the William I am looking for named his son Austin. Did he name them after his commanding officers, Col. A. Austin? And I know it's a stretch, but Austin named one of his sons Johnson. Could it be that William also named a son Johnson and Austin later named his son after that uncle? These are just my theories. We'll have to keep looking for more information. If anyone can help prove or disprove who Austin's actual father was, please comment below or contact me.
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