Individual Details

Francis Bourne and Frances Christopher had 11 children, the last being Daniel. Francis first explored the area around Boonsboro, Kentucky for about three months in 1780. He liked the abundance of game and the fertile soil, but felt it wasn't safe to bring his family due to the Indians. Three to four years later he finally did move with a party of about 300 others. Francis purchased 400 acres of land "in the new County of Jessamine," and settled permanently.
Francis's son Daniel described their early life as follows:
"When we first settled in Kentucky, only five or six families then lived within the bounds of this new county of Jessamine, and they were far apart. Not a mill, nor any breadstuff to be had nearer than 25 miles, in Lincoln Co. The Kentucky river to cross, with high cliffs to pass, which were at that early day a task not easily performed. The present generation knows nothing of the difficulties, privations, and dangers which were encountered and endured by the first settlers of this county.
The first work my father did, was to make a "hand mill", of limestone rock. He had brought picks with him for that purpose, knowing what we should want; and for four years this was our only dependence for meal and flour; and a very good makeshift it was for us. The neighbors for miles around were glad to have the benefit of this "handmill." At the end of four years my father and brother William Bourne made a water mill, which is a fine mill even to this day.
The Company which came through the wilderness with my father's family consisted of about 399 persons; mostly women, children, and negros; not many guns, or efficient gunners, and no real Indian fighters among us. So that the whole company would have fallen easy prey to 15 or 20 Indians. But it so happened that while the Indians were killing and destroying emigrating companies both before and behind us, they did not discover or molest our defenseless company on the whole route. Our whole company, however, came very near starving to death, when the friendly settlers then living at the "Crab Orchard"' heard of our situation, loaded some horses with meat and pumpkin-bread, and came to our relief. They met us about 80 miles from the "Crab Orchard", which place we could never have reached had it not been for this friendly and well-times relief."

Birth	5 Sep 1727
Marriage	Aft 2 Jan 1757	Culpeper, Virginia, British America - Frances Christopher
Will	2 Jun 1803	Jessamine, Kentucky, United States
Death	28 Jul 1803	Jessamine, Kentucky, United States
Burial		Deboe Cemetery, Nicholasville, Jessamine, Kentucky, United States

Spouse	Frances Christopher (1738 - 1816)
Child	Tabitha Bourne (1758 - 1792)
Child	William Bourne (1761 - 1804)
Child	Lucy Bourne (1763 - )
Child	Agnes Bourne (1762 - 1803)
Child	Abner Bourne (1770 - )
Child	Rev. Ambrose Bourne (1776 - 1823)
Child	Frances "Fanny" Bourne (1776 - 1824)
Child	Philadelphia Bourne (1778 - 1827)
Child	John Bourne (1780 - 1851)
Child	Daniel Bourne (1783 - 1847)
Child	David Bourne ( - )

Father	John Bourne (1707 - 1774)
Mother	Sarah Ramsey ( - )
Sibling	Sarah Bourne ( - )
Sibling	William Bourne ( - )

Notes