Beyond our Elusive William Daniel

Raised in Southern NC. Soldier in Revolutionary War (I can't verify this). Moved near Savannah GA at the close of the war. In 1806 he took his family & younger brother on a 2 month overland journey to Kaskaskia, IL, This 700 mile trip through the wilderness was something his children never forgot. The trip back on pack horses took several months. He settled down in Twiggs Co, Ga, near Macon for the next 12 yrs. In Jan 1818 he moved to AL, later settling in Covington where he remained.

In his history of the Bozeman family, Joseph's grandson gave a description of his grandfather: "He had mechanical talent, being a skilled workman in wood and iron, a good gunsmith and a fine marksman. He was fond of hunting and fishing and loved to change his places of abode. he was a farmer, a Democrat, and a Baptist. His complexion, hair and eyes were dark; his stature short, about 5'6", and his weight 165 lbs."

In Sept of 1821, he was standing near a tree which some men were cutting down for timber. The tree fell on him, he died from his injuries two days later, on Sept 21, at the age of 66. He was buried 2 miles southeast of Montezuma, "on a pine ridge, under a pretty hickory" near the falls of the Conecuh River, a most fitting resting place for this pioneer of Alabama.

The grandson also described an incident with a bear:

One day while he and two other men were fishing in the Conecuh River, they heard a hog squealing not far away in the swamp. They had no guns or weapons of any kind, except fishing poles and pocket knives. All went to see what was the trouble with the hog, grandfather leading the way through the cane. Coming right upon the hog, they found it in the grasp of a bear, which turned and chased the men. They fled by the way they came, thus leaving grandfather in the rear. Away they ran, men and bear, making the woods crash and crackle with their headlong speed. The two in front passed the butt end of a tree that had fallen and lodged forming a "horsing log." Grandfather said "Boys let's go up here, and they obeyed. He was now in front, and they in the rear, as they scrambled away out toward the other end of the log. It was so near the ground that the bear saw them and ran out to the point directly under them. With hair on end and horrid growls and frantic efforts to reach them, he kept them treed till they had ample time to rest from their race. Finally he went back to look after his hog, and when the way was clear the fishermen struck a bee Line for home. They'd had enough for one day!'