Tennessee Pryor Newsletter 1

ALL TN PRYORS UPDATE: The total number of Pryors has gone up and down. The “All TN Pryor” project now contains 479 Pryors who were either born in or resided in Tennessee in 1850 or earlier.

Pryor or Brien?

I recently removed a family who turned out not to be Pryors. John and Lydia of Benton Co. are indexed on Ancestry as “Brien”. I looked at the writing and saw that the B is reasonably clear. I then did some searching of TN Census records of 1850 and found John, Lyddia (sic) and family recorded as Brine.

Thomas M. Pryor of Augusta County, VA

A new Pryor has been added to the list. THOMAS M. Pryor married Patsy E. Hartigan on Aug. 16, 1832 in Augusta Co., VA. I found Martha E. Pryor b. 1820 (age 30) living with the Hartigans in Dickson Co., TN in 1850. Her age varies between census years… 1860 she was recorded as 60 years old. Thomas may have died in VA or migrated with Martha to TN. Since Martha made it TN and is recorded as a Pryor I’ve included Thomas M. Pryor on the list with an note (maybe only his wife lived in TN).

Pryors in Christian County, KY

Another new Pryor was added to the list. William Barnes married MARY JANE Pryor 14 Mar. 1850 in Christian Co., KY. Mary Jane, born about 1832, was counted on the 1850-1870 Census as born in TN. In 1880 and 1900 her place of birth changed to KY. I suspect that the three earlier census entries are correct and that Mary Jane Pryor was born in TN. There are no other known Pryors in Caldwell Co. and only the family of John Pryor and wife Rebecca Cook (from Rutherford Co. and possibly Wilson Co., TN) living in Christian Co., KY. An internet search revealed that Pryor researchers place Mary Jane as a daughter of John and Rebecca. I did not find any source information that confirmed this lineage.

Henry County, TN Pryor

MARTHA A. Pryor b. 1823 NC, married John J. Hurt on 3 Feb. 1845 in Henry Co., TN. Martha was counted on the 1880 Census in Henry Co., stating both parents were born in North Carolina.

What About Pryor Surname in Dallas Co., AR?

SARAH A. Pryor b. 1824 and married Samuel W. Looney on Aug. 22, 1844 in Knox Co., TN is on the 1850 Census in Dallas Co., AR. Upon looking at the AR census there appears to be two groups of Pryors in Dallas Co.: kin to John Pryor and Ann Trigg who are related to the Pryors of Marion Co., TN*, and James Pryor and wife Unith and their children. James Pryor was from NC as was Matthew Pryor, the patriarch of the Marion Co. Pryors. While I have no proof of kinship between these lines, it shouldn’t be ruled out.
* As of 2015 there is no evidence that the Pryors in Marion County, TN are connected to the Pryors in Dallas County, AR.

The Tennessee Pryor Went to Pennsylvania

Another clarification… JAMES R. Pryor, the lone Tennessee Pryor on the census records of Blair Co., PA has been identified by his descendant. I recently received an email from a Pryor researcher who has offered terrific information that connects him to the Pryors of McNairy County, TN. James R. is not identified as JAMES RICHARD Pryor. His grave marker states his name as J. Richard, although the 1870 and 1880 Census records in PA state his name as James R. His descendant has discovered through an old letter and family information that James Richard came from McNairy County. He was captured during the Civil War while serving in the Confederate Army and when released, stayed in the North. There is a Richard Pryor of the correct age on the 1850 census in McNairy County. If you have any information to help this researcher confirm their McNairy County ancestors you can contact him by email DLee166@aol.com

VIRGINIA. Several months ago there the website crashed and the extractions of Virginia census records were lost. This webpage is now being recreated.

MATCHING MARRIAGES TO THE CENSUS. Many thanks to researcher Melody Pryor for creating a spreadsheet of Pryor marriages in the South and Midwest. Marriage information is being added as a notation to the census extractions on the website. My focus has been to first find the Pryor women and their husbands and then adding them to the census extractions. Adding the Pryor women under their married names has helped to add clarity to the census extractions, showing connections been families in each county. While this project is far from completion, you will find numerous marriage notes and families that have been added to the census extractions.