Tag Archives: Henrico county

Digging Deep for Campbell County, VA Pryor Roots – The Pattersons!

Campbell County Pryor FamiliesHow could I have missed this? I’m going to blame the handwriting!

I picked up that Harris Pryor born about 1740 was a witness on the will of John Wright, the husband of Ann. Ann was the daughter of John Pryor and Mary New of Henrico County, VA. I missed another witness: Landis Pattison (or Patterson). I think I’ve passed over Landis several times when I’ve looked at census records because it looked like Candis (a common variation of Candice). However, I was excited to spot Landis Pattison on the 1820 Census in Campbell County, VA!

And I love where Landis Pattison/Patterson is on the census. He’s wedged in nicely on the two pages that contain my own line of Taylors (they married into my Pryor line), suspected Taylor kin, grandchildren of John Pryor and Mary New. If Harris Pryor and John Pryor & Mary New aren’t part of the Pryor line I’m tracing — I’m not making any bets, just saying I’ll be stunned.

1820 Census Extracts, Campbell County, VA

page 138, John Garrett, 010101
page 138, line 28 Landis Pattison 0000001
(Landis Pattison witnessed will of John Wright, son in law of John Pryor and Mary New, in Prince Edward County, VA in 1775, with Harris Pryor also a witness. Landis Pattison’s mother was Elizabeth New.)
page 138, line 32 Archibald Bolling Sr.
(Archibald Bolling married 4 times – Sarah Cary, Jane Randolph, Sarah (Woodson) Clarke, and Mary Taylor (Page) Bird)
page 138, line 33 David Pattison
page 138, line 34 Littleberry Pattison
(brother of Landis Pattison)
page 138, line 39 Jacob Woodson
page 138, line 40 David Alvis
page 139, line 42 Charles Wright, 120001201
(witnessed Edmund Taylor’s Will)
page 139, line 43 Anderson Woodson Sr.
(Oldest male over 45 y.o, 11 whites, 28 slaves. Son of Robert L Woodson and Rebecca Pryor, a grandson of John Pryor and Mary New.)
page 140, line 2 Isaac Crews
(Isaac married Mary/Polly Oglesby the widow of Hezekiah Taylor who was killed in the War of 1812 in Canada. It’s believed that Mary was the sister-in-law of Edward Taylor on the same page of the 1820 Census)
page 140, line 32 Edward Taylor
(Oldest male over 45 y.o, 7 whites, 4 slaves. Edward/Edmund Taylor father of Spicy Taylor who married William Pryor & Massa Taylor who married John Pryor. Edmund Taylor was married to Elizabeth Garrett)
page 140, line 33 Hezekiah Taylor
(oldest male over 16 to 25 yo, 5 whites, no slaves. Son of Edward/Edmund & Elizabeth Garrett Taylor)
 

The Pattersons or Pattisons were all over the same counties where I’m searching out John Pryor, David Pryor, Harris Pryor (Campbell, Amherst, Bedford, Pittsylvania). I see Landis’ brother Littleberry Patterson was recorded on the tax list for Pittsylvania County. Littleberry is on the tax list with… David Ross (the iron foundry guy– he pops up so many times I’m making him his own TAG link!).  There’s an extensive foot note that discusses Ross’ holdings in Pittsylvania County in The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia  By Maud Carter Clement.

Pattersons have several connections to David Pryor and Susannah Ballow in Buckingham County — After David died his heirs sold part of the estate in 1813 to David Patteson.  David’s son Zane Pryor is supposed to have married a Miss Patterson.

So, you know that habit people had of naming their children after kin. I had to turn over that rock… I looked to see if there were any men named Patterson. Sometimes you turn over a rock and you find something. .

I found another interesting name: Patterson Childress (Patterson Childers). I know there are Pryors who are hunting Childress because of the David Pryor from Henrico County who married a daughter of Abraham Childress. Patterson Childress served with the VA line out of Buckingham County during the Revolutionary War per his wife’s application for a widow’s pension in 1831 (see the transcript). This Childress served under Capt. Leonard Balew, spelled a hundred different ways but the same surname as Susannah Ballow also of Buckingham County, VA who married David Pryor (grandson of Abraham Childress).

And where was widow Childress in 1844? She says she was living in Jefferson County, TN. I found her daughter Nancy (Childress) Hamilton in a well documented family tree on Ancestry (see the tree), which shows she was in Sevier County, TN in 1850 and 1860. Patterson Childress is on the 1784-1787 Census for Surry Co., NC with some names that deserved a review… they sound like they’re from VA. I even spotted an Edward Taylor and Richard Taylor which will need to be searched. Patterson’s military file on Ancestry.com contains a letter that says he had a son named Abraham Childress.

I smell a connection! My research list is getting rather long and I have a stash of 40 posts I’ve written that I can’t get published because I keep digging out this newer stuff.

Patience…

 

John Pryor in Campbell, Bedford, Appomattox, and Albemarle

ross-pryor-mapI have been revisiting my own Pryor line (John Pryor of Sumner Co., TN and William Pryor of Overton Co., TN). I can speculate on relationships all I want, but I’m still looking for the meat and potatoes, the paper proof of who is related whom.

DNA NOTE: We have one Y DNA test on this line– working on interpreting the results. If you’re a Pryor male from either of these lines. I’m interested in working with you on Y-DNA testing. Identities are kept confidential.

I found a nifty source called cLocations.com. You can look up waterways and it will pinpoint them on a map. That’s awesome! Because they didn’t have piped in city water in the 1700’s so waterways were important for people and their livestock AND without GPS, waterways were markers on deeds as to where property was located.

We have a deed for John Pryor (likely the father of John and William and the grandfather of Allen L. Pryor of Sumner County, TN, b. 1816):

On 25 November 1788, John Pryer of Campbell County purchases “from John Kitchen of Henry County . . . for 75 [pounds], one certain tract of land of 135 acres in C[ampbell] on the west branches of Stonewall Cr, 7 bounded by Stoval, Kitchen’s corner on Cattail Branch, McBride. Signed – John Kitchen. Wit – Thomas Dunn, William Page, William Bernett (B (Burnett), Henry Truman, William Chenalt (Chenault), Charles Rork. Recorded Apr 2, 1789.” (Campbell County Virginia Deeds, 1784 – 1790 published by T.L.C. Genealogy (Miami), p. 55, referencing deed book page 360)

The pink star on the above map shows where Stonewall Creek is located in what is today’s Appomattox County. While the original deed was in Campbell County, it’s consistent with the history of the Taylors (John’s sons both married Taylor women) that they lived in the part of Campbell County that was sacrificed for the formation of Appomattox County.

I know Tennessee researchers bemoan all the county divisions– Virginia is just as frustrating.  I found a sensible explanation of the county divisions in Campbell Chronicles by Ruth Hairston Early (pub. 1927).

“In 1754 the part of Albemarle lying upon the south side of the river, from the mouth of Stonewall Creek to the head of Falling river, was added to Bedford: then Albemarle was divided in 1761 to form Amherst; the portion north of the James was marked by a line up the Rockfish River to the mouth of Green creek, thence to the Blue Mountains; east of this line remained Albemarle…”,

Ms. Early also added that the James River was also known as the Fluvanna, derived from fluvius (water) and Queen Anne of England. So the Pryors in Appomattox can be in Campbell County records (we already knew that), and also in Bedford and Almemarle records.  Whew!

We’ve probably got John Pryor in a Bedford record

John Pryer with Gideon Martin, Jane Preston, Thomas Stovall witnessed the will of Jacob Rector in Bedford County VA on 26 Oct. 1779. John Pryer along with Gideon Martin proved the will by oaths on 22 Nov. 1779. John Pryer along with David Martin and Thomas Stovall inventoried the estate of Jacob Rector on 3 Dec. 1779, returned 22 January 1781. “Prier” also used at one place in the record. (Abstracts of Bedford County Virginia Wills, Inventories and Accounts by Joida Whitten, Taylor Publishing Company (Dallas), pp. 101 and 113, referencing will book pp. 359-60 and 387.)

I suspect that the Pryor on Stonewall Creek and the Pryor who witnessed Jacob Rector’s will and inventoried the estate is the same John Pryor who was in Campbell County (late area in Appomattox County). Pryor’s 1788 deed states his land was near Stovall’s and 1779 a Thomas Stovall witnessed the will with Pryor.  There’s a remnant of the Pryors in Appomattox County on the 1850 census– Pryor Wright and Pryor D. Martin. I suspect Pryor D. Martin is related to the David Martin who inventoried Rector’s estate with John Pryor.

Now, there’s another line of Pryors we have to consider connecting with the John Pryor in Albemarle. Yes, it’s likely he’s the brother of David Pryor in Buckingham County since there was a David and John mentioned in the Henrico County courts and Cumberland County deeds as heirs of a deceased David Pryor. I suspect they are also kin to Harris Pryor of Bedford County. When Harris’ family left VA for TN they lived near Rectors in Anderson County and Roane County.

So, we have John Pryor pinned down from 1779 when he witnessed a will to 1788 when he bought property in Campbell County (now Appomattox). County divisions tell us to look for earlier records of John Pryor in Bedford and Albemarle Counties. Yes, there is a John Pryor who in 1759 was on the south side of the Fluvanna (remember that’s the James River!) in Albemarle County near Abraham Childers/Childress. John Pryor’s property in 1788 is also on the south side of the river.

That leaves us with a pretty big gap in the time on the paper records for John Pryor — 1759-1788. Where was he and what was he doing?

Is there a David Ross connection? I was thinking of the old John Pryor b. 1757 who was in Sullivan Co., TN next to the entrepreneur David Ross (read part 4 of Ross Posts). I know that my John Pryor was probably deceased by 1812 and the one in Sullivan County lived past the 1850 Census, so they are not the same man. However there’s an interesting little fact to share: Oxford Iron Works, the foundry Ross ran during the Revolutionary War; it was located on Beaver Creek in Campbell County, VA. The red “pin” on the above map shows that it was just 12 miles from where John Pryor lived on Stonewall Creek.

Two Gamblin’ Alabama Pryors in Trouble in the Old Virginia (1835)

Lucky DiceA report of sex, guns, knives, vandalism… and the Pryors. It comes from the Richmond Whig re-published on 11 Sept 1835 in the The People’s Press and Wilmington Advertiser (NC).  This story was also published in the Maryland Gazette and the North Carolina Star. I guess a salacious story made it’s way through all the media outlets even in the 1830’s!

“Superior Court of Law for Henrico County was applied to for a bench warrant for the arrest of two men of the name of Pryor, father and son from Alabama, alleged to be gamblers by profession, (of great wealth) who on a visit to relations in Henrico county had been guilty, as alleged of an enormous offence.”

OK, they’ve got my attention. This is like a little mystery of who is who, so I’ve interjected my thoughts in brackets.

The complaint was brought by a man named Brown who said the older of the Pryor men had married his aunt (Was his aunt a Brown?). This older Pryor had made “overtures” (sexual advances?) toward a Mrs. Anderson, a niece of Pryor’s wife (So, Mrs. Anderson could be the complainant Brown’s sister or his cousin). The woman delayed the advances and when Pryor returned her husband was waiting with a gun. The husband fired, “lodging may shot in his arm.” Sounds like Mr. Pryor got an arm full of buck shot! They complained that both of the Pryors then rushed into the house and stabbed one of their Brown cousins, causing damage to the house by “spitting the furniture from cellar to garret.”

It doesn’t say how much time it took, but there was a warrant issued and a posse sent out to grab the Pryors. They were stopped on their way to “the city” (Richmond?) and they were “in a carriage and four, with a a traveling carriage and a tender.”  I wish I knew what that was… it sounds like they had a carriage pulled by 4 horses and an entourage. It goes on to say that the judge set bail at $5000 and would even consider $10,000 because these guys weren’t going to escape the law because they had a lot of money.

When they were questioned they were represented by attorneys Conway Robinson and Shirley Carter. Now this is really starting to sound like Law and Order!

I’m not sure why the names of the victims and the defendants weren’t published. Maybe because no one was convicted yet. Was it the practice of the time? I consulted the 1830 Census and found in Henrico County there was a William A. Anderson counted on the line above a John D. Browne. On another page there’s a William Browne recorded on the line above Rachel Anderson.

Luke Pryor of Limestone County, AL was the father of John B Pryor, a racehorse trainer. Lots of gambling around the ponies?  Samuel B Pryor, the first mayor of Dallas, plead guilty to gaming in TX, but that was in 1851 and he would have been 15 years old in 1835 and there’s no information to tie his family to AL. I thought of Joseph Pryor in Tuscaloosa, but he was about 68 years old in 1835.

I think we have an Alabama Pryor that we didn’t know connected to these families! I’d like to present an argument that whoever this Pryor is — he’s probably connect to Christopher Pryor of Gloucester.

1. I believe Christopher Pryor was wealthy and probably came from a well-heeled family. It’s recorded that he supplied the Continental Army with 800lbs of beef during the Revolutionary War– that implies that he  had means beyond a subsistence farmer. He had married well into the Clayton family and a daughter named after the Whiting family may indicate ties to that prominent family. His son John C. Pryor was the administrator of the estate of Henry Whiting, the brother of Ann Whiting who married Major John Pryor.

2. I found another document that mentions all 3 names: Pryor, Brown and Anderson. It’s much earlier than the incident but may point to family connections. A notice published in Rind’s Virginia Gazette on 4 November 1774,

The death of Mr. Hugh McMekin, late of Norfolk, renders it absolutely necessary that the bushels carried on by him there, by Mr. Matthew Anderson in King and Queen, end by Mr. Christopher Pryor at Gloucester Courthouse, be discontinued…
(posted by) BENNETT BROWNE, attorney in fact for Mr. John McDowell and Company.

3. Christopher’s grandson: Christopher J D Pryor is a possible candidate. This younger Christopher was born in 1800 so he would have been 35 in 1835. I can’t place a son with him to fit this story in 1835. However, Christopher was a teacher at Hampton Academy in 1833 (read my post on this Pryor), however he assaulted a Dr. Richard Banks. I haven’t found this Pryor on the 1840 Census and by 1850 he’s was on the census in ALABAMA.

Can anyone figure out the relationships? Who are these Pryors? Open to suggestions!

Family Trees in the Works for Goochland and Henrico County Pryors

Goochland Pryor Charts

I know I’ve been hung up in Virginia lately and I’ve also been a bit “charty.” It doesn’t look like either of these conditions will be clearing up soon. I now have 4 Family Trees on my wall for Pryors who have connections to Goochland County. I’m still hoping that as I solve the puzzle of the Virginia Pryors families we’ll have answers for our Tennessee Pryor lines.

Why 4 Charts?

Why 4 Family Trees and not 2 or 6? I’m working off of lines that have been discussed in blog posts, lines that have source information that confirms a connection or alliance.  So far I’ve got the Goochland/Henrico County Pryors boiled down to 4 groups with the oldest known records in the 1720’s and the most solid information on individuals born around 1740.

Who are the Groups?

Group I – Samuel Pryor and Prudence (Thornton)
Records of a Samuel Pryor in Goochland County begin in 1735. Researchers have attributed Samuel as a son of Robert Pryor and Virginia Betty Green of Gloucester County– naming tradition makes this a possibility (Samuel named a son Robert). There is a disconnect in the records of Samuel and his suspected father Robert Pryor: Robert was granted land in Gloucester County in 1692– Are there later records of Robert? Samuel may have held land in both Goochland and neighboring Hanover County. Samuel witnessed a will in Hanover County in 1717 which if Samuel was 21 years old, could mean he was born in 1696 or earlier.

Group II – John Henry Pryor of Orange Co., NC
John Henry is connected to Goochland County by researchers who state he was a brother of Samuel (Group I) and a son of Robert Pryor and Virginia Betty Green.  Again, if naming tradition comes into play, John named his eldest son Robert and another son named Green. John Henry died in Orange Co., NC and because of the surplus of John Pryors in VA, I’m not positive that he is the same man on any document in VA. However, his son Robert owned land in Halifax Co., VA (later Pittsylvania County), his children married into the Perkins family from Henrico County (their spouses were niece and nephew of William Harding who was surety for Nicholas Pryor’s estate in Henrico Co.)

Group III – John Pryor (and Mary New)
John was first mentioned on a deed in 1722 in Henrico Co. Henrico is one of the oldest counties in VA– In 1728 Goochland Co. was formed out of Henrico which probably explains why thereafter this John Pryor was named in Goochland County records. John Pryor died in Goochland County in 1755 (per his will) and left only two living daughters. Although there were no male heirs he may have had siblings because Harris Pryor b. 1740 was a witness to John Wright’s will (son in law of John Pryor and Mary New).

Group IV – Nicholas Pryor
Nicholas Pryor died around 1746 when his wife petitioned the court in Henrico County requesting letter of administration (William Harding was surety, see Group II above). Nicholas’ children were in Henrico Co., and in Arbemarle County in the 1740’s when it was formed out of the northern part of Goochland Co. and in Pittsylvania Co.  Nicholas’ oldest children were born in 1710-1715, which means Nicholas could be the headright who obtained land Henrico Co. in 1688.

It looks like a lot less Pryors to contend with when they get condensed into groups.

 

William Harding – Key Man Among the Virginia Pryors

William Harding connected to Nicholas PryorEee gads, I know I created this chart, but really, every time I look at it I think it looks fractured and glued haphazzardly back together again. There are connections EVERYWHERE. There are lines of Pryors I don’t know if they really belong together, but they all seem to merge through William Harding.

Hello, William Harding!

I know it was a “small world” back in Colonial Virginia, but I think the number of connections between William Harding and the Pryors is astounding.

1. William Harding posted surety for the estate of Nicholas Pryor in 1746 (Goochland County, VA)

2. In 1751 William Pryor sold Albemarle County land to William Harding. This is the William Pryor who was engaged in a Henrico County suit with Grace Lafoon (Lafon). I suspect William was a son of Nicholas Pryor. He was also the father of Capt. William Pryor of Amherst Co., Nicholas, John of Fort Donnally, and Susannah.

3. When William Harding‘s daughter Sally married Thomas Pollard at St. James Northam in Goochland County, William Meriwether was surety. William Meriwether was also surety in 1760 for the marriage of Samuel Pryor (son of Samuel and Prudence) when he married Frances Morton Meriwether.

4. William Harding‘s sister Bethenia married Nicholas Perkins. Bethenia’s children married Pryors: Susannah Perkins married Green Pryor and Nicholas Perkins married Leah Pryor. Green and Leah were children of John Henry Pryor who died 1771 in Orange County, NC.

5. William Harding‘s sister Susannah married Capt. Charles Ellis. Their grand-daughter, Elizabeth Wright,  married Capt. William Pryor of Amherst County, VA.

I’ve written about Capt. Ellis in the past [see The Last of the Virginia Chancery Court Records] and his association with Peter Jefferson (father of President Thomas Jefferson) and military service in the 1750’s with a Richard, Nicholas, and William Pryor.

Is Nicholas Pryor who died in 1746 the man some researchers ID as F. Nicholas Pryor? I’ve thought he was Nicholas the headright who arrived in Henrico County in 1688.

Is the F for Frank or Francis Pryor? Could he be Francis Pryor the son of Samuel and Prudence Thornton?

I feel like I’m getting to know everyone in town.