I went through my notes on the Goochland County Pryors asking the question: “What is the source for a “Doctor” Samuel Pryor?” Really, what’s the source?
Oh, this was a fun search because I may have found the answer in the Chancery Court Records. I now suspect that there have been some serious misreadings of the old records.
In just one case — Shadrach Vaughan V. Samuel Pryor filed in the Chancery Court in Goochland County 1787 — are some interesting samples. And an aside to fill in the relationship. Shadrach married Mary Meriwether the daughter of Frances Morton and her first husband Nicholas Meriwether. The Samuel Pryor who was the defendant in the suit is the son of William Pryor. Vaughan’s complaint clearly states that Samuel was the executor of his father William’s estate.
First Samuel Pryor is referred to as Capt. Samuel Pryor.
Capt. Samuel, son of William and Sarah
I’ve seen this several times in the Chancery suits… “Samuel Pryor Gent.”, ie. gentleman. I wonder how many times this has been interpreted as general by researchers.
Samuel Pryor Gent.
There’s an accounting in the case file that shows the debts and the credits of Samuel Pryor’s account with the plaintiff. First lets look at the heading of the credits.
“Cr.” shows the credits of William Pryor, married to Sarah Wood
The “Cr” is for credits. I can tell by looking at the numbers and calculations. When you go to the top of the page you’ll see this…
“Dr.” reflects the debts of William Pryor, married to Sarah Wood
I’ve seen where Pryors have been referred to as “Doctor” Pryor. These Pryors were all gentlemen farmers and sometime soldiers. There were doctors in the Pryor line, but I suspect in most cases the “Dr” for debit has been read as doctor.
