Again another reminder of a Pryor who disappeared from the records and family memory. I’d really like to know which family Jefferson Pryor connects to. Could his full name be Thomas Jefferson Pryor?
The Newbern Spectator (New Bern, NC) republished on 15 July 1831 a report of a grizzly murder originally reported in the York, Pennsylvania Gazette. A fight broke out at a house in Old River Lake, Chicot County which was still in Arkansas Territory at the time Arkansas didn’t become a state until 1836). The fight occurred on February 19, 1831 between Jefferson Pryor and two brothers — James and Stephen Ferrel. It started out as a fist-fight, but ended with all three drawing their knives. All 3 of the men were stabbed to death and there was one surviving witness— a female.
The men were reported to be single with no children which makes me think they were in their twenties. In 1840 there were 2 “Farrell” men on the Census of Chicot County, however there were no Pryors. This Chicot County is very close to the Mississippi border so this may have been a MS Pryor. It’s also close to Ashley County and Desha County where Pryor families were living.
