- Polk Co., GA – photo by Jimmy Emmerson
I realized I haven’t written any posts about Georgia Pryors. I’m catching up- trying to share some of the interesting Pryor stories I’ve been reading online. This one is from Polk County, GA. I found an account written as a first-person interview of John T. Pryor who was born in about 1839, probably in Paulding County, GA.
“It was on April 6, 1865, shortly before the assassination of Lincoln, that my father was murdered by some of the desperadoes we had arrested.” The story talks about John T Pryor vigilante quest to avenge the death of his father. Again so many John Pryors, so who was the father of this John Pryor?
I found through census records that John T. Pryor is the son of Haden Pryor. I’ve updated the Georgia census records on the TN Pryor website. https://tennesseepryors.com/pryor-website/state-records/georgia-counties-m-s/ These Georgia Pryors are kin to the line of Matthew Pryor who settled in Marion Co., TN. Both lines share Philip Pryor, son of Robert Pryor and Virginia Betty Green as a common ancestor.
This story baffles me. I thought all states had no statue of limitations on murder. Why on earth did John T. Pryor feel free to speak of his deeds in 1897?
Source:
The Revenge of John Pryor: The true and thrilling story of the life of a noted North Georgian, written by Houston R. Harper of the Rome, Georgia Tribune on April 18, 1897 http://www.angelfire.com/ga/firstgacav/JohnPryor.html
