Category Archives: Missouri Pryors

Part III: OK Pryors – William J. Pryor, Osage Interpreter

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October is Oklahoma Pryor month
here on the TnPryor website!

I’ve been Googling again.

I found a William J. Pryor who was an Osage Tribe councilman for the 11th and 12th Osage Tribal Council in 1926-1930.

When I started looking for him I found William Julius Pryor  in Ancestry Family Trees and on the 1930 Census living in Seminole County, OK. He’s recorded as an “Indian” born about 1870 in Missouri to a “mixed blood” father and Cherokee mother. In 1910 William J. was in North Fork, Beckham Co., OK. In 1900 he and his wife were living on the Osage Indian Reservation in Indian Territory.

In 1910 Philip J. Pryor was counted on the same census page, just a few houses from William J. and family in Beckham County.  Philip was on the 1880 census record in Smith County, Texas. He is a son of Lemuel Pryor and Elizabeth C. Hardigree.  Lemuel is believed to be from the line the Marion County Pryors.

William J. Pryor also lived in Texas– census entry reflects he had 3 children between 1894 and 1897 in Texas.   Researchers’ online family trees indicate William J. Pryor is the same William J. Pryor who was on the 1880 census in Cooke Co., TX… the son of Gilbert Carter Pryor and wife Sarah Roberts.  Gilbert was a son of Neely Pryor in Texas County, MO.  There’s a William J. Pryor in Gilbert Pryor’s household in both Cooke Co., TX and in 1870 in Texas Co., MO. Neely Pryor’s line goes back to the Marion County, TN Pryors.

William J. Pryor not only served on the tribal council, but was also versed enough in the Osage language– enough to be an interpreter: Leases for Oil and Gas Purposes, Osage National Council,  By United States. Congress. House. Committee on Indian Affairs, published 1919.

“I, William Pryor, do hereby certify that I am the official interpreter of the Osage Indian Agency, and at the time the Osage Tribal Council had the contract under consideration I acted as the official interpreter of the said Osage Tribal Council; that I fully and truthfully interpreted and explained the foregoing contract to the Osage Tribal Council…”

It appears that William J. Pryor was an Osage allotee: Indians of the United States: Investigation of the Field Service  By United States Congress. House. Committee on Indian Affairs. Except of letter from the Liberty Bank of Pawhuska, May 7, 1920 refers to “William J. Pryor, Osage allotee.”

End of Part III

Watch for…
Part IV: OK Pryors – Missing Sooner Settlers

Category: Missouri Pryors, Native Americans, Oklahoma Pryors

Part II: OK Pryors- The Osage Pryors

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October is Oklahoma Pryor month
here on the TnPryor website!

Today we have published and online sources that Middlebrooks and Harper didn’t have in 1970 (Chronicles of Oklahoma).  I’ve used the Indian Census Rolls from the late 1890’s, the 1900 US Census of Oklahoma, the Osage Allotment Cards (Index), and later US Census schedules to try to discern which Pryors were from the Osage Tribe.

I first looked at Pryors who claimed Native American Ancestry and separated out the Pryors who were aligned with the Osage tribe.

In 1900 Samuel V. Pryor and wife Olivia were living in Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory. Samuel born 1866 in Mississippi. Samuel was the son of John Henry Pryor of Jefferson Co., AL (per Ancestry.com Family Trees) and Sarah Wade. Samuel is recorded as “white” and his wife Olivia Cowert/Coward was recorded as “Indian”. Olivia’s two brothers were also in the household and recorded as “Indian.” Olivia and her children were recorded on the 1896 Dawes Commission schedule. I have ruled out this family. Samuel V. Pryor was not from Osage land, he was recorded as “white”, and he was never included on rolls of the Osage reservation, or allotments.

William M. Keyes and wife Martha, nee Pryor were recorded living in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. Martha was recorded as “white”, Keyes was recorded as “Indian”.  Tribal affiliation was noted at the bottom of the page. Keyes was born of Cherokee and Creek parents. My own search, and an Ancestry Family Tree, points to Martha as the daughter of Gilbert Carter Pryor of Cooke Co., TX – a descendant of the Marion Co., TN Pryors who have no known connection to the Osages.

There are two Pryor men in the Osage records: John b. 1834 and Thomas b. 1847.

John Pryor b. 1834 and wife Mary, parents of Antwine Pryor – Antwine, his wife, and his children all had Osage Allotments and counted as Indians on Census records. Antwine counted with “full blood Indians” on 1900 Census and that both of his parents Osage Indians born in Kansas.

Thomas Pryor b. 1847 and wife Mary, parents of Louis Pryor b. 1879.  Louis states on census record that both his parents were born in MO. There is only one Pryor by that name and year of birth: Thomas son of Rufus Pryor in Osage Co., MO- born in Tennessee it’s unlikely that neither Rufus Pryor nor his wife Martha Bryant were Osage.  Thomas’ wife Mary is recorded as a “full blood”. His son Louis is counted on the Osage Reservation with an allotment and an annuity. His mother, Mary, was counted as an Osage and lived on the reservation until her death in 1926.  There is record of Mary’s native name, but I am unable to locate her allotment.

My final answer? I don’t believe any of the OK Pryors who claim Native American ancestry were related to Nathanial Pryor.

Photo of Josephine Pryor Hamilton (Osage Artist) :
(Wayback Machine link)

2007 Pow Wow, great grandson of Josephine Pryor Hamilton: http://www.okindiansummer.org/pdf/2007%20Powwow%20staff.pdf

End of Part II

 Watch for…

Part III: OK Pryors – William J. Pryor, Osage Interpreter

Category: Missouri Pryors, Native Americans, Oklahoma Pryors

Trailing Trombonist Arthur Pryor

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Recently I was contacted by DJ and music historian David Richoux who is trying to determine if Arthur Pryor was of African American descent.  He cites the book Steppin’ on the Blues: The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance By Jacqui Malone Published by University of Illinois Press, 1996 ISBN 0252065085, 9780252065088.  “Arthur Pryor, an African American alumnus of the Sousa band, formed a group of his own that featured, as part of its repertoire, ragtime works…” (Page 137).  Ms Malone is an author and currently a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard.  I’ve attempted to contact her through the fellowship program to obtain her source information. I’ve not had a response.

Richoux provided quotes from two books he found online. First,  Vaudeville, Old & New by Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly. Published by Routledge, 2007. On page 503, there is an account of the family history of Winnie Hamlet Hennings: “[Hennings] was one of four children born to Mary Baker Hamlet and Charles Hamlet… Winnie’s cousin was bandmaster Arthur Pryor, son of musician Sam Pryor whom Winnie studied music.”

Another reference provides more background information of where Samuel Pryor (Arthur’s father) lived and traveled, perhaps explaining his absence from the 1850 and 1860 Census in Missouri. Page 671 of the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette, published in 1902, recounts Samuel Pryor on his death bed revived by music played by his sons. “Arthur W. Pryor the trombone soloist now playing with Sousa’s Band, is the son of the old bandmaster of St. Joseph. Young Pryor first made a favorable impression on General John A. Logan at a reunion of the Grand Army of the Republic1 in Denver when he was a mere boy…”  It also states “Twenty-five years ago the elder Pryor toured the country with a band composed of young women, and his wife played the trombone. She was famous then as a soloist, and her talent in that particular line was transmitted to her son.” The article also mentions “An adopted son, “Harry” Montgomery, known as “Harry” Pryor.” It also places Samuel Pryor working in Denver, CO at one point: “The elder Pryor was at one time an actor, going on the stage in Denver as a comedian.”

I found a “treatise” online written by Joseph William Frye for his Doctor of Music degree in 2008: A Biographical Study of the Trombone Soloists of the John Philip Sousa Band: 1892-1931. Some background of Samuel Pryor is given, “His father, Samuel, was a bandmaster who had previously studied music in Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. Earlier in his career, Samuel served for three years as music director at the Lincoln Opera House in Lincoln, Nebraska… After leaving the Lincoln Opera House, Samuel Pryor became a bandmaster in St. Joseph and in 1869 organized an ensemble he called Pryor’s Military Band.”  The band was named The Fourth Regiment Band of Missouri and sent to serve in the Spanish American War (about 1898).

I’ve been searching records trying to find support of this new information.

I searched Winnie Hamlet Hennings family on both parents’ sides to 1860. If anyone is related to her and would like these notes, I’ll be happy to pass them along. Unfortunately there is not a Pryor or a Pryor marriage amongst the lot. I’m wondering if Winnie embellished her relationship with her teacher by claiming they were related.

I’d like to find out more about Samuel Pryor’s life in Nebraska, as I’ve Googled him and the Lincoln Opera House and the only reference to this connection is the treatise noted above.  If there is a connection between Winnie Hamlet and the Pryors it may be in Nebraska since her family lived in that state before returning to Washington Twp. in St. Joseph, MO between 1900-1910.

Arthur Pryor’s older brother was named Walter, could he have been named for a long forgotten name associated with his father? I became intrigued with a Walter Pryor who was living in Ohio in the early 1800’s. In 1860 there is a Samuel Pryor in Wyandot Co., OH who is about the age of Arthur’s father. He was living in the Walter Pryor household, but then he’s not there in 1850 or in 1870. I’d like to hear from anyone who has traced this family. Could the line of Samuel Pryor be hard to trace because he was an orphan living in Walter’s household, or possibly not a Pryor at all? Could Arthur’s father have not been from MO as stated in the Census records?

All ideas welcomed.

1 New York Times article dated July 14, 1883 describes the reunion of the GAR in Denver: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B00E4D81230E433A25756C1A9619C94629FD7CF

Category: Famous Pryors, Missouri Pryors | Tags: , ,

Leroy B. Pryor – Part II: Can We Connect the Cousins?

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Leroy B. Pryor is one of the Jackson County, TN Pryors who remains a mystery.  Solving Leroy’s ancestry will probably clean up many of the unresolved Pryor lines in this county!

Leroy B. Pryor first appeared in District 9 of the 1850 Census (wayback machine link).

In the same district are John Y. Crocker and the elder Sary Pryor aged 86 born in NC (perhaps his wife’s grandmother?).  John Y. Crocker had a son named Allen P. living in household… Perhaps Allen “Pryor” after the older Allen Pryor who was living in District 1 of Jackson County.  The Crockers had another Pryor connection in Jackson County: Rhoda and Polly Pryor (daughters of Henry B. Pryor of Pike Co., AL) were living with William and Alsey Pryor in District 1. These Pryor sisters married William B. Crocker and Thomas W. Crocker respectively and settled in Williamson County, TN.  It’s not yet known why Henry’s daughters continued to live in Tennessee as teens after Henry moved to Alabama with his sons.

Naming traditions were not always followed, but they can be clues to sort through the relationships. In 1855 Henry’s son Robert/Robertsonnamed a daughter Rhoda Ann presumably after his sister or perhaps both girls were named for an older relative.  Henry B. named sons Luke and Allen. We know Luke was his grandfather.  Could Allen be a brother? Henry B. was born 1790 in South Carolina, he could be a brother of Allen and Alfred in Jackson Co. who were born 1810 and 1808 respectively in South Carolina? Neither Allen nor Alfred named sons Luke, Henry, nor John which may have been a strong naming tradition if they were from Henry B.’s line.

In District 9 living near Leroy B. Pryor is Jane Pryor Allen b. 1827.  She was counted in the household of her mother in law Rebeca Allen and her husband Robert N. Allen.  Jane died in 1919 and her Jackson County death record states her maiden name as “Pryer” and her mother as Linda Pryor.  Jane was the mother of 12 Allen children. The first Allen son was named Jesse and the last named Robert N. Allen Jr. It can not be ruled out that Jane was related to Jesse Pryorwho was recorded on Overton County census records.

Leroy B. Pryor left Tennessee and was in Greene County, MO by 1852. In 1854 he was recorded in Washington County, and by the time of the 1860 Census in Crawford County (Wayback Machine link). In 1870 and 1880 he was counted in Phelps County (Wayback Machine link).  If there is a clue in the westward migration pattern, Leroy’s son John Pryor, John Y. Crocker, and also the children of Alfred Pryor and Serrena Dill Pryor who lived in District 1 of Jackson County, TN moved to Iron County, MO (Wayback Machine link) which borders the counties in which Leroy lived.

Allen and Alfred Pryor on Jackson County census records stated their place of birth as South Carolina. The Sary Pryor living with the Crockers and her probable grand-daughter, Dorcas Dennis (?) Crocker, both stated their place of birth as North Carolina.  Rhoda Pryor Crocker stated her parents were born in South Carolina which is consistent with where her father Henry B. Pryor stated he was born on the 1850 Census.  Leroy B. Pryor stated on the 1880 Census that both of his parents were born in North Carolina.  Other census entries are confusing if not unreliable. For example, the children of Allen Pryor when counted in Franklin County, IL (Wayback Machine link)  in 1880 stated their parents were born in Tennessee.

An interesting link is Mayhew (Mahue, Mayhugh) England. In 1850 and 1860 he was counted living with Nelson families in Jackson County, TN. In 1900 Mayhew England was counted in Iron Co., MO one house away from Margaret Pryor Anderson, a daughter of Alfred Pryor. Mayhew’s Missouri death record states he was the son of Austin England and Margaret Nelson.  Now if we can just tease out the relationships from the connection of the Pryors and the Englands: In 1830 Austin’s father, Jeremiah England, was counted near Jesse Pryor in Overton County, TN.  Jeremiah was on the 1850 Census in District 10 of Jackson County, TN.  In his household was wife Sally and two Romine children.  More Romines, Englands, and Pryors are on the Census records in Greene County, IL (Wayback Machine link).

What if we go backwards in the records to look for a connection? The 1840 Census for Jackson County, TN (Wayback Machine link)may hold clues in how the family names are grouped in the record. Found on pages 282 through 286 that cover District 9 are households of Pryor, Crocker, Allen and Romine. … More in PART III

Category: African-Americans, Blogroll, Genealogy, Missouri Pryors | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Leroy B. Pryor: Part I – What We Know

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Leroy B. Pryor who was living in Jackson County, Tennessee at the time of the 1850 Census was married, age 23 and had at least 2 children living in his household. The number of children is actually uncertain because of a pencil mark made by the census taker. Either Leroy had a son David age 4 or an older relative David Pryor aged 24 was living in the household.

Assuming that Leroy’s parents were about 20 years old when he was born in 1827, they would have been born in about 1798-1807. The 1880 Census in Phelps Co., MO recorded Leroy’s parents as both born in North Carolina. In 1830 there were no Pryors counted in Jackson County. In 1840 there was a “Cinda” Pryor whose household included two males of age 15 and less than 20; one female of age 10 and less than 15; one female of age 20 and less than 30; and one female of age 30 and less than age 40. Leroy’s year of birth makes him a likely fit in this household.

A possible sibling is Jane Pryor b. 1827, married to Robert N. Allen, is also a likely fit in Cinda’s household. Both Leroy and Jane Pryor Allen were living in District 9 at the time of the 1850 Census, near families of the same surnames that were counted near Cinda Pryor in 1840. Jane’s death record names her mother as “Linda Pryer.”

Naming traditions may also be a clue to Leroy’s kinship. Leroy’s first daughter was named Melinda Jane. Perhaps after his mother? The box below shows the names of Leroy’s children and next to it the traditional naming practice.

Leroy & Elizabeth’s children:

Sons
1st son = John (father’s father)
2nd son = William S. (mother’s father)
3rd son = Leroy (father)
4th son = George W.(father’s oldest brother)
5th son = James or Joseph (father’s 2nd oldest brother or mother’s oldest brother)Daughters
1stDau = Melinda Jane (mother’s mother)
2ndDau = Rebecca (father’s mother )
3rdDau = Sarah Ann (mother)
4thDau = Parisetta (mother’s oldest sister)

Melody Pryor who has been researching her ancestor Leroy B. is confident, although searching for proof, that Elizabeth Mayberry Pryor’s parents are Seth and Rebecca. “I don’t know what the middle initial “S.” stands for in “William S.” but I am assuming it may stand for “Seth”. I am also assuming that Leroy & Elizabeth reversed the mother’s names, that is, the 1st daughter was named after Leroy’s mother and the 2nd daughter was named after Elizabeth’s mother. Using this logic, then Leroy’s parents would be John Pryor and Melinda (or Jane).”

So the question is whether Linda and Cinda Pryor are the same person.

Leroy’s vitals statistics changed between records: In 1850 he was born in 1827 and on his Missouri death certificate he was 62 when he died in 1885 making him born in 1823. Melody obtained Leroy’s Civil War records. He’s described as six foot with brown hair and blue eyes. He served in the 63rd Reg’t E. M. M. and 70th Reg’t E. M. M.

Melody’s research paints a larger picture of Leroy Pryor as a pioneer farmer. In November 1870 he completed the requirements of the Homestead Act. He had been on his land in Phelps County since October 1865. He had made improvements: built two houses that were 16′ x 16′ (that’s 256 sq. feet each!); ploughed, fenced and cultivated about 30 acres; and he had built a stable and a corn crib. The Homestead paperwork and the 1870 Non Populated Census for the Production of Agriculture indicate Leroy had a peach and apple orchard, and was also growing winter wheat, Indian corn, Irish potatoes, and oats. He also had a small number of livestock consisting of cattle, milking cows, horses, sheep and pigs.

What can we learn about Leroy from the Tennessee Census records? Connecting Cousins… More in Part II

Category: Blogroll, Genealogy, Missouri Pryors | Tags: , , , , ,
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