Category Archives: Missouri Pryors

Was a Pryor at Mountain Meadows Massacre?

Posted on by

I was recently contacted by a researcher who is looking for information on any Pryor family members who may have been on the ill-fated wagon train that was attacked in 1857.

In 1857 a group of settlers from Carroll, Benton and Johnson County, Arkansas were ambushed outside of Cedar City, UT in what would become known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. 17 children lived and were returned to their families in Arkansas.

I’ve searched several of the websites who mention the names of the survivors and victims, but have not been able to find any Pryors. There were several Pryor families in Arkansas at that time, but no one seems to be missing from the census records. I’ve looked at the family of Lindsey W. Pryor who was reported to have died en route to the California Gold Rush. I suspect that he died before 1850 (his widow may be the Jane McMillan with son John S. counted on the 1850 Census in Franklin Co., MO).

Is anyone award of a Pryor that may have been involved in this tragic event?

Category: African-Americans, Genealogy, Missouri Pryors, Research Help | Tags: , , , , ,

“SEARCH” Added to Website

Posted on by

Now that the TN PRYOR WEBSITE has grown to  more than 200 pages it was time to add a search box. It’s now on every page!

Category: Genealogy, Missouri Pryors

A New Pryor Added to TN Pryor Project

Posted on by

Have you found the (old link not available)?  The project was started a couple years ago to attempt to identify all Pryors who had were born in or resided in Tennessee before 1850.  The project is in the form of a Google spread sheet and can be accessed through the Tennessee Pryor Project link on the website. It’s in alpha order by first name and contains known information, such as year of birth and year of death, places the person resided, their parents and their spouse. Today the 508th Pryor was added to the chart– Nancy Pryor Tittsworth born 1795 in Sullivan Co., TN.

Category: Genealogy, Missouri Pryors

It’s Emsley, Not Einsley

Posted on by

Curiosity got the better of me. I ordered the Civil War Pension file for Emsley Pryor (despite the NARA having him indexed as Einsley). There are still several Pryor families in AR and MO whose lineage has not been uncovered. I had hoped to figure out if Emsley, James and Samuel Pryor (father of John Phillip Souza trombonist Arthur Pryor) were related. No such luck!Emsley Pryor applied for and received an invalid’s pension. He served in the Union Army as a bugler. Perhaps this bugling career means he was from the line of other musical Pryors! His physical description was aged 55, 6 feet, dark complexion, dark hair, dark eyes. He signed the pension application.  Since he wasn’t on the 1850 nor the 1860 Census I’ve wondered if perhaps he was African-American.The pension file has the names and dates of births of his minor children at the time of his death on 8 Jul 1889.

Frank Stewart Pryor 7/23/1875

Frederick Rogers Pryor 5/23/1877

Pearl Self Pryor 9/7/1880

Ruby Hammond Pryor 12/23/1882

Category: Genealogy, Missouri Pryors

Newsletter #14

Posted on by

SONGWRITER WITH PRYOR ROOTS… The noted gospel song writer Ira Stanphill is reported to be linked to the Pryors of Overton County, TN. Researcher Betty Joe Gentry has been in contact with other family members of this line. They report Ira was the son of Flora Engler and Andrew Stanphill. Flora’s parents were Mary Ellen Pryor and Jefferson Thompson Engler. Mary Ellen was the daughter of John Pryor and Candis (Candice?) Malone. Among other gospel songs, Ira Stanphill wrote “Mansion Over The Hilltop”.
———————————————————————
MORE ON THE MARION CO., TN PRYORS… Glen Pryor is continuing with his search for the father of Matthew Pryor of Marion Co., TN. He visited the public library to review documents. One paper that traced the Gaines family lists Matthew as the son of Green and that there is a will listed for Green that was supposed to have been probated in Caswell County, NC in 1783. Some papers written by Margaret Gott Vollheim (d. 1975) look to be the source for the claim that Green Pryor is the father of Matthew. She states that Matthew was her g-g-grandfather and that a Matthew was listed as the son of Green in a Gaines Family Bible and that the names of all of his children were listed in that Bible and the names matched those of my Matthew’s children. She also wrote that Ernest Pryor and Matthew Pryor III stated that Matthew was the son of Green.
———————————————————————
MYSTERIOUS MISSOURI PRYORS… In a previous issue of the TN Pryor newsletter it was noted that the Pryors in Buchanan Co., MO (possibly all from the line of trombonist Arthur Pryor) can not be found in records before the 1880 Census. A new line of Pryors in Morgan Co., MO has surfaced with similar questions. Two men who may be brothers: James/Henry Pryor b. 1857 and George Washington Pryor b. 1853. Where were they born? One census says IL, another LA, another MO. Where were they on the 1860 and 1870 Census? Both of these Pryors died after the initiation of death records in MO–Does anyone have access to their death records? Census records for these Pryor have been added to the MO Census records.

Category: Genealogy, Missouri Pryors, Tennessee Pryors | Tags: , ,
← Newer Entries Older Entries →