Category Archives: South Carolina Pryors

Marlow Pryor of Baldwin County

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While digging about in Georgia records I became interested in Marlow Pryor who was in Baldwin County. What piqued my interest was the War of 1812 record that popped up on Ancestry; it stated that James Brooks had served as a substitute for Marlow Pryor. James Brooks applied for a pension in 1851 (see below) and the application (found on Fold3) is the source for the information on Ancestry.

There were two Marlow Pryors in Baldwin county on the 1820 census: one age 26 to 45 years old (born between 1775-1794), and another over 45 years old (born 1775 or earlier). The older Marlow is recorded as Marlow L. Pryor. The younger Marlow had no slaves in his household. Marlow L had 18 slaves.

A notice published in 1828 refers to Marlow L. Pryor dec’d and the sale of slaves. The initial and the possession of slaves points in the direction of the older Marlow.

Under an order of the Inferior court of Baldwin county, when sitting for ordinary purposes, will be sold at the court house in the town of Milledgeville, on the first Tuesday in January next, one house and lot in said town, situated West of the Government lot, being the same where on the late Marlow L. Pryor resided; also a few young negroes; all sold for the benefit of the creditors of Marlow L. Pryor, dec’d. Terms on the day.
The Executors.

The Georgia Journal. December 01, 1828

Records for Marlow L. Pryor’s estate can be found on familysearch.com in the Baldwin county probate returns for 1813-1831. The newspaper notice and the estate returns refer to a executor, however his will is not among the those on Ancestry.com. There are several enslaved people named in the estate: Tilman, Marcus, Douglas, Cicero, Jim & family, Harriet, Malinda, Rosettta & her children, Jerry, Arthur, Davey, Jack, John, and Minty.

The estate returns give more insights into Marlow’s family. An entry dated December 31, 1826 states $1782.82 was spent on the plantation and family supplies for part of 1825 and the whole of 1826. In 1827 the estate owed Mrs, Kurkley (?) for tuition and there’s another entry for money due to the Baldwin Academy. These entries hint that Marlow had a family and that his death probably occurred sometime during 1825.

A final account for the estate from January 1829 contains entries for Mrs. Pryor which would indicate he had a wife that outlived him.

I think Marlow’s wife is the Ann C Pryor who was in Muscogee county. Mrs Ann C Pryor of Baldwin county entered the 1827 land lottery for land in Muscogee county. Ann and her possible children are on the 1850 and 1860 census in Muscogee county. The census records give her year of birth as about 1790. Upon Ann’s death, her son Alexander P Pryor applied for letters of administration in 1867. Alexander lived to 1880 and stated on the census that his mother was born in NC and his father was born in England.

There’s a family tree on Ancestry that connects Ann C and Marlow (probably because they have a son named Marlow) but it’s unsourced and no comments on how this relationship was determined. So we have pieces of the puzzle that connects them.

  • Marlow L. Pryor was deceased in about 1825.
  • Ann C. Pryor was a widow by 1827.
  • The adult children counted in Ann’s household were born between 1810 and 1826 (Was Ann pregnant with Sarah b. 1826 when Marlow died?)
  • Marlow L. Pryor’s estate settlement made provisions for a wife and family.
  • Marlow L. Pryor is counted on the 1820 census with a woman aged 26-45 (his wife?) and several younger household members (his children?).

There are several letters beginning in 1776 from William Ancrum to Marlow Pryor, his overseer at Redbank Plantation in Kershaw Co., SC. Was this overseer over 21, if so he would have been born in the 1750’s–making him almost twenty years older than the Marlow L. Pryor in Baldwin County.

Can we connect the Marlow L Pryor in Baldwin County to the Marlow Pryor who was on the 1790 census (the first census) in Orangeburg, SC. Argh! There was a male over age 16, 3 males under 16, and a woman over 16. He had 12 slaves. The woman is probably not Mrs. Ann C Pryor who was born in about 1790. The oldest male in the 1790 household who born in 1774 or earlier. It’s a tight squeeze to fit Marlow Pryor in 1790 fit with the Marlow L. Pryor on the 1820 census if he was born between 1775-1794, however it could be that Marlow was born around 1774 – 1775.

An interesting tid-bit on the 1790 census is there’s a John Brooks recorded a few lines before Marlow Pryor. I wonder if this Brooks is related to the man who was the War of 1812 substitute.

The SC census records offer another argument for the 1790 Marlow being an even older Pryor and not either of the ones in Baldwin county. There was a Marlow Pryor as head of household and then an Elizabeth Pryor as head of household in 1800. The household consisted of 2 young males and a woman over 45 years old. There are several Friday households on the same page of the 1800 census. A Google book family tree states that Elizabeth Friday (Fridig) first married William Arthur then Marlow Pryor and was the mother of Jesse, Ruben, and Friday Pryor. The house recorded above Elizabeth in 1800 was Jesse Arthur. Elizabeth was born in 1731 so she was either older than Marlow or her husband much older than the men in GA.

I’m not going to solve the mystery of Marlow Pryor in one post. Just poking around in the Georgia Pryors makes me wonder if there aren’t more questions that point in the direction of Marlow

  • Who was the Marlow Pryor who married Mary Amour in Greene County, GA in 1816? The Marlow counted with Ann C Pryor’s family was a mere child and too young to marry in 1816. Is he the younger Marlow Pryor who is on the 1820 census in Baldwin county?
  • If there’s a Marlow Pryor born between 1775-1794 on the 1820 census in Baldwin County and the man identified at Lane M Pryor (researchers state his name as Marlow Lane Pryor) counted near Ann C wasn’t born until 1815, what is the kinship?
  • Are any of the other Pryors who moved between SC and GA related? Are any of the

The older Marlow in SC shows up with another Pryor on records. Marlow Pryor and Seth Pryor were the appraisers of the estate of Daniel Blake deceased, February 1781. They were counting slaves at Brewton’s Plantation. Prince Williams Parish, Greenville county and also at other plantations in SC: Board House Plantation, Waltnut Hill, and Crooked Hill, Mount Pleasant at Greenville.

Category: Georgia Pryors, South Carolina Pryors | Tags: ,

John Pryor Signature in GA and SC Too?

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Remember laying out the cards and paying Concentration? Can you match two aces? How about laying out the Pryors and matching signatures? I think we should consider that a John Pryor is the one man and not two different men.

In 1784 John Pryor “from Virginia” became a headright of 200 acres in Franklin County, GA (see post)

JOhn Pryor Franklin County GA

If the “P” used on the headright document is John Pryor’s mark, then we may have another John Pryor using the same mark. John Pryor from Cornwall who made his will in Edgefield county in 1797 used a “P” mark.

I think the John Pryor in Edgefield has a complicated story and there’s more to investigate.

First, he immigrated from Britain to the American colonies. We don’t know where he landed. Most of what is known of him is through his will in Edgefield county. He died a millwright (lots of lumber left in his estate) with slaves and children through a common law wife. Cornish records state he went to American in about 1779. What and where was John during his time in America?

We also know that this John Pryor wasn’t trapped by colonial borders. After his death it came out in the press (see post) that John also had property in Augusta (Richmond county), GA.

This is the only John Pryor in GA who seems to be a possible match to the man in Edgefield — all the others either died before him or after his known death.

The Franklin county headright document opens up another possibility: John Pryor was in Virginia or had an interest in Virginia before or during his time in South Carolina.

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Joseph Pryor Born 1805 in SC, Resided in Tallapoosa County AL

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We may be able to match Joseph Pryor b. 1805 in SC to his ancestors. He’s on the 1850 Census in Tallapoosa County, AL

1850 Census Tallapoosa Co., AL
Page 125A House 1845 Joseph PRYOR 45 SC, Sarah 30 SC, William 19 SC, Ann 17 GA, Robert 16 GA, Elizabeth 14 GA, Eliza 12 GA, Francis 7, GA, Louisa 6 GA, Jasper 4 AL, Christopher 2 AL.

This record has lingered — no clear record of this family on the 1840 Census or the 1860 Census. An 1857 marriage in Tallapoosa County helped to provide a lead.

David Z Clark married Elizabeth B PRIOR on 30 Dec 1857. This marriage is in the Tallapoosa County records AND filed under another dated (4 Dec 1857) in Edgefield Co., SC.

There was a David Clark living in household of Charlotte PRIOR on 1850 Census in Edgefield county. David was born 1811 and was working as a wheelwright. The household above is Richard PRIOR born 1805 who was also working as a wheelwright. In 1860 and 1870 David Clark (also counted as D. Z. Clark) was still living near Richard Prior and his household included his wife Elizabeth born 1836. Elizabeth’s year of birth is a close match to the Elizabeth Pryor who was in Joseph’s household in Tallapoosa in 1850.

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Another David Pryor – Georgetown, SC

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Since I just wrote about one or two or three David Pryors, I thought I should mention one more.  There’s a David Pryor in who appears on the 1790 Census (first US Census) in Georgetown, SC. He’s also on the 1800 and 1810 Census.  I found an obituary for his daughter, Continue reading →

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John C Pryor — Not to be confused with John C Pryor

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Genealogy is always looking at the past, however sometimes we have to revisit the not so distant past. Back in 2009 I wrote Is David C. Kin to David Pryor Who Married Susan Ballou/Ballow? which dances around John C. Pryor. This week I’ve looked at John C. Pryor to see if we can weed out duplicates and confirm his correct lineage.

John C. Pryor of Hampton (VA)

The first John C Pryor  is the one who is the easiest to pin-down. “Genealogies of Virginia Families” states he died in 1846 at age 67,
placing his date of birth in 1779. His parents were Christopher Pryor of Ware Parish and Anne Clayton– How do I know this? In 1855. John C.’s son Skaife Whiting Pryor was involved in a lawsuit (Taliaferro & als. v. Pryor filed in Richmond) It clearly states that John C. Pryor was the only of Christopher Pryor and Skaife was the son John C. Pryor. All of this John C’s activities were in the tidewater counties: a graduate of William and Mary College, he was the director of Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, he represented Williamsburg in the House of Delegates. He died in 1846 and is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Hampton, VA. I can’t prove it, but I suspect this John’s middle name was Clayton.

John C. Pryor of Franklin, TN

His age on the 1850 Census leads to a year of birth of 1776 in VA. This John C. Pryor is often referred to as John Cannon Pryor by researchers. I’ve tried to find the source of the middle name, but I’m unable to find a document within his lifetime that refers to him by that name. The oldest reference to the middle name Cannon is an inquiry in The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), 9 January 1898– an unidentified party queried the genealogy column for information on the ancestors of John Cannon Pryor of Virginia and his wife Ann Bullard. This is the John C. Pryor mentioned in my 2009 post (see link above).

It’s likely he’s the John Pryor on the 1812 Tax list in Franklin Co., TN. He married Ann Bullard in Franklin in 1818, acted as a witness on the divorce of Capt. Hardy Doyle in 1819, and was recorded as John C. Pryor on the 1820 Census. franklin-1820

The book Trail Drivers of Texas states that John’s son, David C. Pryor, was born 1847 on a plantation in Alexandria, located in Rapides Co., LA. John C. Pryor is on the 1830 Census in Rapides County and in 1840 he was in De Soto County, MS. If John C. was in LA as late as 1847, he may have had family or land ties in LA even while living in MS. If this is your line, you may find some interesting information in the LA land records.

rapides-1830

While in Franklin County, John C. Pryor may have become friends with General Isaac Thomas. Researchers report Gen. Thomas married an Ann Pryor and later a Jane Bullard (as this a relative of the Ann Bullard who married John C. Pryor? Gen. Thomas also went from Franklin County to Rapides Co., LA and is on the 1840 Census in that county.

A 1927 Pryor application to the Sons of the American Revolution, states this John C. was John Cannon Pryor, son of David Pryor and Susannah Ballow of Buckingham County, VA. It doesn’t state the source of this information, however there may some peripheral information that supports this relationship. Nicholas B. Pryor of Nashville, a known son of David Pryor and Susannah Ballow was named in a 1829 suit in Franklin County.

A funny little coincidence or a clue? Isaac Thomas land grant in Franklin was from land awarded to David Ross after the American Revolution. Throughout 1808-1809 David Ross disposed of his land in Franklin County and Rutherford County. And of course David Ross has connections to the Pryor and Ballew/Ballow lines. (read older post)

In 1813, after he appears in records in TN, John C. Pryor wrote to ex President Thomas Jefferson requesting appointment to the Office of Collector of the Direct Tax. His return address was Hermitage, Prince Edward County, VA. Was this Pryor keeping a foot in two states? He would have been 37 years old in 1813– was there a marriage before Ann Bullard? Were there other children before those he had with Ann?

John C. Pryor of Amherst County

This John C Pryor is the toughest one to figure out.  He shows up on the 1810 Census Amherst County near Hugh McCabe. It’s the same Hugh McCabe who married Sarah Pryor in Williamson County, TN around 1819. When Sarah Pryor  Squire McCabe Carter McPhail (Whew!) died in 1851 she referred to her deceased brother, John Pryor. My contention is that this is a THIRD John C. Pryor. I don’t think it was a coincidence that McCabe and this Pryor were close to each other in Amherst County and then show up among the Williamson County Pryors.

We know from the land records that Hugh McCabe was on the Peddlar River with Nicholas Pryor (was that F. Nicholas Pryor?) and was sued by William Pryor and wife over some form of slander. So, it’s likely that John C. was also living near relatives on the Peddlar River.  John C’s Williamson County siblings (Sarah and Susannah) stated their place of birth South Carolina, and Luke Pryor married Nellie Rogers in NC, and John C’s son Henry B. Pryor stated his place of birth as SC in 1790 and his own children born after 1820 stated their place of birth and SC,  so we may need to contend with the concept that this John C. Pryor was MOBILE and there were Carolina Pryors in Amherst County after the Revolutionary War.

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