Category Archives: Virginia Pryors

Looking for a Pryor Signature on David Crawford’s Louisville Will

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ad fingerI’m having one of those mini-meltdowns that genealogy researchers may have. This one was spurred by David Crawford‘s Louisville will– the one I’ve referenced because it was witnessed by John Pryor and William Pryor, and because Crawford had ties to Amherst County, VA and perhaps to the Pryors there.

I try not to moan too much about the quality of documents especially when they’re 210 years old. However, I was surprised to see that the copy looks like someone in the past had enhanced the fading writing by writing over the original. Ugh.

The purpose of ordering the will was to gain a handwriting sample of John and William Pryor. No such luck. First, it’s a copy of the will written within the court transcript of 1805 . Even if it was an original, John Pryor signed his name with a “X”. William signed his name Wm Pryor, or at least it was transcribed as such.

One interesting piece, though, is that the will and the codicil was proved in Amherst County:

At a court held for Amherst County the 20th day of Sept. 1802 this will with the codicil was proven by the oaths of Wm. Pryor and John Pryor two subscribing witnesses there to & ordered to be recorded & certified for obtaining __________ in due form is granted to John Crawford, Wm Crawford, Nelson Crawford, & Charles Crawford the executors in said will named, they having made oath & given bond with Charles Taliaferro, Danl. Wanwich, Nelson Anderson, & Wm Pryor the security in the penalty of forty thousand Dollars amount money conditioned as the law directs. — Testr. L. Garland D. C.

The will was later recorded in Jefferson Co., KY:

At a County court held for Jefferson County on Monday 4th March 1805.
The transcript of David Crawford will on the motion of Nathan was produced in open court & ordered to be recorded. — Warden Pope

This seems to indicate that John and William Pryor were in Amherst County in 1802, not Jefferson County. There’s another perk of getting the original and not relying on truncated versions from books; the will opens with the statement “I David Crawford of Amherst County and State of Virginia being of sound mind…” which seems to indicate that Crawford was residing there when the will was executed. It’s then more likely that John Pryor and William Pryor were witnesses in Amherst County rather than Jefferson County, KY.

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , , ,

1782 Amherst County VA Tax List Pryor Neighborhood

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I was looking through the transcribed Amherst County VA Tax List from 1782. The transcriptions were driving me CRAZY. First the web developer in me was frustrated that the names in the lists were spelled, probably, as they written on the actual lists. It’s a good genealogy practice and historically correct to transcribe actually what is seen on the page, however there’s a point when the transcriber should use discretion and insert a good “guess” of what the actual name might be. For example when you know there is no such name as “Childrefs” make an educated guess and write “Childress” in parenths next to it so people know its an alternative spelling. Google and all the search engines don’t know to find Childrefs when someone searches Childress. Yup, I was searching Childress and was surprised to find them in Amherst Co., VA.

After I read through the tax list I realized this was another Pryor “neighborhood”– I can find connections a generation earlier or a generation forward! I’ve extracted the names that are of interest and added some notes. Really, with this many connections–  Is it really just a coincidence that these folks were living around each other?!

Amherst County – 1782 Personal Property Tax List – Part 2
genealogytrails.com/vir/amherst/1782_personal_property_list_part2.html

Richard Tankorley / Richard Tankersley : Served with David Pryor in VA regiment encamped at Valley Forge in Revolutionary War. Named in Revolutionary War Pension application of William Pryor (from Amherst County). Read more: Amherst County VA – Pryor And The Richard Tankersley Connection

Amherst County – 1782 Personal Property Tax List – Part 3
genealogytrails.com/vir/amherst/1782_personal_property_list_part3.html

Zacharias Taliaferra / Zachariah Talliaferro/ Zachariah Talley : Is this a namesake of Zachariah Talley, the grandfather of William Anderson Talley who settled in Sumner County, TN? William  Anderson Talley was the father in law of Allen L. Pryor.

Roderick McCullock / Roderick McCullough: Roderick witnessed 1774 deed for William and Margaret Pryor. Roderick’s daughter married a son of Charles Taliaferro. 1783 State Enumeration lists Roderick on same page with Nicholas Pryor, Charles Ellis, David Crawford, Philip Thurmond, Charles Taliafero

Steward Ballow / Stewart Ballow:  Deeded 340 acres on Pedlar Creek in 1775. Online researchers have him as a possible son of Leonard Ballew… remember David Pryor and Susannah Ballow/Ballew/Ballou named a son Leonard.

John Childrefs (of Pedlan) / John Childress (of Pedlar)

Henry Childrefs / Henry Childress: The Henry Childress who married Betsy Pryor?

Galorbey Childrefs / Golsbey Childress / Goolsby Childers: The namesake of Goolsby Childers born 1805 in VA and lived in Milam Co., TX

William Page – 1788 John PRYOR purchased land in Campbell Co., VA. William Page witnessed the deed. Possibly a former resident of Goochland County, VA (archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/PAGE/1998-04/0893982570 see bio posted online)

William Edwards: Possibly related to Joseph Edwards who was a witness on 1773 deed with Philip Thurmond and Nicholas Pryor. 

Isaac Wright: Isaac Wright was the father of Elizabeth Pryor who married Capt. William Pryor of Amherst. Isaac married Susannah Ellis, daughter of Capt. Charles Ellis and Susannah Harding– her first husband was John Beckley. A John Beckley was sued by a John Pryor in 1792 in Henrico County (see post)

Philip Thurmond: 1783 State Enumeration lists on same page Nicholas Pryor, Charles Ellis, David Crawford, Philip Thurmond, Charles Taliafero

David New – A former resident of Goochland County, VA (see bio posted online genealogy.com/ftm/y/o/u/Wayne-Young/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0342.html).

Martha Golssby: I suspect Golssby is also “Gooslby/Goldsby/Goolsby, etc.” There is a Goolsby Childers/Childress born 1805 in VA and lived in Milam Co., TX 

William Shoemaker: William Shoemaker and William Pryor on military payroll in Albemarle County in 1758. Zedikiah Shumaker fought with Capt. William Pryor at Fort Randolph (per his Revolutionary War pension application).

Ricahrd Taliafero / Richard Taliafero / Richard Taliaferro and may also be Talley or Toliver: Probably neighbor or David Crawford. David Crawford’s will states he purchased land from Richard Taliaferro.

David Crawford: David Crawford wrote will 1801 in Jefferson Co., KY naming his children and land in Amherst Co. Witnessed by John Pryor and William Pryor. 1783 State Enumeration lists on same page Nicholas Pryor, Charles Ellis, David Crawford, Philip Thurmond, Charles Taliafero

Joseph Goodwin: The Goodwins were associated with the Pryors as early as 1776- Feb 3 1776 William Pryor deeded to David Burford 99 acres Wit: Micah Goodwin, Virginia Burford, Edmund TAYLOR, Elizabeth Goodwin, Edward Goodwin

Nicholas Pryor: 1783 State Enumeration lists on same page Nicholas Pryor, Charles Ellis, David Crawford, Philip Thurmond, Charles Taliafero

Phillip Gooch / Philip Gooch : Not the same man, but there was a Philip Gooch b. 1807 who married a daughter of Robert Pryor in Gasconade Co., MO. Robert may have been born in KY in 1780’s.

Estate of Robert Boling:

John Buford: see Daniel Burford below.

Isaac Rucker:  John Pryor b. 1818, a grandson of Capt. William Pryor, married into Rucker family, daughter of Peter Rucker.

Edmund Taylor: Possibly the Edmund Taylor who was brought up on a complaint for harassment of William Pryor and Margaret Pryor. There’s also the possibility that this is the same man who was the father of Massey Taylor and Spicy Taylor who married respectively John and William Pryor in Campbell County– Why? Because of the proximity of Campbell County and also the the inclusion on this list of Giles Perrin and Richard Oglesby (see below)

Daniel Burford Sen.: Daniel mentioned in 1794 deed, “14 Feb 1794 JNO. FLOYED, Ga. Power of Attny to PHILLIP THURMOND, AC – DANL. BURFETT  of Va.”.– John Floyd, uncle of Nathaniel Pryor, was married to a daughter of Daniel Burford. See Philip Thurmond above on this tax list.

Thomas Stovall: Possibly Thomas Stovall, father of Benjamin Stovall who went Sumner Co., TN. Benjamin Stovall fought in the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Stovall was born in Bedford Co., VA (per his Rev War Pension App). Benjamin named a son George Pryor Stovall. Thomas Stoval /Stovall (and John Pryor) witnessed the will of Jacob Rector in Bedford County in 1779.

Thomas Street: Edmund Taylor, possibly father of Massey Taylor Pryor and Spicy Taylor Pryor, had Lefever Street witness his will.

Amherst County – 1782 Personal Property Tax List – Part 4
http://genealogytrails.com/vir/amherst/1782_personal_property_list_part4.html

Micajah Goodwin: see 1776 deed above, Micajah acted as witness.

John Bowling

Edward Bowling

Perrin Giles: He is thought to be the first husband of Sally Dickey. He died around 1816. Sally Giles remarried in 1818 to Hezekiah Taylor in Campbell Co., VA. Hezekiah was the brother in law of John Pryor who married Massey Taylor and William Pryor who married Spicy Taylor, both daughters of Edmund Taylor.

Richard Oglesby: He is probably the father of Mary “Polly” Oglesby who married Hezekiah Taylor who was NOT the son of Edmund Taylor. This second Hezekiah died in the War of 1812.

Charles Taliaferro: 1783 State Enumeration lists on same page Nicholas Pryor, Charles Ellis, David Crawford, Philip Thurmond, Charles Taliafero

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , ,

John and David Pryor, Orphans of David Pryor – Another Look

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I’ve been going back and forth discussing Christopher, John and David Pryor with a couple of other Pryors. The chart in an older post (Connecting Major John Pryor of Richmond to More Pryors!) was gnawing at us. We decided to play with the the relationships to see if there is a way to make better sense out of these Pryors. Maybe it will feel less like a bowl of spaghetti?

We decided to move John Pryor of Richmond right up next to David Pryor of Buckingham County and Christopher Pryor of Gloucester — all brothers.

  • “Major” John married Anne Beverly Whiting. Christopher Pryor’s son was the administrator of Thomas Whiting’s estate, Anne’s father.
  • “Major” John housed the cousin of President Jefferson during a scandal. David’s daughter married Jefferson’s brother.

Now, you know what that would mean? John and David are the orphan sons of David Pryor who died in 1747 in Goochland County. Hmmm. That would certainly steer some Pryor research in another direction.

One of the naggy questions we mulled over was why in the senior David’s estate different guardians were bestowed on John and David: Samuel Taylor was John’s guardian and Abraham Childress was David’s grandfather and guardian. One of my Pryor cousins thinks it was to divide duties. I think it was because John and David had different mothers. David’s mother was obviously a Childress, but if we look at this John as his brother, then he may have dropped a clue while serving in the Revolutionary War — he wrote a letter indicating his mother was still alive:

October 10th, 1782, Richmond.
Capt. John Pryor to Col. Davies
Asking leave to visit his mother “in great distress with a probability of losing her husband, who is my Father in Law, by sickness, and wishes much to see me.
— Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts, pub. 1883

There is also a Carrington connection that wends its way through these Pryors:

  • In May 1778 David Pryor was serving with Lt. Mayo Carrington (Mayo, son of George Carrington). see post
  • “Major” John Pryor of Richmond attended the marriage of Capt. Dandridge in 1782 with Col. Edward Carrington (Edward, son of George Carrington, brother of Mayo Carrington, and the foreman of the Aaron Burr jury). see post
  • “Major” John Pryor received land grant in 1785 in KY, near C. Carrington (Codrington, son of George Carrington) see post
  • 1747 George Carrington deeded land to John and David, their father had already paid him for the land. see post

You know I’ve got my pencil out and I’m working around the Pryor chart testing out new relationships. Autosomal testing, as annoyingly hard to decipher as it can be, showed a connection between testers in my line to the Childress family (see post).  As I said… Hmmm.

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1783 John Pryor Soldier In the Kentucky Wilderness aka Virginia Frontier

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rev_war_man1The following is the transcription of the sworn statement for a Revolutionary War pension application that mentions a John Prior. It recounts events in 1783, about 10 years before Kentucky became a state. Hmmm, interesting tie-ins to Battle of Point Pleasant (1774) and Lord Dunmore’s War.

State of Kentucky}}
Campbell County}}
On this 26th day of November 1833 personally appeared in open court before the court of Campbell County now sitting William Thompson a resident of the state of Kentucky in the county of Campbell aged sixty-six years on the 22nd day of June last when being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress (proposed?) on the 7th day of June 1832. That he entered the service of the United States in the 15 year of his age as a volunteer under Capt. Baker Ewing1, Col. John Logan2 & John Sconce was sergants the names of the lieutenant and Ensign he does not recollect. I had just came to Kentucky and after my entrance into the Service we went in pursuit of the Indian and was rendevous’d at Pettit’s station3 on the head waters of Green River on the 1st day of February 1782 and from there we marked to Cumberland river at Price’s Cabbins (Cabins?) and crossed the river at that place after making a small canoe to carry over our guns and provisions and swam over our horses and the next day after crossing the river we came on the trail of a party of Indians who were making for their Towns, as they had been the settlement and had committed some murders and stole some horses, we followed the trail 7 or 8 days and overtook them on a fork of the Tennessee river and there we had a battle with them and killed 17 of them. 16 we killed on the battle ground and one was wounded and taken prisoner near one mile from the place of the battle, and Capt. Taris (Faris?) wounded the indian and took him prisoner, and the same night the wounded Indian attempted to make his escape and ran some distance and the same Capt. Taris killed him with his tomahawk. We had one man killed in the battle by the name of Thomas Gilmore and one wounded by the name of Daniel McCormick.4 Gilmore was a mapmate (messmate?) of mine and a near neighbor. We wereout this time one month and then returned home again. Then in the month of June I again turned out as a volunteer and had the command of the company to rance for one month and we marched to Russels (Russell’s?) Creek at Logan’s station on a Branch of the Green river and scouted round for some time and returned home without any battles this time. Then in the month of August in the year 1782 I turned out again as a volunteer under Capt. John Dougherty5, Col. Benjamin Logan, and crossed the Ohio river at the mouth of Limestone Creek and marched to the old Chilicothe Towns and had a Battle with the Indians there and killed several Indians and destroyed their Town and was out this time one month and a half. Then again in the year 1783 in the month of June there was a call sent from Col. Floyd6 to Col. Logan to send him some men to Bulletts Lick7 as the Indians were commilling? depredations on that place and Col. Logan sent me with the command of 40 men and we were out one month this time and we killed one Indian as he was in th eact of taking off the hoppler off a horse to steal him and the name of the person that killed the Indian was JOHN PRIOR8 and then we returned home again. Then in the month of August in the same year orders came to Col. Logan to raise a company of horsemen to be ready at a moments warning and I again volunteered and continued from the first day of that month til the last day of December making five months this time, making nine and a half months. In what I term my voluntary service, by this did not and my Indian warfare for I never failed to be at the port of danger while there was a savage to molest the country near where I was and I never received any pay or drew any rations only what the forest afforded and I know of no person that I can prove my services by at this time. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present one declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the Agency of any state or the United States. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesiad in open court. Att. Jno N. Taliaferro clk
(signed) Wm. Thompson

1. Baker Ewing, from Bedford County, VA (see Ewing Clan website)

2. John Logan, served in Lord Dunmore’s War and the Battle of Point Pleasant. Does this help to identify the John Pryor in this transcript as the one who served at Point Pleasant? See Wikipedia.

3. Location of Pettit’s Station (Google)

4. Daniel McCormick is described as a cohort of Daniel Boone in Lincoln Co., KY history book (see article)

5. John Dougherty (Doherty) is a name on list of soldiers at Battle of Point Pleasant (see list)

6. Col. Floyd, possible John Floyd who was at Point Pleasant. (see John Floyd documents)

7. Bullett’s Lick, near Shepherdsville (see Wikipedia

8. Possibly the John Pryor at the Battle of Point Pleasant, see his brother’s pensions application (William Pryor). (See transcription)

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , , ,

Another William Pryor VA Revolutionary War Soldier

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sgt William Prior signature 1777A few weeks ago I wrote out a list of the known Pryor men from VA who served in the Revolutionary War (see list). There are 3 William Pryors, one is the well-known William from Amherst County who lived long enough to file for a pension. I have more information on another William Pryor.

While looking for my Gregory line, I found a William Pryor who served in Capt. John Gregory’s 15th VA Regiments. William PRIOR was recorded as a sergeant on rosters starting in June 1777 through May 1778. Sgt. Prior also signed one of the rosters which makes me wonder if it was his duty to write out the rosters and pay rolls (see above).

Sgt William Pryor in John Gregory's 15th VA

Sgt. William Pryor 1777 – click to view larger

I love how the records intertwine with history! William Prior was on the rosters for almost a year. The Valley Forge website shows that this regiment was part of the troops that encamped there over the harsh winter we’ve all learned about in history class. This William Prior appeared on the rosters and payroll during that time. The Valley Forge website is also helpful in giving us an idea of where this William was from as it states the regiment formed with men from “Chesterfield, Brunswick, Southampton, King William, Nansemound, Princess Anne, Isle of Wright, Surry, Sussex, Westmoreland, Northumberland, Richmond Counties and Boro of Norfolk.”

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , ,
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