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Category Archives: Virginia Pryors

Pryors in Botetourt County, VA and Later in Kentucky

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Vanessa Wood

I’m continuing to peck though the various VA Pryor lines and the records of Pryors in TN who claimed VA ancestry. It’s a challenge. I’m working in chunks so it will be interesting to see if these larger pieces give us the needed information to place people in their rightful family trees.

First, back to the family of Col. Samuel Pryor who married Prudence Thornton. Samuel and Prudence lived in Gloucester County, VA, where it’s agreed by most researchers that their children were: Col. William, John, Thornton, Robert, Luke, Francis, Joseph Sr., Nancy, and Molly. The marriages of Samuel’s children are fairly well-documented.

There are many family trees that show Samuel’s son Joseph Pryor (born 1731) settling in Bourbon County, KY. But before arriving in Kentucky the family lived in Botetourt County, VA, a county very near Virginia’s “wild west” of the 1700’s. Botetourt was situated near the frontier settlements in Greenbrier County and Kanawha County (both counties became part of West Virginia after the Civil War).

The earliest reference I’ve found naming Joseph Pryor in Botetourt Co. is a 1787 deed. The book A Seed-Bed of the Republic may give a clue to Joseph’s origins: “JOSEPH PRYOR, having come from Hanover County into Botetourt, purchased lands on the south side of the James.” The 1787 deed was transcribed as the “north” side of the river, so once one thing is in doubt makes me wonder how much else may be in doubt.

Joseph Pryor was on the 1800 Tax List in Woodford County, KY and counted on the census in Bourbon County in 1810, and deceased by 1813, the year his will was filed.

I suspect this lineage of Joseph Pryor is pretty well known to family history researchers, but what about the other Pryors who were in Botetourt County? In 1783 Joseph Pryor was counted with a Luke Pryor in Captain Preston’s Rangers. We know that they were brothers, confirmed by Luke’s 1785 will. After Luke’s death there is a Susannah Pryor on a deed in 1787 and on a 1796 deed she was referred to as “The Widow Pryor.”

I believe Susannah Pryor migrated to Kentucky about the same time as Joseph. The Holston Methodism, Vol. 1 states that in about 1810 Rev. Francis Poythress was elderly and mentally unstable when he died at the home of his sister Susannah Pryor in Jessamine County, KY. I have in my notes that Luke Pryor, son of Col. Samuel Pryor married Susannah Poythress in Amelia County in 1766. The 1810 Census was written in alpha-order so it’s difficult to tell who were her neighbors and thus who may have migrated to Kentucky with her. It’s possible that Susannah Pryor went to Kentucky about the time her brother-in-law Joseph moved there as they settled in neighboring counties and in 1800 Joseph sold three slaves in Botetourt County, perhaps in preparation of his move to Kentucky. Who else went to KY with Susanna?

I’m thinking we may be able to tie this line of VA and KY Pryors into the Pryors who migrated to Tennessee. Both Joseph and Susannah had moved west by 1800. Joseph died in 1812 and named his children in his will: Joseph, Samuel, William, Richard, Thornton, Edward, Ann Pryor Duvall, Polly, Nancy, and Prudence Pryor Hall. So we can presume these children were alive in 1812. I suspect that some of Joseph’s children went to Tennessee– in 1806 there was unclaimed mail for Samuel Pryor and Thornton Pryor at the Nashville Post Office. I wonder if the letters were ever collected.

I wonder about something else: Did Susannah Poythress and Luke Pryor have children? If they were married in 1766 and Luke died in about 1785 there was almost a 20 year period in which children may have been born. I know I’ve got a long list of Pryors born between 1766 and 1785 in VA who could be their children! Does anyone know if there is a record of Luke and Susannah’s children in either baptisms, deeds, or wills?

A New Look At Old Virginia Pryors and New VA Additions to the Website

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Vanessa Wood

2011 may be the Chinese year of the rabbit, but for Pryor research it’s turning out to be the year of the microscope! No Pryor left unexamined. No family tree assumed correct! Why this fervor? We’re at the point where we have a boodle (is that a genealogy term?) of records available online and we have filled in enough information of what happened to the Pryors as they moved Westward to unravel which families they connected to before they left VA and the Carolinas. So get ready for lots of mini-mysteries and some big solutions. This is going to be a fun year!

In September 2009 I wrote Is Benjamin W. Pryor AKA B. W. Pryor of Elizabeth City? I’m now ready to make my final decision— Absolutely NOT. B. W. Pryor is Brazure Williams Pryor who was on the 1810 and 1820 Census in Elizabeth City, VA. His name was recorded as “Braz” on the 1810 Census. He was a hero of the War of 1812 where he defended Hampton (Elizabeth City), politically active as a member of the VA House of Representatives and member of the Electorial College that elected James Monroe in 1817. He was part of the reception committee that planned the visit of General Lafayette (the French general of the American Revolution in 1824). And his death in April 1827 was notable enough to be reported in the Washington Intelligencer.

I recently found an excerpt of a will for a Brazure Williams who died in Charles City in about 1793. He left his plantation where he lived to his grandson Brazure William Pryor! Also mentioned in the will is his wife Frances Williams, so we now know that B W Pryor’s grandparents were Brazure and Frances Williams. The excerpt also mentions the executor was Williams’ son in law Samuel Pryor, so there’s the possibility that Brazure was the son of a Samuel Pryor.

It would be easy to suspect that when Brazure W. Pryor died in 1827 John C. Pryor, who appears on the census in Elizabeth County in 1830, was his heir. Yes, too easy—after all, we’re looking at Pryors and nothing is that simple! A suit between Philip Taliafero and Skaife Pryor resolved that John C. Pryor (who had died about 4 years before) was the son of Christopher Pryor (who had died in 1803), and that Skaife (born 1832) was John’s only son. The judgment entered on the case in 1855 further shows that in 1846 Skaife being a minor had Christopher Pryor appointed as his guardian.

This gets pretty convoluted but it’s an excellent example of why not to take genealogies at face value. A 1910 account of the Pryors in The Armistead Family: 1635-1910, by Virginia Armistead Garber purports to give an account of family relationships as described by a relative who had first hand-knowledge. In that account the recollection was that Skaife Pryor and his sister Harriet Pryor were children of Christopher J D Pryor and were sent to live with the Armistead family when CJD Pryor moved to Alabama with his new wife. There appears to be a morsel of accuracy in this story in that Harriet was indeed living with Robert A. Armistead in 1850 and Skaife W. Pryor was living with Alfred B. Davies in Gloucester County, but it appears that Christopher J D was their guardian, and not their father.

The 1860 Census in James City, VA was unique. It states not just the state of birth but the county of birth for Christopher J D Pryor. He was born in Charles City in 1800, which means he could related to Brazure W. Pryor who inherited his grandfather’s land in Charles City in 1793. Christopher was a noted educator who attended William and Mary College, which is another connection. John C. Pryor was on the college’s Board of Visitors (the board that elected the rector) from 1816-1837. It was during his time on the board that Christopher J D Pryor graduated from the college (1823)

So if John Clayton Pryor is the son of Christopher Pryor born about 1745 and Brazure Williams Pryor is possibly the son of a Samuel Pryor who would have been a contemporary of Christopher, how are these men related? I’ve looked through all the Samuel’s I have in my database and there’s only one who fits this timeframe: Samuel who was the son of Philip Pryor and Ann Haden. As far as I can tell there is no information available on this Samuel. I like him for a match because he would be a brother of Matthew J. Pryor who migrated to Marion Co., TN. Matthew’s son Matthew Jr. married Williams sisters. I know there are a lot of Williams families, but I’m interested to find if Brazure Williams and Matthew’s in-laws were from the same line.

One last piece of information for connecting these lines. Theodorick Pryor, father of General Roger A. Pryor provided genealogy information during his lifetime and it was stated that “Dr. (Theodorick) Pryor had a kinsman, Captain Pryor, at Hampton who distinguished himself in the war of 1812. General Pryor, the collector of the port of Norfolk, long ago, was also a kinsman; as was Luke Pryor of Alabama, United States Senator.” Bulletin of the Virginia State Library, Vol. 11-15. So taking this with a grain of salt for accuracy, Theodorick Pryor was alledgedly related to both Captain John C. Pryor and General Brazure Pryor who was the collector at the port.

NEW TO THE WEBSITE

I’m trying out a new format on what in the past were the Virginia census pages. These pages are still in their location with census extracts, however I’m now including other records to try to complete the chronological order of events and establish connections.

http://www.tnpryors.com/states_census/va.htm

Category: Alabama Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: Brazure W Pryor, Christopher J D Pryor, John C Pryor

Major John Pryor of Richmond, VA & John C Fremont Connection

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Vanessa Wood

I ran across the explorer John C. Fremont recently and was reminded of his Pryor connection. The article on Wikipedia tells the story of his mother, Ann Beverly Whiting, the first wife Major John Pryor (an older Revolutionary War veteran) of Richmond. The young Mrs. Pryor fell head-over-heels for her tutor, a Frenchman named Charles Fremon. Ann left Major Pryor and ran off with Fremon and later gave birth in 1813 to her son who Angelicized his name.

Ancestry.com has the scanned original documents for Revolutionary War pensions and we’re in luck because there’s a pension application for Major John Pryor of Richmond.

The star document is the 1856 affidavit of Susan Lowry of Hampton, VA (Elizabeth City) age 86. She stated she was the daughter of Thomas Whiting of Gloucester Co., VA. She recalled becoming acquainted with John Pryor in 1780. Pryor acted as an aid to General Lord Sterling and she remembered he received a considerable amount of land from VA for his service. Lowery’s connection to Pryor was that he was married to her sister. She recounted that after her sister’s death Pryor married Elizabeth Q. Graves in Richmond. She recalled that Major Pryor died in 1823 (we know that year is accurate because there’s even a statement from a clerk at the Richmond Enquirer that they published his death notice ofn 23 March 1823), and after his death Elizabeth married Alva Lake in Richmond. Later the Lakes moved to Boston where Alex Lake died shortly before’ Susan Lowery’s 1856 affidavit. Lowery states that John Pryor didn’t leave any children: only several nieces and nephews in Charles City, James City, and Richmond by the name of Hankins (or Hawkins).

When I searched the census records, I found Susan B. Lowry age 77 born in VA and living in Hampton at the time of the 1850 Census.

Elizabeth Q. Lake was the applicant for the pension. She provided her affidavit on August 28, 1856 Elizabeth Q. Lake’s affidavit was given in Boston, MA. She was age 56. She married John Pryor in Richmond on 22 Feb 1815. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Quarles Lake (sic). She married Alva Lake on 10 May 1825 and that her husband died in Vermont on 2 Apr 1856.

I did a search of the census records and found Elizabeth Lake with her husband Alex (sic) on the 1850 Census in Boston, MA. It appears that Elizabeth outlived both husbands by a considerable amount of time as she is also on the 1860 and 1870 Census in Medford, MA.

Notes on the documents indicate an interesting history of queries, beginning in 1919. A 1933 query was made by Hon. John G. Cooper (19^th Ohio Dist.) of the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. The pension file contains a letter written by the National Archives as a response to a Mrs. Bert R. Smith of Bowling Green, KY who made a genealogy query in 1937. The writer states that John Pryor married an unknown daughter of Thomas Whiting and then married Elizabeth Quarles Graves at Hay Market, Richmond, VA.

So, looking at these stories together there’s some insights to be gleaned. If Susan Lowry was the sister of John Pryor’s first wife and a Whiting then she is likely Susan Whiting Lowry. The Wikipedia tale of John C. Fremont’s mother (and other versions available online) doesn’t end her marriage to Pryor with her death, but with her running off with “another man.” Another version (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2700_132/ai_108791284/) states she didn’t wed Fremon until after Pryor died. If Major Pryor died in 1823, then the marriage would have taken place some ten years after her son’s birth. And what about Major Pryor’s marriage to his second wife Elizabeth? If he and his first wife did not divorce, was he able to legally marry?

As usual, there are more questions about the Pryors than answers. I’ve added a new state to the TN Pryor website… Massachusetts! The census extracts of Elizabeth Q. Graves Pryor Lake are now posted online. http://www.tnpryors.com/states_census/massachusetts.html

Category: Famous Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: john c fremont, john pryor, Richmond

Harris Pryor and Roane County, TN Pryors

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Vanessa Wood

Thanks to Nova for starting a conversation on the Harris Pryors in Tennessee. There were 2 living fairly near eachother in the early 1800’s but we’ve been looking at the younger one who was in Roane County.

On the 1830 Census in Roane Co., TN there was Harris Pryor age 20 to 29 years old. Also in his household was a female of the same approximate age and an older woman who was 50 to 59 years (born 1771-1780, possibly his mother or mother in law). Recorded one line below Harris is a man named John Rector. I suspect there’s a connection but I’m going to have to leave that for another longer and more convoluted blog post.

In 1840 both Harris’ Pryors were still heads of households. The younger Harris in Roane Co. was age 30 to 39 years, living alone. Recorded on the lines immediately following this Harris were Thomas and Barry Hudson whose names will become more relevant as I explain relationships further in the paragraphs that follow.

Through a Google search I located a book titled “Hudson Ancestors My Father Never Knew” by Malcom H Hudson. It states: “As stated earlier, Thomas HUDSON lived in Anderson Co. in 1830, and he continued to own land in Anderson Co. even after he moved across the line into Roane Co., Tenn., shortly before 1840. His neighbor Francis PRYOR, wrote a last will 8-3-1844 and appointed ‘my friend Thomas HUDSON’ as executor. The will also gave his son Harris PRIOR (Prier) 150 acres in Roane Co. ‘on the waters of Poplar Creek…’ ”

This information appears to be somewhat incorrect. Nova found the will of Frances (a woman, not Francis a male) in Roane County:

Roane Co., TN, Will Book A, pp. 228-229:

FRANCES PRIOR July Term 1846

Named son Harras Prier whom she gave 150 acres in Roan Co. on the waters of Poplar Creek adjoining the lands of Thomas Hudson, James Davis and others. Named grandson George Hudson the remaining interest in the above named tract of land of 150 acres for his only use and benefit. To son Harras Prier my negro man named Sia (Cy?) Nominated my friend Thomas Hudson executor of this my last will and testament. Dated 3 Aug 1844. Signed by Frances “her X mark” Prier

Witnessed by Wm. C. Griffith, Charles W. Parker, and Richard G. Hudson.

Produced in open court on 6 July 1846.

Nova also dug up another record in Anderson County that again confirms that Frances was the mother, not the father of Harris Pryor:

Samuel PRIOR, Died before 10 July 1815 when Fanny Prior made bond as administrix with Benjn. Procket (Lockett?) and Edward Freele (Freels?) as security. (Anderson Co., TN, Co Ct Min 2/39) On 9 April 1827 Francis Prior, administrix for the estate of Samuel Prior deceased, gave additional bond with Ben. Locket, Wm. Prior, Edward Freele [Frule], Farris Prior (presumably this is Harris Pryor) & Berry Hudson as security (ibid 4/75).

This record doesn’t positively identify Samuel as the husband of Frances, or Fanny, Pryor, however it opens the door to further research to confirm the relationship between Samuel and Frances.

Again in the book “Hudson Ancestors My Father Never New” an excerpt says “Robert FERGUSON of Cumberland County, VA whose daughter Frances Ferguson m. Francis PRYOR and moved to Roane Co., Tenn., where Berry ‘ HUDSON m. “Polly” PRYOR, daughter of Frances (FERGUSON) PRYOR.” I’m not convinced there was a man named Francis Pryor, however this may be a clue to the identity of Frances’ maiden name. It also may have a clue to the origin of this line of Pryors: Cumberland Co., VA.

Although Harris Pryor was not yet 40 years old in 1840, he apparently didn’t outlive his mother by very long. Nova also uncovered Harris’ 1847 will:

Roane Co., TN, Will Book E, pp. 28-29:

HARRIS PRYOR July Term 1847

[His name was spelled as Harris Prior in the record.]

Will was produced in court during July Term 1847 of Harris Prior deceased by William Lockett and William Davis, witnesses. Requested that my negro man Sye (Cy?) shall be emancipated and set at liberty as a free man at my death and to give him of my property one horse worth $40 and one plough and gears. To my two nieces Jane Lockett and Frances Hudson all the balance of my property and moneys to be equally divided between them. To the above two nieces all my lands to have and to hold.

Appointed William C. Headrick my Executor.

Signed 3 June 1846. Witnessed by William Lockett and William Davis

Signed Harris “his X mark” Prior

We can surmise from the will that Harris died without a wife of children. However, that doesn’t mean that he died without heirs. I looked thought the 1850 Census to see if I could identify George Hudson (Frances’ grandson) or Jane Lockett or Frances Hudson who were nieces of Harris Pryor. I wasn’t able to find George Hudson, Jane is living in the household of William Lockett, and there’s a Fanny Hudson living with Benjamin Hudson, who may be Berry Hudson.

Once again the book “Hudson Ancestors My Father Never New” gives another clue to the identities of the children of Frances Pryor: Harris, Mary or Polly who married Berry Hudson (possibly the mother of George and Frances Hudson), and Thomas Pryor (was this the Thomas who was in Wilson Co., TN?).

Nova found further evidence of these Pryors connection to Cumberland Co., VA. It appears that Harris had property or something of an estate there and it was inventoried after his death.

p. 228: HARRIS PRIOR July Term 1850. Inventory of the estate of Harris Prior dec’d in Cumberland county state of Virginia, 27 May 1850. Received of the Executor of Robert Fergensand (Ferguson?) dec’d. Received of the adm’r of Francis Prior dec’d. Signed 1 July 1850 by Wm. Ellis adm’r.

Do you know anything about this Pryor line or their connection to the older Harris Pryor who lived in Knox County? Please share!

Category: Tennessee Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: Anderson County, Cumberland County, Ferguson, Harris, Roane County

Mid 19th Century Pryors in Dallas, TX

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Vanessa Wood

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. It’s hard to believe that the new year is right around the corner.

Early this month I received an email from a researcher who was looking at the two Pryor brothers who were also both physicians in Dallas, TX during the mid-nineteenth century. Samuel B. Pryor from Virginia was the first mayor of Dallas and his brother Charles R. Pryor was a writer and editor of the Dallas Herald (see article on the Texas State Historical Association site). Charles was pro-South during the Civil War and served as the Secretary of State in Texas but disappears after the War.

It looks like we now have the answer to the what happened to Charles. There is a Charles P. Pryor (sic) in Mercer County, KY. I found that he was living in a community of Shakers headed by B.B. Dunlavy. Charles was recorded as born in VA and his occupation was “physician.” A Google search turned up a volume of “The Shaker Manifesto” that contains a letter written by a Charles R. Pryor in 1878. Charles states “In spirit I am a Shaker.”

I haven’t found any further record of Charles. When his brother Samuel died his family migrated to Arkansas and can be found on the 1870 Census and later records in Sevier County and Little River County, AR.

Category: Texas Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: Arkansas, civil war, kentucky, Texas