I think many of us are familiar with the stereotype of the early pioneers– illiterate backwoodsmen. I’m finding that early Pryors were educated pioneers.
When I looked again at the Pryors in the War of 1812. I was trying to figure out if the Nathan Pryor who served in the Missouri Militia under Col. McNair was Nathaniel Pryor of the Louis and Clark Expedition. Col. Alexander McNair was also the first governor of Missouri. Stephen F. Austin of the Austin Colony in Texas was in McNair’s regiment in the War of 1812. McNair ran against explorer William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) and defeated him in 1820. Oh yes, lest we forget—Austin was connected to another Pryor: William Pryor of Stewart County, TN was among the pioneers in Austin’s Colony. The connections are so numerous; it’s like a big bowl of spaghetti!
Reading about Lewis and Clark, Nathaniel Pryor, Austin, and others… I’m beginning to realize that the view of the pioneers we’re taught in school is really wrong. These men who were leaders were educated pioneers and extremely connected in society and by marriage. They weren’t the ‘coon skin cap wearin’ hicks that the movies and some teachers portrayed. It was true then and still true— gotta have an education to get ahead.
If the 1812 record for Nathan Pryor is the same as Nathaniel, he was an adjutant, an assistant to high ranking officers. This position probably entailed reading and writing messages. When I’ve looked at St. Louis court documents that name Nathaniel Pryor, he signed his own name to these documents.
Betty (TXOld300) who has been researching William Pryor reports that he signed his will in Texas indicating that he too was literate.
Recognizing an ancestor’s level of education helps to understand who they were and how they interacted in their world. Education also is a clue to where to look for further documentation to flesh-out the story of our family tree.
