Tennessee Pryors

GENEALOGY.COM OPENS DOOR… Did anyone spot an interesting post on the Pryor board at Genealogy.com? (As of 2019 link to message #1779 on genforum.com is not available. The old link was not captured in the WaybackMachine archive)

The information in this post has opened up a new avenue of research for the VA roots of TN Pryors. If you are tracing Pryors in Sumner and Overton Co., TN, you will find some remarkable links. The Pryor patriarchs of Sumner and Overton Counties were John and William Pryor, son-in-laws of Edmund Taylor of Campbell Co., VA. Edmund Taylor appointed Anderson Woodson Jr. as the executor of his estate. From the information posted on Genealogy.com it appears that the Woodsons, Pryors, Taylors and a family named Childers/Childress were connected as early as the 1740’s in Virginia. Does anyone have information on the sons of David Pryor Sr., David Jr. and John, who were mentioned inthe Genealogy.com message? One theory is that David Pryor Jr. was the father of Nicholas Pryor and other Amherst Co. Pryors and John Pryor is the father of John and William Pryor who lived in Campbell Co., VA.

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SUMNER, OVERTON & MARION CO. PRYORS CONNECTED? An connection has come to light in the preparation of the Virginia Pryor spreadsheet. In 1790 the elder John Pryor, possibly the father of William and John Pryor of Sumner and Overton Co., was mentioned in a Campbell Co., VA deed with a man named Martin Rector. Martin Rector has been found in the records of Roane Co., TN. His children married in to the same Williams family as the heirs of Matthew Pryor of Marion Co., TN.

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CAN WE IDENTIFY NORTON PRYOR?… In 1808 Norton Pryor sold 50,000 acres to Andrew Erwin in order to form Bedford Co., TN. Andrew Jackson was his agent in the land deal. Norton was recorded as a land holder in Davidson Co., Rutherford Co., and Bedford Co., disappearing from records in about 1808.

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NEW PRYORS added to the ALL TN PRYOR file. The list of Pryors who either were born in or resided in TN before 1850 has continued to grow with several new additions. Included are two African American men, Arch or Alex Pryor and Henderson Pryor who reported their place of birth as TN on census records.

Also just added, Leonard Pryor who researchers report to be a son of David Pryor and Susan Ballow of Davidson Co., TN. The land owner, Norton Pryor (see above) has been added to the list.
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Musican Arthur Pryor of St. Joseph (Buchanan Co., MO). Arthur Pryor was a noted trombonist, playing with the Souza Band and becoming a noted radio performer. His father, Samuel Daniel Pryor, was also a noted musician was recorded on census records as born 1844 in MO, however he has not been found on the 1850 nor the 1860 US Census. This month two more Pryors from St. Joseph were also discovered to be missing from the 1850 and 1860 Census: James T. Pryor b. 1830 in NC and Emsley R. Pryor born 1831 in NC. James and Emsley appear related, not only by place of birth, but by their occupations recorded as well diggers and cistern builders. Their families lived just houses from each other. In the 1920’s when a grandson of James T. Pryor died, his obituary reported him as a cousin of the musician Arthur Pryor. Civil War records also shed some light on all three Pryors possibly being related– Emsley R.Pryor served 3 years in the Missouri State Militia as a bugler.
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Colorful information for the Sumner County Pryors… Cornelia Pryor unearthed a court record on the first marriage of Lucy Jane Lumsden whose second marriage was to George W. Pryor, a son of John and Massa Taylor Pryor. Lucy Jane married J. P. Chennyworth in Feb. 1848. Mr. Chennyworth went to prison on June 28, 1848 for bigamy. He was released from prison on June 26, 1850 and is recorded in the ledgers of the Nashville State Penitentiary in the book “Tennessee Convicts.”

ANOTHER LINK FOR THE SUMNER COUNTY PRYORS… WILLIAM E. PRYOR of Franklin County, MO. Born in TN, William appears on census records in MO from 1870-1930. In July I received a copy of William’s death record. It states he was born May 6, 1848 in TN and his father was John Pryor. The evidence points to William E. Pryor to be the son of Jonathan Pryor and wife Ellen Lee of Sumner Co., TN and a grandson of William and Spicy Taylor Pryor of Overton Co., TN. William was counted in 1850 and 1860 in Sumner County. He was recorded as William E. Pryor in an 1849 Overton County deed in which Jonathan Pryor deeded his posessions to his young son. The deed which was recorded in September 1849, stated William’s age as 16 months. This information puts William’s birth as about May 1848.  William E. Pryor died on April 13, 1940 at almost 92 years of age. A transcript of William’s death record has been added to the Death Records in the MORE RECORDS section of the TN Pryor website.
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ISAAC PRYOR OF SULLIVAN CO., TN. Emails have been exchanged with Rich Pryor who is descended from the line of Isaac Pryor of Sullivan Co., IL. Isaac Pryor b. 1806 was counted on the 1830 Census in Sullivan Co., TN and beginning in 1840 in Pike Co., IL. Isaac was the brother of John Pryor born 1797 in TN. John’s son Alfred was alledgedly born in Knox Co., TN. Any information on the Pryors from Knox, Sullivan, and Jefferson Counties would be greatly appreciated.
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PRYORS TIPTON AND LINCOLN COUNTIES? I heard from Judy Ross who is searching for the ancestry of William Pryor who married Margaret Coats. William was probably born in GA, but may have ventured in to TN. In 1850 they were counted in Catahoula Parish, LA and in 1860 in Rusk Co., TX next door to Solomon Coats.  Solomon Coats was on the 1840 Census in Tipton Co., TN and his kin may have been also in Lincoln Co. There is another Pryor who married in to the Coats family on the Census in Lauderdale Co., MS: Lydia Pryor born in GA married John Coats.  The 1840 Census of Pike Co., GA has Allen, William and John Pryor and a John and Wilson Coats. Can we tie up this line for Judy?
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PHOTOS… You may have noticed the logo for the Ancient Faces website in the TN Pryor Photo Gallery. Ancient Faces is free to join and free to search. It’s a website that is developing an accessible archive of old family photos. You’ll be surprised to find some Pryors there.
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FAMOUS PRYORS… Nathaniel Hale Pryor born 1772, died 1831. Born in Amherst Co., VA, “the son of John Pryor (occupation unknown) and Nancy Floyd.” More information on Nathaniel Hale Pryor will be added to the FAMOUS PRYORS in the PRYOR HISTORIES section of the TN Pryor website.

TN PRYORS IN MISSOURI… A June query in to the ancestry of James H. Pryor b. abt. 1826 in Tennessee. He married Rachel Jane Simpson on 27 Dec. 1846 in Gasconade Co., MO. They were on the 1850 Census in Polk Co., IA and on later census records in Ray Co., MO. The researcher supplied the information that James’s son was named James Pleasant Pryor. While further research is needed, it appears likely that James H. Pryor is the son of Pleasant Pryor who appeared on the 1830 Census in Franklin Co., MO, 1840 in Warren Co., MO, and in 1850 and 1860 in Gasconade Co. Six children were counted in Pleasant’s household in 1840, four of which are known from the 1850 Census: Cyrena (1835), William  (1837), Marion (1839) and Lunsford (1842).
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NEW ON ANCESTRY.COM. Ancestry added in May “Freedman’s Bank Records, 1865-1874.” These records are a wonderful source for tracing African American families for whom little data exits prior to the 1870 Census. I found a few Pryors (mostly in Virginia and Washington, DC) and have added their information with the corresponding 1870 Census entries on the website. May of the records state the name of the account holder’s parents, place of birth and even siblings.
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MISSOURI PRYORS… Two Pryors found in the Missouri census records have been identified from a biography in “A Memorial Record of Kansas City”, page 474. John S. Pryor was born 5 May 1832 in Crawford Co., MO. He moved to Jackson Co. in 1853. He married Matilda McMillan 6 Dec 1856. Their children were John H., James S., Lindsey W., Wallace, Charles,Abbie and Mabelle. He had one child (Rena) with his second wife, Miriam Douglas. John S. Pryor is the son of LINDSEY W. Pryor who died en route to the California Gold Rush. Lindsey Pryor married Jane Renfro on 16 Apr. 1826 in Washington Co., MO and were counted on the 1830 Census in Crawford Co., MO. Lindsey was counted on the 1840 Census in Franklin Co., MO.
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NEW PAGES… NOTABLE PRYORS are now in the HISTORIES section of the website. The first to be included is Arthur Pryor the noted trombonist. Which line is Arthur’s ancestry?… The first census that recorded Samuel and son Arthur was the 1870 Census of St. Joseph, MO. The Pryor family appeared on subsequent census records in Buchanan Co., MO, but Samuel’s lineage remains unclear. The family of Joseph W. Pryor and wife Frances Bailey of Fayette Co., VA and later  Marion Co., MO were hopeful candidates for the parents of Samuel Pryor. Joseph was a physician and on the 1860 census a music teacher was living in the household. However, Joseph and Frances married after the birth of Samuel Pryor and their own son Samuel was not born until 1865. So, who were the parents of Samuel Pryor?