Tennessee Pryor Newsletter 4

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American Pryors in England: Hannah W. Prior

Ancestry.com has added the 1861 UK Census and the census records are being added in groups of counties to 1837Online.com. Three Pryors born in the U. S. were found on the 1861 Census. First a Pryor by marriage, HANNAH W. PRIOR aged 65, born in Philadelphia, living in Islington, Middlesex (a London suburb) with her son Henry aged 41, born Strand, Middlesex.

American Pryor Children in England

Two Pryor sisters were found in boarding school in Berkshire: 79  Northbrook St., Newbury, Berkshire, Jane Burrough, head mistress and three governesses… FRANCES ANN PRYOR, 10, scholar, born in United States and HENRIETTA PRYOR, 6, scholar, born in United States. More research needs to be done, however I suspect that the Pryor girls are daughters of John Benjamin Pryor and his wife Frances Pryor. John Benjamin Pryor of Adams Co., MS and his family were living in Cambridgeshire, England on the 1871 Census. In 1871 his daughter Henrietta aged 15 was counted in the household and a son named Luke born in about 1861 in Berkshire, England.

Elijah Pryor of Vernon County, MO

Follow up to Elijah W. Pryor information in TN Pryor Newsletter 3: Elijah (called Lige) came with a Tennessee Pryor family from White Co., TN and resided in Bates Co.(which later became Vernon Co, Mo.) He went to California, my family tells me that he found gold, and brought it back in an old hankie (which my great-aunt still has). He got sick and nearly died while returning to Missouri, but finally made it home. In 1871, at age 48 he married in Vernon Co. to Elizabeth Adeline Morgan who married previously to another Pryor from White Co. — William Pryor who was probably Elijah’s uncle, and then to Edward Morgan. My grandfather always said that Lige was the illegitimate son of Nancy Pryor, William’s sister, who eventually married Thomas Welch (also of Bates County.) We’ve never been able to prove that though. When William Pryor died, he left a will naming his children and Lige wasn’t listed. Lige and Elizabeth’s union was a “contract marriage” according to my family. Elizabeth had a large number of children from her previous 2 marriages, and needed to be cared for. Lige supposedly married her telling her  that when he died she could have his farm. No one knows for sure when he died but Elizabeth (Jent-Pryor-Morgan) Pryor died April 27, 1901 in Vernon County, she was buried at the Rhea Family Cemetery but also has a marker at the Pryor Creek Cemetery. — told by Stephanie (Pryor) Spruill

Murder of a Tennessee Pryor Jackson County

MURDER IN JACKSON CO., TN? Nelson Womack submitted the transcript of Chancery Court papers dated 1869 in which John Pryor was accused of the murder of William Nelson (brother of Robert Nelson who was married to Nancy Jane Pryor). Who is this felonious John Pryor? Is he the John Pryor from Jackson Co. who was in the Nashville State Penitentiary for murder at the time of the 1850 Census? Is he the John Pryor who was the father of Clarenda Bell Pryor born in 1857? To read the transcript and review the Penitentiary records go to MORE RECORDS! and click on CRIMINAL CASES.

Pryor and Brewington Children

SOLVED AT LAST… The parents of WILLIAM COM PRYOR and JOHN ANDERSON PRYOR of Overton Co., TN have been identified from their Social Security Applications. Both men stated their mother was Nancy Jane Pryor and they were both born in Oakley, TN. William states his father was Buck Brewington and John’s application states his father was Buchanan Pryor. Buck and Buchanan appear to be the same person; J.B. Brewington who married Nancy Jane Pryor the daughter of Williaim H. Pryor and Rutha Dial of Overton and Clay Counties. Nancy Pryor Brewington was living in the household of William H. Pryor on the 1880 Census. Her two children, Lurana and John A. Brewington, were also in the household. In 1900 Nancy was counted as Nancy J. Pryor in Clay Co., a widow with sons named William and Gilbert. In 1910 Nancy was living with her son Gilbert and was recorded as divorced. It’s know that Nancy J. Pryor and J.B. Brewington wed on 6/10/1876 and a likely scenario is that Nancy J. Pryor and J.B. Brewington divorced, causing her and the children to use her Pryor maiden name.

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Tennessee Pryor Newsletter 3

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Census Mistake in Jackson County, TN

BIG UPDATE for Jackson County Pryors. It’s been discovered that several Pryors were recorded as “Price” on the 1860 Census in Jackson County, that includes Alfred Pryor born 1805 in SC. Follow the link from TN CENSUS to the 1860 Census. I heard from researchers who are trying to confirm that Surena Elizabeth Pryor and Margaret Pryor who married Anderson men are daughters of Alfred Pryor. Both women and their families are on the Dent Co., MO census by 1900.

Nancy Pryor and Robert Nelson

Located NANCY PRYOR wife of ROBERT NELSON on the 1870 Census in Webster Co., KY. Nancy and her husband were on the 1850 Census in Overton Co., TN and Nancy and her children were in Iron Co., MO by 1880. Her whereabouts in 1860 is not yet known.

Elijah Pryor From TN to MO to CA

TN PRYOR PROJECT — * Updated ELIJAH W. PRYOR who was counted on the 1850 Census in Bates Co., MO. Possilby related to other Pryors in the area who came from White Co., TN. Elijah is probably the same man who was counted on the 1860 Census in Mendocino Co., CA. He is on the 1880-1900 Census in Vernon Co., MO again living near kin of White Co. Pryors.

Peter and Green Pryor of Williamson County, TN

* Added PETER and GREEN PRYOR from Williamson Co., TN. A history of these brothers has been added to HISTORIES section of TN Pryors. Melody Pryor turned up a Congressional Bill that mentions these men. Green Pryor was seeking relief from a bad 1818 land deal in Claiborne Co., MS. The Bill can be viewed on the Libary of Congress website. I also heard from Dee Dee Rypka who had uncovered a 1818 Deed in St. Louis, MO for the purchase of land by Peter and Green Pryor.

* More Williamson County Pryors… LUKE PRYOR and his siblings SARAH and SUSANNAH. These Pryors were probably born in SC and do not appear related to Peter and Green Pryor who came from VA.

* Also added… SIR PRYOR, an African American born 1808 in TN. He was counted in 1850 living in Anderson Co., TN.

Marion County Tennessee Pryor Family

MARION COUNTY, TN LINES… Glen Alan Pryor has submitted information on the line of McKindrick “Mack R.” Pryor, descended from the line of Revolutionary War soldier Matthew J. Pryor of Marion Co., TN. McKindrick lived in Douglas Co., MO and later in Brown and Mason Counties in Texas. To review this data, go to HISTORIES and click on MO Histories.
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NEW LINK… link to Nova Lemmons’ website for McNairy Co. Pryors has been added in the HISTORIES section of the website.

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Tennessee Pryor Newsletter 2

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MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR SEARCH… Living in a small town with a small library doesn’t have to limit your research. Your PC and public library can help you get the most out of inter-library loans. When searching in a particular geographic area within the United States do a Google search to find the area’s public library, state library or university library. Many of these libraries have searchable catalogs online. If you find a book or microfilm you’d like to review, contact your town’s public library to request an inter-library loan. My local library may be small, but the reference desk uses email and the Internet. They ask that I email the book or film title, the call number, and name, address, telephone number of the library that holds the item. If I’ve found the lending library’s loan policy on their website, I do a cut and paste from the browser, adding the information to my email. Most of the books I’ve obtained on loan are checked out like a regular library book and can be reviewed at home, however microfilm had to be viewed in the library.

MORE FOR THE LIBRARY ENTHUSIAST… Google has announced their project to scan library texts, making them available and searchable on the Internet. Here’s an interesting link with questions and answers about this project
http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb041227-2.shtml

Pryor Names in Macon Co., TN Funeral Home Records

Many thanks to researcher Mary Pryor! Mary has donated to the TN Pryor Website the transcriptions of Macon Co., TN Funeral Home Records for the Pryors. Mary’s CD MACON CO. FUNERAL HOME RECORDS is for sale through the Macon County, TN Historical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnmchs/TNMCHS/items_for_sale2.htm

Overton Co., TN – Pryor in Jail 4 Days Before Civil War

OVERTON COUNTY, TN COURT MINUTES… researcher Eugene Byars has found an Eliza Prior and Mahaly Stanton Jr. and Sr. were kept in the Overton County jail 7 Apr and 8 Apr 1861, for “disturbing” N.G. Hutson. Also… an entry in April 1871 where John Prior, J. D. Goodpasture, and others were conscripted to work on an Overton Co. road.

Leroy Pryor from Jackson Co., TN

Researcher Melody Pryor has obtained and transcribed the Civil War Records of LEROY PRYOR. Leroy served in MO, appearing to be the Leroy Pryor from Jackson Co., TN who migrated to MO. To view the transcript go to MORE RECORDS!, select MILITARY. Leroy’s records are in the CIVIL WAR section.

Tennessee Pryor Marriages

MATCHING MARRIAGES TO THE CENSUS Phocian Morgan married ELIZABETH PRYOR on 22 Dec. 1842 in Wilson Co., TN. They have been found on the 1850 and 1860 Census in Ohio Co., KY. Phocian Morgan is a widow on the 1870 Census.

Tennessee Pryor Project

ALL TN PRYORS UPDATE: The “All TN Pryor” project now contains 489 Pryors who were either born in or resided in Tennessee in 1850 or earlier.

Just added… MARY JANETT Pryor, born 1809 in VA, was found in the archived queries of McNairy County and in an Ancestry.com family tree. She married William Hargroves 1826 and is on the 1850 Census in McNairy County, and in 1860 and 1870 in Hardin Co., TN. She died in Sevier Co., AR after 1880.

William Pryor from Botetourt County

Another addition… WILLIAM Pryor born c.1780 in Botetourt Co., VA  and husband of Betsy Trammell. There are a few postings in the Ancestry.com AWT that include the will of this William Pryor and the account of a contemporary who attended his funeral in 1833 at Austin, TX. William’s daughters, Elizabeth and Harriett, were counted on the 1850 census in Fort Bend Co., TX. Harriet, the eldest, was born 1808 in Tennessee. Unfortunately, census records for Tennessee in 1800 and 1810 do not exist. The Ancestry family trees trace William to his great-grandparents Robert Pryor and Betty Virginia Green of Virginia and his parents Joseph Pryor and Mary Langdon or Flemming. A Thornton Pryor, who may be William’s brother, is mentioned in an 1814 record from Robertson Co., TN where he was security for the estate of Willis Dosset.

Peter Mercer and Pryor Connection

Yet another possible Pryor… I visited a website that reports a Peter Mercer in Eastern Tennessee married a TIBITHA PRYOR born 1842 in Tennessee. This was Peter’s second marriage. Tibitha is recorded on the 1870 Census in Grainger Co., TN and in 1880 in Bledsoe Co. She may have migrated with her husband to Pine Bluff, AR and later Grayson Co., TX. On the 1880 Census her father was recorded as born in VA and mother born in TN. It is not yet clear if Peter Mercer had other connections to the Pryors in that a son from his first marriage to Sarah Shelton was named Prior Lee Mercer. It is also uncertain if Tibitha was a Pryor from birth or perhaps a first marriage in that she has not been located on the 1850 or on the 1860 Census.
(http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnunion/Biographies/mercer.htm)

Henry County Pryor

WILLIAM LAFAYETTE Pryor b. May 1828 in TN. William was missed on the first draft of the All TN Pryors List. I recently found an old note that states an account of the life of William Lafayette Pryor was published by his son Charles C. Pryor of Henry Co., TN in 1939. The account includes William’s adventures in the California Gold Rush and that William L. died in Henry Co. in 1918. This is one of those circumstances where I wish I had better source notes from the early days of hunting for Pryors. William’s father was William B. Pryor of Henry Co. William L. appears on the 1880, 1900 and 1910 census in Henry County.

Andrew Pryor of Jefferson Co., TN

Just clarified…ANDREW J. Pryor on the 1850 Census in Jefferson Co., TN is the same person recorded as John Pryor on the 1860 of the same county. Living in the household in 1850 was an elderly JOHN Pryor, aged 93, whose birthplace was recorded as England. Was Andrew J. not recorded as John since there was already a John Pryor in the household? I Believe the elderly John Pryor is the same man who was in Sullivan County. HENRY Pryor, the only Pryor head of household in Sullivan County from 1850-1880, states on the 1880 Census that his father was born in England. In 1860 Andrew John Pryor was joined in Jefferson County by THOMAS Pryor, who was living in Cocke County at the time of the 1850 Census. It is possible, but not yet proved that Andrew John, Thomas, and Henry were kin.

James Pryor of Graves Co., KY

JAMES Pryor Jr. born 1822 and found on the 1850 Census living in Graves Co., KY is the son of James Sr. born 1786, also in TN. James Sr. is reported to be a son of Richard Pryor and Mourning Thompson, counted in 1810 in Logan Co., KY near his mother Mourning White. Another Pryor? On the 1850 census JAMES Prior aged 5 is living in the household of William McCoy in Greene Co., TN. James is listed under William Kent and his son John Kent. I have found William Kent on the 1860 Census in Jefferson Co., KY. He has two sons recorded as John and James; both using the Kent surname. While William and John seem to disappear from the Jefferson Co. census records, James is found recorded as James P. Kent on records through 1900. I have searched the Kentucky database for death records and did not find one for anyone who appears to be James Kent or James Pryor (although I found in the index his daughter Maggie Kent Oehler who died in 1941). James P. Kent is not on the 1910 Census, so it is possible that he died before 1911 when Kentucky began recording deaths.

Category: Genealogy

Tennessee Pryor Newsletter 1

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ALL TN PRYORS UPDATE: The total number of Pryors has gone up and down. The “All TN Pryor” project now contains 479 Pryors who were either born in or resided in Tennessee in 1850 or earlier.

Pryor or Brien?

I recently removed a family who turned out not to be Pryors. John and Lydia of Benton Co. are indexed on Ancestry as “Brien”. I looked at the writing and saw that the B is reasonably clear. I then did some searching of TN Census records of 1850 and found John, Lyddia (sic) and family recorded as Brine.

Thomas M. Pryor of Augusta County, VA

A new Pryor has been added to the list. THOMAS M. Pryor married Patsy E. Hartigan on Aug. 16, 1832 in Augusta Co., VA. I found Martha E. Pryor b. 1820 (age 30) living with the Hartigans in Dickson Co., TN in 1850. Her age varies between census years… 1860 she was recorded as 60 years old. Thomas may have died in VA or migrated with Martha to TN. Since Martha made it TN and is recorded as a Pryor I’ve included Thomas M. Pryor on the list with an note (maybe only his wife lived in TN).

Pryors in Christian County, KY

Another new Pryor was added to the list. William Barnes married MARY JANE Pryor 14 Mar. 1850 in Christian Co., KY. Mary Jane, born about 1832, was counted on the 1850-1870 Census as born in TN. In 1880 and 1900 her place of birth changed to KY. I suspect that the three earlier census entries are correct and that Mary Jane Pryor was born in TN. There are no other known Pryors in Caldwell Co. and only the family of John Pryor and wife Rebecca Cook (from Rutherford Co. and possibly Wilson Co., TN) living in Christian Co., KY. An internet search revealed that Pryor researchers place Mary Jane as a daughter of John and Rebecca. I did not find any source information that confirmed this lineage.

Henry County, TN Pryor

MARTHA A. Pryor b. 1823 NC, married John J. Hurt on 3 Feb. 1845 in Henry Co., TN. Martha was counted on the 1880 Census in Henry Co., stating both parents were born in North Carolina.

What About Pryor Surname in Dallas Co., AR?

SARAH A. Pryor b. 1824 and married Samuel W. Looney on Aug. 22, 1844 in Knox Co., TN is on the 1850 Census in Dallas Co., AR. Upon looking at the AR census there appears to be two groups of Pryors in Dallas Co.: kin to John Pryor and Ann Trigg who are related to the Pryors of Marion Co., TN*, and James Pryor and wife Unith and their children. James Pryor was from NC as was Matthew Pryor, the patriarch of the Marion Co. Pryors. While I have no proof of kinship between these lines, it shouldn’t be ruled out.
* As of 2015 there is no evidence that the Pryors in Marion County, TN are connected to the Pryors in Dallas County, AR.

The Tennessee Pryor Went to Pennsylvania

Another clarification… JAMES R. Pryor, the lone Tennessee Pryor on the census records of Blair Co., PA has been identified by his descendant. I recently received an email from a Pryor researcher who has offered terrific information that connects him to the Pryors of McNairy County, TN. James R. is not identified as JAMES RICHARD Pryor. His grave marker states his name as J. Richard, although the 1870 and 1880 Census records in PA state his name as James R. His descendant has discovered through an old letter and family information that James Richard came from McNairy County. He was captured during the Civil War while serving in the Confederate Army and when released, stayed in the North. There is a Richard Pryor of the correct age on the 1850 census in McNairy County. If you have any information to help this researcher confirm their McNairy County ancestors you can contact him by email DLee166@aol.com

VIRGINIA. Several months ago there the website crashed and the extractions of Virginia census records were lost. This webpage is now being recreated.

MATCHING MARRIAGES TO THE CENSUS. Many thanks to researcher Melody Pryor for creating a spreadsheet of Pryor marriages in the South and Midwest. Marriage information is being added as a notation to the census extractions on the website. My focus has been to first find the Pryor women and their husbands and then adding them to the census extractions. Adding the Pryor women under their married names has helped to add clarity to the census extractions, showing connections been families in each county. While this project is far from completion, you will find numerous marriage notes and families that have been added to the census extractions.

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