Tennessee Pryors • Page 45 of 122 • Southern Pryor Family Genealogy

John Pryor Ford of Nashville and Cumberland County, VA

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Vanessa Wood

John Pryor Ford of Nashville

I’ve located a biography of a Nashville physician that mentions Dr. John Pryor Ford who migrated to Nashville from Cumberland County, VA (same place as Miss Jane H. Thomas of Nashville (see post). The portrait of Dr. Ford (above) is from the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA).

Jefferson Family Connection

I think he looks a bit like a Jefferson. It’s funny that it’s his wife who was a Jefferson…

Dr. Callender married at Nashville, Tennessee, February 24, 1858, Miss Della Jefferson Ford, daughter of Dr. John Pryor Ford, of that city. Dr. Ford was born in Cumberland county, Virginia, in 1810 and removed to Nashville from Huntsville, Alabama, in 1842, and was a leading practioner and teacher of medicine until his death in 1865—being professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children from 1858 to 1862. His wife, Ann Smith Jefferson, was born also in Cumberland county, Virginia and was collaterally related to Thomas Jefferson of Monticello. Mrs. Callender is a great grand niece of President Jefferson and a niece of Gen. John R. Jefferson of Seguin, Texas. Her religious connection is Protestant Episcopal.
Sketches of Prominent Tennesseeans, compiled by Hon. William S. Speer, pub. 1888, Albert B. Tavel (Sketches of Prominent TennesseeansNashville). https://archive.org/stream/sketchesofpromin01spee#page/60/mode/2up

I did some homework to see if I could identify Dr. Ford in the census records and work my way back to Virginia. I found he married in Davidson Co., TN in 1832. He was recorded as “J. P. Ford” on the 1840 Census in Clarke County, MS. Dr. Ford was counted in Nashville in 1850. By 1860 he was recorded as a wealthy household in Nashville. His property holdings were $44,000 and his personal property was $9500. The artist Thomas Waterman Wood (see Wikipedia) was counted in his household. I don’t see any connection between Wood and Ford, so I believe Wood was in the Ford household either as a guest, a tenant or to create a portrait for the family (the Wikipedia article states he was in Nashville to paint portraits).

1810 Census in Cumberland County, VA

If Ford was born 1810 as stated on the census records, then it’s likely that one of the Ford men who were heads of households in Cumberland County may be his father. I made note of these Ford families:

Screen 3, Ancestry.com: Kesiah Ford, Ts. Charmer Woodson,

Screen 4, Ancestry.com: William Randolph, Martha Randolph, Landis P. Stovall, John Ford Jr., Newton Ford, Pascal Ford, William Ford, William Taylor, Patrick Shinott

Screen 6, Ancestry.com: John Dowdy, Betty Liggon, Frances Dowdy, John Ford Sr.

Screen 7, Ancestry.com: Henry Martin, William Burton, John Ford Sr., Francis Clark, Henry Woodson.

While I can’t ID Dr. Ford’s father, some of these names are exciting. I really like Landis P. Stovall. There’s Landis Patterson who witnessed documents with Harris Pryor. I also like the Randolph’s because they were connected to the Jeffersons. Woodson is also connected to Harris Pryor and they were Jefferson cousins, so it may also be a lead.

James Pryor and Mary Cox

Another possibility is John Ford Jr. who married Frankey PRYOR on 25 June 1773 in Cumberland County, VA. Francis Pryor was possibly the daughter of James Pryor and Mary Cox. I think these are the same people mentioned in the will of William Cox filed in 1754 in Essex Co., VA

I Lend unto my Daughter Pryor and my son In law James PRYOR one Negro Girl Named Murear & her Increase during their Natural Lives and after their decease the said Negro Girl Murear and her Increase to be Equally Devided between the four Children of the said James Pryor and Mary his wife Vizt. Mildred Caty Croxton & Frankey To them and their heirs Lawfully Begotten of their bodys.

I wonder if James Pryor and his wife Mary Cox had any male children after 1754. There’s almost 20 years between the time of the will and Frankey’s marriage in Cumberland County. There may be a son or more. And could Dr. John Pryor Ford born in 1810 be the son of John Ford and Frankey Pryor? Is John Ford Jr. on the 1810 Census?

Dr. Ford is going on the back burner for now. We may have to bring him to the foreground again to ID some of the Virginia Pryors.

Category: About TN Lines | Tags: Cumberland County, Nashville, stovall, Woodson

John Pryor Rutherford County TN to KY Fact or Fiction?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Vanessa Wood

Since I just finished looking at the Pryor family and their neighbors who were in early Logan and Christian County, KY, I thought it would be a good idea to look at later Pryors.

Years ago I exchanged emails with a Pryor researcher who was interested in the line of John Pryor who married Rebecca Cook in 1823 in Rutherford County, TN. It was their theory that John and Rebecca were then counted on the 1830 and 1840 Census in Wilson County, TN and that John Pryor had died, Rebecca remarried and was later found in Christian County, KY.

The information on this couple is sketchy beyond their marriage date in 1823. If John on the 1830 census is the man who married in 1823, then what were the ages of the children on the census– do they match the marriage year? It’s hard to tell. There were 2 males ages 5 through 9 which fits with the marriage date. There was also a male 10 through 14. The oldest male (John?) was 20 through 29, a bit too young to be the father of a 14 year old. There were 2 adult women in the household so perhaps one was the mother of sister of this young male.

Researchers seem to be on the right track identifying a Rebecca Pryor in Christian County. She is on the 1860 Census as Rebecca Pryer age 51 in the home of Sarah Pryor Wilson. Sarah died at age 90, unfortunately her death record didn’t name her parents. It just says “D.K.”– don’t know? Sarah was recorded as Sarah Ann C. Pryor when she married, so we know she was a Pryor and Rebecca lived with her, so it’s possible they were mother and daughter.

Also in the Wilson household in 1860 was Zack A. Pryor age 13. Zack is an interesting clue because he leads back to the 1850 Census when a Rebecca age 40 and a Zack age 4 were living in the household of Ab Nixon. I haven’t found a marriage for Ab Nixon–perhaps this was another arrangement. Not only was Rebecca identified as a Pryor on the 1860 census, but also the 1870 Mortality Schedule. Zack may be the Zachariah Pryor buried in Chattanooga, killed during the Civil War.

And I now have the full name of Ab Nixon for folks interested in this line: Absolom Nixon. There’s an estate sale filed in Christian County (Book N, page 692, sale page 693).

Category: About TN Lines | Tags: Christian county, john pryor, kentucky, Rutherford County, Wilson County

American Pharoah’s Lineage Has A Pryor Sidenote

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Vanessa Wood

I can’t resist posting about American Pharoah’s lineage. When I start posting horse stories you know it must be Triple Crown time again in the world of horse racing. This year’s horse to beat is American Pharoah. I checked out his lineage and found he’s another thoroughbred descended from Lexington b. 1850 (that’s his skeleton pictured above in the Smithsonian Institute). Lexington was trained by John Benjamin Pryor of Natchez, MS. 165 years later it’s still worth a mention because we have a Pryor in the mix. Lexington’s descendant California Chrome was in the run for the Tripple Crown last year (read post).

American Pharoah’s Pedigree (Family Tree)

Category: Mississippi Pryors | Tags: horses, mississippi, Racing

KY Pioneers Who Signed the Low Dutch Petition in 1783

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Vanessa Wood

I looked at the KY pioneers who were signers of the Low Dutch petition for land in 1783 (see post), hoping to see if there were clues to where these men were living when they signed the document. One signer was John Galloway. I have a man by that name in my Pryor database, but is it the same man?

1780 Court Record – On 9 Mar 1780, “This court doth recommend John Robinson as Captain, John Galloway Lieut, and Thomas Carper for Ensign to a Company of Militia in this County. Also Joseph PRYOR Capt., John Crawford Lieut, and Hugh Allen Ensign to Militia Company in this County (Note: George Skillern was present, serving as a justice). — A Botetourt County, VA court record from ANNALS OF SOUTH WEST VIRGINIA

There were 2 John Galloways– each one served on the Virginia frontier.

#1 is the Lieut. John Galloway who is the man mentioned in the 1780 Botetourt County court record. He states in his Revolutionary War pension application that he joined Capt. Matthew Arbuckle’s company in 1776 and served at Point Pleasant or Fort Randolph. When his term of service was up he received a commission (the Botetourt court record) in the Milita that took him to the Battle of Guilford Court House, NC (March 1781) and later that year the capture of Cornwallis’ arm at Yorktown. There’s no mention in his application of when and how he arrived in KY. He was living in Garrard County, KY in 1818.

My gut tells me that #2 John Galloway is the one who signed the petition of the Low Dutch Inhabitants in 1783.

He went to KY in 1781.
In 1782 he served under General George Rogers Clark in battling Indians into Ohio.
“1783 under Col Isaac Cox to he marched to Floyd fork & crossed it, ascended to Bullskin and marched to the Burnt station…, which had been Burnt by the indians two days previous who killy [killed] Neel Davis.” [John Galloway #R3877, transcribed by C. Leon Harris on revwarapps.org]. I did some Googling and found that Floyd fork was near Louisville and Bullskin may be Bullskin creek in southwest OH, today in Clermont County.

While it’s not 100% proof, it’s sounding like Galloway #2 and perhaps John Prior were both in Jefferson County in 1783. So I looked at other names. Amos Goodwin is a signer on the same page. He filed for a Revolutionary War pension (Pension Application #W2096) in 1832 in Jefferson County, KY. He recounts joining his unit at “the Falls of the Ohio” in 1780. Amos was 83 years old on the 1850 Census and was counted in Jefferson County.

Category: Kentucky Pryors | Tags: Botetourt County, Jefferson County, Low Dutch Petition, Revolutionary War

KY Pryor Frontier Signatures

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Vanessa Wood

I was looking for one of my other lines that traveled through Kentucky and it looks like I’ve stumbled upon the signature of John Pryor and maybe another KY Pryor. Continue reading →

Category: Kentucky Pryors | Tags: floyd, frontier, Jefferson County, kentucky, Low Dutch Petition, signature