One More Note on Nancy Pryor who Married a Thomas Sands

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A quick note on yesterday’s post. Edward Brook or Brooke witnessed the marriage of Nancy Pryor and Thomas Sands. I think I may have found Edward or perhaps a near relative.

1702 Tithe Table of Southwark Parish, Surry County, Virginia

Nicholas Maggett, Oliver Burke, William Lyle, Edward Bookey, William Cripps, Nicholas Pryor ———————- 3
Mr. William Cocke, Custe and Nanne Negr ———————- 3

Nicholas Pryor is recorded as a headright in 1688 on the ship of Captain Thomas Cocke.  We’ve got Nancy Pryor who looks like she’s from the line of Maj. John Pryor of Richmond.

Hmmm…. is Major John Pryor from the line of Nicholas Pryor?

Category: About TN Lines | Tags: , ,

Nancy Pryor Marriage in York County, VA 1796

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Alas there are times when people are lost to the ages. Sometimes it feels like many of our female Pryors are lost. I have an idea of which line this Nancy Pryor belongs to.

There’s a York County, VA marriage…

Thomas Sands to Nancy Pryor
Bondsman: Edward Brook (signed “Brooke”)
Witness: Ben. Waller, Jr.
August 23, 1796,  p. 426

I suspect this Nancy Pryor is related to Major John Pryor of Richmond.

1. Major John Pryor’s sister was Mary Pryor who married James Quarles. When Mary died, James married Dorothy Waller.

2. The Waller’s were a prominent family in Virginia (as were Major Pryor’s family). Benjamin Waller Sr. was the son of a Dorothy King. Was Benjamin Sr. the father of both Benjamin Waller Jr. and Dorothy Waller Quarles?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Waller

3. The will of John Tayloe Corbin was witnessed by Benjamin Waller of Williamsburg in 1793. Major John Pryor was connected to the Tayloes through his horse trading:

A  publication of a horse pedigree in The American Farmer states a horse named Federalist raised on the estate of John Tayloe, deceased, was sold to Major John Pryor by William Beale Jr. (published April 17, 1829, but the sale possibly occurred 10 to 20 years earlier). The America Stud Book, Vol. 1 states Federalist was bred at Mt. Airy.

I’m keeping a note of this Nancy Pryor as a possible niece of Major John Pryor.

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , ,

More on the Last of the Chancery Court Records

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Quill and Ink


I need to revisit the last post. I found something that helps to ID one of the Pryors in the court records– Henry Lee vs. John Pryor, filed 1799 in Henrico Co., VA.

From Elizabeth Pryor Harper’s book:

JOHN PRYOR, Maysville & Mason County, 1780 Major John Prior Nov 14 1796 William Wood and Alexander D Orr, Article of agreement for division of land on Lawrence Creek in Mason County, Kentucky. The claim was in name of John Pryor witnessed by Henry Lee D S 2 p Endorsed William Wood, and A D Orr.

Bear with me…

1784 Land Grant in Fayette Co., KY- To John Pryor 6000 acres on Lawrence Creek in Fayette Co., KY. 24 Oct 1784

You see the Mason County deed and earlier Fayette county land grant  appear to be about the same land on Lawrence Creek.

“Major John Pryor” in most cases refers to the old John Pryor in Richmond who died without issue. We know from Maj Pryor’s Revolutionary War Pension Application that he received land in Kentucky (see post) and that he sold of most of the land. It looks like his acquaintance Henry Lee was a witness to his land sale and a few years later filed suit in Richmond.

Category: Kentucky Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , ,

The Last of the Virginia Chancery Court Records

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Uniform

I’ve enjoyed reading through the Virginia Chancery Court records. Unfortunately there are 5 cases that involve Pryors that are in the index but aren’t online. I decided to Google the names to see if I could tell which Pryors were involved in the cases.

1. Thomas Booth vs. John Pryor, filed 1793 in Henrico County. I believe this is Major John Pryor of Richmond who died without issue. In 1837 Elizabeth Dandridge the widow of John Dandridge swore out an application for his Revolutionary War pension. She was the daughter of Thomas Booth. They married in 1782 and in attendance were the groomsmen Chief Justice John Marshall** and Major John Pryor (he was about 32 years old in 1782). She also states Colonel Edward Carrington and Mrs. Elizabeth Carrington of Richmond were also in attendance.
http://revwarapps.org/w6993.pdf
** John Marshall was the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.

2. John Pryor vs. John Beckley, filed 1792 in Henrico County. John Beckley was connected to the Pryors in Albemarle County and Amherst County, VA. Susannah Harding born around 1720 married first Charles Ellis who died around 1760 in Albemarle County. Her second husband was John Beckley. Capt. Charles Ellis was associated with the Pryors: (1) 1756 Military Orders – Peter Jefferson, county lieutenant of Albemarle militia, Albemarle county, June 6, 1756, order to Captains Charles Ellis, Nicholas Pryor, James Sanders, James Budar, Joshua Fowler, and Richard Trout. D. S. E, 51, (2) 1758 Militia – Albemarle County, Sept. 1758, Richard Prior, Nicholas Pryor and William Pryor. Other names: Capt. Charles Ellis (see 1756 Military Orders above), (Virginia Colonial Militia, page 66.) Of note, Charles Ellis was the father of Susannah Ellis who married Isaac Wright, Ellis’ grand-daughter Elizabeth Wright married Capt. William Pryor whose account of military service was recorded in 1832, (3) And possibly connected to will of John Clayton (copy made by Christopher Pryor), 1774, of John Clayton (1694-1773) probated in Gloucester County, Virginia and witnessed by John James Beckley. Who is this John Pryor? Without reading the case it’s hard to tell, but I suspect he’s related to headright Nicholas Pryor who’s descendants settled in Albemarle and Amherst Counties.

3. Major Pryor vs. Joseph Watkins, filed 1764 in Chesterfield County. I suspect this is not Major John Pryor of Richmond as he was born in 1750, so he was likely too young to have filed a suit in 1764.

The last two… sorry I haven’t figured out who they are.

4. John Pryor vs. Henry Lee, filed 1799 in Henrico County

5. James Bennett vs. Samuel Pryor, filed 1785 in Henrico County. Additional surnames in the record are Duke and Holland.

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Identifying Joseph Pryor by Signature?

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You may have seen a question I posted 4 months ago on the Pryor Lastname Genealogy Facebook page. I asked who was the man identified as “Little” Joseph Pryor in Botetourt County, VA records. Oct 1784, “Little” Joseph Pryor cited for cohabitating with William Fulton’s wife.  There was Joseph Pryor who married Mary Fleming and his son who was born after 1766. The Facebook conversation included speculation of who an elderly Joseph Pryor was who turned up in White County records around 1813. Then there’s the Joseph Pryor who lived in Jackson County, TN. I wish the Pryors had been a bit more creative with the names… it would make piecing together the genealogy puzzle so much easier! Who were all of these Josephs?

I started looking at signatures. I was curious to see if there were any documents on the web that were signed by Joseph Pryors with similar signatures.

The first two signatures are the Joseph Pryor Sr and Joseph Pryor Jr who were from Botetourt County records.  In 1800 a Chancery Court suit was filed in Augusta County naming Joseph Pryor as a resident of Botetourt County. Joseph Pryor “the elder” was a plaintiff and there’s  a deposition (although very short) given by Joseph Jr who states that the older Joseph was his father. This is the signature of Joseph Jr. in 1802.

josephpryor1803-2

josephpryor1803

Isn’t it interesting how different the same signature looks? I guess it depended on how you held the quill on a given day! The “J” though is very similar and the final “r” in Pryor is also very similar.

This is the signature of of Joseph Pryor Sr. Wow, very different than his son’s writing. Different J. Different P. Different curve on the Y.

josephpryor1802The next Joseph Pryor I looked at was the Joseph in Greene County, TN who signed the marriage bond in 1799 for Catharine Pryor and Enoch Odle.

josephpryor1799

 

Enoch Odle left his “mark” in 1799 (see above Joseph’s signature) as he did in 1855 when he applied for his 1812 land bounty warrant, but Joseph Pryor signed the bond. Was Joseph Pryor one of the educated men from among the Virginia Pryors? I don’t think this Joseph Pryor’s signature looks a thing like Jr or Sr Pryor from Botetourt County, so can we rule out that they are the same man?

The Joseph Pryor who was in Tuscaloosa, AL left a family Bible and will. I don’t know who wrote the names into the Bible or even if they are contemporary inscriptions. The writing doesn’t compare with any of the Josephs noted above– there are green dots next to “J” and “P” that differ from the above samples.

josephpryorinal

 

Joseph in Alabama left a will but it’s signed with a “mark” rather than a signature.  Was he unable to sign his name due to old age or infirmity? Or was he a different man than the one who was in Green County, TN?

josephpryorwill

I’d love to compare another signature.  In 1801 Joseph Pryor signed a petition in Smith County to prevent consolidating part of Smith County with White County. Enoch Odle also signed or left his mark. Does anyone have a copy of this document?

 

 

Category: Alabama Pryors, Tennessee Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , , ,
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