I’ve going through lots of old photos. Many of the people I can ID but then there’s the one’s that are unidentifiable. I found some photos taken of my grandfather Tom Gregoy and his father Tom Sr. The Elder Gregory was first married to Betty Pryor (a grand daughter of John Pryor and Massie Taylor), and then later he married Betty’s cousin Willie Ann Pryor. Maybe we can ID some of the folks in these photos. Continue reading
Callimanco Shoes. Thank you shoe-icons.com
I stumbled upon the estate inventory of Croxton Pryor. His will was filed in York County, VA in 1776, and there’s an estate inventory from Williamsburg. He had some pretty nice things, an indication that he may have been one of the well-off citizens of the colony: a cloak, silver teaspoons, a silver buckle, a gold ring, furniture that included a tea stand, 2 coffee pots.
What really caught my eye was “4 pair Callimanco Shoes.” When I started looking online I found that they were pretty much the Manolo Blahnik (hot shoes) of Colonial times. I found an interesting article that shows ads from Colonial times and a rare listing of a pair of Callimanco shoes on eBay http://thegoldenscissors.blogspot.com/2012/05/rare-pair.html
Croxton had really cool shoes, but who was he related to? Croxton Pryor was one of the children of John Pryor and Mary Cox. John and Mary are mentioned in William Cox’ will, filed in Essex Co., VA. The will was proved in 1754 and mentions also John and Mary’s children: Mildred, Caty, Croxton, and Frankey. Frankey Pryor was married in Cumberland Co., VA in 1773 to John Ford Jr. Perhaps Frankey was alive in 1810 as there was a John Ford recorded on the census in Cumberland County.
Col. William Pryor of Goochland Co. was married to Sarah Wood whose mother was Martha Cox. I’m thinking there may be a connection between these Pryor/Cox families.
On CBS Morning Show they ran a story this morning on how President Obama is descended from an African slave named John Punch through his mother’s Virginia family. Obama is connected to the Pryors, now I’m wondering if the Pryors are connected to the Bunch line.
Pryor researchers who follow our Facebook Page probably saw that I posted a link to the President’s lineage back in April. http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Ancestors_of_Barack_Obama. Barack Obama has a family lineage that traces back to the Childres/Childress family who married into Pryor families in Colonial Virginia; his 6th great grandparents were Robert Childers/Childress and Nancy Pryor. Robert was a son of Henry Childress born about 1730 in Albemarle Co., VA.
An article about Obama’s connection to the Bunch line also appeared in the NY Times this morning http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/us/obamas-mother-had-african-forebear-study-suggests.html?pagewanted=all. Bunch or Punch are not names that I’ve seen connected with the Pryors, so I had to Google to see what I could find, afterall they were all in roughly the same area of Virginia. In case anyone is interested in researching further, I found Thomas Bunch born 1763 in Louisa Co., VA was the father of Pryor Bunch. Perhaps there’s a Pryor connection in this line?
I know… there are alot of Thornton and Samuel Pryors, so I should clarify which brothers. Thornton born about 1781 and Samuel born between 1760 – 1785 were the sons of Joseph Pryor of Botetourt County, VA and his wife Mary Flemming. They were grandsons of Col. Samuel Pryor and Prudence Thornton.
Recently I spent some time searching and reading through Revolutionary War Pension applications. I didn’t find on filed for Joseph Pryor, however I found that serveral men who had filed for pensions claimed to have served under Capt. Joseph Pryor of Botetourt County. I’ve posted quotes that contain information of where they marched and fought while in his companty (read more). The last record I found of Joseph Pryor in Virginia was when he sold 3 slaves in 1800. He was recorded that same year in Woodford County, KY.
Based upon the date of his will, Joseph Pryor died in Bourbon County around 1813. His sons Samuel and Thornton were named in his will. I’ve found traces of Samuel and Thornton in Tennessee and beyond, slowly piecing together their family trees.
I suspect that Samuel and Thornton traveled to Tennessee as part of their ventures in breading thrououghbread horses. In 1806 there was unclaimed mail for Samuel Pryor and Thornton Pryor at the Nashville Post Office. I found in “The Papers of Henry Clay” (yes, the same Henry Clay who was a politician and a statesman!) “Thornton was the brother of Samuel Pryor, trainer and part owner of the horse, Truxton, which raced under Andrew Jackson’s colors.” And, yes indeed this was the same Jackson who became the hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812, later the seventh president of the United States and the guy on the twenty dollar bill. I did some more searching to when General Andrew Jackson owned Truxton and found a 1832 statement that claimed Truxton was sold to Jackson twenty-five years earlier; in about 1807, by “Samuel Pryor of Kentucky.”
It’s facinating how it all comes together! Gen. Jackson was from Middle Tennessee. 1807 is about the time letters were held in Nashville for Thornton and Samuel. In 1814 Thornton Pryor was accused in an assault case in Robertson County, TN; I suspect this is the same Thornton Pryor.
The last known records I’ve found of Thornton Pryor was the petition he filed in 1828 concering his father’s estate and then the 1830 Census in Owen Co., KY.
I suspect that Samuel Pryor, the one who sold Truxton to Jackson, is the Samuel Pryor counted on the 1830 Census in Montgomery County, TN. In 1830 this Samuel was 50 to 59 years old (born between 1771-1780) which makes him the right age to be a son Joseph and Mary Pryor.
The Samuel in Montgomery County had only one known child, although there were several younger peopel recorded in his household on the 1830 census. Samuel’s known child was Edward L. Pryor who married Martha A Ryburn and then in 1845 he settled in Hemstead County, AR. When Edward arrived in Arkansas there was already a Richard Pryor born in Virginia and living in Hempstead County. Both men appear to have been literate and prominent in the county: Richard was a postmaster and Edward L. a census taker. Richard Pryor was the trustee of the Spring Hill Male Academy. I haven’t ruled out that Richard and Edward were brothers, however there was only one male 20-29 years old in Samuel’s house in 1830 and that was most likely Edward L.
If you’ve been reasearching this line, please share by commenting!
SOURCES:
American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, Volume 4 by J S Skinner, publ. September 1832.
The American Race Turf Register, Sportsman’s Herald and General… by Patrick Nisbett Edgar of Granville County, NC in 1833
Making the American Thoroughbred: Especially in Tennessee, 1800-1845, by James Douglas Anderson, Balie Peyton
I promised readers some new information on the Taylor line of Spicy and Massie who married William Pryor and John Pryor in Campbell Co. VA.
When I was piecing together the Pryors in Campbell Co., VA and in Cumberland Co., VA I kept stumbling upon Taylors. The Taylors grabbed my interest because my ancestors John and William Pryor married sisters (daughters of Edmund/Edward Taylor) Massie and Spicy Taylor in Campbell Co. I knew I’d eventually come back and explore the Taylor connections and got a chance to do just that after hearing from Cousin Ty who has turned over some new VERY interesting research.
Ty found a book titled “Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Indiana: With Reminiscences of Pioneer Days”, Volume 3, by B F Bowen & Co., published 1908 (Google Books ).
“Mr. Taylor was born in Fleming County, Kentucky, February 21, 1838, the son of Richard Oglesby Taylor. Grandfather Taylor came to America from England and settled in Virginia, where he farmed until the War of 1812, when he enlisted and was killed in battle. He was of a family of four boys and three girls, one brother having come to America. Richard Taylor, father of the subject, was born in Appomattox county, Virginia.”
The quote above is from the biography of John Stafford Taylor, a grandson of Hezekiah Taylor of Campbell Co., VA. For those of us who are familiar with the Pryors and Taylors, it’s important to note this is not the Hezekiah who was a brother to Massie and Spicy Taylor, but the Hezekiah Taylor who married Polly Oglesby and died in The War of 1812. Polly Oglesby Taylor remarried in 1815 to Isaac Crews.
Ty and I have had similar results in researching Taylors in Campbell Co. and Cumberland Co.—we just can’t match out direct ancestor Edmund/Edward Taylor to any of the known Taylor lines. We’ve also tried to match up Hezekiah Taylor who died in The War of 1812, but he too seems like a “stray” Taylor. So, the biography of Hezekiah’s grandson opens a new possibility—Were Edmund and Hezekiah brothers? Did Edmund and Hezekiah immigrate to Virginia from England in perhaps the 1780’s?
Appomattox County helps tie the Taylors and Pryors to a specific area of Campbell County, VA—the area of Campbell County that was sectioned off to become part of Appomattox County in 1845! Ty also found a reference to Richard Oglesby Taylor in the book “The Bound Boy” (1994) by Harold D. Cromwell, stating again that Richard’s origins were in Appomattox County. When I looked at the 1850 Census in Appomattox County I found some familiar names: House 214 Mary Crews 39, House 218 Pryor Martin, House 226 Joseph Crews, House 228 Howlett Martin, House 234 Edward Taylor (son of Hezekiah Taylor & Polly Oglesby)
The Name Game
There is a lot to be said for naming traditions in early American families. The years of birth for Edmund and Hezekiah children are somewhat cloudy, so we aren’t really sure of their birth order or year of birth. Below is our best estimate from available records. What stands out is that Edmund/Edward named a son Hezekiah and Hezekiah named a son Edward.
| Edmund/Edward Taylor and wife Elizabeth Chesley 1785 Hezekiah 1793 Spicy 1790 John 1790 David 1795 Massie 1800 Jane 1802 Pleasant 1798 Elizabeth 1807 Mary “Polly” 1810 |
Hezekiah Taylor and wife Polly Edward 1807 Richard Oglesby 1811 Stafford 1808 Sarah 1807 |
The Grandfather’s Marriage
State of VA, County of Campbell: I George Wm. Dabney, Clerk of the County Court of Campbell, State of VA, do hereby certify that from the register of Marriages, kept and __?__in the office of the Court aforesaid, it appears that the Rites of Holy Matrimony were solemnized between Hezekiah Taylor and Polly Oglesby on the 20th day of May 1807 by the Rev. William Flowers, a legally authorized Minister of the Gospel. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said court at office this 19th day of April 1853 George Mc Dabney, Clk (or it might be George Wm. Dabney (NOTE: William Flowers also performed the marriage of Elizabeth Pryor and John Harris on 16 Dec 1800)
War of 1812 Records
HEZ TAYLOR, Campbell Co, Private, 5th Regiment Infantry, $48.00 Annual Allowance. $240 Amount Received , Died Nov 30, 1812, Pension started April 15, 1819 , HEIRS: Stafford Taylor , Edward Taylor, Sarah Taylor, Richard Taylor
NOTE: The widow, Polly Oglesby Taylor, remarried on 12 Nov 1815 to Isaac Crews.
War of 1812 Pension document on Ancestry.com. It says that in 1854 Polly Crews pension for Hez Taylor was increased to $3.50 on 19 Sept 1854 and that the last payment was made in 1859. So was Polly still alive in 1850? If so, I haven’t been able to find her on the 1850 Census.
1820 Census – The Foreigners in the House
Recorded on same page in Campbell Co., VA: Isaac Crews, Edward Taylor, Hezekiah Taylor. NOTE: 2 non US citizens were recorded in Edward (Edmund) Taylor’s household – perhaps one of these people was Edmund himself. The actual census column is labeled “Foreigners not naturalized.” Please don’t message me that you don’t see this on Ancestry.com. Ancestry’s census is so enhanced you can see the writing on the other side of the page. I had to look at the 1820 Census on HeritageQuest (a service through my local library) and Ty used CensusRecords.com.—both were clearer than what was seen on Ancestry. The question of nationality was not asked in 1810 and I haven’t found any Taylor nor Pryor households in 1830 showing any “aliens” in the household.
1880 Census
I found only 3 children born to Edmund/Edward Taylor and Hezekiah Taylor who lived to the 1880 Census, the first census where each subject had to state their parents’ place of birth.
Richard O Taylor, son of Hezekiah (d. War of 1812) living in Greene Co., IN. Father’s place of birth blank.
Edward Taylor, son of Hezekiah (d. War of 1812) living in Appomattox Co., VA. Father’s place of birth VA
Hezekiah Taylor, son of Edmund/Edward Taylor, living in Overton Co., TN. Father’s place of birth VA.
If you have any further information on these Taylor or Pryors, please share!