Williamson County Pryors Connected to Other TN Pryor Lines

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I received an email from a Pryor researcher who was looking at the Pryor families in Williamson County, TN. It caused me to take another look at these Pryors. Which Colonial (VA, NC, SC) Pryor lines are they connected to? Who are their relatives who were in other TN counties at the same time?

I’m inclined to believe the Pryors in Williamson County are connected to other Pryor lines in Tennessee. The patriarch of the Williamson County line was Luke Pryor.  Researchers have often speculated that Luke was born in South Carolina in about 1740. Sarah Pryor born about 1784 in SC has long been claimed as his daughter. Sarah married David Squire, Hugh McCabe, Daniel Carter, and Angus McPhail. Sarah McPhail age 78 is on the 1850 Census in Williamson County. She stated her place of birth was SC, which would put Luke Pryor in South Carolina in about 1772.

I’ve found a connection that may confirm Luke Pryor living in SC. In 1786 a Luke Pryor deeded land to John Waller Pryor in Marlboro County, SC. The land was surveyed by Alex. Craig. Mr. Craig piqued my interest because I found that an Alexander Craig was on the 1812 Tax List in Maury Co., TN (a county bordering Williamson Co.). In later years a younger Alexander Craig was living Williamson Co. In 1830 Hugh McCabe, and probably wife Sara Pryor, were counted in Maury County. This isn’t solid proof, but it’s a strong lead.

If you’re interested in the ancestry of Luke Pryor, I have another juicy lead– I’ve found John Waller Pryor (named in the Marlboro Ccounty deed above). I found an online family tree that included the marriage of a John Pryor to Mary Waller. This John Pryor left a will (I haven’t seen it) in Halifax County, NC. Could John Waller Pryor be the son of this Pryor union?

Through Williamson County Guardian Records it’s been determined that Luke Pryor was the father of John Pryor. John Pryor was born between 1760 and 1770, possibly in South Carolina and these records state he was the father of Henry B. Pryor born 1790. The odd twist is that we find that Henry B. was living in Pike County, AL in 1850, however Rhoda Pryor and Mary Ann Pryor were living in Jackson Co. with a William Pryor b. 1814 in TN.

The Jackson County connection leads one to wonder if William, Rhoda, and Mary Ann Pryor were related to any of the other Pryors in Jackson Co.  Jackson Co. residents Allen and Alfred Pryor were both born in SC and are of the right ages to be grandsons of Luke Pryor. Both Rhoda and Mary Ann married Crockers, and in 1850 there was a Sarah Pryor b. 1764 in NC living in the household of John Y. Crocker.

Allen Pryor died in Jackson Co., TN sometime between 1852 and 1860 Census. His wife Cinderella moved the family to Franklin County, IL.  Tabitha Pryor of Wilson County, TN (the widow of Thomas Pryor) was also in the same county by the 1870 Census. Cinderella’s son, Alfred, was counted as an “uncle” in Tabitha’s daughter’s household in 1920. While the relationship is a bit murky—he was probably a cousin not an uncle—this later census record connects the Wilson County Pryors to the lines that can be traced back to Luke Pryor in Williamson Co., TN.

Back to the Crockers. By the time of the 1870 Census John Y Crocker and wife Dorcas/Tabitha were living in Iron County, MO.  By 1880 Bird and Montz/Mounce Pryor, children of Alfred Pryor of Jackson Co., TN, were also living in Iron Co.  Jane A. Pryor Nelson, the mother of Matthew, John, and Solomon Nelson, also left Jackson County to settle in Iron County by 1880.  And it should be noted that Bird Pryor married Surena Crocker, a daughter of John Y. Crocker.

I’ve yet to identify a connection for William S. Pryor of Williamson Co., TN. He was appears on the 1820 Census and a few records between 1820 and 1820. He was born in 1775 or earlier. I have an inkling that he’s connected to the other Pryors in Williamson County, but as we all know, an inkling isn’t proof of anything in genealogy.

So if we do a head count on the 1850 Census of this branch of the Pryor family tree… here’s who I believe are connected:

  • Henry B. Pryor of Pike Co., AL
  • Allen and Alfred Pryor of Jackson Co., TN
  • Jane A. Pryor Nelson of Jackson Co., TN
  • Dorcas/Tabitha who married John Y. Crocker of Jackson Co., TN
  • Rhoda and Mary Ann Pryor who lived with William Pryor and wife Alsey in Jackson Co., TN
  • Thomas Pryor in Wilson Co., TN. His widow and children moved to Franklin Co., IL and interacted with the widow and children of Allen Pryor (see above)

Is there anyone else on the 1850 Census that I forgot?

 

Category: Tennessee Pryors | Tags:

Seth Pryor, Revolutionary War Soldier

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I’m working through the Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications that are now on Ancestry.com. I think Seth Pryor, a Revolutionary War Soldier from South Carolina, needs a closer look. Continue reading →

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Mary Pryor (c. 1720) from Goochland County, VA

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Mary Pryor, another Pryor from VA! She’s the mother of Reuben Meriwether found in the Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications. Reuben Meriwether born 15 December 1743 in Goochland County, VA and later of Ann Arundel Co., MD, was a signer of the “Declaration of Freeman, the first declaration of independence. His father was Nicholas Meriwether (husband of Mary Pryor – or Prior).  Using Reuben’s birthdate as a frame of reference, Mary Pryor would have been born around 1720, putting her in the same generation as the grandchildren of Robert Pryor and Betty Virginia Green. Yet I don’t have anyone in my database of Pryors who seems to match this Mary. Several months ago I posted about Pryor and Meriwether connections (https://tennesseepryors.com/kentucky-pryors/more-meriwether-connections-to-va-and-ky-pryors/), so we can probably add this Pryor to the list!

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags:

So Smart: Pryors With a Higher Education in Early America

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On many old records so many ancestors couldn’t read nor write, I was surprised by all the Pryors with a higher education in early America. As I was searching for clues to the lines of Virginia Pryors I became aware that the descendants of John Pryor and his wife Ann Bland had a very high percentage of men who went to college and attained positions in institutions dedicated to higher education.

Richard Pryor b. 1805 (grandson) – He was the trustee of Spring Hill Academy

Theodorick Pryor b. 1805 (grandson) – Graduated Hampden Sydney College

Roger A. Pryor b. 1828 (great-grandson) – Graduated Hampden Sydney College and Law School at the University of Virginia.

Luke Pryor b. 1820 (grandson) – US Senator (did he have a higher education?)

John Benjamin Pryor (Grandson) – race horse trainer, his children received a private education in England.

Samuel B. Pryor b. 1820 (grandson) – First class of Virginia Military Institute, graduated Hampden Sydney College, first mayor of Dallas, TX.

Charles R. Pryor b. 1832 (grandson) – Graduated University of Virginia

Pryors of other Virginia ancestry were also well-educated:

Christopher J. D Pryor b. 1800 – Graduated from William and Mary, president of the Greensboro Female Academy in Alabama.

Major John Pryor – Sat on the board of Hampden Sydney College.

Peter and Green Pryor who were born in VA were attending the Harpeth Academy in Williamson Co., TN when the War of 1812 broke out.

And the ladies:

Rachel Medora Pryor b. 1829 was a daughter or John C. Pryor and Ann E. Bullard of VA.  In 1850 she was recorded on the census while a student at the Nazareth Female Academy in Nelson Co., KY

 

 

Category: About TN Lines | Tags: ,

A Musician in Your Family Tree?

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Civil War Musical Instruments

Civil War Drum and Instruments – Gettysburg Visitor’s Center

Got a musician in your family tree? Does music run in your Pryor gene pool? The more I’ve searched for the ancestors of trombonist Arthur Pryor, the more I’ve found musicians named Pryor. My list started with Civil War era musicians listed as drummers and buglers. As I checked census records I found more. Enjoy this list of musicians named Pryor.

Arthur W. Pryor, the trombonist, was listed in the 1887 St. Joseph city directory as a musician.

Walter D. Pryor, brother of Arthur,  was listed in the 1887 St. Joseph city directory as a musician.

Samuel D. Pryor (Arthur’s father) was in the 1888 St. Joseph directory as the leader of Pryor’s Military Band and Orchestra.

Alice Pryor (aunt of trombonist Arthur Pryor).  1880 recorded as a musician living in a rooming house in St. Joseph, MO with an operatic company.

A. Prior (probably an uncle of Arthur Pryor) 1880 recorded as a musician living in St. Joseph, MO

J. B. Pryor b. 1840 in OH, living in Mono Co., CA in 1880. Recorded on the census as a musician.

Emsley R. Pryor (uncle of trombonist Arthur Pryor). 1890 Veteran’s Schedule states he was a bugler during the Civil War.

Milas Pryor was stationed in Norfolk, VA with the US Marine Corps in 1867. His rank was “musician”

David E. Pryor served in the Civil War from the State of Indiana as a musician.

John W. Pryor served in the Civil War from the State of Ohio as a musician.

Horace Prior of OH served in the Civil War as a bugler.

Richard Pryor served in the 61st Colored Infantry during the Civil War as a musician.

Theodore Prior born in NY in 1860 was recorded as a musician on the 1880 census.

Civil War Coronet and Saxohorns – Gettysburg Visitor’s Center

James Prior who immigrated from Ireland in 1833 was a musician.

Frisby Prior served in the 81st Colored Infantry during the Civil War as a musician.

Charles Prior – In 1862 he enlisted in the Civil War in NY as a musician.

Miss Theresa Prior of Evanston, IL was in the 1890 directory as a musician in Prior’s Orchestra.

C. M. Prior of Evanston, IL was also listed as a member of Prior’s Orchestra. As was Miss Emelia Prior and Frank A. Prior.

Hershal D. Pryor served in the Marine Corps from 1917 as a drummer.

George Pryor of Helena, MT recorded on 1890 Veteran’s Schedule as a drummer during the Civil War.

[This summer I visited Gettysburg and took photos of Civil War era instruments that were on display]

Category: Genealogy | Tags: , , , ,
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