You’ll notice that the TN Pryors website (http://www.tnpryors.com) now looks more like the new look of the Tennessee Pryor blog. I’m also doing some clean up to make sure pages age available and links are working properly. As a result of the clean up Nebraska and South Dakota records are now back online. Hurray!
Was it really almost 3 years ago I last wrote about the genealogy of St Joseph trombonist Arthur Pryor? (https://tennesseepryors.com/famous-pryors/trailing-trombonist-arthur-pryor/) How time flies when you’re chasing Pryors!
This week we made great headway and I hope to hear from other researchers to fill in the blanks. Multiple biographic articles written during his lifetime state that Arthur’s father was the son of Samuel Pryor born 1844 in Clay County, MO. I speculated, but we now know who were Arthur’s aunts and uncles.
James T. Pryor. He was born January 1830 per the 1900 Census in St. Joseph. In 1870 he stated his place of birth was IN, however in 1880 and 1900 he stated his place of birth as NC. The tie-breaker for his place of birth was the description for his enlistment in the Union Army during the Civil War: he was born in Guilford, NC. James’ kinship with Arthur Pryor was suspected because a grandson was remembered as a cousin of the bandmaster in an obituary. James Pryor’s obituary was found this week in Google News – the St. Joseph News-Press on April 4, 1907 stated “Arthur Pryor’s Uncle Dead.”
Emsley R. Pryor. He was born in the 1830’s in North Carolina per the 1870 and 1880 Census in St. Joseph. I had already “penciled in” Emsley as kin to Samuel and Arthur Pryor because Emsley was a bugler during the Civil War – he just seemed likely to be part of this musical family. Emsley’s connection to Arthur Pryor was confirmed by his son Frank Pryor’s obituary which stated he was the cousin of Arthur Pryor.
Robert Pryor. Born 1841 in Missouri per census records where in 1860 he was recorded in Buchanan Co. as simply R. Prior. Robert’s connection to the other Pryor brothers was found in his Civil War records. Robert and James T. Pryor went AWOL in 1863 and were arrested in 1864 in Bellview, NJ. Their military records indicate they were returned to the Midwest. His description for his enlistment in the Union Army: he was born in Clay County, MO. In 1870 Robert was back in St. Jo, married with children, and an Alice Pryor (his sister ) living with his family.
Samuel D. Pryor. Born 1844 in Liberty, Clay County, MO. Alas no sign of Samuel, his brothers or his parents on the 1850 Census in Clay Co. It’s suspected that he is the same person who was drafted as “Samuel Pryor” into the Union Army in 1863 with his Pryor brothers, however no service files have been located on Samuel Pryor. It should be noted that the Samuel Pryor who was drafted listed his occupation as “gentleman” as did an Alph Pryor, while Emsley and James T. listed their occupations as “laborer.” After the Civil War Samuel lived briefly with his wife and children in Midland, NE (1875 NE State Census) and then the family lived in Dallas, TX. Samuel Pryor is on the 1870 through 1900 US Census in Buchanan Co., MO.
Alice Pryor. Born 1847 in Texas. The Pryors may have migrated to the Republic of Texas or just after it became a state. Alice Pryor is on the 1870 Census in St. Joseph, MO—she was counted twice. She was first counted in a rooming house with Ida Stone age 8 (Ida later lived with Samuel Pryor and family). She was next counted with her brother Robert Pryor. In 1880 Alice may have been recorded on the census twice AGAIN. There is a musician Alice Pryor living in a St. Jo boarding house with an operatic company. The same year she was counted as “A. Hughs” in St. Jo with her husband John H. Hughes, nephew Robert S. Stone, and a brother named “A Prior” who was a musician. Alice is on the 1900 census with her husband this time Robert is identified as her “nephew.” Alice Pryor Hughes died November 14, 1923 (Missouri Death Certificate) and her obituary (again thanks to the St. Joseph News-Press and Google News! ) states she was the sister of Samuel Pryor and Arthur Pryor’s aunt. It also confirms her relationship with Emsley Pryor by naming his children as her relations.
Mrs. Stone. There is probably another sister who married a Mr. Stone. She is possibly the mother of Ida Stone born 1872 and son Robert S. Stone born 1868—they lived with Alice Pryor at various times.
Mr. A. Pryor. He was born in 1835 and is probably another brother. An “A Prior” was living with Alice Pryor Hughes on the 1900 US census, recorded as a brother, and was also a musician. He may be Alph Pryor who joined the Union Army in 1863 in Buchanan Co., MO. He may be the “A. Prior” who was living near Robert Pryor on the 1860 Census in St. Joseph.
Can you unlock the identity of Samuel’s other siblings?
Isn’t fun we start to solve a line of Pryors!
When I wrote about Samuel Pryor and wife Frances Meriwether (see post) (shortened link) I started stumbling upon other Meriwether connections. I’m sharing a list of these connections to advance your search in VA.
1. Samuel Pryor purportedly married Frances Morton Meriwether in 1760 in Goochland Co., VA.
2. Frances Morton Meriwether later Pryor was the mother of George Meriwether who was an early settler in Louisville, KY area and had written to George Rogers Clark (the brother of the Lewis and Clark explorer) to advance to founding of Louisville.
3. Nathaniel Pryor who came from Louisville to serve in the Lewis and Clark Expedition had been bounded (as an apprentice?) to Obadiah Newman on 15 October 1795 in Jefferson Co., KY (Louisville’s county); Obadiah was married Martha W. Meriwether.
4. Of course, Mr. Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was Meriwether Lewis.
5. Martha “Patsy” Pryor, daughter of William Pryor and Elizabeth Hughes married Robert Meriwether. She was born in 1782 and is on the 1850 Census in Goochland County, VA.
Over the winter I was contacted by a researcher who was trying to piece together the line of Dr. Samuel Pryor of VA and his wife Frances Meriwether, nee Morton. Before her marriage to Samuel, Frances married Nicholas Meriwether, a man from a prominent Goochland County, VA family. In this first marriage, Frances gave birth to a son in about 1745 and he was named George Meriwether. After the death of her first husband, Frances married Samuel Pryor on August 27, 1760 per the records of St. James Northam Parish in Goochland County. The parish records also record that Samuel and Frances were the parents of young Samuel Pryor who was baptized on January 12, 1762.
The researcher points outs that Frances was married to Nicholas Meriwether from 1740 to about 1758, but a son John Alexander Pryor born about 1750 is attributed to her marriage to Pryor. She wisely questioned whether Frances was having children with Samuel Pryor while she was still married to Meriwether.
Now that I’m looking at what I have on Samuel and Frances, I question the children attributed to their marriage: Nancy, John Alexander, and Marietta. Where did these names come from? What’s the proof that the right people are in the right positions in this branch of the Pryor tree?
While doing a little online research on this union I found The Encyclopedia of Louisville By John E. Kleber states that Frances and her first husband were the parents of George Meriwether and Nicholas Meriwether born in 1745 and 1749 respectively. Yet… here’s my real beef… Dr. Samuel Pryor the son of Col. William Pryor and the husband of Frances Meriwether was born somewhere about 1740. Was Samuel only five years younger than George Meriwether, his step-son?
I looked for records that would prove the relationship. The only record is the marriage of Samuel Pryor and Frances cited in the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, volume 15 published in 1915. The magazine published the St. James Northam parish records, including the marriage of “1760, Aug. 27. Samuel Pryor , of Amelia County, & Frances Morton, of this parish.
There are mostly second-hand references to Frances Morton as the same person who was the widow of Nicholas Meriwether:
1915 – The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 13 by Kentucky Historical Society. A letter from Judge William S. Pryor to Henry Strother dated December 1, 1914.
The Meriwethers and Their Connections, published 1991 by the Meriwether Society references a earlier publication, “Frances Morton about 1740. After his death she married Samuel Pryor. Frances Morton was listed as “Mary Frances Pryor” in Louisa HA Minor’s genealogy in 1892.”
Is this a Pryor genealogy question that people searching their Virginia Pryors have know about for a long time? Is there a source to answer it?
I remarked in an earlier post that I was leaving the Rectors for another day. Well, today’s the day.
The Rectors were German immigrants that settled in colonial Virginia. Though my research and the research of others, we have turned over numerous connections to the Pryors in Virginia and later in Tennessee.
My own Pryor line is descended from John Pryor and Massie Taylor who were married in Campbell Co., VA in 1812 and settled in Sumner Co., TN. Massie’s sister Spicy Taylor married a William Pryor in 1809 and settled in Overton Co., TN. John and William Pryor are probably brothers, sons of an older John Pryor from VA (I’ll refer to him as John Sr. throughout the rest of this post).
John Sr. AND a Rector were first documented together in 1790..
On 15 March 1790, John PRYER witnessed the following deed “from Murrell CUNNINGHAM of Campbell to William BURNETT of Campbell, for 30,000 weight of nett, inspected tobacco, 1 Negro woman, Fanny, and 9 children viz. Sam, London, Lymas, Agness, Betty, Charlotte, David, Coye, and William. Signed – Murrell CUNNINGHAM. Wit – John PRYER, Charles RORK, Martin RECTOR (X his mark) . This bill of sale was recorded Apr 1, 1790.” (Campbell County Virginia Deeds, 1784 – 1790 published by T.L.C. Genealogy (Miami), p. 72, referencing deed book page 474)
The following year Martin Rector appears on another document. Edward Deckey, believed to be Edward Dickey is also a signer. Edward Dickey was the father of Sally Dickey, the first wife of Hezekiah Taylor, a brother in law of both John and William Pryor (Hezekiah was Massie and Spicy Taylor’s brother.
Petition dated August 1, 1791 Connected Campbell Co. Signers:
John DECKEY, Edward DECKEY, Wrenny CREWS, Martin RECTOR, Thomas OGLESBY, Murrell CUNNNINGHAM.
I suspect it was John Sr. who witnessed Jacob Rector’s will in 1779. John’s known children were William born 1761-1770, John born 1780-1789, and probably Elizabeth Pryor Harris born about 1780. The ages of his children help to determine that John Sr. was an adult and alive at the time of Jacob Rector’s will.
John PRYER with Gideon MARTIN, Jane PRESTON, Thomas STOVALL witnessed the will of Jacob RECTOR in Bedford County VA on 26 Oct. 1779. John Pryer along with Gideon Martin proved the will by oaths on 22 Nov. 1779. John Pryer along with David Martin and Thomas Stovall inventoried the estate of Jacob Rector on 3 Dec. 1779, returned 22 January 1781. “Prier” also used at one place in the record. (Abstracts of Bedford County Virginia Wills, Inventories and Accounts by Joida Whitten, Taylor Publishing Company (Dallas), pp. 101 and 113, referencing will book pp. 359-60 and 387.)
Another connection that helps to place John Sr. and Martin Rector in the same community: their minister, William Flowers.
Martin RECTOR and Sarah MARTIN, bond 20 December 1804. Consent David Martin, father of the bride. Martin Rector (b) and David Martin (b); David Martin Jr. (w) and James Martin (w). M. R. 25 December 1804 by William Flowers. Marriages of Campbell County, Virginia, 1782-1810 By Lucy Harrison Miller Baber, Hazel Letts Williamson.
If you search the records of Fentress and Overton County, you’ll see Flowers families who migrated to Tennessee from Virginia. William Flowers of Campbell County performed not only the marriage of Martin Rector—he also married Elizabeth Pryor to John Harris in 1800, and another Hezekiah Taylor from Campbell Co., VA who married Polly Oglesby in 1807 (this Hezekiah died in Canada during the War of 1812).
The Pryor and Rector connections continue in Roane and Anderson Counties, Tennessee.
William PRYER, S#362 2-1-1811, E#812 1-21-1811. 5 acres on Piles Turnpike Road on Rocky Branch of Little Emerys River . SCC: Reuben Williams, John RECTOR. Recorded 2-22-1811. Lifted 1-22-1812 by William PRYOR. Ansearchin’ News, East Tennessee Surveys, 1807-1813, Roane County.
On the 1830 Census there there’s a Rector living near Harris PRYOR; John RECTOR is enumerated on the line below Harris.
Martin Rector’s estate is described in this case in Roane Co., TN, revealing the names of his heirs. Martin Rector. No Pryors mentioned.
http://www.tngenes.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=132:rector-martin-a-david-martin-rector-estate-case-roane-county-tn-1833-&catid=42:transcriptions&Itemid=54
The most confounding connections are the Pryors and Rectors who appear out side of Roane, Anderson, and Morgan Counties in Tennessee.
– John Pryor b. 1833, son of James and Nancy Pryor in Overton Co. married a Kitty Rector.
– John T. Pryor b. 1788 in KY is mentioned with “T” Rector in a 1823 Gasconade Co., MO will.
– Philip Pryor b. 1791 in NC (son of Matthew Pryor Sr.) married a Miss Reeter. Since there were no Reeters in TN, it’s speculated she was a Rector.