Recently I found myself grouping Pryors by affluence. The Pryor families in Colonial and early-American Virginia were similar to other well- known figures like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. In the 1700’s and early 1800’s land was a measure of wealth. Heads of families saw themselves as yeoman farmers, gentry. Education was prized and the affluent Pryor families patronized universities. The affluent Pryors served their country during the American Revolution and the War of 1812, holding the rank of Major, Colonel, and General.
Col. Samuel Pryor b. 1698 > John Pryor b. 1743 > Richard Pryor and Ann Bland> Theodorick Pryor > Roger A Pryor. Nancy Bland who married Richard Pryor was the grand-daughter of a president of William and Mary College (William Yates). Theodorick Pryor attended Hamden Sydney College. One biography of Theodorick Pryor states that he met with Jefferson Davis several times. Roger A Pryor, the son of Theodorick Pryor was a member of congress, Civil War general, and a judge in NY state after the Civil War. Theodorick’s brother, Richard Pryor was a trustee of Spring Hill Male Academy.
Col. Samuel Pryor b. 1698 > John Pryor b. 1743 > Luke Pryor & Ann Batte Lane> Luke Pryor b. 1820 & John Benjamin Pryor. Luke Pryor was a US Senator and his brother John Benjamin Pryor was a noted race horse trainer for affluent Adam Lewis Bingaman (member of the MS house of representative and senate).
Col. Samuel Pryor b. 1698 > John Pryor b. 1743 > Richard Pryor and Ann Bland > Philip Pryor > Samuel B Pryor and Charles R. Pryor. Richard Bland was a member of the first Continental Congress. His daughter Ann Bland married John Pryor, a son of Col. Samuel Pryor of Goochland Co., VA. Their son Philip settled in Brunswick Co., VA and was the father of Samuel B. Pryor who was a cadet in the first class at Virginia Military Institute (VMI), attended Hamden Sydney College and became the first mayor of Dallas, TX. Samuel’s brother, Charles R. Pryor, was the editor of the Dallas Herald, held a medical degree from the University of Virginia and was the Secretary of State for the Confederate State of Texas.
Christopher Pryor b. 1745 – d. 1803, John C. (Clayton) Pryor was a governor of William and Mary College; he sat on the Board of Visitors from 1816 to 1837.
Brazure Williams Pryor b. 1775-1794 Served as a Brigadere General in the War of 1812. Member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He also hosted General Lafayette on his return to the US in 1824. Customs Collector at the Port of Norfolk. Bazure was the grandson of Brazure Williams and possibly the son of a Samuel Pryor who was named as Williams’ son-in-law in his will.
David Pryor b. 1738 and Susan Ballow of Amherst Co.> Their daughter Mitchie Pryor married Randolph Jefferson the brother of President Thomas Jefferson. Their son Nicholas B. Pryor wrote to Thomas Jefferson in 1813 requesting a military appointment and later became a county commissioner in Nashville. Nicholas’ sons were lawyers and postmasters, and his daughters married well (Emily married James Dibrell who was a physician).
Major John Pryor who married Ann Beverly Whiting. He served in the American Revolution and resided in Richmond, Va from the time of his marriage in 1807. A Randolph cousin of Thomas Jefferson’s lived in their household. He was wealthy enough to own a pleasure park and owned race horses.
