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Identifying Joseph Pryor by Signature?

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Vanessa Wood

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.

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.

The 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.

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.

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?

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?

William Pryor of Botetourt County, A Bit About Texas & Kentucky, and the Tennessee Connections

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Vanessa Wood

Back to the Botetourt County Pryors (Pryors in Botetourt County, VA and Later in Kentucky). I heard from Betty who’s researching William Pryor, one of Austin’s Colony who settled in Austin’s Colony– before Texas was a Republic or a state, back when most of Texas was Mexico. Betty also reminded me that William made out his will and clearly stated he was born in Botetourt County. VA!

William’s will is in the courthouse in Bellsville, TX. It begins, “IN THE NAME OF OMNIPOTENT GOD, AMEN. I William Pryor, a native of Bottertot County in the state of Virginia, one of the United States of the North, and now a colonist of Austin’s Colony…” It’s dated 1832.

All we know of William Pryor is that he was born in Botetourt County, VA, was in Stewart Co., TN by 1804, moved to Clarke Co., AL in 1816, went to Texas in about 1824 and then died in San Felipe, TX in 1832.

William’s In Laws:

We’ve been able to fill in some of William’s kin. Betty found a court document showing that William became the guardian of Sampson Trammell’s minor children, helping to connect his wife to the Trammells (Sampson is likely her father).

William’s Brother?

One more piece to the puzzle: Betty found the March 2, 1849 death notice from the Nashville Christian Advocate: “REBECCA PRYOR wife of JAMES PRYOR, died Pike Co., Ill., Jan. 7, 1849; moved from Christian Co., Ky. to Stewart Co., Tenn., to Pike Co., Illinois.” A James B. Pryor was buying land in Pike County in 1840 and there’s a James Pryor on the 1850 Census in Pike County. He’s a postmaster (that’s a topic for yet another post on the Pryors!), born 1778 in VA, living near a Sarah Pryor Conner age 27 who was born in KY (possibly Christian County, KY?). So this is probably the James Pryor who was on the census with William Pryor in Stewart County and he’s certainly the right age to be William’s brother!

William’s Nephew?

Civil war records for William Pryor of White Co., IL reveal he was born in Stewart County, TN (about 1802) as well as his son James in 1825. William married Martha Ross, probably a relation of Captain Ross who was in charge of the 1809 Tax List in Stewart County. We know from the will in Texas that William who died in San Felip had one son named Trammel J. Pryor and he was removed from the Austin Colony on criminal charges and disowned in his father’s will, it’s clear that William born 1802 is not his son —perhaps a son of the James or John Pryor who were also on the 1809 Tax List of Stewart County.

More Nephews?

Geography plays a part in figuring out the kin of William of San Felipe. The land William settled in Stewart County, TN was in an area that is now a National Park called the Land Between the Lakes. Bordering this area of TN is Trigg and Christian Co., KY. Rebecca’s death notice and the early deed both indicate a connection to Christian Co. James Pryor who was in Stewart Co. and later was in Pike Co., IL, may be the same James Pryor who was on the 1840 Census in Trigg County. A Mary Pryor was on the 1820 Census in Stewart County and was living in Trigg Co., perhaps an indicator that William b. 1804 and James b. 1803 (Mary was living with him) and John b. 1813 are William’s nephews.

Who is William’s Father?

There weren’t too many Pryors in Botetourt at the time William was born (about 1770). The contenders are Luke, Joseph, and John Pryor. I haven’t seen any information on children born to Luke Pryor and his wife Susannah. John Pryor is likely the John Pryor who was the father of Nathaniel Pryor (based on one report that he moved to Botetourt with his brother in-law John Floyd). Joseph Pryor died in Bourbon Co., KY in 1812, mentioning his son William in his will. Betty and I are leaning toward Joseph as the father of William Pryor of San Felipe

* Joseph had a son named William. We know from census records and marriages that other children of Joseph and Mary Pryor were born between 1766 and 1784. The right time span for William of San Felipe.

* Joseph’s son William was alive in 1812 (at the time of his will). William died well after that date in San Felipe.

* There was no William Pryor recorded as a head of household in Bourbon County in 1810 until a much younger William was recorded on the 1850 Census. This fact leave open the possibility that William was living elsewhere, even at the time of his father’s will when he would have been an adult head of household.

* William had one son named Trammell J. Pryor. “Trammell” was carrying on the name of his mother’s side of the family. “J” may have been for “Joseph” or another “J” name on his father’s side of the family.

I’m not completely convinced that William Pryor was the son of Joseph Pryor and Mary Fleming, but for now they seem to be the most convincing set of parents I have for him.

Category: Kentucky Pryors, Tennessee Pryors, Texas Pryors | Tags: Botetourt County, Christian county, stewart county

Pryors in Botetourt County, VA and Later in Kentucky

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Vanessa Wood

I’m continuing to peck though the various VA Pryor lines and the records of Pryors in TN who claimed VA ancestry. It’s a challenge. I’m working in chunks so it will be interesting to see if these larger pieces give us the needed information to place people in their rightful family trees.

First, back to the family of Col. Samuel Pryor who married Prudence Thornton. Samuel and Prudence lived in Gloucester County, VA, where it’s agreed by most researchers that their children were: Col. William, John, Thornton, Robert, Luke, Francis, Joseph Sr., Nancy, and Molly. The marriages of Samuel’s children are fairly well-documented.

There are many family trees that show Samuel’s son Joseph Pryor (born 1731) settling in Bourbon County, KY. But before arriving in Kentucky the family lived in Botetourt County, VA, a county very near Virginia’s “wild west” of the 1700’s. Botetourt was situated near the frontier settlements in Greenbrier County and Kanawha County (both counties became part of West Virginia after the Civil War).

The earliest reference I’ve found naming Joseph Pryor in Botetourt Co. is a 1787 deed. The book A Seed-Bed of the Republic may give a clue to Joseph’s origins: “JOSEPH PRYOR, having come from Hanover County into Botetourt, purchased lands on the south side of the James.” The 1787 deed was transcribed as the “north” side of the river, so once one thing is in doubt makes me wonder how much else may be in doubt.

Joseph Pryor was on the 1800 Tax List in Woodford County, KY and counted on the census in Bourbon County in 1810, and deceased by 1813, the year his will was filed.

I suspect this lineage of Joseph Pryor is pretty well known to family history researchers, but what about the other Pryors who were in Botetourt County? In 1783 Joseph Pryor was counted with a Luke Pryor in Captain Preston’s Rangers. We know that they were brothers, confirmed by Luke’s 1785 will. After Luke’s death there is a Susannah Pryor on a deed in 1787 and on a 1796 deed she was referred to as “The Widow Pryor.”

I believe Susannah Pryor migrated to Kentucky about the same time as Joseph. The Holston Methodism, Vol. 1 states that in about 1810 Rev. Francis Poythress was elderly and mentally unstable when he died at the home of his sister Susannah Pryor in Jessamine County, KY. I have in my notes that Luke Pryor, son of Col. Samuel Pryor married Susannah Poythress in Amelia County in 1766. The 1810 Census was written in alpha-order so it’s difficult to tell who were her neighbors and thus who may have migrated to Kentucky with her. It’s possible that Susannah Pryor went to Kentucky about the time her brother-in-law Joseph moved there as they settled in neighboring counties and in 1800 Joseph sold three slaves in Botetourt County, perhaps in preparation of his move to Kentucky. Who else went to KY with Susanna?

I’m thinking we may be able to tie this line of VA and KY Pryors into the Pryors who migrated to Tennessee. Both Joseph and Susannah had moved west by 1800. Joseph died in 1812 and named his children in his will: Joseph, Samuel, William, Richard, Thornton, Edward, Ann Pryor Duvall, Polly, Nancy, and Prudence Pryor Hall. So we can presume these children were alive in 1812. I suspect that some of Joseph’s children went to Tennessee– in 1806 there was unclaimed mail for Samuel Pryor and Thornton Pryor at the Nashville Post Office. I wonder if the letters were ever collected.

I wonder about something else: Did Susannah Poythress and Luke Pryor have children? If they were married in 1766 and Luke died in about 1785 there was almost a 20 year period in which children may have been born. I know I’ve got a long list of Pryors born between 1766 and 1785 in VA who could be their children! Does anyone know if there is a record of Luke and Susannah’s children in either baptisms, deeds, or wills?

Category: Kentucky Pryors, Tennessee Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: Botetourt County, Bourbon County, Nashville