Leroy B. Pryor is one of the Jackson County, TN Pryors who remains a mystery. Solving Leroy’s ancestry will probably clean up many of the unresolved Pryor lines in this county!
Leroy B. Pryor first appeared in District 9 of the 1850 Census (wayback machine link).
In the same district are John Y. Crocker and the elder Sary Pryor aged 86 born in NC (perhaps his wife’s grandmother?). John Y. Crocker had a son named Allen P. living in household… Perhaps Allen “Pryor” after the older Allen Pryor who was living in District 1 of Jackson County. The Crockers had another Pryor connection in Jackson County: Rhoda and Polly Pryor (daughters of Henry B. Pryor of Pike Co., AL) were living with William and Alsey Pryor in District 1. These Pryor sisters married William B. Crocker and Thomas W. Crocker respectively and settled in Williamson County, TN. It’s not yet known why Henry’s daughters continued to live in Tennessee as teens after Henry moved to Alabama with his sons.
Naming traditions were not always followed, but they can be clues to sort through the relationships. In 1855 Henry’s son Robert/Robertsonnamed a daughter Rhoda Ann presumably after his sister or perhaps both girls were named for an older relative. Henry B. named sons Luke and Allen. We know Luke was his grandfather. Could Allen be a brother? Henry B. was born 1790 in South Carolina, he could be a brother of Allen and Alfred in Jackson Co. who were born 1810 and 1808 respectively in South Carolina? Neither Allen nor Alfred named sons Luke, Henry, nor John which may have been a strong naming tradition if they were from Henry B.’s line.
In District 9 living near Leroy B. Pryor is Jane Pryor Allen b. 1827. She was counted in the household of her mother in law Rebeca Allen and her husband Robert N. Allen. Jane died in 1919 and her Jackson County death record states her maiden name as “Pryer” and her mother as Linda Pryor. Jane was the mother of 12 Allen children. The first Allen son was named Jesse and the last named Robert N. Allen Jr. It can not be ruled out that Jane was related to Jesse Pryorwho was recorded on Overton County census records.
Leroy B. Pryor left Tennessee and was in Greene County, MO by 1852. In 1854 he was recorded in Washington County, and by the time of the 1860 Census in Crawford County (Wayback Machine link). In 1870 and 1880 he was counted in Phelps County (Wayback Machine link). If there is a clue in the westward migration pattern, Leroy’s son John Pryor, John Y. Crocker, and also the children of Alfred Pryor and Serrena Dill Pryor who lived in District 1 of Jackson County, TN moved to Iron County, MO (Wayback Machine link) which borders the counties in which Leroy lived.
Allen and Alfred Pryor on Jackson County census records stated their place of birth as South Carolina. The Sary Pryor living with the Crockers and her probable grand-daughter, Dorcas Dennis (?) Crocker, both stated their place of birth as North Carolina. Rhoda Pryor Crocker stated her parents were born in South Carolina which is consistent with where her father Henry B. Pryor stated he was born on the 1850 Census. Leroy B. Pryor stated on the 1880 Census that both of his parents were born in North Carolina. Other census entries are confusing if not unreliable. For example, the children of Allen Pryor when counted in Franklin County, IL (Wayback Machine link) in 1880 stated their parents were born in Tennessee.
An interesting link is Mayhew (Mahue, Mayhugh) England. In 1850 and 1860 he was counted living with Nelson families in Jackson County, TN. In 1900 Mayhew England was counted in Iron Co., MO one house away from Margaret Pryor Anderson, a daughter of Alfred Pryor. Mayhew’s Missouri death record states he was the son of Austin England and Margaret Nelson. Now if we can just tease out the relationships from the connection of the Pryors and the Englands: In 1830 Austin’s father, Jeremiah England, was counted near Jesse Pryor in Overton County, TN. Jeremiah was on the 1850 Census in District 10 of Jackson County, TN. In his household was wife Sally and two Romine children. More Romines, Englands, and Pryors are on the Census records in Greene County, IL (Wayback Machine link).
What if we go backwards in the records to look for a connection? The 1840 Census for Jackson County, TN (Wayback Machine link)may hold clues in how the family names are grouped in the record. Found on pages 282 through 286 that cover District 9 are households of Pryor, Crocker, Allen and Romine. … More in PART III