Tag Archives: Charlotte County

Elizabeth Gaines Pryor Obit – 1912

The obituary of Elizabeth Gaines Pryor published in The Tennessean on 28 Jun 1912 provides some great nuggets to piece together this branch of the Pryor family.elizabeth-gaines-pryor-obit1

Elizabeth Gaines Pryor in the census records:

1910 Census Hamilton Co., TN
Chattanooga 1st Ward, ED#45, sheet 1b, house 203/15 William PRYOR 34 KY VA VA, insurance agent. Ruta wife 33 TN TN TN. Elizabeth PRYOR mother 72 widow VA VA VA (See 1912 death)

1900 Census Chattanooga, Hamilton Co., TN
10th Dist., page 91a, house 616 Oak St. Elizabeth H. PRYOR 10/1837 62 widow 10 children/2 living VA VA VA, William H. son 7/1875 24 KY VA VA, Philip J. son 7/1883 19 TN VA VA.

1880 Census Montgomery Co., TN
Samuel E. PRYOR 45 KY KY KY, Eliz F 40 wife KY KY KY, Mary C 14 dau KY, Sam 14 son KY, Martha 12, William 5, Virginia 3.

1870 Census Todd Co., KY
Trenton Twp. Page 461a. Samuel D. PRYOR 35 farmer VA, Elizabeth 32 VA, Richard G. 11 VA, Elizabeth V. 9 VA, Mary C. 6 VA, Samuel 4 VA, Pattie 2 VA, Samuel Gains 28 lawyer VA, Ada S. 22 VA, Frances 1 VA.

1860 Census Charlotte Co., VA
Charlotte Court House, page 247 house 422 Richard J Gaines 60 farmer Charlotte VA, Eliza W. 58 Charlotte VA, Mary C 28 Charlotte VA, Robt. H. 26 Charlotte VA, Robt. C. Bouldin 27 lawyer Charlotte VA, Mary R. 27 Charlotte VA, M. M. Bouldin (f) 8 Prince Edward Co. VA, Eliza L Bouldin 1 Charlotte VA, Sallie H. Morton 12 Charlotte VA, Wm J Roach 20 overseer Charlotte VA
Charlotte Court House, page 247 house 423 Sam E. PRYOR 26 Dinwiddie Co VA, Bettie F. 22 Charlotte Co. VA, R. G. Pryor (m) 2 Charlotte Co. VA

Is There A Relationship Between the Rogers and Pryor Families?

pryor cards 2Isn’t it like a long-played game of Concentration?– turning over all the clues looking for a Pryor match? When a name continues to pop up in Pryor research it’s probably worth sharing. I have the feeling that John Rogers is about as popular a name as John Pryor.  After seeing John Rogers on so many Pryor documents I began to wonder if there was a connection between the Rogers and the Pryor families.

1740 Indenture Goochland County, NC – On 17 Sep 1740, the purchase of a tract of land by William New from Thomas Thornell. The land was on the North Side of the James River, 150 acres that had belonged to Edmund New, deceased, bordered by Thomas Bailey, Ebenezer Adams, Robert Rogers, David Patterson, Major Lewis. Signed by William and Pricsilla New. Witnessed by James Christian, Robert Christian, and John Prior.

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1755 Land Sale, Almance Co., NC – William Cox, planter, bought of William Peggott, saddler, in September, 1755, in consideration of 28 (pounds) Virginia money one hundred acres of land on the south side of Haw river and on Cane creek. This being a tract of land granted to Wm. Peggott by Granville’s agents in February, 1755. In that year John Rogers bought of George Yates, Governor of Virginia, for 15 (pounds) Virginia money, a tract of land lying on the north side of Haw creek in Orange in the presence of John Pryor, trustee, and others.

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1770 Land Deed Caswell Co., NC – 4 Dec 1780 – Roger Atkinson of Dinwiddie County VA to Armistead Rogers of Halifax County VA [son of Peter Rogers of Halifax County [VA], deceased] for 500 Pounds, 596 acres on Deep Creek, a tract Atkinson bought of John Pryor. Witnessed by Peter Rogers. Caswell County Deeds 1777-1814. (It’s generally accepted that Roger Atkinson was the grandfather of Roger Atkinson Pryor and that John Pryor may have been the great-grandfather of Roger Atkinson Pryor. Armistead Rogers b. 1750-1760 living in Montgomery Co., TN in 1830)

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1785 Land Deed, Halifax Co., NC – 26 Aug 1785 – John Rogers, Sr. of Halifax County VA to Roger Atkinson of Dinwiddie County VA, for 15 Pounds, 100 acres on north side of Hico Creek adjoining John PRYOR, County Line Creek. Halifax County Deed Book E., page 14.

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1801 Chancery Court Case Charlotte Co., VA- Samuel Pryor vs. John Harvey, mentions a parcel of land that Pryor purchased in Campbell Co., VA in Aug 1799. Purchased from John Rogers.

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1810 Deed Barren Co., KY – Jonathan Davis and wife Margaret to William Shirley. Land on Fallen Timber Creek. Names included Edmund Rogers, John Pryor, Jobe Glover. Wits: Nathaniel Carr, James McLain. Barren Co., KY Deed Book B, p. 339

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1811 Tax List for Davidson County, TN – Capt. James Bennings Co. – Richard Pryor (living near him are John Rogers, Burwell Sneed, David Krantz.  (Burwell Sneed is on the 1810 Census in Williamson Co., TN)

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1818 Estate Jackson Co., GA – Estate of John Thornton (born about 1775), Penelope Thornton, Prior Thornton, John Rogers, James H. Perdue, George Haney, William Sailors, William Grimes, Sarah Thornton, Polly Thornton, Jackson County Inventories, Appraisals, and Returns 1800-1839.

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1819 Estate Settlement, Orange Co., NC – William Rogers, deceased. 31st August 1819, Estate divided among heirs by commissioners in Orange Co., NC. William and John Rogers signed the estate sale as administrators. Other heirs, Luke Pryor, husband of Nelly Rogers (Luke Pryor settled in Williamson Co., TN)

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Sept 1831 Notice Crawford Co., AR – Territory of Arkansas, Court Appointed John Rogers the administrator of the estate of Nathaniel Pryor, deceased, Fort Smith, 10th Sept. 1831. The administrator asked all who held debts against Pryor to put in notice for payment from the estate.

Richard Pryor of Clarksville Nephew of Samuel Morton Gaines

When I read this obit of a Richard Pryor of Clarksville I wondered who he was. Searching for him in Ancestry and through Google didn’t turn over easy answers, but answers I found.

Obituary of Richard Pryor of Clarksville

THE RECORD OF DEATH
Daily Tobacco Leaf-Chronicle (October 27, 1892)
(accessed 9/12/14) https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88061072/1892-10-27/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1892&index=2&rows=20&words=Pryor&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=Tennessee&date2=1892&proxtext=pryor&y=8&x=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
Richard Pryor Dies Suddenly at York, Alabama.
There are many people in Clarksville who will be pained to learn of the death of Richard Pryor, formerly of this city. He died Saturday last at York, Ala., and was buried Sunday. The Pryor family, it will be remembered, lived in Clarksville for several years and were well liked here.

Richard Pryor, by the death of his father, had the care of a family thrown on him when he was a mere boy. He went to work, however, and supported his mother and sisters well. At the time of his death he was a popular paper drummer, travelling for Louis Snider & Sons, of Cincinnati. He was popular with the trade and his death will be very much regretted. He died of an attack of cramp colic.

A Second Obituary

Hopkinsville Kentuckian, October 28, 1892
Death of Richard Pryor.
(accessed on 9/12/14) http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069395/1892-10-28/ed-1/seq-3/
The Chattanooga Times of Sunday, contained the sad news of the sudden death of Mr. Richard Gaines Pryor, which occurred at York, Ala., on Saturday Oct. 22. Mr. Pryor was for a long time a resident of this city and enjoyed a wide personal acquaintance here. He was a commerical traveler for the well known Cincinnati paper house of Louis Snider’s Sons Co. He made this city on his regular sixty days’ trip just before going south early in October. He was regarded as one of the best paper drummers on the road and commanded a very handsome salary. He was a nephew of Capt. Sam M. Gaines, of Lexington. He was the chief support of a widowed mother and several younger [rest of text missing]

I found this Pryor family on the 1870 Census in KY. If Richard and his mother and siblings lived in Clarksville, TN it was perhaps after 1870.  I found his uncle Samuel Morton Gaines was living in Hopkinsville, Christian County, KY in 1880.

1870 Census Todd Co., KY
Trenton Twp. Page 461A. Samuel D. PRYOR 35 farmer VA, Elizabeth 32 VA, Richard G. 11 VA, Elizabeth V. 9 VA, Mary C. 6 VA, Samuel 4 VA, Pattie 2 VA, Samuel Gains 28 lawyer VA, Ada S. 22 VA, Frances 1 VA**

Then I located these Pryors in Charlotte Co., VA in 1860. This location makes sense because I also located the death record for Richard’s uncle, Samuel Morton Gaines– He died in 1928 in Washington, DC and the record states his parents were Richard J. Gaines and Martha W. Venable and he was born 1843 at Charlotte Court House, VA

1860 Census Charlotte Co., VA
Charlotte Court House, page 247 house 422 Richard J Gaines 60 farmer Charlotte VA, Eliza W. 58 Charlotte VA, Mary C 28 Charlotte VA, Robt. H. 26 Charlotte VA, Robt. C. Bouldin 27 lawyer Charlotte VA, Mary R. 27 Charlotte VA, M. M. Bouldin (f) 8 Prince Edward Co. VA, Eliza L Bouldin 1 Charlotte VA, Sallie H. Morton 12 Charlotte VA, Wm J Roach 20 overseer Charlotte VA
Charlotte Court House, page 247 house 423 Sam E. PRYOR 26 Dinwiddie Co VA, Bettie F. 22 Charlotte Co. VA, R. G. Pryor (m) 2 Charlotte Co. VA

Remember Richard’s uncle was Samuel Morton Gaines, two Chancery Court Cases help to explain the relationships– Samuel E. Pryor was married to Elizabeth F. Gaines and Samuel Morton Gaines was her brother.

1861 Chancery Court Case – Richard N Venable and the heirs of E W Morton Vs. the Executor of Elizabeth W Morton. One of the heirs was Elizabeth “Betty” Gaines the wife of Samuel Pryor, daughter of Martha W. Gaines, a daughter of Elizabeth W Morton. 1864 Chancery Court Case for the estate of William Gaines includes his daughter Elizabeth F Gaines Pryor and her husband Samuel E. Pryor.

I suspect Richard’s father, Sam E. Pryor, is same the Samuel who was counted in a school on the 1850 Census.

1850 Census Augusta County, VA
Dist. 2, page 309b, house 1393, Pike Powers’ academy, living in school with other young men… Samuel PRYOR 15 VA

I know, I know… all those gosh-darn Samuel Pryors in Virginia! I have in my notes that Samuel E. Pryor was Samuel Edward Pryor, the son of Samuel Pryor and Mary Ann Withers.

Hope this helps someone searching this line.

** 1867 Samuel M. Gaines married Ada S. Leake in Albemarle Co., VA.

John C. Pryor’s Letter to President Thomas Jefferson

Old Clerk’s Office, Prince Edward County

Nicholas B. Pryor wasn’t the only Pryor who wanted help from President Jefferson to get a job. Just a year later Nicholas’ brother John C. Pryor also wrote to Jefferson http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-07-02-0018. John wanted to be appointed to position as a tax collector.  The little touch on this letter that really is a boon to the genealogist is that John added his location: “Hermitage, Prince Edward.”

In 1809 John C’s and Nicholas’ brothers Zachariah B. and Banister S. were summoned from Buckingham County (their home county) to testify in a Chancery Court case in Prince Edward County. Banister was recorded as the Post Master in Hermitage, Prince Edward County in 1817.

I love this line of Pryors — they were all so intent upon getting government positions that they left trails all over the place! Banister was not only the Post Master in 1817, but also recorded as the Post Master in Hermitage in 1831 AND in 1840 he was the Post Master in Red House, Charlotte County.  Nicholas B. wanted a military appointment and after moving to Nashville served as a county commissioner.  When Nicholas’ children moved on to Arkansas his son by the same name served as Post Master and as did another son, Cornelius David Pryor.

John C. Pryor didn’t get the job as a tax collector. An article in Virginia Magazine of History and Biography states that John C. Pryor was a judge by the time he settled in Desoto County, MS. Even better evidence is a will I located online which he signed in 1846 as a judge in the probate court. http://msgw.org/desoto/court/campamiel.html. So it appears that eventually he too served in a public position.

Solving a Samuel Pryor

Charlotte County Court Grounds
Charlotte County Court Grounds

I think we may be able to figure out a stray Samuel Pryor that was floating around Virginia in the early years after the American Revolution.

There’s a Pryor will in Charlotte County, VA.

Will of Robert PRYOR written in Dec 1779, proved Apr 1780. Names wife Mildred Pryor, son Samuel PRYOR (a minor), Martha PRYOR, Prudent PRYOR, Mary PRYOR, and Elizabeth PRYOR daughters of Samuel PRYOR deceased.

Robert Pryor has been referred to as a son of Samuel Pryor and Prudence Thornton by other researchers and I seem to remember J. Gatewood Pryor in his book also states Robert was Samuel’s son.  While I can’t find any documents that name Robert as a son I may be willing to take that leap. Samuel Pryor is supposed to be the son of Robert Pryor and Virginia Betty Green, so it’s not unlikely that he would name a son after his father.

Robert Pryor in his will left his estate to his minor son named Samuel (again, this possibly follows the tradition of naming a child after one’s father).

Robert also included four Pryor women who were the daughters of another Samuel. Could this “other” Samuel in Robert’s will be his brother and the son of Samuel and Prudence? I’ve seen family trees that indicate that Samuel Pryor and Prudence Thornton had a son named Samuel, although I’ve found nothing about him. And again in the book by J. Gatewood Pryor he stated Samuel and Prudence had a son also named Samuel, although he mistakenly stated that it was the Samuel who married Frances Morton.  If this “other” Samuel only had female heirs (Martha, Prudent [sic], Mary, and Elizabeth) and was deceased by 1779, it’s not out of the question that researchers have not focused on his line, nor found out more about him.

And it is intriguing that this “other” Samuel named a daughter Prudent (or Prudence?), possibly after his mother Prudence Thornton Pryor.

I guess as we move forward to solve the Pryor lines in Virginia, we have to ask if other Samuel Pryors in the records are “this” Samuel Pryor.