Just when you think all genealogy sources are online, Ancestry.com continues to add records. Stephen F. Austin’s Register of Families lists settlers who came into the Mexican state of Texas in 1825. The only Pryor recordes is Thomas Jefferson Pryor, age 23, single, from Alabama. He arrived in 1824.
Tag Archives: Genealogy
I’ve been trying to fill in some of the blanks that I have on the Matthew Pryor of Marion County family tree. I noticed I didn’t have the census information on Keziah Pryor, who is reported to be Matthew’s daughter.
The first place I found her was in the Ancestry One World Tree. Folks who know me from my Pryor Newsletter and research emails, know how much I loathe this product. Garbage in — garbage out! I looked at user submitted family trees and found that Keziah married John Condra (widow of Mary Griffith– perhaps from the same Griffith family that Keziah’s cousin William “Buck” Pryor married into).
Keziah is on the 1850 Census in Marion County, living with her brother William Henry Pryor b. 1828 and his wife Mary Cowan b. 1836. She was about 20 years old and not yet married.
What surprised me is where I found Keziah in 1860. She was married by then to John Condra and living in Madison County, TN. When I looked at a map I saw that these counties are miles apart. Doing a quick search for directions on MapQuest I found that the counties are about 240 miles apart! John Condra’s mother (Joyce) and brothers were living in Madison County and they were living there in 1850.
Living in the Condra household in 1860 was William Condra b. 1848-9. Since Keziah was single in 1850, it appears that William was a child from John Condra’s first marriage. In 1850 there is a George Condra b. 1825 in KY living in Madison Co. next to Joyce. His wife was Mary A. 18 born in TN and they have a son named William b. 1849 in TN. William Cowan b. 1801 in TN is in house #57/57, Joyce Condra b. 1798 in NC is in house #61/61 which included her older sons Howell 23 and Wyatt 21, and George Condra is in house #62/62. The only Condra family in Marion Co. in 1850 were James and Rhoda living near Robert Griffith. It’s likely that George in Madison County is actually John Condra who married Keziah Pryor.
In addition to William– Sarah 9, Mary 6, and Benjamin 1– were also counted in John and Keziah’s household in 1860. It should be noted that there is a Sarah Ander/Anders b. 1816 living near them. She is perhaps a relative of John’s or his wife because in 1870 she was counted next to them in Marion Co.
So, in 1870 John and Keziah were in Marion Co., TN. They were counted in District 3, on the same page with Hardon and Delilah Griffith, parents of Delilah Griffith who was counted with Howell Condra, Sarah Anders. Additional children born to Keziah were Luraney 8, John 2. Luraney appears to have been a popular name amongst the Condras: Sarah Anders had a daughter named Luraney on the 1860 Census, and on the 1870 John Condra and William Condra both have daughters with this name. Also, John Condra, William Condra, and James Condra had sons named after their father Benjamin Condra.
User submitted trees give Keziah Pryor’s date of birth as 30-Dec-1829 in sometimes NC and other times TN. The census records all state she was born in TN. Her place of death is Whitewell, TN (Marion Co.) in 4-Apr-1900. I have not been able to find her on the 1880 Census.
Yesterday I posted information on Olivia M. Pryor and husband Dr. Christopher Smith Fenner. Today I have more information on this Pryor line.
The book referenced yesterday stated that Dr. Fenner d. 1879 in Louiville, KY. I located his death record on Ancestry.com. It turned out that it was transcribed and indexed as “Dr. Martha Fenner”. The record clearly states it is Dr. C. S. Fenner. I have no idea how they came to index the entry as “Martha” — just an oops.
An Ancestry User Submitted tree connects Olivia Maria Pryor b. 1834 as a daughter of Green Pryor of Marshall Co., MS. In 1860 a child named Olivia Fenner b. 1856 is living in the house of James Henry Alexander and Martha Elizabeth Pryor (another daughter of Green Pryor and his wife Olivia). I’m unable to find either Olivia b. 1834 or her husband Dr. Fenner on the 1860 or 1870 Census.
The book that referenced Dr. Fenner stated he moved to Louisville in 1872, so it is consistent with that account to find Olivia P. Fennerb. Jan. 1857 in TN living in Louisville, KY on the 1880 and 1900 Census. Dr. Fenner’s death record states he was living at 410 6th St. in Louisville at the time of his death, and that is the address at which Olivia is recorded on the 1880 Census! In 1900 Edward A. Lyon b. 1867 was living in the same household as Olivia, and in 1910 she was counted in his household in Union Co., NJ. The 1910 Census is quite interesting because the relationship between Olivia and Edward A. Lyon was recorded as cousins.
Well, by now you probably know I ask a lot of questions and follow every lead!
I suspect that Edward A. Lyon, if truly a cousin, is related to Olivia P. Fenner through her mother’s Pryor, Polk or Alexander lines as Dr. Fenner was born in Rhode Island. In 1900 Lyon stated on the census that he was born in IN and his parents in KY. Then in 1910 both he and his parents born in KY. His place of birth also changes between KY and IN on the 1920 and 1930 Census records. There are few Edward Lyons in the census records of KY and IN. The only possibility I found was Edward Lyon who was on the 1880 Census in Vandenburgh Co., IN– son of Matthew Lyon born in KY and Sarah born in TN.
That’s where the trail grows cold. No answer yet of how the lines connect.
I was doing a Google search through their book section and stumbled upon a Pryor connection. The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States by William Biddle Atkinson, page 70 states Christopher Smith Fenner married Olivia M. Pryor who was born in Marshall County, MS. This appears to be the Olivia M. Pryor who was at the Nashville Female Academy, a boarding school in Nashville, TN on the 1850 Census. The article indicates that Dr. Fenner was a famous ophthalmic surgeon and author (Vision: Its Optical Defects And The Adaptation Of Spectacles 
I can’t find either Olivia or Dr. Fenner on the 1860 or the 1870 Census. Has anyone had better luck finding information on this couple? Is she the daughter of Green Pryor and Olivia Mareberry Polk of Marshall Co., MS?