Tag Archives: Missouri Pryors

Pryor and Tackett Surnames

Posted on by

 

While experimenting with the new Search on this website I found something that may be of interest.

In 1818 Philip Tackett, Section 15, Township 44 was recorded in Gasconade Co., MO. At the same time there was a William Pryor in Section 32, Township 44 (History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties Missouri
Published by Goodspeed Publishing Company 1888)

The Tacket and Pryor surname was connected by marriage in Gasconade when Mary Pryor married George Tackett on 14 Aug 1828.

I’m wondering if there was a connection between these families in Tennessee. TN Land Grant 7912 described land being granted to John Prior in 1828 as bordering land he purchased from Philip Tackett (no date for that transaction). The Pleasant Pryor on the 1850 Census in Gasconade Co. is thought to be related to the the Pryors in White County, TN.

 

Category: About TN Lines | Tags: , ,

Thomas Pryor the Harness Maker

Posted on by

There’s another Thomas Pryor from VA who went to MO.  Could he be the son of Hartwell Pryor? (read post). This Thomas Pryor was on the 1870 Census in Pike County, MO, however I’m unable to find him on earlier census records. In 1870 there was a Polly Brown living in his household. I’m fairly sure this must have been his mother in law (Watson Pryor’s death record state his mother was Mary Brown– possibly a daughter of Polly Brown?).

1870 Thomas Pryor head of household. Pike County, MO.
house 494 Thomas PRYOR 41 harness maker, VA, Mary 40 VA, Pierce 14 MO, Watson 11 MO, Maggie 8 MO, Polly Brown 69 VA.

Another indicator that Polly was his mother-in-law– I found Polly on the 1850 Census in Amherst County, VA with a young Mary E. age 20 in her household.

Page 101B, house 431 Mary R Brown 48 VA, Peter 25, Mary E 20, John F 21, Wm A 19, Charles W 16, Lucy A 14, Saml 12, Elizabeth 10, Leftwich 8, Louisa Brown 6, Jane 4

Polly was the widow of Andrew Brown. Andrew died in 1850 and after 1851 Widow Brown moved to Pike Co., MO. The places are documented on his War of 1812 Pension card. She was counted on the 1860 Census in Missouri

1860 Census Pike Co., MO Calumet Twp, Page 323b, house 1321 Polly Brown 60 VA, John 30 VA, Henry S. 23 VA, Elizabeth A 18 VA.

In 1860 her neighbors were William Gatewood b. 1825 and his family– the are on the 1850 Census in Amherst County.

 

So if Polly and her daughter were from Amherst County, was Thomas Pryor also from Amherst County?

  • This Thomas’ year of birth fits better with Hartwell’s age. Thomas born 1828 fits better with Hartwell’s marriage year 1825.
  • Several unsourced family trees state Thomas was born in Big Island, Bedford County. Hartwell Pryor was in Bedford County by 1870. Had he been there earlier?
  • Hartwell was recorded as a clergyman in 1870. Thomas is recorded as Rev Thomas Pryor on the MO death index.
Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , ,

Can We ID the Father of Thomas Pryor of Amherst County, VA?

Posted on by

March 5, 1849: Amherst County, VA Legislative Petition asking for the repeal of the charter of the Lynchburg & Buffalo Springs Turnpike Company. The first Pryor signature on the petition was Hartwell T Pryor. His VA death record states he was born in 1807 in Amherst County to William Pryor and Sarah (was this Sarah Tucker?). He died 2 Aug 1881 in Bedford County, VA. His presence in Amherst county was also confirmed on the 1850 Census.

1850 Census, Amherst Co., VA
Page 78a, The Eastern Dist., house 75 H. T. PRYOR 45, Susannah 50, John W. 18, M. A. 13, Margaret 11

The second Pryor on the petition (on another page) was Thomas Pryor. It is clearly written next to the signature “son of Hartwell.” Sweet! I don’t know why it was necessary to write that. Did it prove residency to be able to sign the petition? Was clarification needed to determine WHICH Thomas Pryor had signed the petition?

Can we ID Thomas Pryor on other records?

  • There is a Thomas M. Pryor who was appointed post master of Pryors Vale, Amherst County in 1844.
  • There is a Thomas M. Pryor who was counted on the 1860 Census in Chariton County, MO. Thomas, his wife and children were all born in VA (except the youngest child).
  • Thomas M. Pryor and his family were counted in 1870 still in Mo.
  • In 1880 Thomas M. Pryor was counted in Amherst County. Living in his household was a child born in MO. This child, William, was also counted on Chariton County, MO census records.

There was no Thomas Pryor or Thomas M Pryor recorded in Amherst County in Hartwell’s household in 1850, nor in Amherst County. Perhaps he was missed from the count or he was elsewhere? However, the evidence is strong that there was a Thomas M. Pryor in the county in 1844, who went to MO, and returned to VA by 1880. I just wished he had locked down his ID by adding his middle initial to his signature on the petition..

1860 Census, Chariton Co., MO
Clark Twp., page 289, House 862 Thomas M. PRYOR 42 farmer VA, Elizabeth H. 39 VA, Mary E. 15 VA, Thomas 13 VA, Junius C. 9 VA, Samuel 6 VA, Sarah 3 VA, John H. 1/2 MO

1880 Census Amherst Co., VA
Elon Dist, Page 2 Thomas M. PRYOR 63 VA VA VA, Samuel B. son 21 VA VA VA, William S. son 17 MO VA VA.

Have we answered “Who’s your daddy?” I don’t think so. On all census records Thomas M Pryor stated an age that place his year of birth at about 1818. Hartwell’s age on census records placed his year of birth at about 1805-1808. He was 10 years old when Thomas M. Pryor was born? It’s even worse when using Susannah’s age at his birth… about age 7 or 8? If Thomas M is the same man who signed the petition, then it’s almost impossible for Hartwell and Susannah to have been his birth parents. UGH! So, did Hartwell have a son named Thomas adding ANOTHER Thomas to the Amherst County mix?

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , ,

Connecting Pryor from 1789 TN Frontier to 1840 MO Census

Posted on by

It looks like friends and family stayed connected as they migrated from the TN frontier into Middle Tennessee, and onward to Missouri. I stumbled on this connection between 1789 and 1840 that may help Richard and Mourning Pryor line support their genealogy.

Petition Sundry Inhabitants South of French Broad

These are frontier residents petitioning North Carolina in 1789. (see petition transcript)

Page 15 of 19
Thomas Going | Toms Odle
Ezekel Ray | Moses Mckay
Jossaway (?) Movels(?) | Thomas Woodfin
Daniel Job | Niklas (?) Woodfin
Joseph Pryor | William Heney (Henry? or Haney?)
Isaac Odell(?) | Henery Jones

Ezekial Ray (or Rhea) was on the 1802 Tax List in Jackson County, TN. It’s thought that he died in White Co., TN before 1820. It’s thought that a younger Ezekial Ray (born about 1811) was his son. Daniel Job (or Jobe) is thought to the man who married Mourning Pryor, a daughter of Richard and Mourning Pryor.

Now, for something interesting. Similar names appear living in close proximity in 1840.

1840 Census in Van Buren County, MO

Osage Twp
Line 7, Thomas Woodfin
John Woodfin
Jas. M. Smith
John M Henry
James Goodrich
Line 12, Jonathan PRYOR
William Summers
William Barnes
Daniel Smith
Line 16, William Bartlett
Mark Whittied
Line 18 William PRYOR
Line 19 Ezekiel Ray
Line 20 John L. Wood

Category: About TN Lines | Tags: , , , ,

TN Pryor: Wild West Sheriff

Posted on by

sheriff-badge

Russell August Pryor born 1835 in TN was a real sheriff deputy in the wild west. In 1880 he and his family were recorded in Humbolt County, NV and his occupation was stated as deputy sheriff. Did they really have twins they named Florence and Lawrence? The 1900 Census (below) solves that question… no.

1880 Census Humboldt Co., NV – Winnemucca
Page 269B R. A. PRYOR 46 TN TN TN Deputy Sheriff, Maggie 33 Scot Scot Scot, Edward son 14 CA, Lorance son 12 NV, Florance dau 12 NV, Maggie J. dau 5 NV, Jane Jinerson (sic) mother in law 58 Scot Scot Scot

Santa Rosa Mountains

“Santa Rosa Range, NV 2008” by Zack Sheppard from San Francisco, USA – FlickrUploaded by PDTillman. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Santa_Rosa_Range,_NV_2008.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Santa_Rosa_Range,_NV_2008.jpg

Deputy Pryor got his name in the paper, praising his efforts track down a thief.

GOT HIS MAN. On the first inst. a man stole a watch and a sum of money in Winnemucca, and disappeared. Officer R. A. Pryor, of that town, took charge of the matter and followed the fellow so persistently that he could not escape, and the officer came upon him in Truckee ten days after…
(Nevada State Journal (Reno Nevada). 13 October 1878)

Sometime in the 1880’s Russell moved his family to CA. He started appearing on the California Voter Registrar in 1886 as Russell Augusts Pryor born 1835. By 1900 Russell Pryor and his family had moved to CA

1900 Census San Francisco, CA
ED#179, page 301A. 660 Broderick St., house154/219 Russell A. PRYOR Aug. 1835, 64, md. 30 TN TN TN watchman (day), Margaret wife Mar. 1850, 50, 4 children/4 living Scotland Scotland, Scotland, Laurence W. son Feb. 1870, 30, NV, Florence dau Sept. 1871, 28, NV, Margaret dau Sept. 1876, 23 NV.

His obituary confirms he died in 1906. I tried to figure out his birth date… I’m miserable at these types of calculations. Was his birthday 4 October 1835? If you’re tracing this line, there’s good news– there’s a death record in California.

PRYOR – In this city. March 11, Russell A. Pryor, beloved husband of Margaret M. Pryor, and father of L. W., E. R. and Miss M. Pryor and Mrs. C. W. Conlisk, a native of Tennessee. aged 71 years, 6 months, and 25 Days. Remains at the parlors of N. Gray & Co. 612 and 614 Van Ness avenue. between Golden Gate avenue and Turk street.
San Franciso Chronicle (San Franciso, CA. 12 Mar 1906)

I think Russell Pryor is the one Russell Pryor who was on the 1850 Census in Missouri:

1850 Bates Co., MO
Page 259B. House 424. William Pryor 59 TN, Elizabeth 22 MO, Russell 15 TN, James 17 TN

It’s speculated that Russell’s father, William,  is one of the sons of William Pryor of White County, TN who migrated to Missouri in the 1840’s.

I also think he’s the R. A. Pryor living in Mud Springs, California in 1860. This was after the Goldrush but men were still working as miners in Northern California. I looked up the Donner Party (you know that ill-fated immigration through the High Sierras in winter) and Russell’s friend Patrick Donner is not listed among them.

1860 Census, El Dorado Co., CA
Mud Springs, Page 980B, House 2367 G.H.H. Forester 45 miner MA, Patrick Donner 47 miner Ireland, R. A. PRYOR (male) 26 miner TN.

I think from MO he went to CA. His son Edwin Russell Pryor was born in Placerville, CA (Placer County) in 1866 (California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985). His daughter, Florence born 1868, has a stated place of birth as NV on census records. I’m wondering what he did during the Civil War.

1870 Census, Nye Co., NV
Page 238, Belmont, Twp., house 3 R. A. PRYOR 35 ranchman TN, Margaret 24 keeping house Scotland, Edwin 4 CA, L. W. 2 NV, F. J. 10/12 NV

Category: About TN Lines | Tags: , , , , ,
Older Entries →