I’ve going through lots of old photos. Many of the people I can ID but then there’s the one’s that are unidentifiable. I found some photos taken of my grandfather Tom Gregoy and his father Tom Sr. The Elder Gregory was first married to Betty Pryor (a grand daughter of John Pryor and Massie Taylor), and then later he married Betty’s cousin Willie Ann Pryor. Maybe we can ID some of the folks in these photos. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Sumner County
A HA! I found my first Pryors on the 1940 Census. I started with my clan in Sumner County, TN. The 1940 Census is an interesting thing… no more information on the origin of the person’s parents, some information about the person’s education, and no one asked if the person owned a radio (good-bye dumb question of the 1930 Census!).
Here’s who I found so far…
Dist 10, page 212, sheet 1a, house 3 Dewey PRYOR head 41 grade 8, TN. Lavelle wife 31 grade 8 TN, Edna dau 13 grade 5 TN. Otis son 11 grade 5 TN, Marjorie dau 9 grade 1 TN. Mabel dau 7 grade 0 TN. Zunzika? dau 4 grade 0 TN. Rebeckah dau 2 grade 0 TN. (Dewey Pryor , son of John Pryor and a grandson of Allen L Pryor.)
Dist 10, page 212, sheet 1a, house 3 John PRYOR head 88 grade 8 TN, Eugenia wife 69 grade 8 TN, Owen son 39 grafe H2 TN, Russell dau 30 grade H2 TN (John Pryor, son of Allen L. Pryor)
Dist 10, Dry Fork Creek, page 218a, sheet 7a house 109 Leonard Lee 32 grade 6 TN. Annie wife 29 grade 8 TN, Betty dau 6 grade 0 TN, Nellie dau 4 grade 0 TN, James son 2 TN, Willie (PRYOR) Gregory mother in law 67 widow grade 8 TN, Walter PRYOR uncle 65 grade 8 TN. (Walter Anderson Pryor and Willie Ann Pryor Gregory were children of William Pryor and Margaret Curry Pryor Hunter)
Dist 10, Rockbridge Rd, page 218b, sheet 7b house 113 Lila PRYOR head 44 widow grade 8 TN, Milton son 20 grade 4 TN, Evelyn dau 14 grade 6 TN, Dorothy dau 12 grade 3 TN, Lynard son 10 grade 2 TN, Louise dau 9 TN, Gene dau 7 grade 2 TN, George son 5 grade 5 grade 0 TN. (Lila Satterfield Pryor, widow of George Washington Pryor, great grandson of John Pryor and Massa Taylor Pryor)
Dist 10, Rutledge Lane, page 221b, sheet 10b, house 167 Ed PRYOR head 45 grade 6 TN, Annie wife 36 grade 6 TN, Mary dau 15 grade H1 TN, Howard son 13 grade 5 TN, Willie son 10 grade 2 TN, Katherine dau 7 grade 1 TN. Eugene son 4 grade 0 TN, Harold son 1 grade 0 TN.
John Pryor, born Oct 4 1831 in Jackson Co., TN
Died Jan 7, 1920 in the same county.
Lists his mother as Jane Pryor and her birthplace as the same county. Was his mother Nancy Pryor, if so, was her full name Nancy Jane?
Joseph P Pryor, born 2 Mar 1833 in KY (probably Trigg Co.)
Died Mar 15 1917 in Stewart Co., TN
Lists his parents as William Pryor and Olive Elliot.
Joseph was a retired postmaster.
William A Pryor, born 16 Sept 1837 in TN
Died Apr 7 1914 in Hamilton Co., TN. He was buried in Jasper, TN (Marion Co.)
Lists his parents as John Pryor and Harriet Williams.
Monroe Pryor (black), born 1842 in Marion Co., TN
Died Oct 11 1923 in Jasper, Marion Co., TN.
Lists his parents as Jim Pryor and Sylvia Townsel
Possible that Monroe was born into slavery, occupation retired rail roader.
James Madison Pryor, born Sep 23 1846 in Sumner Co., TN
Died May 11 1931 in Sumner Co., TN
Lists his mother as Margaret Curry (former wife of William Pryor)
Fanny Pryor Smith, born Aug 4 1844 in Stewart Co., TN
Died Jun 22 1915 in Stewart Co., TN
Lists her parents as Wesley Pryor and Miss Elliot (census records list mother as Fannie).
Both parents born in Trigg Co., KY.
We can add another Pryor to our list of TN Pryors!
Susannah Pryor Fox born 1818 in TN
Her daughter Margaret Fox Bowington, born Jan 15 1847 in Jackson Co., TN
Died Aug 25 1931 in Jackson Co.
Lists her parents as Richard O Fox and Susie Pryor, both born in Jackson County.
I suspect this new Pryor will send researchers scurrying to their databases. I know I did! There’s only a short list of Pryors who were in Jackson County in 1820.
Another Pryor descendant who fills in some added details…
John McDonad Hummel born abt 1840 in Livingston, TN
Died Aug 13 1915 in Clay Co., TN.
Lists his parents as William Huston Hummel and Julie Pryor (census records show her as Juda). His father was born in VA and his mother in East TN. On census records she states her place of birth as VA, however I found with another ancestor there was a lot of travel between eastern TN and western VA and the place of birth can become confused.
And what would new Pryor information be without a new Pryor mystery?
Death record of John Marsh born Apr 1848 in TN, died Sept 1918 in Lincoln Co., TN.
Lists his parents as Goodman Davis and a Miss Pryor both born in TN. Was he the son of Goodman Davis and Harriet Lee Smith Pryor and if so, why was his surname Marsh? Who was John? He’s not recorded on the census.
I was spurred by an email from another researcher to look for a map of early Sumner County, Tennessee.
The researcher sent the transcription of the 1802 indenture made by Mourning White, widow of Richard Pryor, for land on Caney Fork (on the Cumberland River) in Smith County. When I looked for Caney Fork I was reminded of how complex the county boundaries were in the 1800’s.
Time for another one of my rough maps.
Cane Creek lies in the center of the map, in White and Putnam Couties. Neither of these counties had been formed in 1802, so it’s likely that Cane Creek was entirely in Smith County at the time of the indenture.
Before the indenture, these counties and many others were still part of Sumner County. Sumner was one of the first counties in Tennessee and it was broken apart over the years to form several other counties, which in turn were divided into still more counties. The above map shows roughly in yellow the boundaries of the original Sumner County.
Looking at the map and looking at the Pryors again, William Pryor born 1761-1771 in VA and first recorded in White Co., TN in 1809 (3 years after White County was formed from Smith County). It’s likely that William is was in Smith Co. from it’s formation in 1799; his oldest son William was born in TN in 1791. Smith County was formed from Sumner County so it’s possible that he’s the William Pryor in the early records of Sumner County.
It’s been a while since my last post and quite a bit longer since posting on my own Pryor line.
My line are the Pryors of Sumner County, TN. My great-great-grandfather was Allen L. Pryor who was the son of John and Massy Pryor and kin to the Pryors in Overton Co., TN. In 1870 Jospeph Pryor aged 15 shows up in the household of Allen L. Joseph was counted after the younger Pryor children, indicating he may have been a relative staying in the household.
On the 1860 Census I found a Joseph Pryor aged 5 living in the household of Massy Pryor in District 11, while Allen L. Pryor was living in District 12. Other Pryors living in District 11 were the children of William Pryor and Margaret Curry in house 17, Phereba Pryor of Overton County in house 104, Eliza or Louisa Pryor who was married to David McCullough in house 108 next door to her mother Massy in house 107.
Massy’s household in 1860:
House 107 Massy PRIAR 60, Betsy 40, Samuel 26, Joseph 5, Samuel 8
I’ve suspected that Betsy aged 40 was a daughter in law. In 1850 Massy was again counted as a head of household in Sumner Co.
House 96 Massa PRYOR 50 VA, Jonathan 25, Elizabeth 28, Samuel 15
The older Elizabeth counted after Jonathan seems in keeping with children recorded by census takers most frequently in chronological order and spouses, and non-related individuals added after family members on the census record. Samuel Pryor is a known son of Massy and John Pryor. Jonathan is probably a son named after his father.
In 1850 and 1860 he was recorded in Massey Pryor’s household. On December 14, 1865 Samuel married Susan F. Cardwell. This marriage appears short-lived; in 1870 he was living on his own. I have not yet found a marriage record, but the census records state he married a woman named “Ann Kate” in about 1870. Their marriage lasted more than 30 years. At the time of Samuel’s death after 1900, he had no children, naming in his will his McCulley and Pryor nieces and nephews as his heirs. Therefore, I’m fairly certain that neither Joseph nor Samuel on th 1860 Census are children of Samuel Pryor.
I think the best bet is that Jonathan and Elizabeth were the parents parents of Joseph and Samuel. The young Samuel (born 1852) seems to disappear after the 1860 Census. In 1870 Jospeh was living with his probably uncle Allen L. Pryor. Elizabeth was living in District 11 in 1870, surrounded by kin George Pryor, Eliza Pryor McCullough, Pleasant Taylor.
In 1880 Joseph Pryor aged 25 was counted as J. D. Pryor living in Dist 10 of Sumner County, working in the Albright family as a farm laborer. Joseph has not been found on the 1900.
And that’s where the trail ends. Has anyone stumbled upon Joseph and more information about him?