Tag Archives: Taylor

Generations Shown in Pryor AncestryDNA Testing

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Another observation came out of the Ancestry DNA. The first test submitted was for one of my kids. They were a willing subject and it seemed like a keen way to find out more about BOTH sides of their family tree. After a productive telephone chat with another researcher I decided to submit my own test.

What a difference a generation can make! My results included matches that weren’t even in my daughter’s results.

FTDA’s Family Finder autosomal test projects results back to 5 generations. AncestryDNA claims results may show results back to 8 generations, but their own graph shows how little common DNA they’re working with at that point. https://www.ancestry.com/dna/learn

One of the testers who descends from William and Spicy Pryor can claim them as their 5th great grandparents. They are separated by 7 generations. The hope of shedding light on their connection to earlier generations which may include kin of Edmund Taylor, Elizabeth Garrett, or any Pryors is quite slim.

There’s a couple ways to make AncestryDNA work for research.

Not just a concept from my results (you’ll hear others online make this recommendation). Test yourself AND also test your oldest relatives.

When looking at your results zero in on matching test who are the LEAST number of generations from your most distant relative you’re searching. For example, the test I mentioned above claims William and Spicy as their 5th great grandparents. Other kits claim them as 3rd and 4th great grandparents.

Ancestry rates their matches as Extremely High, High, Good and Moderate. I found that testers who were connected to a common 3rd great grandparent were “Extremely High” but when comparing to a tester who shared the same ancestor, but at the 5th great grandparent distance, our relationship was rated as “Good”. None of the results on my now long and slightly unwieldy chart were rated as “Moderate”.

So I pass on this cheeky advice: if you’re old or have an even older relative… test ’em!

 

 

Category: DNA | Tags: , , , ,

Pryor and Taylor Marriages Cloud AncestryDNA Results

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I’ve created a mega chart of Pryors from AncestryDNA kits. These are the Pryors in Sumner County and Overton County, TN. I will share what I’ve found in a few posts. I’m going to follow the same guidelines I used as admin of the male Y-DNA project through FTDNA– I won’t divulge test names, names of the testers, or other identifying info. I will refer to refer to dead people, most of whom passed more than 50 years ago.

A few years ago I started off with one test from a descendant of Allen L Pryor b. 1816 and tried to figure out how it matched with others. One of the worst methods of searching was searching by the surname Pryor– it picks up on all Pryors many of whom have no relationship to you (that’s me!).

Gradually more descendants of Allen L Pryor have tested. Tests matches include descendants of his children John Edward, Betty, Annie, and Lycurgus. What’s especially splendid is that Ancestry predicts the same generation distance as predicted through paper research.

Using the Autosomal Ancestry DNA test to match up people only goes so far because of all the marriages between lines. For instance, there’s a test that can matches to Allen’s projected sister Louisa. It’s helpful in matching her to the Pryor line until you look down the list of Louisa’s descendants and realize they married into the same Taylor family as the Taylor grandparents of both Allen and Louisa. This means the match can be for Pryors or Taylors or both.

There are now AncestryDNA tests for descendants of the children of William Pryor and Spicy Taylor who lived in Overton County. They match to tests on the Allen L Pryor side of the tree. However, Allen’s parents were John Pryor and Massey Taylor, the known sister of Spicy Taylor. So are the tests matching on the Pryors or Taylors or both?

See how the marriages between lines can cloud things?

 

 

 

 

 

Category: Tennessee Pryors | Tags: , , , ,

Another Look at The Taylor Line in Sumner Co. TN

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Since Massie Taylor and Spicey Taylor married Pryor men I was tempted to revisit an old post (see post) about the Taylors who were aligned with the Pryors. I found a new thread to follow on Garrard/Garrett Taylor brother of Thomas Taylor who was in Sumner County, TN.

William R S Taylor, who was the head of household in 1850 and 1860 with the elderly Garrard Taylor under his roof. Although living in Monroe County, KY at the time of the census William had a tie to Sumner County, TN; he married there in 1847. William was born in VA in 1822, so I hoped that perhaps Garrard was on the 1820 Census.

I found him! He was in Buckingham County, VA. There’s a Jarratt Taylor on page 148. He’s recorded below Jesse Hood, which makes great sense since researchers have him married to Mildred Hood. There’s also a Christopher Taylor on the same page. On the prior page are more Hoods and if you advance a page there are 3 Garretts (Anna, William and Reuben).

I also did more prowling in KY records to see I could form my own answer to a thread of queries posted about the ID of another Jarrett/Garrett/Garrard Taylor. The question is… who is the Jarrett Taylor who married Delilah Angel/Anglea?

I found a death record for James Taylor b. 1837 in Monroe County, KY. His parents were Jarrett Taylor and Delila Angel. If this was the same Jarrett who was the brother of Thomas Taylor, then he would have been about 65 years old in 1837. Seems a bit old to be having another child, although not unheard of.

The researchers who posted in the thread point out that Jarrett and Delila were in neighboring Barren County in 1850. This Jarrett was 50 in 1850– he would have been 37 in 1837 which seems more likely to be an age for fathering children.

So I looked at the 1840 Census again for Monroe County. There is Garrett E Taylor (aka Jarrett E Taylor) and Jarrett Taylor Jr. who I suspect is the younger man who appears in Barren County. Is his a son of Jarrett E? Possibly since the “Jr.” is used. However more research is needed.

I may be able to unravel another string in the Taylor tree. Thomas Taylor included son David Taylor in his will. I suspect this is the David Taylor who was living near Jarrett Taylor in Barren County in 1850. David was born 1807 in Virginia and his probable wife was Louisa born 1812 in TN. There’s a Sumner County, TN marriage record for David Taylor who married Louisa M. Durham on 7 March 1831. David’s Find A Grave memorial (see FindAGrave) has a copy of his obit which states he was born in Buckingham County. There’s no Jarrett Taylor on the 1810 Census of Buckingham County, but there is a Thomas Taylor. My working theory is that David is Thomas’ son.

 

Category: Tennessee Pryors | Tags: , ,

1785 John Pryor: Campbell County, VA

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I found only one Pryor signature in Campbell County legislative petitions. On December 1, 1785 the “sundry inhabitants” of Campbell County, VA signed a petition for removing the courthouse to Moormans or any other place may be rejected. It’s interesting but so frustrating because this appears to be a list of names rather than actual signatures.

Some names linked with the Pryors of Campbell County also appear on the document: Obadiah Pattison, Richard Oglesby, Littleberry Pattison, Barth. Stovall (Bartholomew Stovall), Silvanus Massey/Maxey, Edmund Franklin, Samuel Davidson, John Thurmond, John Thurmond Jr., Landers Pattison (Landis Pattison?), Renny Crews (Wrenny Crews)

Edmund Franklin

  • 1737 Will In Goochland County. Thomas Frankling of Henrico Co, To son Thomas, 1 shilling, To daughter Ann Lax, 1 shilling, To son Edmund, items, All rest to son John, to him all lands and to be executor., Dated 31 March 1727, Wit: Will’m Burke, John Stephens, Bartholomew Stovall, James Lax, Signed: Thomas Franking Recorded 17 May 1737 from Goochland Co VA Wills & Deeds, Book 3, 1736-1742
  • 1794 Marriage in Bedford County. Edmund Franklin (Thomas Franklin’s grandson) married married Betsy Pryor with permission of Harris Pryor.
  • 1819 Chancery Court Case in Bedford County. William Dickinson vs. HARRIS PRYOR. A 1819 summons issued to Edmund Franklin and wife Betsy, William Holliday and late wife Polly, Polly Pryor, Nancy Pryor, Harris Pryor, Richard Mays and Juggy his late wife, heirs of Harris Pryor deceased. Document in filed dated 14 Dec 1820, signed by Harris Pryor in Louisville, KY. States he was formerly of Bedford County, but was then a resident of Louisville.

Landis Pattison

We have two very good samples of Landis Pattison’s handwriting. A quick explanation to make the connection to why he’s important to tracing Pryors in VA. First, Harris Pryor and Landis Pattison witnessed John Wright’s will (John the husband of Mary New) 1775 in Prince Edward County. We have an early example of Landis Pattison’s signature on a deed dated 1773 in the documents of a Chancery Court case in Prince Edward County (see below). We also have his signature on a 1801 Legislative Petition filed in Campbell County (see below). Same signer? I’m undecided.

1773: Landis Pattison signature
1801: Landis Pattison signature

Richard Oglesby

Richard was the father of Mary Oglesby who married first Hezekiah Taylor in Campbell County (1807) and after his death married Isaac Crews (possible connection to Wrenny Crews?). Richard’s other daughter Keziah Oglesby married Henry Butler (or Boteler) — she is on the 1850 Census near Thomas B Hutson  (or Hudson) the son in law of Samuel and Frances Ferguson Pryor (Samuel and Fanny also had a son named Harris Pryor!).

Wrenny Crews

Wrenny is an interesting guy because there’s lots of great documentation of who he was and where he lived. He was born about 1767 — we can calculate his year of birth because he was actually alive and counted on the 1850 Census in Sumner County, TN! In 1836 Wrenny witnessed the will of Thomas Taylor of Sumner County and who I’ve looked at for possible ties to the Taylors who married Pryors in Campbell County, VA and later moved to Sumner County, TN. Thomas Taylor is possibly the same Thomas Taylor who was on the 1810 Census in Buckingham County, VA as his known brother, Garrett Taylor was on the 1820 Census in that same county.

I think it’s worth considering if the signature is John Pryor, brother of David Pryor in Buckingham County. Why? David married Susannah Ballow. John Pryor was a witness to James Kerr’s will in Campbell County with Charles Ballow. Charles Ballow married Mary Crews. I know– convoluted. However, I think it’s important to note that both Kerr’s will and the legislative petition were dated 1785.

 

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , ,

John Pryor in War of 1812

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war-of-1812I don’t think I’ve mentioned this relationship before. Chesley Taylor, brother of both Spicy Taylor Pryor and Massey Taylor Pryor served in the same regiment (3 REG’T (DICKINSON’S) VIRGINIA MILITIA) during the War of 1812 with a John Pryor. I suspect this is John Pryor who was married to Massey Taylor. They married in December 1812 — perhaps it was spurred by the beginning of the war.

I looked through the list of soldiers in this regiment. There are some familiar names, like John Jared (Garrett?). There were a few names that point directly to Campbell County, VA:

Tarlton Asher – His father John Asher lived and died in Campbell County, VA. A researcher posted online that the senior Asher owned land near Pryor Wright’s property in  1795

Isaac Crews – he married Mary/Polly Oglesby the widow of Hezekiah Taylor who was killed in the War of 1812 in Canada (related to Edmund Taylor, but not his son Hezekiah Taylor who lived to a ripe old age in TN). Isaac Crews was counted on the 1820 Census in Campbell County, VA on the same page with with Edmund Taylor and his son Hezekiah.

Samuel Davidson – possibly the same man who married William Pryor and Spicy Taylor in Campbell County in 1809 (read more)

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , ,
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