Tag Archives: Virginia

More on the Last of the Chancery Court Records

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Quill and Ink


I need to revisit the last post. I found something that helps to ID one of the Pryors in the court records– Henry Lee vs. John Pryor, filed 1799 in Henrico Co., VA.

From Elizabeth Pryor Harper’s book:

JOHN PRYOR, Maysville & Mason County, 1780 Major John Prior Nov 14 1796 William Wood and Alexander D Orr, Article of agreement for division of land on Lawrence Creek in Mason County, Kentucky. The claim was in name of John Pryor witnessed by Henry Lee D S 2 p Endorsed William Wood, and A D Orr.

Bear with me…

1784 Land Grant in Fayette Co., KY- To John Pryor 6000 acres on Lawrence Creek in Fayette Co., KY. 24 Oct 1784

You see the Mason County deed and earlier Fayette county land grant  appear to be about the same land on Lawrence Creek.

“Major John Pryor” in most cases refers to the old John Pryor in Richmond who died without issue. We know from Maj Pryor’s Revolutionary War Pension Application that he received land in Kentucky (see post) and that he sold of most of the land. It looks like his acquaintance Henry Lee was a witness to his land sale and a few years later filed suit in Richmond.

Category: Kentucky Pryors, Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , , ,

Samuel Pryor and Frances Morton Pryor – More on The Goochland County Pryors.

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I used to have dreams about all the John Pryors. Really, they were more like nightmares! Now my brain is trying to make sense of all the Samuel Pryors who were in Goochland County, VA. If you’re working on the Goochland Pryors, I suggest viewing a Chancery Court Case; Frances Pryor vs Excutor of William Pryor. http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=075-1786-006

I believe this is Frances Morton who first married Nicholas Meriwether, and then in 1760 married Samuel Pryor at St. James Northam in Goochland County. Frances and Samuel are supposed to be the parent of Samuel Pryor who married Polly Curd.  This younger Samuel was baptized at S. James Northam in March 1762.

The chancery suit fills in some blanks, but leaves other wide-open. It states that Frances was a widow and that her  husband died in 1760-something.  It actually says 176 and a big fat blank for the year. The suit states he had a child who was still a minor, which sounds right for young Samuel.

The suit is dated 1769 on the Library of Virginia website, however the actual documents state it was filed in 1762. Poor Frances must  have been left with a very young baby and children from her previous marriage.  Part of the suit is Frances trying to get money out of the sale of slaves and 484 acres she thought her husband had owned in Dinwiddie County, VA.

William Pryor, brother of Samuel and brother-in-law of Frances Morton Pryor, took over the task of the estate’s administrator.  So, William was the William Pryor who married Elizabeth Hughes.  It all becomes a tangled mess when William died in 1777 and his son Samuel (who the suit clearly states was the nephew of the Samuel who married Frances) takes over the administration of the estate.

I admit that I got most of my information on the Goochland Pryors from other researchers years ago. Having access to records online makes it easier to fact check. Some of what I have isn’t fact checking. My notes have Col. Samuel Pryor and Prudence Thornton were the parents of William Pryor b. 1726 who died in 1777. William married Sarah Wood. I have the Samuel and Prudence were the parents of Samuel Pryor, but I have no information on that Samuel.

My other notes state Col. William Pryor and Sarah Wood were the parents of Dr. Samuel Pryor who married Frances Morton.

Something’s not right. I think from the ages of Col. Samuel and Prudence Pryor’s children– it’s more likely the Samuel who married Frances Morton was their son. He would have been born in the 1730’s or very early 1740’s. So, did William Pryor and Sarah Wood also have a son named Samuel? Which Samuel?

Any thoughts?

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: ,

Captain Preston’s Pryors – Payments Made During French Indian War

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This is a list of payments made to Pryors in Virginia for service during the French Indian War.  I suspect these men were born in 1742 or earlier.

Aug. 12 1757 John Pryor. Receipt to William Preston for 6s. for six
days work at Fort George.

Aug. 29 1757 Joseph Pryor. Receipt to William Preston for 2 Is. for forty-one days service. Witnessed by Charles Lewis.

1757 John Pryor. Receipt to William Preston for 5 16s. for 116 days service as a soldier in his company between June 8 and Nov. 29, 1757.

1757 Joseph Pryor. Receipt to William Preston for 5 14x. for 114 days service as a soldier in his company

1757 Richard Pryor. Receipt to William Preston for 5 9s. for 109 days service as a soldier in his company between June 8 and Nov. 29, 1757. Witnessed by David Long.

1758 Richard Pryor Jr., Receipt to William Preston for 6 12s. for 132 days service as a soldier in his company between June 8 and Xov. 29, 1758.
The 1758 payment was witnessed by William Skillern. A 1764 Augusta County deed mentions William Skillern, deceased (George and William Skillern to Walter Crow).  A William Skillern gave deposition testamony on suit filed in 1800 against Joseph Pryor Sr . and Jr. of Augusta County and Botetout County. William Pryor of Amherst Co. mentions a Col. George Skillern in his 1832 Revolutionary War pension application– Col. Skillern commanded the Botetourt troops.

Category: Virginia Pryors | Tags: , , ,

Jesse Pryor of Knox County– Is He the Jesse Pryor in Overton County?

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juda-pryorWow, the TN Tax Lists are INTERESTING! In 1804 there was a Jesse Pryor on the Knox County Tax list. I can’t tell much about him — he had one pole and no acres recorded. There was also a Samuel Pryor in Knox County with the same status. They were both in Captain Steel’s Company that consisted of 66 taxpayers.

I wondered in print (Harris Pryor of Knox Co., TN and Bedford Co., VA) if Jesse Pryor of Knox County was the same Jesse Pryor who went to Overton County, TN.  Myself and other researchers have long speculated that Jesse was the father of Juda Pryor who married William Huston Hummel (Juda is on the 1850 Census with an older Anna Pryor who may be her mother). When Juda’s son John McDonald Hummel died in 1915 his mother was reported as “Julie Pryor” born in “East Tenn.” How about that… Knox County is in East Tennessee.

If Jesse is the of Harris Pryor of Bedford County, then I suspect Samuel is related to this line. They seem to stick with each other through the records. This is the point to pour your second cup of coffee before we jump into the puzzle.

Yes, the pieces of the puzzle start to stack up to complete the picture that Jesse and Samuel were related.

  • Samuel and Jesse were on the 1804 Tax List in Knox County – Both living in Captain Steel’s Company.
  • The administratrix of Samuel Pryor’s estate was Fanny Ferguson Pryor and a later Roane County court case ID’s Samuel Pryor as the grandfather of P. Miller Freels. There was a John Foggueson (sic) also in Captain Steel’s Company on the 1804 Knox County Tax List.  John Ferguson may have been Fanny’s brother as there is a John Ferguson, deceased, named on a 1839 Cumberland County Chancery Court suit that also names Fanny Pryor and her children.
  • Jesse Pryor is spectulated to be the father of Juda Pryor Hummel of Overton County whose son’s death record states she was born in East Tennessee.
  •  Samuel Pryor died in Anderson County, TN in about 1815 (that’s when Fanny was appointed administratrix). There’s a Jesse Pryor on the 1805 Tax List for Anderson County. Jesse was recorded as #119. I found #85 Isaac Freels, #96 Burrell Hudson, #157 and #158 were Edward and Thomas Freels, #191 John Rector–a daughter of Samuel and Fanny Pryor married Edward Freels around 1813 or earlier. Another daughter, Mary, married Barry Hudson. John Rector was recorded near Fanny Pryor and her son Harris Pryor on the 1830 census in Roane County.
  • Jesse Pryor, son of Harris Pryor and Mary Kinnerson was from Bedford Co., VA. Juda Pryor Hummel stated her parent’s place of birth as VA on the 1880 Census.
  • The Jesse Pryor on the 1830 Census in Overton Co., TN was born between 1771-1780. Samuel’s wife is on the 1830 Census in Roane Co., TN and was also born between 1771-17780, so perhaps Samuel was also born about the same time, which would make Samuel and Jesse contemporaries.
  • I believe sons of Harris Pryor of Bedford County, VA came to Knox County at the end of the 1790’s. In 1799 William Pryor (Harris’ oldest son) signed a petition for tax relief for an impaired neighbor (Richard Shields). In 1801 Harris Jr. (he didn’t use Jr on documents – I’m just using it to distinguish him from his father) was on the deliquent tax list for Knox County. In 1801 Jesse Pryor was a defendant in a crime.
  • Samuel is not mentioned in any Bedford County, VA records so, I don’t yet see how he’s related, though he lived around Harris’ family in TN and named his son Harris.

Happy to hear from anyone who wants to contribute to this theory with a pro or con!

Category: Tennessee Pryors | Tags: , , ,

Looking at Louisville Pryors

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Ohio River near Louisville

Ohio River near Louisville, KY

Over the weekend I was searching out some new links to the Pryors in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. I’m still looking for solid connections to the correct John Pryor who was the father of explorer Nathaniel Pryor. I thought I’d share some of my finds in case they help to spur your insights into the family line.

19th Century Louisville Silversmiths

I’ve been intrigued with the story of Nathaniel “Miguel” Pryor, the Kentuckian who settled in California. His trade was recorded as “platero” or silversmith. That’s something that was usually learned by an apprenticeship back in those days. I had never heard of Louisville as a place reknowned for silverwork– I guess Paul Revere and Boston take the forefront in American silversmithing. Apparently there were a few smiths in Louisville. I found the names and working dates for silversmiths in Louisville: Richard E Smith (1827), Smith & Grant (until 1831), William Kendrick (1840), and John Kitts (1838).  A mint julep silver cup made by Kendrick even made it’s way on to the Antiques Road Show.  Pryor could have even learned the trade when he moved west as there were numerous fine silversmiths in St. Louis. (See Missouri’s Silver Age: Silversmiths Of The 1800s By Norman Mack)

Amherst County and Louisville Connection

I still keep coming back to David Crawford’s 1801 Will (See transcript of the will). It was filed in Louisville, mentions land owned Amherst County, VA, and it was witnessed by John and William Pryor. Nelson Crawford who was mentioned in the will witnessed a deed in Amherst County with Jonathan Pryor in 1817, as well as Charles Taliaferro who was also on the will. If you go back a few decades to 1774 when William Pryor and wife Margaret of Amherst County deeded land to Philip Thurmond, David Crawford was a witness.

So the Crawfords lived near William and Margaret Pryor. We know for sure that William and Margaret had sons Nicholas, William and John — William filed for a pension in 1832 and John saved Fort Donnally with Philip Hammon. Was it this William and John Pryor who were witnesses to David Crawford’s will in Louisville?

Pryor Land In Kentucky

In a recent post (Identity of John Pryor – Revolutionary War Bounty Land in Kentucky) I dug in to Revolutionary War land warrants to ID which John Pryor received land in KY.  Wait! There are more KY land grants to solve. Elizabeth Pryor Harper in her book Twenty-One Southern Families: Notes and Genealogies mentions 3 military land grants in 1791. These are a bit of a mystery to me because I didn’t find them on the State of Kentucky website with the other grants.  These grants on Beaver Creek and Skaggs Creek, these locations are in Pulaksi County and Rockcastle County respectively (see State of KY Gazetteer). The grants may have been filed in Jefferson County, but the land wasn’t in that county!

Musing over where these grants were recorded and where the land was at and which John Pryor was the recipient may all be for nothing because Ms. Harper noted next to each grant that they were “withdrawn”. There are no known Pryors in the records near the time in Pulaski or Rockcastle County. Does withdrawn mean that a claim was made without follow through?

 

Category: Kentucky Pryors | Tags: , , , ,
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