Pryor Ancestor Thomas Thomson

There were multiple Thomson/Thompson/Thomasson families in Louisa County, Virginia circa 1750 and much confusion on the internet about these families. Mourning Thomson Pryor, mother of James & Jonathan Pryor of Graves County, was the daughter of Thomas Thomson of Louisa County, Virginia. She is named in the 1774 will of Thomas Thomson along with all of her siblings in addition to Thomas' wife Hannah.

Virginia Northern Counties 1775

The internet is full of misinformation regarding the parentage of Thomas Thomson.  Countless trees incorrectly identify his father as Samuel Thomson. Samuel Thomson's 1753 will (Louisa Co., VA WB 1, p. 29) named a son Thomas who was a completely different individual from Thomas Thomson who died in 1774. Our Thomas Thomson's parents are unknown and were probably living in Hanover County. 

Thomas Thomson or Thompson the son of Samuel Thomson was a completely different individual. It was he who lived in Fredericksville Parish of Louisa County. There were definitely two different Thomas Thomsons, the one with the slave Frank (left in Samuel's will to his son Thomas) being enumerated near Samuel Thomson's other sons and the one who left the slaves York and Sibba in his 1774 will being enumerated in Trinity Parish where Moses Clack, who married this Thomas’ daughter, was working as an overseer. 

By 1770 the Thomas who owned Frank and lived near Samuel's other sons and the Thomas who owned York and Sibbe were on two separate tithable lists. Thomas with the slave Frank was still being enumerated near Samuel Sr.'s other sons after this Thomas died in 1774. Samuel Sr. deeded 400 acres on Tomahawk Branch of Christopher's Run to his son Thomas. in 1752. In April, 1753 Thomas sold 50 acres of it. The Thomas who owned the slave Frank, left to him by his father and who was enumerated near Samuel's other sons in the tithable lists, had 350 acres. In 1777, after this Thomas Thomson was dead, Thomas Thomson and his wife Ann sold 350 acres between Duckinghole and Christopher's Run at the head of a branch called Tomahawk (DB B, p.2). 

Excerpt from 1774 Will of
 Thomas Thomson

The internet is also filled with pedigrees recording Thomas' wife as Hannah McAllister. It was Thomas Thomasson who married Ann (Hannah) McAllister. Thomas Thomasson was born February 25, 1737, in Hanover County, Virginia, the son of George and Mary (Pollard) Thomasson. Thomas grew up on the Louisa plantation and married a neighbor's daughter, Anne Mackalester (McAllister), daughter of William Mackalester and his wife, Elizabeth Garland. They moved to Granville County, North Carolina with their extended family before 1800. Thomas Thomasson died in Granville County, North Carolina in 1818.

One of the other questionable entries found at various sites on the internet gives the name of Mourning's mother as Hannah Glass. Until recently, there seemed to be no primary source documenting that maiden name. Countess serious Thomson researchers were as mystified as I about Hannah's name and origins. Very recently another Thomson descendant and researcher discovered a Louisa County deed which referenced a tract of land in Hanover County. The 1765 deed (Louisa County VA, Deed Book C-1/2, pgs 123-125) is from Thomas and Hannah Thomson to James Tait. This deed for land was stated as being initially conveyed to Thomas & Hannah Thomson by an Indefeasible Estate of Inheritance from Thomas Glass of Hanover County.

This discovery does not prove that Thomas Thomson's wife Hannah was Hannah Glass, but it appears to be the first documentation of a connection with the Glass family of Hanover where Thomas Thomson is believed to have originated.  Research by several Thomson descendants after this deed was found has identified a community in the area of Totopottomoy's Creek in Hanover County where Glass, Thomson, Moorman, Anderson, Tait, Waddy and several other families with connections to our Thomson family were neighbors.  In the course of this search, I even discovered Pryors in New Kent County from which Hanover was created.

Sadly, Hanover and it's parent county, New Kent, are burned counties and have few extant records.  However, over the last few weeks we've learned enough to tell us that our Thomsons, Pryors and perhaps Glass ancestors all came from this community.  

Mourning Pryor in Calloway County

Kentucky's Jackson Purchase

For as long as I have been working with Pryor genealogy, the date and place of death of Mourning Thomson Pryor White, Jonathan and James Pryor's mother, has been a mystery. There was much speculation and many theories, the most commonly accepted one was that she had died sometime before 1820 probably in Logan County. There are even unsubstantiated reports that Mourning, along with Jobe family relatives, attended the Old Mulkey Meeting House (Baptist) near Tompkinsville, Kentucky in Monroe County and that she lived to be past 100 years. The fact that no historical records for Mourning Pryor White had been located after 1817 resulted in any number of unfounded claims.

Since Family Search has been adding more documents to their online catalog in recent months, I began to search the Calloway County records based upon having been told many years ago that Jonathan Pryor and extended family had lived for a time in Calloway County before settling in Graves County. The first year of tax lists for Calloway County was 1823 and to my delight, in the tax lists for that year were both Jonathan Pryor and Mourning White!

1823 Tax List of Calloway County, Kentucky

After locating Mourning in Calloway County, I began searching all of the counties adjacent to Logan, where Mourning, Jonathan and James Pryor were last recorded and Calloway where they appear in 1823. Mourning White along with James and Jonathan Pryor were last recorded in tax records of Logan County in 1817 after which they could not be found. A search of all the counties west of Logan toward the Jackson Purchase was fruitless. My next plan was to start searching the Tennessee counties just below the Kentucky state line, but I decided to search one last county in Kentucky first. Simpson County, Kentucky is adjacent to Logan to the southeast and it's western boundary is only a few miles from the area along the Red River where the Pryors' land is recorded. The 1819 tax list of Simpson County shows James and Jonathan Pryor along with Mourning White. In 1821 Mourning is still listed there but James and Jonathan had left, presumably preparing for the family's move to Calloway County.

James and Jonathan Pryor are both found in Graves County tax records beginning in 1824 and in all subsequent years thereafter, but there is no further record of Mourning. I believe we can assume that she either died in Calloway County circa 1823 or moved into Graves County with her sons where she later died. After so many years of not knowing what became of Mourning Thomson Pryor White when our Pryor ancestors moved to the Jackson Purchase, I have been extremely pleased to find that she came to the Jackson Purchase along with them.

Pryor Family & Friends, Part 3

Census records list James Brock Pryor's occupation as barber. The "X" appears to indicate that the second barber in this picture is James. The barber shop was in Memphis.


Alberta Cullins Lawrence

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Alberta was James' granddaughter and is shown in Part 2 at younger ages. This photograph isn't marked well, having only the word Cullins written on the reverse but since it appears to have been taken around the late 1920's or early 30's, it is most likely Alberta.

Alberta

Opie Lawrence

Miss Donald
Opie's 1st Grade Teacher

Opie was the son and only child of Alberta Cullins and Marion Lawrence of Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. The reverse of the photo above names the lady pictured as Opie's first grade teacher, Miss Donald.


Other Family & Friends

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Harper Sisters

I believe the ladies above are the sisters of James Brock Pryor's wife Nancy Margaret Harper. "For Aunt Nan" is written on the reverse along with the names - Aunt Susan, Mamma (Nancy Harper Pryor) and Aunt Mat. Graves County census records list both a Susan and a Martha "Mattie" among the children of James Byrd Harper and Margaret Minerva Cargill, siblings of Nancy Harper Pryor.

Lola Allison

Unknown Child

Lola Allison was the daughter of Louanna Pryor and Henry Clay Allison of Graves County, Kentucky. Louanna was the first cousin of James Brock Pryor, daughter of John S. Pryor and Susan Cargill.

Rube Dosset

The writing on the photo materials says "Rube Dossett, Mayfield, Kentucky". After a little research, I find that Rube was Rupert O. Dossett, Jr., son of R. O. Dossett, Sr. and Anna Mae Harper. Rube's mother Anna Mae Harper was the daughter of Thomas Harper and a niece of Nancy Margaret Harper Pryor. Additionally, Anna Mae's mother was Arramissa Pryor, daughter of Jeremiah Pryor and first cousin to James Brock Pryor. In the brief time I spent doing this research, I found numerous connections between the Pryor and Harper families.

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Once again, I would like to extend my thanks to Diane Walker who so graciously went out of her way to see that these photos made their way home to their Pryor relatives.

Thanks also to Vanessa Wood of the Tennessee Pryors website for all of her help and for sharing information about these photos on their Facebook page.

The Family of James Brock Pryor

Recently I was contacted by someone who purchased a quantity of photographs that appeared to have come from a family album for Pryor individuals who descend from the Graves County family. She had purchased the pictures at a flea market in Hardy, Arkansas and was anxious to return them to some member of their family. The individuals in the pictures all appear to belong to the family of James Brock Pryor who was the son of William Pryor and Carolyn Lochridge originally of Graves County. William was the youngest son of Jonathan Pryor for whom Pryorsburg was named and one of the earliest settlers to the Jackson Purchase area.

This lovely lady just wanted to get the pictures back to a Pryor relative. Since it wasn't my direct line, I was hesitant to accept them. William Pryor was the brother of my third great grandmother Eustacia "Stacy" Pryor, so after some discussion, I agreed to accept the pictures and share them here.

James Brock Pryor and Nancy Margret Harper Pryor had five children - Robert E. Lee Pryor, (Effa) Myrtle Pryor, John B. Pryor, James L. Pryor and Esther Lillian Pryor born between 1869 and 1884. These photos appear to have come from an album containing family photos belonging to Esther Pryor Cullins or her daughter Alberta.

James Brock Pryor

Nancy Margaret Harper

Lady with cow is probably Nancy Harper Pryor

The Family Car

Esther, Thomas Douglas and
 Mrs. Nancy Pryor

Aunt Maggie

Esther Lillian Pryor

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Esther Pryor
baby picture

Esther Pryor

Esther Pryor

Parents of James Brock Pryor

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William Pryor & Carolyn Lockridge

This is only the first of several posts showcasing these great photographs of James Brock Pryor's family. The families of Esther Pryor Cullins and her sister Myrtle Pryor Wahl are next to come.

Many thanks to Diane Walker for these photos and her desire for them to be shared by Pryor family members.

Pryors of Bourbon County, Kentucky

Joseph Pryor, Sr., son of Samuel Pryor and Prudence Thornton, settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky by 1810 when he was recorded in the census of that year. He had previously lived for some years in Botetourt County, Virginia where he is listed each year as a taxpayer from 1771 (corrected from 1783) until 1792. By 1800 he is found on the tax lists in Woodford County, Kentucky before his move to Bourbon. Woodford County was formed from Fayette County in 1788 as was Bourbon in 1786. By 1810 Joseph was recorded in the census of Bourbon County. He wrote his will there on the 30th of December, 1812 and by February Court of 1813 he was deceased when his will was presented for probate.

There is much speculation on possible family connections between the various Pryor families who settled in Kentucky and Tennessee after the American Revolution although at present nothing has been found to document a connection. Joseph Pryor used some of the same given names that are common in our Pryor family of the Jackson Purchase descending from Richard and Mourning Thomson Pryor such as William, Joseph, John and Richard but we have no documented proof to connect the families. My two first cousins and I have numerous autosomal DNA matches to descendants of Joseph in Ancestry's DNA system but it is not as reliable as Y Chromosome DNA tests. The participation of Pryor individuals who descend from our Richard Pryor who died in Logan County, Kentucky in 1797 is needed to truly confirm the relationship.

Recently in the course of searching the wonderful collections of original documents at Family Search, I found scans of several original documents by Joseph Pryor and his sons which include their signatures. Original signatures are a great benefit to genealogical researchers especially since early American colonial families favored ancestral names and used the same given names repeatedly. It's wonderful to have scans of these signatures that help identify various individuals.

This 1810 consent to the marriage of his daughter Prudence to Robert Hall was signed by an elderly Joseph Pryor just two to three years before his death in early 1813. The consent also includes the original signatures of his sons John, Richard and Edward Pryor as witnesses.

Another interesting document found at Family Search is the following bond executed by Joseph Pryor (Jr.) and his brother John in November of 1815 to the Commonwealth of Kentucky when requesting a license to allow Joseph to keep a tavern in his house in Bourbon County.

If you're a male descendant of Richard Pryor and Mourning Thomson with the Pryor surname, please consider participating in the Pryor Y-DNA Project.

PRYORS WANTED!

The Pryor DNA Project is working to find clues to the origins of our Pryor families. Most Pryors of western Kentucky are descendants of Jonathan and James Pryor of Graves County. After the revolution, their father Richard Pryor of Virginia moved his family to eastern Tennessee then to Logan County, Kentucky where he died in 1797. Countless Pryor researchers have searched Virginia records to locate Richard’s origins but to date there is no proof of a relationship to any of the Pryor individuals living in Louisa or Albemarle counties where he is known to have lived before migrating westward.

If you are a male descendant of James or Jonathan Pryor with the Pryor surname, your participation in the Pryor DNA Project could greatly benefit Pryor research. A Descendant of James Pryor would be especially important since James' father is listed as Richard Pryor on his death certificate and therefore documented.

Vanessa Wood creator of the Tennessee Pryors website and blog is also the coordinator of the Pryor DNA Project. With her permission, I am sharing her most recent blog post here:

Group 104 on the FTDNA Y-DNA results are Pryors who can trace their line to Matthew Pryor of Marion Co., TN and Granville Co., NC, some to Samuel Pryor and wife Prudence in Virginia, and others to more distant Pryors in CT.

This group is working with genealogist Laurie Scott to gather together solid documentation of this line and use DNA to prove relationships. This group is committed to the process and recently began the process of upgrading their Y-DNA tests to 111 markers to improve their ability to interpret the results. Their connection to one another is the most definitive of all the Pryor families who’ve tested through FTDNA.com.

Vanessa recently asked Laurie if they need more testers and offered to let folks know here on the blog. Yes, they have “wish list” of ideal testers. These testers aren’t just needed to prove what they already know about their line, but are needed to advance what they know.

Are you a male Pryor or have a male Pryor in your family who fits these wishes?

1. Bourbon County, Kentucky: Pryor male testers that claim lineage to a grandson of Joseph Pryor who died there in 1812. This will help one tester prove they are closer Y-DNA to another tester (this is needed to clarify relationships that are somewhat vague on paper). The tester needs to establish they are “grandson” of Joseph Pryor with original documents.

2. An ancestor in the wilderness of Kentucky or Tennessee before or just after the American Revolution. There were many. The wilderness was the western counties of VA and what is now WV, into OH and the parts of NC that became TN. Or those there by the first U.S. Census in 1790. More still were there. Not all were from Virginia originally. Testers will help this group and possibly other groups of Y-DNA testers in the Pryor Project.

3. Lineage to Samuel II, son of Samuel and Prudence; through a specific son. This will help the entire group. A male Pryor will need to identify which son he descends from.

4. Luke Pryor in their lineage. There were many. They are treated as one, but this group is discovering they were different men. Can you show which Luke you descend from by using only original sources? That rules out all those genealogy articles written in the 1880′s and early 1900′s — original sources are birth records, death records, military records, deeds, wills, etc.

Contact Vanessa through the TNPryors Websire or message through the Pryor Facebook page.

DNA Matches Among My JP Families

This week the results of my recent DNA test have begun to show in Ancestry. There is currently no new information and nothing that will solve any lingering mysteries, but there have already been many matches to Jackson Purchase families where valid historical documentation already exists.

Numerous matches to Clapp descendants have already been identified including this match between William and Mary Clapp, children of John Isaac Clapp and Sarah Loy ~

Also a match to the previous generation George Loy and Mary Catherine Tillman, the parents of Sarah "Sally" Loy ~

A Wingo family match links Thomas and Sarah Wingo of Amelia County, Virginia to their sons Thomas Wingo and his brother Obediah who migrated to Spartanburg County, South Carolina after the Revolution. Thomas Wingo was the father of Jerman Jeduthan Wingo of Graves County ~

Marilla Pryor, wife of James Rodgers Cargill, of Graves County has always been considered a daughter of Jonathan Pryor and Elizabeth White although there are no historical records to confirm that relationship because of the courthouse fire that destroyed Graves County's earliest records. Now a DNA match to Eustacia "Stacy" Pryor for whom there is historical documentation, confirms that Marilla was descended from Jonathan Pryor ~

And finally, a match to Susannah Mary Pryor Newby confirms the long held belief that Jonathan Pryor and his brother James of Graves County were the children of Richard Pryor and Mourning Thomson of Virginia who migrated first to Tennessee and lastly to Logan County, Kentucky. In the past there has been much debate, discussion and some disbelief that Jonathan and James were truly the children of Richard and Mourning Pryor. Susannah Mary Pryor's husband, Henry Newby, was named among the heirs of Richard Pryor in a Logan County deed of 29 Nov 1811 wherein Richard Pryor's heirs were selling a tract of land to Jonathan Pryor whose relationship was unstated. (Logan County KY DB C:467-469)

I'm looking forward to many more interesting matches and hopefully a few new revelations as the matches continue to arrive.

Pryor Ancestor - Mourning Thomson

James and Jonathan Pryor who settled in Graves County, Kentucky shortly after the area was opened for settlement were the children of Richard Pryor and Mourning Thomson originally from Virginia. Mourning Pryor was named as a daughter in the will of Thomas Thomson of Trinity Parish, Louisa County, Virginia written on 24 April 1774. Thomas Thomson died sometime before the 10th of October 1774 when the will was recorded.



Fanny Pryor,
daughter of Richard Pryor
grandson of Mourning

There has been much confusion regarding the identity of Mourning's mother who was previously listed in numerous online sources as Hannah McAllister. Based upon Thomas Thomson's will her name was Hannah but it appears that it was a Thomas Thomasson of Louisa County who was married to Hannah McAllister daughter of William McAllister (Mackalester) and Elizabeth Garland. Thomas Thomasson was the son of George Thomasson of Hanover County, Virginia. Thomas and several of his brothers moved to Granville County, North Carolina around 1777 where he died testate in 1818.

The identity of Mourning's grandfather, father of Thomas Thomson, previously believed to be Samuel Thomson who died in Louisa County in 1753 has recently also come into question based upon the name of slaves distributed to legatees of that will. This is an area that needs much research into the records of Louisa County to resolve.

Soon after the Revolutionary War ended, the Pryor family settled in the Greene/Cocke County, Tennessee area where Mourning Prier is recorded as being one fo the charter members of the Big Pigeon Primitive Baptist Church when it was constituted on the 6th of December 1787. In February of 1794, Mourning Prier made application for a letter of dismissal which was apparently in preparation for the family's move to Logan County, Kentucky.

Grave of Capt. A. J. Pryor

After their arrival in Logan County, Richard Pryor died in 1797 and Mourning is recorded as the administratrix of his estate. In Logan County on the 19th of June 1800, Mourning Pryor married widower Thomas White whose daughter Elizabeth was the future wife of Jonathan Pryor. When Thomas White died in 1806, Mourning was the executrix of his will.

As Mourning White, she was recorded in the census and tax records of Logan County, Kentucky until after 1810. There are unsubstantiated reports that Mourning, along with Jobe family relatives, attended the Old Mulkey Meeting House (Baptist) near Tompkinsville, Kentucky in Monroe County and that she lived to be past 100 years. There are no historical records that confirm these assertions. I have made several trips to Logan County searching the records as well as local cemeteries there, but was unable to find any further record of Mourning Thomson Pryor White. It seems far more likely that she died sometime before 1820 when her youngest children, James, Jonathan and Jeremiah left Logan County.

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Update on Mourning Pryor Thomson White - Mourning Pryor in Callaway County

Picture of Fannie Pryor from the Pryor-Hogue Family Album courtesy of Don Howell of West Kentucky Genealogy.

A Rare Genealogical Find

William Layne Wingo,
son of John Will Wingo

For those of us who include genealogy and family research among our obsessions, countless hours are spent over a microfilm viewer, in a courthouse, library or other archive searching for a document that will confirm our lineage from a particular ancestor. It's exciting to find a document that confirms one generation, but a document that documents four (4) generations is unthinkable. But here it is - the wonderful document that proves the lineage from my great grandmother, Nancy Susan Wingo Reeves to her great grandfather (my 4th great grandfather) Jonathan Pryor.

Graves County, Kentucky
Deed Book #4, Pg 514

For and in consideration of the sum of sixty dollars cash in hand paid and hereby receipted: we L. W. Wingo and wife, M. M. Wingo, W. A. Jones and wife L. A. Jones (late Wingo), W. L. Wingo, Sidney Reeves and wife N. S. Reeves (late Wingo) and L. T. Wingo, being the heirs at law of Mary F. Wingo the late wife of J. W. Wingo. Who was the daughter of Stacey Clapp deceased; She being a Daughter of Jonithan Pryor deceased; have sold and hereby convey by general warranty to H. C. Allison the following real estate lying in Graves County, Kentuckey: being a one forty fifth (1/45) undivided interest in and to the tract of land set apart by order of the Graves County Court as dower to Mrs. Mary Pryor widow of Jonithan Pryor deceased; said tract of land consists of 206 acres and the interest being conveyed being 1/45 herein subject (undecipherable) to the dower rights. In testimony hereof all said grantors have herewith set their hand; this February 22, 1886.

W. L. Wingo, W. A. Jones, L. A. Jones, N. S. Reeves, S. P. Reeves, L. T. Wingo, L. W. Wingo, M. M. Wingo

Vanzant County; State of Texas: I, L. W. Hayne a notary public duly commissioned and qualified as such in and for the county of Vanzant and State of Texas do certify that this deed from L. W. Wingo and his wife M. M. Wingo and others to H. O. Allison was this day produced to me by the parties which acknowledged by the said L. W. Wingo to be his act and deed; and the contents and effect of the instrument being explained to the said M. M. Wingo by me separately and apart from her husband, she thereupon declares that she did freely and voluntarily execute and deliver the same, to be her act and deed and consented that the same may be recorded. In testimony where of I have here unto set my hand and here with affix my notary seal; this March 1, 1886

W. L. Hayne
J. P. and Exofficio Notary Public
Vanzant County, Texas

It appears that Jonathan Pryor's second wife, Mrs. Mary Wilson Oliver, had died before March 1886 and the portion of his estate that had been set aside for her dower was then reverting to his heirs. The heirs of Mary Frances Clapp Wingo were in turn selling their portions to H. C. Allison, husband of another heir, Louanna Pryor, one of Jonathan's granddaughters.

The only reason this document survived the fire that destroyed the Graves County Courthouse, is because Leonidas W. Wingo was living in Van Zant County, Texas at the time and the document was not located in Graves County at the time of the fire.

You never know what treasures are waiting to be discovered in the courthouse basement.

Reunion of Co. D, 2nd Kentucky

  Richard Pryor, son of
 Jonathan Pryor,Jr.

Richard T. Pryor was the son of Jonathan Pryor, Jr. and Frances Rozzell of Pryorsburg, Graves County, Kentucky. At the age of 21 on the 28th of July, 1861, Richard was enlisted by Capt. Lewis S. Slayden in the Second Kentucky Infantry, CSA, at Camp Boone, Tennessee. The 2nd Kentucky was part of the First Kentucky Brigade which in time came to be known as the "Orphan Brigade".

On December 2, 1862 he was taken prisoner at Hartsville, Tennessee. It is unclear how long he was a Union prisoner, but on the 30th of June, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, he received a medical discharge because of a gunshot through his right elbow which occurred during the battle in Hartsville. CSA records at the time of his discharge state that he was 5 feet 8 inches tall, with fair complexion, blue eyes and light hair.

Twenty-seven years later a reunion was held at the home of Richard Pryor. On October 1, 1890 the Mayfield Monitor published the following article:

Reunion of Company D, Second Kentucky

A reunion of the above company at the residence of Mr. Richard Pryor, four miles southwest of here, on last Wednesday, notwithstanding the disagreeableness of the weather, was largely attended and proved a great success.

The following members of the company for which the meeting was arranged were present and took part in the exercises. Their ages, post office addresses and Christian names are also given:

Henry T. Wilkerson, age 49, Mayfield; T. F. (Dock) Mason, age 51, Pritchard, Graves County; Jas. D. Watson, age 46, Mayfield; Amos West, age 53, Mayfield; R. L. Usrey, age 57, Mayfield; W. W. (Wint) Potts, age 53, Pottsville; H. L. (Los) Jones, age 49, West Plains; J. V. (Jake) Canaday, age 59, Mayfield; Thos. F. Boaz, age 53, Kansas, Ky.; A. B. (Arch) Pullen, age 47, Lynnville; R. T. (Dick) Pryor, age 50, Mayfield; D. P. (De) Coulter, age 51, Mayfield.

As far as is known the following are the names of surviving members who were not present:

Newt. Anderson, Bushnell, Fla.; Wit. Boaz, Martin, Tenn.; Jack Pryor, East Prairie, Mo.; Bill Burton, Wingo; John Bourne, Pryorsburg; Charlie Haskell, Moscow; F. M. Handley, Melbourne, Ark.; Thos. Hopkins; New Mexico; A. T. Pullen, Pryorsburg; Wm. Bridges, Arkansas; Tup. Ryburn, Viola; Marshall Sullivan, Boaz; John Williams, West Plains; Tip. Myers, Wingo; Jim Touhey, Pryorsburg; Thomas Floyd, Wingo.

The company was organized with 110 men at Camp Boone, near Clarksville, Tenn., July 13, 1861. L. S. Slayden was chosen captain; H. B. Rodgers, first lieutenant; A. J. Pryor, second lieutenant; R. L. Usrey, third lieutenant. At the end of the war 36 of the company were paroled at Washington, Ga. The officers of the company at the time of the surrender were A. J. Pryor, captain; R. L. Usrey, first lieutenant; Amos West, second lieutenant; C. A. Haskell, third lieutenant.

Capt. T. M. Curtis, Company K, 50th Tenn.; Capt. R. T. Albritton, Company C, 8th Ky.; J. L. Rickman, Company K, 47th Tenn.; L. W. Bostic, Company A, 12th Ky., were also present, together with a number of Mr. Pryor’s friends.

A magnificent dinner was spread, to which it is needless to say all did justice; in fact it is said that one gentleman not only filled his stomach, but also his pockets, with the good things that were spread so lavishly before him. For any information on this point inquire of Bob Albritton, Amos West, Bill Bostic or Dock Mason.

All who went enjoyed themselves and returned home with nothing but good words for the hospitable manner in which they were treated by Mr. & Mrs. Pryor and their popular daughter, Miss Fannie Pryor.


(Photo courtesy of West Kentucky Genealogy from the Pryor-Hogue Album)

The Children of William T. Wingo

William Thomas Wingo, the youngest child of Thomas Wingo and Mary Holt Wingo, was born on April 14th 1818 in Virginia, probably in Nottaway County. By the time he was ten years old, he was an orphan for Mary died in 1827 and Thomas in 1828. William was then cared for my his much older brother Jerman and appears to have joined him on the migration to Kentucky.

On January 10th, 1840 in Hickman County, Kentucky, William married Harriet Lochridge, daughter of James Lochridge and Rachel Hicklin. In the Hickman County census of 1850, the family was living in the Baltimore community just north of the Tennessee state line and included James T. Wingo age 6, Rachel age 5 and one year old California. By the 1860 census, the family was absent from all census listings in the area. According to Jerman Wingo's bible, W. T. Wingo died on 17 October 1857 and Harriett died on February 12th, 1860. William's cause of death was recorded as "fever" on his Hickman County death record but no record could be found for Harriet's death.

I discovered the births of two more children after the 1850 census was taken. A birth record for a "no name" Wingo was recorded on the 27th of June 1853 and Mary Ellen Wingo on 19 April 1856. The child listed as "no name" later was found to be George Newton Wingo

As I attempted to locate the children, I even began to research Harriet's Lochridge family. When the 1860 census was taken, a J. T. "Bingo" was listed in the Graves County household of William Pryor, husband of Caroline Lochridge Pryor, Harriet's sister. In the Baltimore community of Hickman County, California was living in the household of John & Sarah Coates and a few residences from the Coates, 4 year old Mary Ellen was living with the family of G. W. Sellars, a constable. Newton was also living in Hickman County in the home of Harriet's brother Marshall Lochridge. Only Rachel couldn't be found in that 1860 census. Then, by the 1870 census, none of the children could be found other than a possible John T. Wingo living in a boarding house in Mayfield who might have been James and his name listed incorrectly.

Periodically I would think about these lost children and make another attempt to find them but always unsuccessfully. I did find that the John T. Wingo living in Mayfield in 1870 really was James. At that time he held the position of the Graves County Clerk. He had served in John Hunt Morgan's Cavalry during the Civil War and was seriously injured before being captured. He died before November of 1870 possibly as a result of those injuries. From the History of the First Kentucky Brigade By Edwin Porter Thompson, pub 1868:

THOMAS WINGO, Graves County, Ky., was sick when the regiment marched to Donelson, but recovered and joined Morgan’s cavalry, with which he fought until he lost a leg in battle. He was wounded at Lebanon in one of his eyes.

Finally, I happened upon the 1952 death record of James Rudy Blalock which named his father as Levi Blalock, Jr. and his mother as Mary Ellen Wingo. From that point, I continued to find them one after the other, Rachel, then George Newton who had married Ellieander Blalock, Levi's sister, but not Callie. I used all my most successful methods, even searching by first names but could never find her. Then one day when reviewing some Graves County census pages for the Pryorsburg area, I saw the name of the wife of James Knox Polk Pryor was Callie and she was exactly the right age. On that same page Levi and Mary Ellen Blalock were listed. I had finally found Callie and once I found her obituary, it confirmed her maiden name as Wingo.

After all my searching for William Thomas Wingo's children, it seems that they were hiding in plain sight all along. In the tax records of Graves County, I eventually learned that William Pryor had been the administrator of his sister-in-law Harriet's estate and the children were all living in close proximity to him in Pryorsburg - about 5 miles from Wingo, Kentucky.


(Photos property of Raymond Wingo, descendant of George Newton and Ellieander Blalock Wingo.)

The Pryors - Jonathan & James

There has been much debate and discussion as to whether Jonathan and James Pryor were children of Richard Pryor and Mourning Thomson formerly of Albemarle, Virginia. The fact that Richard left no will when he died in Logan County in 1797 has contributed to the uncertainty. The only document recording his heirs is an 1811 Logan County deed wherein ten heirs sold their portion of a tract of 250 acres in Logan County to Jonathan Pryor. The deed specifically states that the sellers are the heirs of Richard “Prior”. It was common practice for legatees to sell their portions of an estate to one sibling but the problem with this deed is that it does not make an assertion that Jonathan was also an heir of Richard Prior.

Although there is no absolute proof of the parentage of James and Jonathan Pryor, there is an abundance of documentation of their connection to Richard and Mourning indicating that they were members of that family. Both James and Jonathan state that they were born in Tennessee on the 1850 census. Richard and Mourning Pryor are known to have been residents of Tennessee before December 1787 when Mourning was recorded as one of the charter members of the Big Pigeon Primitive Baptist Church in Cocke County. When James Pryor died in Graves County in 1856, Richard Pryor was listed as his father on his death record although the name of his mother appears to be something closer to Miriam. By the time Jonathan died around 1862, Graves County had suspended the practice of filing death reports so there is no similar record for him. In Graves County where both Jonathan and James lived the rest of their lives and raised their families, it is generally accepted that they were brothers and local histories identify them as such.

On the 19th of June 1800, Mourning Pryor married Thomas White in Logan County, Kentucky and the following Smith County, Tennessee deed confirms that she was Richard Pryor's widow:

10 May 1802 - Smith Co., TN Deed Book 1801-17 p. 94
Between Thomas White and Mourning White, formerly Prior (Pryor) admx. of Richard Pryor, decd of Logan Co., KY and James Ewing of Smith Co., TN...During the lifetime of said Richard Pryor, he bound himself in the penal sum of 200 pounds to execute a deed to William Pryor for 400 acres of land, his choice of 1280 acres part of 3000 acres lying on the Caneyford of Cumberland River, Mourning White (formerly Pryor) widow of Richard obtained letters of Administration of said decedent and said William Pryor has sold to James Ewing his rights to 200 of the 400 acres of land etc.

Five years after Mourning married Thomas White, on September 28, 1805, Jonathan Pryor married his youngest daughter Elizabeth. When Thomas died in 1806, he named Mourning as the executrix of his estate in his will dated 18 Mar 1805. She is recorded, as Mourning White, in Logan County tax records after Thomas’ death and in the 1810 census. Presumably she died sometime before 1820. Trips to Logan County to search extensively for more information have failed to produce any further record of Mourning or a gravesite.


Jonathan and James Pryor with their young families left Logan County around 1820 moving further west into the newly opened Jackson Purchase. They reportedly first settled in Callaway County for a short time but by the 1830 census they were located in Graves County. Jonathan’s daughter Eustacia's marriage to Burrell Williams on April 15, 1824 is said to be the first marriage recorded in Graves County. The first grants west of the Tennessee River to Jonathan and James Pryor are both dated July 7, 1825. Over the next 10 years, there are additional grants totaling more than 3,000 acres to each of them.