NathanielHalePryor aka Pryer
Son of John A. Pryor and Nancy (Floyd) Pryor
[sibling(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Profile last modified | Created 25 Sep 2014
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Nathaniel Pryor served in the War of 1812
Service started: Apr 1, 1810
Unit(s): 44th Infantry
Service ended: Jun 15, 1815
Nathaniel Pryor is Notable.
Nathaniel Pryor was a soldier, explorer, trader, and pioneer. His leadership during the Corps of Discovery, and service during the War of 1812, provided opportunity for his later pursuits as Indian Agent among the Osage in the Three Forks area of the Arkansas River (present day eastern Oklahoma).
Nathaniel Pryor was born ca 1772 to 1775 in Amherst county, Virginia to John Pryor and Nancy Floyd.[1] John Pryor moved his family to Jefferson, Kentucky sometime prior to the election of April 1782, when he is recorded as voting in Jefferson. Later court records for July 6, 1791 state orphaned brothers Nathaniel and Robert Pryor, sons of the late John Pryor, became wards of the overseers of the poor. And on August 7, 1791 were 'bound out' to Obidiah Newman.
Nathaniel Pryor joined the "Lewis and Clark expedition" on October 20, 1803 and served until October 10, 1806. He was one of the so-called "nine young men from Kentucky" and formally appointed in April 1804 as one of three sergeants, along with his cousin Charles Floyd. Pryor does what is asked of him and journal entries have him paddling canoes, hunting, and whatever else it takes for the survival of the Corps.[2]
On July 19, 1805, Capt. Clark writes:[3]
On July 22, 1805, Capt. Lewis writes of the same creek:[4]
Pryor went on to a military career, having been appointed to an ensign in the infantry on Feb. 27, 1807 and second lieutenant on May 3, 1808. He resigned two years later, 1 April 1810, but then served again during the War of 1812 as a first lieutenant, 44th Infantry, and later promoted to captain on Oct. 1, 1814. He was finally honorably discharged on Jun. 15, 1815.[5]
Nathaniel Pryor then lived and traded among the Osage Indians, especially the Clermont band, in what is present-day northeast Oklahoma.[6] He represented the tribe in negotiations with nearby military Fort Smith and Fort Gibson. In 1830, William Clark, now Secretary of Indian Affairs, appointed Pryor sub-agent for the Clermont band, but Nathaniel died within a short time and didn't serve long.[6]
Pryor was first married to Margaret Patton or Patten on May 17, 1798. [7][8] However, Margaret likely soon dies (or they possibly divorce: see Disputed Relationships below) as she is no longer mentioned in his life or family records.[1] Additionally no children are known to have been born from this marriage. The second clue lies in the Corps of Discovery requirements set out by Lewis:
Nathaniel Pryor obviously fitted the bill, which would seem to imply that he was no longer married to Margaret Patton.
He later married an Osage woman, called Osinga or Angelique. She was baptized in 1841, at the age of fifty-five. They had several children including two daughters Marie, and Mary Jane. Morris[1] stated that Pryor had three children (Mary Jane, Angelique, and Marie) by his Indian wife, but Swagerty believes he mistook Angelique (who was fourteen years younger than her husband) for a daughter instead of his wife.[9]
Disputed Relationships
Regarding a relationship and possible marriage in Kentucky about 1805 with a Mary Davis. In this case a son Nathaniel Miguel (Luis) Pryor is said to have resulted. However, Pryor was still on the Corps expedition during that period, and documentation shows that Nathaniel Miguel Pryor was born several years earlier, about 1798. The younger Pryor was also the man who traveled in the same Arkansas River area as the profile subject, and then to California with the Pattie party arriving at the Santa Catalina Mission on March 12, 1828. Considering the 1798 birth date could Mary Davis be a remarried Margaret Patten, making Nathaniel Miguel Pryor a son of that first marriage? It may simply be that the younger Nathaniel Pryor is an honorary namesake of the elder.[10]
A second well circulated story is from the William Stokes Pryor descendants tradition. This oral memory states that Nathaniel Pryor married Nancy S. (Melton) (Kuke) Pryor on Feb. 23, 1811 and was father to Nancy's son William Stokes Pryor, born Nov. 15, 1811. However, it is almost certain that the true person who was husband/father in this case is one William Pryor of Georgia. In fact, Nathaniel Hale Pryor, was living in Indian territory during the time that the son had been conceived.[11] Further an 1818 divorce decree was likewise between Nancy Melton and William Pryor, another date when Nathaniel Pryor is located elsewhere.[12]
Death Notice from the St. Louis Beacon, dated Jul. 21, 1831:
He died near present-day Pryor, Mayes Co., Oklahoma[6] and is buried in the Graham Memorial Cemetery near his namesake Pryor, Oklahoma, where an elaborate, modern grave memorial has been erected.[13]
Name sake places and geography:
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Australian Connections: Nathaniel is 13 degrees from Cate Blanchett, 22 degrees from Russell Crowe, 16 degrees from Howard Florey, 24 degrees from Dawn Fraser, 30 degrees from Cathy Freeman, 23 degrees from Barry Humphries, 20 degrees from Bert Jacka, 26 degrees from Hugh Jackman, 20 degrees from Bertram Mackennal, 18 degrees from Rupert Murdoch, 18 degrees from Banjo Paterson and 14 degrees from Henry Ross on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.