Notable Pryors

Nathaniel Hale Pryor born 1772, died 1831. Born in Amherst Co., VA, "the son of John Pryor (occupation unknown) and Nancy Floyd." This article reports that "in about 1782 Pryor moved with his parents to Jefferson County, Kentucky, and in 1798 he married Peggy Patton." He joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition that President Jefferson sent in survey the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. "Pryor joined the expedition on 20 October 1803 at Clarksville, Indiana, as one of the so-called 'nine young men from Kentucky.' Pryor's cousin, Sergeant Charles Floyd, was the only member of the party to die on the trip." Pryor served as a Sergeant, a non-commissioned officer, however obtained an officer's commission in the army after the expedition. In 1810 he resigned from the Army, began trading with the Indians near Jo Daviess Co., IL, and after an Indian attack he rejoined the army. After serving in the Battle of New Orleans (1815) he settled in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). "Pryor, Oklahoma; Pryor Creek in Oklahoma; Pryor, Montana and the Pryor Mountains of Montana all bear his name"
(National Biography, published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 17, Oxford University Press, 1999. Article submitted by Gary E. Moulton. "Information about Pryor's service in the Lewis and Clark expedition can be found in Gary E. Moulton, ed., The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (8 vols., 1983--), and in Donald Jackson, ed., Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents, 1783-1854, 2d ed. (2 vols., 1978). Biographical studies and sketches include Charles G. Clarke, The Men of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition: A Biographical Roster of the Fifty-one Members and a Composite Diary of Their Activities from All Known Sources (1970), pp. 41-42; Grant Foreman, "Nathaniel Pryor," Chronicles of Oklahoma 7 (June 1929); 152-63; and Raymond W. Settle, "Nathaniel Pryor," in The Mountain Men and the Fur Trade of the Far West, vol. 2, ed. Le Roy R. Hafen (1965), pp. 277-84.")


Off-site Links to more information on Nathaniel Hale Pryor
The Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery
Discovering Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc.
Floyd - Field - Pryor & Clark