Tennessee Pryor Criminal Cases
Robertson County Court Minutes (1811-1815)
Joseph Kizer (or Kiger) filed assault charged against Thornton Pryor in May 1814.
Indictment for Assault and Battery, Overton Co. 1840
The State vs. Stephen Mayfield
for the assault of JOHN PRIOR.
October Term of the circuit court 1840. $75 file and costs of the prosecution. Prosecuted by William Callom, Attorney General.
State of Tennessee,
Overton County, October Term of the circuit court eighteen hundred and
forty. The grand jurors for the State of Tennessee elected, e.? service and
charged to enquire for the body of the county of Overton in the State
Aforesaid upon them oath present and Stephen Mayfield yeoman upon the
first day of September 1840 with force and .? In the county of Overton in
the State of Tennessee in and upon JOHN
PRIOR in the peace of God and our said State then and there being
an assault did make and ----? The said JOHN PRIOR did then and there beat?
Bruise? Wound and ill treat and other wrongs and injuries to the said JOHN
PRIOR then and there did to his ---? Damage in contempt of the law of the
land and against the peace and dignity of the State. William Cullom,
Attorney General. JOHN PRIOR, prosecutor, witness sworn in open
court and sent before the grand jury to give evidence in behalf of the State
aforesaid this bill of indictment. October 28th 1840. James
Harrison, foreman of the Grand Jury.
Murder Conviction, Jackson Co., 1847
Notes from the book
"Tennessee Convicts: Early Records of the State Penitentiary"
by Chuck Sherrill,
JOHN PRYOR
from Jackson Co., TN, age 25, convicted of murder. Sentenced to 12 years in the
penitentiary. Received on Jan. 13, 1847. Discharged Aug. 27, 1852. This John
Pryor can be found on the 1850 Census in the State Penitentiary in Nashville,
Davidson Co. He is counted in the 2nd Subdivision, page 308. The census record
states his age as 28, occupation laborer, born in Tennessee, convicted 1847 of
murder.
new! Proclamation issued April 7, 1841 by James K. Polk, governor of the State of TN.
A reward was offered for Wilkerson Fletcher who was charged with the murder of JOHN PRYOR of Weakley County. John Jefferson Fletcher (Wilks' brother) was wanted as an accessory to the murder. John Pryor was the husband of Arrena Fletcher Pryor. Wilkinson Fletcher went to Collin Co. and Denton Co., TX where he is found on the 1860-1880 Census records. (information provided by Barbara McKnight).
Murder of William Nelson, 1869
"WILLIAM NELSON died, R. A. Cox
appointed administrator. No Inventory was filed before the burning of the
court house. R. A. Cox makes oath above is correct. 1 May 1876."... "Heirs
of Nelson employed myself and DeWitt to prosecute JOHN PRYOR,
supposed murder of Nelson after his death, and the Same was continued
after my appointment, and valuable services... Cox & DeWitt reasonably
worth $100. Papers of estate were burned and destroyed. Nelson I think was
killed in the early part of [looks like 1869 changed to 1870]. [No date].
s/s R. A. Cox"
Jackson Co., TN Loose District/Chancery Court Papers Reel #62. Cox,
N. - Cox, S.
Genealogical Abstracts by Mary Lu Johnson
Murder Conviction, 1860
In 1860 JOHN PRYOR
was counted on the Davidson Co., TN Census. He was in the State Penitentiary in
Nashville. The book
"Tennessee Convicts: Early
Records of the State Penitentiary by Chuck Sherrill states
"Jonathan Pryor was received on March 12, 1860. Convicted of malicious stabbing
in Sumner Co. and sentenced to 3 years. Age 30. Occupation none. Birthplace
Tennessee. Discharged January 2, 1863. Released under the Act of 1863. In prison
leger 86 as number 2128. Additional information for prison leger 87: Born and
raised in Overton Co. Father dead. Mother and one sister, wife and three
children live in Sumner Co. One sister and three brothers in Overton Co.
I believe this John Pryor to be a son of Spicy and William
Pryor of Overton Co., TN. This kinship can be explained by census records and
the relationships stated in the prison record. First it can be assumed
that his father, William Pryor, was deceased by 1860 in that he was not counted
on the 1850 Census. His mother, Spicy, was counted in 1850 in Overton Co.
with a Phereba Pryor in the household. Phereba may be the sister referred to in
prison record as she is counted in 1860 living close to Massy Taylor Pryor in
Sumner Co. The divorce record for this John Pryor reveals that his wife
was Eliza Beasley. Eliza was counted on the 1860 Census in Sumner Co.
The divorce record states that Eliza and John only had one child. Two more
children appear to be from John's first marriage to Ellen Lee, William E. Pryor
and Mary Pryor. These children were living with the Mays family in 1860.
The sister and three brothers living in Overton Co. were probably Mary Pryor,
wife of Loderick Garrett; Edward Pryor, Overton Pryor, and Chesley Pryor.
1869 Hardeman County Murder
The book
"Tennessee Convicts: Early
Records of the State Penitentiary by Chuck Sherrill states, "Pryer,
John. Received on Sept 28, 1869. Convicted of murder in Hardeman County
and sentenced to a term of 20 years. Age: 18. Occupation: no trade.
Birthplace: Georgia. Discharged: blank. Notes: White. In prison
ledger 86, alpha section." This is probably a duplicate entry:
"Pryer, John. Race white; age 20; born in Georgia. Convicted in Madison
County of murder in Sept. 1869 for a term of 20 years. Remarks: In Oct.
1869 List of Prisoners." John Pryer is on the
1870 Census in Davidson Co., encarcerated.
An
entry from July 1870... ELIZA PRIOR and Mahaly Stanton Jr and Sr
were kept in the Overton County jail 7 Apr and 8 Apr 1861, for "disturbing"
N.G. Hutson - Overton County Court Minutes 1867-1872
July Term 1870, document page 395: Ordered by the court that W. G. Robert be allowed for keeping the bodies of Mahaly Stanton Jr. and Mahaly Stanton Sr., Eliza PRIOR in the jail of verton County on a charge of disturbing N. G. Hutson from 7th of April 1861 to the 8th of the same making 2 days at 40 cts pr day.
$2.40
$3.00
_____
$5.40
To six lawful turnkeys.
|
