Thank you Wes T. for transferring my family to me, I really appreciate it.
22 OCT 2020, Memorial notes at or near time of transfer. Added gender. 1) Original bio content from creator of memorial is below divider. ~Famous US explorer; joined Lewis & Clark expedition, 1803, Kentucky HQ, as Sergeant, served to 1806. Pryor's cousin, Charles Floyd was the only fatality of that expedition. He received 320 acres "bonus", in Louisiana Purchase, from Pres. Thomas Jefferson Joined US Army, 1807;
After the return of the Expedition to St. Louis, Pryor remained in the army and was one of the group detailed in 1807 to return the Mandan Chief Shahaka to his home, an effort that was thwarted by the Arikara Indians. Pryor was a second lieutenant until 1810. One of the recently discovered letters of William Clark to his brother Jonathan, dated June 7, 1808, mentions Pryor. "Since writing you, we have descended [the Ohio River] to the mouth of the Cumberland ... I have just heard that Mr. Pryor & about 20 men with 2 boats is waiting at the Mouth of the Ohio for me." Clark was on his way to St. Louis and apparently was to be accompanied up the Mississippi by Lt. Pryor and a military escort.
A special mission that Pryor undertook while in military service and at the request of William Clark, by then Indian agent in the Missouri Territory, was a secret mission having to do with the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet. The exact nature of the mission is unknown, but at that time Tecumseh was attempting to unite the northern and southern tribes for a concerted strike at the whites. The ultimate aim was to drive them back to the east side of the Allegheny Mountains-an impossible goal, but an uprising that could have cost much bloodshed. Tecumseh was killed during the War of 1812 when the Indians allied themselves with the British along the Canadian border.
After leaving the Army in 1810, Pryor secured an Indian trader's license from William Clark and operated a lead-smelting furnace along the Upper Mississippi at the mouth of the Galena River. On January 1, 1812, Pryor's establishment and that of a fellow trader, George Hunt, was attacked by a party of Winnebagoes who had inadvertently happened to be at Tecumseh's village at Tippecanoe along the Wabash River near present Lafayette, Indiana, on November 7, 1811. That was the very day that the battle of Tippecanoe erupted between General William Henry Harrison's U.S. Army forces and the Shawnees led by The Prophet while Tecumseh was absent. The Winnebagoes, spending the night at Tippecanoe on their way back from Canada to their village in Illinois, were embroiled in the clash and lost twenty-five men. Brooding on this after they returned home, they set out for the Galena mines to seek revenge. Pryor and Hunt were unaware of what had happened and were totally surprised, but both managed to escape. Pryor's escape was aided by a Sac squaw. He crossed the frozen Mississippi on the floating ice to Missouri and eventually found refuge for the winter in a village of French farmers. He returned to St. Louis in the spring of 1812 on a fur trader's boat.
Many adventures later, in 1819, set up a trading post w/Osage Indians at 3 Forks,Indian Territory; established Pryor, (now OK.) Married several times; his first wife is recorded as Peggy Patten, married 1798. She died young.He later married Osinga, Osage Indian. Son of John Pryor & Nancy Floyd Pryor. Memorial burial is on a hill overlooking Graham Memorial Cemetery, east of Pryor.∼Sergeant who served on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was a strict disciplinarian who kept other members in line, reprimanded them for heavy drinking, etc.
I have added this history from Jon D. May as it lists some of the wives of Nathaniel Pryor.
PRYOR, NATHANIEL (ca. 1775–1831).
Explorer, soldier, trader, and Indian agent, Nathaniel Pryor was a pioneer of the Three Forks Area in northeastern Oklahoma. Born in Virginia, he was a son of John Pryor and Nancy Floyd. Although his year of birth is uncertain, Pryor was about twenty-three years of age when he married Margaret Patton in 1798. He was probably a widower when he joined the Lewis and Clark expedition at Louisville, Kentucky, in October 1803. After serving as a sergeant in the expedition, he became an ensign in the First Infantry, U.S. Army, in 1807. He left the army in 1810 but reenlisted during the War of 1812. As a captain in the Forty-fourth Infantry he served under Gen. Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.
Upon his discharge from the army "Captain" Pryor, as he was often called, settled at Arkansas Post above the mouth of the Arkansas River. There he and Samuel B. Richards formed a partnership to barter with the region's Indians. In 1819 Pryor received a license to trade with the Osage at the Three Forks of the Arkansas. Located about four miles northeast of present Muskogee, Oklahoma, the Three Forks is at the confluence of the Verdigris, Grand, and Arkansas rivers. There on the Verdigris, about two miles above its confluence with the Arkansas, he established a trading post. Pryor, who married an Osage woman, shared a close friendship with the tribe. His patrons were Chief Claremore's band.
Whether guiding English naturalist Thomas Nuttall through the countryside, helping to establish Union Mission among the Osage, or purchasing Osage horses for Thomas James's 1821 trading expedition to Santa Fe, Pryor was invaluable to the residents and visitors at the Three Forks. Military and government officials frequently called upon him to help in negotiations with the Osage. His relationship with the tribe led Gov. William Clark of Missouri Territory to appoint Pryor acting Osage subagent in 1827. Governor Clark, Three Forks resident Sam Houston, and Fort Gibson commander Col. Matthew Arbuckle were among those who recognized Pryor's value and petitioned to have his position made permanent. That permanency was established just before his death on June 10, 1831. Capt. Nathaniel Pryor died at the Osage subagency, located southeast of present Pryor in Mayes County, Oklahoma. That community and neighboring Pryor Creek bear his name.
Jon D. May
22 OCT 2020, Memorial notes at or near time of transfer. Added gender. 1) Original bio content from creator of memorial is below divider. ~Famous US explorer; joined Lewis & Clark expedition, 1803, Kentucky HQ, as Sergeant, served to 1806. Pryor's cousin, Charles Floyd was the only fatality of that expedition. He received 320 acres "bonus", in Louisiana Purchase, from Pres. Thomas Jefferson Joined US Army, 1807;
After the return of the Expedition to St. Louis, Pryor remained in the army and was one of the group detailed in 1807 to return the Mandan Chief Shahaka to his home, an effort that was thwarted by the Arikara Indians. Pryor was a second lieutenant until 1810. One of the recently discovered letters of William Clark to his brother Jonathan, dated June 7, 1808, mentions Pryor. "Since writing you, we have descended [the Ohio River] to the mouth of the Cumberland ... I have just heard that Mr. Pryor & about 20 men with 2 boats is waiting at the Mouth of the Ohio for me." Clark was on his way to St. Louis and apparently was to be accompanied up the Mississippi by Lt. Pryor and a military escort.
A special mission that Pryor undertook while in military service and at the request of William Clark, by then Indian agent in the Missouri Territory, was a secret mission having to do with the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet. The exact nature of the mission is unknown, but at that time Tecumseh was attempting to unite the northern and southern tribes for a concerted strike at the whites. The ultimate aim was to drive them back to the east side of the Allegheny Mountains-an impossible goal, but an uprising that could have cost much bloodshed. Tecumseh was killed during the War of 1812 when the Indians allied themselves with the British along the Canadian border.
After leaving the Army in 1810, Pryor secured an Indian trader's license from William Clark and operated a lead-smelting furnace along the Upper Mississippi at the mouth of the Galena River. On January 1, 1812, Pryor's establishment and that of a fellow trader, George Hunt, was attacked by a party of Winnebagoes who had inadvertently happened to be at Tecumseh's village at Tippecanoe along the Wabash River near present Lafayette, Indiana, on November 7, 1811. That was the very day that the battle of Tippecanoe erupted between General William Henry Harrison's U.S. Army forces and the Shawnees led by The Prophet while Tecumseh was absent. The Winnebagoes, spending the night at Tippecanoe on their way back from Canada to their village in Illinois, were embroiled in the clash and lost twenty-five men. Brooding on this after they returned home, they set out for the Galena mines to seek revenge. Pryor and Hunt were unaware of what had happened and were totally surprised, but both managed to escape. Pryor's escape was aided by a Sac squaw. He crossed the frozen Mississippi on the floating ice to Missouri and eventually found refuge for the winter in a village of French farmers. He returned to St. Louis in the spring of 1812 on a fur trader's boat.
Many adventures later, in 1819, set up a trading post w/Osage Indians at 3 Forks,Indian Territory; established Pryor, (now OK.) Married several times; his first wife is recorded as Peggy Patten, married 1798. She died young.He later married Osinga, Osage Indian. Son of John Pryor & Nancy Floyd Pryor. Memorial burial is on a hill overlooking Graham Memorial Cemetery, east of Pryor.∼Sergeant who served on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was a strict disciplinarian who kept other members in line, reprimanded them for heavy drinking, etc.
I have added this history from Jon D. May as it lists some of the wives of Nathaniel Pryor.
PRYOR, NATHANIEL (ca. 1775–1831).
Explorer, soldier, trader, and Indian agent, Nathaniel Pryor was a pioneer of the Three Forks Area in northeastern Oklahoma. Born in Virginia, he was a son of John Pryor and Nancy Floyd. Although his year of birth is uncertain, Pryor was about twenty-three years of age when he married Margaret Patton in 1798. He was probably a widower when he joined the Lewis and Clark expedition at Louisville, Kentucky, in October 1803. After serving as a sergeant in the expedition, he became an ensign in the First Infantry, U.S. Army, in 1807. He left the army in 1810 but reenlisted during the War of 1812. As a captain in the Forty-fourth Infantry he served under Gen. Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.
Upon his discharge from the army "Captain" Pryor, as he was often called, settled at Arkansas Post above the mouth of the Arkansas River. There he and Samuel B. Richards formed a partnership to barter with the region's Indians. In 1819 Pryor received a license to trade with the Osage at the Three Forks of the Arkansas. Located about four miles northeast of present Muskogee, Oklahoma, the Three Forks is at the confluence of the Verdigris, Grand, and Arkansas rivers. There on the Verdigris, about two miles above its confluence with the Arkansas, he established a trading post. Pryor, who married an Osage woman, shared a close friendship with the tribe. His patrons were Chief Claremore's band.
Whether guiding English naturalist Thomas Nuttall through the countryside, helping to establish Union Mission among the Osage, or purchasing Osage horses for Thomas James's 1821 trading expedition to Santa Fe, Pryor was invaluable to the residents and visitors at the Three Forks. Military and government officials frequently called upon him to help in negotiations with the Osage. His relationship with the tribe led Gov. William Clark of Missouri Territory to appoint Pryor acting Osage subagent in 1827. Governor Clark, Three Forks resident Sam Houston, and Fort Gibson commander Col. Matthew Arbuckle were among those who recognized Pryor's value and petitioned to have his position made permanent. That permanency was established just before his death on June 10, 1831. Capt. Nathaniel Pryor died at the Osage subagency, located southeast of present Pryor in Mayes County, Oklahoma. That community and neighboring Pryor Creek bear his name.
Jon D. May
Thank you Wes T. for transferring my family to me, I really appreciate it.
22 OCT 2020, Memorial notes at or near time of transfer. Added gender. 1) Original bio content from creator of memorial is below divider. ~Famous US explorer; joined Lewis & Clark expedition, 1803, Kentucky HQ, as Sergeant, served to 1806. Pryor's cousin, Charles Floyd was the only fatality of that expedition. He received 320 acres "bonus", in Louisiana Purchase, from Pres. Thomas Jefferson Joined US Army, 1807;
After the return of the Expedition to St. Louis, Pryor remained in the army and was one of the group detailed in 1807 to return the Mandan Chief Shahaka to his home, an effort that was thwarted by the Arikara Indians. Pryor was a second lieutenant until 1810. One of the recently discovered letters of William Clark to his brother Jonathan, dated June 7, 1808, mentions Pryor. "Since writing you, we have descended [the Ohio River] to the mouth of the Cumberland ... I have just heard that Mr. Pryor & about 20 men with 2 boats is waiting at the Mouth of the Ohio for me." Clark was on his way to St. Louis and apparently was to be accompanied up the Mississippi by Lt. Pryor and a military escort.
A special mission that Pryor undertook while in military service and at the request of William Clark, by then Indian agent in the Missouri Territory, was a secret mission having to do with the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet. The exact nature of the mission is unknown, but at that time Tecumseh was attempting to unite the northern and southern tribes for a concerted strike at the whites. The ultimate aim was to drive them back to the east side of the Allegheny Mountains-an impossible goal, but an uprising that could have cost much bloodshed. Tecumseh was killed during the War of 1812 when the Indians allied themselves with the British along the Canadian border.
After leaving the Army in 1810, Pryor secured an Indian trader's license from William Clark and operated a lead-smelting furnace along the Upper Mississippi at the mouth of the Galena River. On January 1, 1812, Pryor's establishment and that of a fellow trader, George Hunt, was attacked by a party of Winnebagoes who had inadvertently happened to be at Tecumseh's village at Tippecanoe along the Wabash River near present Lafayette, Indiana, on November 7, 1811. That was the very day that the battle of Tippecanoe erupted between General William Henry Harrison's U.S. Army forces and the Shawnees led by The Prophet while Tecumseh was absent. The Winnebagoes, spending the night at Tippecanoe on their way back from Canada to their village in Illinois, were embroiled in the clash and lost twenty-five men. Brooding on this after they returned home, they set out for the Galena mines to seek revenge. Pryor and Hunt were unaware of what had happened and were totally surprised, but both managed to escape. Pryor's escape was aided by a Sac squaw. He crossed the frozen Mississippi on the floating ice to Missouri and eventually found refuge for the winter in a village of French farmers. He returned to St. Louis in the spring of 1812 on a fur trader's boat.
Many adventures later, in 1819, set up a trading post w/Osage Indians at 3 Forks,Indian Territory; established Pryor, (now OK.) Married several times; his first wife is recorded as Peggy Patten, married 1798. She died young.He later married Osinga, Osage Indian. Son of John Pryor & Nancy Floyd Pryor. Memorial burial is on a hill overlooking Graham Memorial Cemetery, east of Pryor.∼Sergeant who served on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was a strict disciplinarian who kept other members in line, reprimanded them for heavy drinking, etc.
I have added this history from Jon D. May as it lists some of the wives of Nathaniel Pryor.
PRYOR, NATHANIEL (ca. 1775–1831).
Explorer, soldier, trader, and Indian agent, Nathaniel Pryor was a pioneer of the Three Forks Area in northeastern Oklahoma. Born in Virginia, he was a son of John Pryor and Nancy Floyd. Although his year of birth is uncertain, Pryor was about twenty-three years of age when he married Margaret Patton in 1798. He was probably a widower when he joined the Lewis and Clark expedition at Louisville, Kentucky, in October 1803. After serving as a sergeant in the expedition, he became an ensign in the First Infantry, U.S. Army, in 1807. He left the army in 1810 but reenlisted during the War of 1812. As a captain in the Forty-fourth Infantry he served under Gen. Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.
Upon his discharge from the army "Captain" Pryor, as he was often called, settled at Arkansas Post above the mouth of the Arkansas River. There he and Samuel B. Richards formed a partnership to barter with the region's Indians. In 1819 Pryor received a license to trade with the Osage at the Three Forks of the Arkansas. Located about four miles northeast of present Muskogee, Oklahoma, the Three Forks is at the confluence of the Verdigris, Grand, and Arkansas rivers. There on the Verdigris, about two miles above its confluence with the Arkansas, he established a trading post. Pryor, who married an Osage woman, shared a close friendship with the tribe. His patrons were Chief Claremore's band.
Whether guiding English naturalist Thomas Nuttall through the countryside, helping to establish Union Mission among the Osage, or purchasing Osage horses for Thomas James's 1821 trading expedition to Santa Fe, Pryor was invaluable to the residents and visitors at the Three Forks. Military and government officials frequently called upon him to help in negotiations with the Osage. His relationship with the tribe led Gov. William Clark of Missouri Territory to appoint Pryor acting Osage subagent in 1827. Governor Clark, Three Forks resident Sam Houston, and Fort Gibson commander Col. Matthew Arbuckle were among those who recognized Pryor's value and petitioned to have his position made permanent. That permanency was established just before his death on June 10, 1831. Capt. Nathaniel Pryor died at the Osage subagency, located southeast of present Pryor in Mayes County, Oklahoma. That community and neighboring Pryor Creek bear his name.
Jon D. May
22 OCT 2020, Memorial notes at or near time of transfer. Added gender. 1) Original bio content from creator of memorial is below divider. ~Famous US explorer; joined Lewis & Clark expedition, 1803, Kentucky HQ, as Sergeant, served to 1806. Pryor's cousin, Charles Floyd was the only fatality of that expedition. He received 320 acres "bonus", in Louisiana Purchase, from Pres. Thomas Jefferson Joined US Army, 1807;
After the return of the Expedition to St. Louis, Pryor remained in the army and was one of the group detailed in 1807 to return the Mandan Chief Shahaka to his home, an effort that was thwarted by the Arikara Indians. Pryor was a second lieutenant until 1810. One of the recently discovered letters of William Clark to his brother Jonathan, dated June 7, 1808, mentions Pryor. "Since writing you, we have descended [the Ohio River] to the mouth of the Cumberland ... I have just heard that Mr. Pryor & about 20 men with 2 boats is waiting at the Mouth of the Ohio for me." Clark was on his way to St. Louis and apparently was to be accompanied up the Mississippi by Lt. Pryor and a military escort.
A special mission that Pryor undertook while in military service and at the request of William Clark, by then Indian agent in the Missouri Territory, was a secret mission having to do with the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet. The exact nature of the mission is unknown, but at that time Tecumseh was attempting to unite the northern and southern tribes for a concerted strike at the whites. The ultimate aim was to drive them back to the east side of the Allegheny Mountains-an impossible goal, but an uprising that could have cost much bloodshed. Tecumseh was killed during the War of 1812 when the Indians allied themselves with the British along the Canadian border.
After leaving the Army in 1810, Pryor secured an Indian trader's license from William Clark and operated a lead-smelting furnace along the Upper Mississippi at the mouth of the Galena River. On January 1, 1812, Pryor's establishment and that of a fellow trader, George Hunt, was attacked by a party of Winnebagoes who had inadvertently happened to be at Tecumseh's village at Tippecanoe along the Wabash River near present Lafayette, Indiana, on November 7, 1811. That was the very day that the battle of Tippecanoe erupted between General William Henry Harrison's U.S. Army forces and the Shawnees led by The Prophet while Tecumseh was absent. The Winnebagoes, spending the night at Tippecanoe on their way back from Canada to their village in Illinois, were embroiled in the clash and lost twenty-five men. Brooding on this after they returned home, they set out for the Galena mines to seek revenge. Pryor and Hunt were unaware of what had happened and were totally surprised, but both managed to escape. Pryor's escape was aided by a Sac squaw. He crossed the frozen Mississippi on the floating ice to Missouri and eventually found refuge for the winter in a village of French farmers. He returned to St. Louis in the spring of 1812 on a fur trader's boat.
Many adventures later, in 1819, set up a trading post w/Osage Indians at 3 Forks,Indian Territory; established Pryor, (now OK.) Married several times; his first wife is recorded as Peggy Patten, married 1798. She died young.He later married Osinga, Osage Indian. Son of John Pryor & Nancy Floyd Pryor. Memorial burial is on a hill overlooking Graham Memorial Cemetery, east of Pryor.∼Sergeant who served on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was a strict disciplinarian who kept other members in line, reprimanded them for heavy drinking, etc.
I have added this history from Jon D. May as it lists some of the wives of Nathaniel Pryor.
PRYOR, NATHANIEL (ca. 1775–1831).
Explorer, soldier, trader, and Indian agent, Nathaniel Pryor was a pioneer of the Three Forks Area in northeastern Oklahoma. Born in Virginia, he was a son of John Pryor and Nancy Floyd. Although his year of birth is uncertain, Pryor was about twenty-three years of age when he married Margaret Patton in 1798. He was probably a widower when he joined the Lewis and Clark expedition at Louisville, Kentucky, in October 1803. After serving as a sergeant in the expedition, he became an ensign in the First Infantry, U.S. Army, in 1807. He left the army in 1810 but reenlisted during the War of 1812. As a captain in the Forty-fourth Infantry he served under Gen. Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.
Upon his discharge from the army "Captain" Pryor, as he was often called, settled at Arkansas Post above the mouth of the Arkansas River. There he and Samuel B. Richards formed a partnership to barter with the region's Indians. In 1819 Pryor received a license to trade with the Osage at the Three Forks of the Arkansas. Located about four miles northeast of present Muskogee, Oklahoma, the Three Forks is at the confluence of the Verdigris, Grand, and Arkansas rivers. There on the Verdigris, about two miles above its confluence with the Arkansas, he established a trading post. Pryor, who married an Osage woman, shared a close friendship with the tribe. His patrons were Chief Claremore's band.
Whether guiding English naturalist Thomas Nuttall through the countryside, helping to establish Union Mission among the Osage, or purchasing Osage horses for Thomas James's 1821 trading expedition to Santa Fe, Pryor was invaluable to the residents and visitors at the Three Forks. Military and government officials frequently called upon him to help in negotiations with the Osage. His relationship with the tribe led Gov. William Clark of Missouri Territory to appoint Pryor acting Osage subagent in 1827. Governor Clark, Three Forks resident Sam Houston, and Fort Gibson commander Col. Matthew Arbuckle were among those who recognized Pryor's value and petitioned to have his position made permanent. That permanency was established just before his death on June 10, 1831. Capt. Nathaniel Pryor died at the Osage subagency, located southeast of present Pryor in Mayes County, Oklahoma. That community and neighboring Pryor Creek bear his name.
Jon D. May
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