Luke Pryor

He was born in 1820 in Alabama to parents Luke Pryor and Ann Batte Lane. His father's first marriage was to Martha Scott, a sister of General Winfield Scott. His brother was the noted race horse trainer John Benjamin Pryor of Natchez, Mississippi.[2]

Pryor married Isabella Virginia Harris.[3] They were the parents of 8 children, all born in Alabama. Luke Pryor lived at the Sugar Creek Plantation, in Athens, Alabama, for 40 years before his death.[4] Pryor House, built in 1836, stands as a historic building in Limestone County, Alabama. Pryor studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1841.[5] On the 1850 United States Census his occupation was recorded as "lawyer."

Luke Pryor was a slave owner. On the 1840 Census 6 free blacks under the age of 10 were recorded in his father's household, as well as 1 male slave child under 10 and an older female between the ages of 55 and 100. By 1850, Luke Pryor was recorded with 39 slaves between the ages of 70 years old and as young as 4 months; however in 1860 only two slaves were recorded in his household. The American Civil War did not begin until April 12, 1861 and slavery was not completely abolished until 1865 after the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.[5]