Luke Pryor (July 5, 1820August 5, 1900) was a

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He was appointed to fill the Senate term left by the death of George S. Houston and served from January 7 to November 23, 1880, when a replacement was elected. Pryor was a Democrat. He is interred at City Cemetery in Athens, Alabama.

Biography

Birth and Parentage

He was born in 1820 in

to parents Luke Pryor and Ann Batte Lane. His father's first marriage was to Martha Scott, a sister of General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

. His brother was the noted racehorse trainer John Benjamin Pryor of

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

Life in Alabama

Pryor married Isabella Virginia Harris. They were the parents of 8 children, all born in Alabama. Luke Pryor lived at the Sugar Creek Plantation, in

Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 25,406. Hist ...

, for 40 years before his death.
/ref
Pryor House
, built in 1836, stands as a historic building in

Limestone County, Alabama Limestone County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 103,570. Its county seat is Athens. The county is named after Limestone Creek. Limestone County is included in the Huntsville, AL ...

. Pryor studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1841. On the 1850 United States Census his occupation was recorded as "lawyer." Luke Pryor was an enslaver. On the 1840 Census, six free blacks under the age of 10 were recorded in his father's household, as well as one enslaved male child under ten and an older female between 55 and 100. By 1850, Luke Pryor was recorded as enslaving 39 people between the ages of four months and 70 years; however, in 1860, only two enslaved people were recorded in his household. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

did not begin until April 12, 1861, and slavery was not completely abolished until 1865 after the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

References

External links

* 1820 births 1900 deaths People from Athens, Alabama Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Democratic Party United States senators from Alabama Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 19th-century Alabama politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators {{Alabama-politician-stub