The Priest Family

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Another story is that the Priest's had to leave Virginia.  Again, the answer could be in Louise Preece's letter.  "Harold told me (when I saw him last week for the first time in 23 years) that years ago Emma Preece wrote him that William Preece opened a trading post on the Cumberland Trail in North Carolina (remember the land grant information I sent on a William Preece in that state?) and that he wrote a "hot letter" to his neighbors and left."  Although I don't think he moved to Kentucky.  He moved north to the Clintwood area in Russell County. 

We know William owned property in Russell County and that he died there about 1801.

Will of William Preece, 1791 Russell County, Virginia

"In the name of God, Amen. I William Preece of Russell County, in the State of Virginia being a man of considerable age and calling to mind the Mortality of my body. Knowing that it is appointed for all men to die and being in perfect health and memory at this time thanks to Almighty God, for his mercies. I do make and ordain this my last will and testament, that is to say principally and first of all I recommend my soul in to the hands of God who gave it to me and my body to the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the Mighty power of God. And as touching such worldly estate where with it has pleased God to bless me with I give and bequeath in the following manner,
" Item 1. First of all my just debts to be paid out of my estate.
"Item 2. I give to my married children the sum of 20 shillings to be levied out of my estate.
"Item 3. I leave to my beloved wife Mary Preece a horse, saddle and Bridle bed and furniture and her wearing Clothes to be her personal Estate. Likewise to have her third of the profits arising from my estate during her life or widowhood, likewise two Cows and Calves.
"Item 4. I leave to my youngest son Richard Preece all my land and tenements and all the farming (sic) Eutenshols belonging to said lands, and all my Stock of horses and cattle that shall be left after paying my just debts and the legacies before left.
Furthermore, I do constitute and ordain my well beloved wife Mary Preece and Richard my beloved son to be my trusty Executors and Administrators to act as I should do and to have the power in the same ? I would have myself and I do here by utterly disallow, revoke and disannul all and every other former testament wills and legacies and Executors by me in any wise before mentioned named willed and bequeathed. Ratifying and Confirming this to and no other to be my last will and testament.
"Whereunto I have set my hand and seal this 15th day of March one thousand seven hundred and ninety one.

William Preece (Seal)
"Signed, Sealed and Confirmed in the presence of us.
Sam'l Robinson
George McConnel
William Preece

Two years after William died in 1803 Mary sold her property to George Hoke and Charles Crumwell.  Shortly thereafter she and Richard Lincoln moved to Floyd County?  Floyd County is not very far from Russell County.  It is just over the hills or mountains as they call them in Kentucky. By this time there must have been several trails through the Appalachian Mountains.  It had been thirty years since Daniel Boone and the opening of the Cumberland Gap. I wonder why they moved?  They owned land in Russell County.  Did Richard Lincoln Priest follow in his Father's footsteps.  Did he have problems with his neighbors and have to leave, or did he get the itch to move on for new adventures?   Or, since he had been living in Tazewell County (since Mary (Polley) was born there in 1798 and the article by Rev. T. M. Burris states that Richard was from Tazewell County),  was he unhappy he had to move back to Russell County when his Father died to take care of his property and then decided he wanted to move to Floyd County?

We know that Richard Lincoln Priest Sr. married Elizabeth Price probably in Russell County.  The Prices were also a Russell County family and in his will (filed in Russell County) Elizabeth's Father Thomas leaves her "I give to my daughter Elizabeth Preecs Three Dollars to be paid by my executors one year after my decease" in his will.

Although I don't know when they were married, I know Ruel Priest, their oldest son, was born around 1785. In addition to Ruel - Richard and Elizabeth's children were Jane, Richard Lincoln Jr., Alexander Boone, William Martin, Lydia M., Bethanie and Elizabeth.

The early Floyd County records are very confusing.  There is Richard Preece, Richard Priest, Ruel Priest, Reul Preece, Revel Priest and Richard L. Priest. I could never tell if they were one person, two people, or three people.  After going to Floyd County and getting all the Court and Marriage records, I laid them out in chorological order and am confident that they are three distinct people. 

Letter dated 16 Oct 1911 (signed by F. P. PREECE)
Copy of letter sent Mary Priest by Dorothy Murray, Hammond, LA 10 Nov 1981
"Dear Madam - -I'll try and ans. Your letter after a delay of several days. My sister that that I spoke of, Mrs. Rachel Lydia Bankston, she lives quite a ways out in the country and I could not get out there until Sunday. That was the 15th yesterday.  She says that our grandmother was Elizabeth Price before she married Granfather Preece. She says great-granmother was from Scotland and granfather Preece was killed Greatmother went to Indiana. She says great granfather Preece went trapping and never returned. At that time they 1ived in Kentucky in the forks of the Levisa Rivers.  Our granfather Preece was killed by a gun shot wound inflicted by a man that he had employed on his farm.  My sister says that Father's brother was named Alexander Boone. She says that father's sister's was named Lydia, Mary and Jane and Bethenie. She says Aunt Lydia married a Reick and Aunt Mary married a man by the name of Tansey Stratton, and Aunt Jane married a Tom Hackworth, and Aunt Bethanie married a Bob Sexton. My sister thinks or seems to think that Aunt Lydia your mother was father's half sister. But she is very old and her memory is very bad. I forgot to say that our granfather was named Richard Preece." Source: Louise Preece

Richard Priest Sr. shows up in the early Floyd County records serving on juries, paying taxes, posting bonds and buying property.  He was an active member of the community.

From an account of the early days in the Big Sandy written by the Rev. M. T. Burris for W. E. Connelley and dated Nov. 6, 1902:
"Tandy Stratton married Polly Priest, a daughter of Richard Priest who came from Tazewell County, Va., before the War of 1812, and was murdered by Thomas Duty in the Reedy Bottom, below the mouth of Cow Pen in the lower edge of Pike county. Duty was said to be [of] a low character, and when he shot Priest, Priest soon became sick, and ordered Richard Ratliff and Silas Ratliff to arrest him. Duty ran off fifteen or twenty steps and began to load his gun; Silas Ratliff threw a stone at Duty and broke the gun off at the breech. Duty held [on] to the barrel and ran off with it, and, it was said he was never heard of but once, and that was on Pidgeon creek, W. Va., as he fled. An old lady who knew of Duty’s conduct at Lebanon, Russell County, Va., told me that Duty and wife were accused of murdering a child and left Va. between two days to escape the penalty of the law, and came to Big Sandy and lived in a rock house some 3 or 4 years, at the foot of what is now called Duty’s Knob. It is the greatest curiosity on Big Sandy, a high peak, a mile north of Pikeville. Duty came there about 1808. Also, I noticed that Richard Preece was listed as being due 75 cents for guarding E. Osburn for one day. The date is Nov. 22nd, 1813. The next day, he is being listed as deceased! Whoever shot him, shot him on the 22nd or 23rd of November, 1813. What is also interesting is that this man E. Osburn may have been the same man who killed two of the Morgans with a butcher knife around 1811. Thus, you have two notorious murders with a strange and tenuous connection. However, Ely notes that Ed. Osburn escaped to Ohio after he murdered Sheriff Morgan and his son. Perhaps there is no connection." Source: Robert Baker Note: [The guard duty was in the February 1813 Term] Also, it is my theory that after Richard Sr. died the Priest family didn't have any land or sold it all off.  I suspect he hadn't accumulated that much land because he died within 10 years of moving to Floyd County and there are no surveys or records of him purchasing land.  Maybe Elizabeth needed to sell it to move or they needed it to pay debt.  Anyway I don't think the sons inherited any land after their Father died.  Consequently, I think they all moved away from Floyd County to areas where they could still get land grants or cheap land.

Also I suspect Richard Lincoln was murdered sometime around May 1813.  One of Louise Preece's letters talks about how Elizabeth was pregnant when he died and Lydia M. was born May 12, 1813 and Polley married Tandy Stratton May 25, 1813.  I think something traumatic had to have happened for Polley to get married so soon after her mother gave birth.

After Richard's murder, Rhodes Mead and Tandy Stratton, his son-in-law, were appointed executors of his estate in 1813. There were the usual inventories and claims against the estates.  But nothing in the records show that the estates was liquidated to pay debts.  In 1816 there is an order for Tandy Stratton to show why William Priest the minor son of Richard Priest should not be bound as apprentice according to law.  Tandy managed to put the court off until William was old enough to be on his own.

After Richard's death there is no further record of Elizabeth or the younger girls in Floyd County.  Maybe she and Richard Jr. moved to Indiana as stated in Louise Preece's letters. 

Ruel Priest was born in Virginia about 1785.  He married Mary "Polly" McGuire in Virginia.  The McGuire family also moved to Floyd County from Russell County, Virginia.  Did the families move together?  Ruel and Polly had four girls Naomi, Ester, Peggy and Elizabeth. Ruel Preist died in Floyd County around March 1817 and Harry Stratton was appointed administrator. His estate was eventually split between his widow and daughters.  Polly McGuire Priest married Jesse Waller Feb 1, 1818 and he was named guardian of Ruel's four minor daughters. This has also been confusing because Polly McGuire became Polly Priest, not to be confused with Polley Priest who was Ruel's sister.

Next was Jane Priest and she married Thomas Hackwith on November 5, 1816.  Over time the spelling changed to Hackworth. I do not know what became of Jane and Thomas.

Next was Richard Lincoln Priest Jr.  The only thing I know about him is that he married Caty Newland in Floyd County in 1811. This has been very confusing because a lot of people have Richard Priest Sr. marrying Caty, but Richard Sr. was alive in 1811 so there has to be another Richard Priest.

I also found this letter in the  Priest/Preece file at Pike College. On the bottom and back is a handwritten note to Henry Scalf which looks like Louise Preece's handwriting.

September 17, 1968
Dear Cousin: I am using the back side of a Board of Ed. letterhead. We must have run out of the other kind. Hope you don't mind.

I had the talk with Jasper H. Preece this morning. He told me a thing or two that I didn't know, but generally the story I have heard all my life is the same. I didn't know that Richard Lincoln was considered a brother of your William Martin and my Alexander Boone.
Here is the story as Jasper H. Preece told it to me. He says this is true according to the recollection of the story as being told to him. Using the paper you sent me that Jasper had given Fred my father Emmons is the son of Daniel Boone Preece - Daniel Boone Preece was (sic) Ulyses Sherman Preece, Zepheniah Preece and Christopher Columbus Preece as brothers. The Wilburn Preece mentioned on the sheet is not a brother to the ones he is listed with. Henry Harrison is the father of the above mentioned brothers. Henry Harrison Preece has as brothers William, Cornelius, and Hiram Preece. Henry Harrison's first wife was Louisa Blackburn. He took the wife of his first cousin, Uncle Andrew Preece's wife, whose name was Arminta Runyan and had about seven children by her. William, Cornelius, Hiram and Henry Harrison were the son of Alexander Boone and Louvina Stratton. According to Jasper Richard Lincoln, William Martin & Alexander Boone are brothers. (I didn't know before about Richard Lincoln being a brother to these two.) according to Jasper and what you have been hoping a William Preece is the father of these three. (You were the first to tell me-that William is their father.) (Hope you two are right). [note:  Richard Lincoln Priest Sr. was their father.- ld] According to Jasper, Mary Boone (Stratton) is the granddaughter of Daniel Boone the Kentucky Pioneer and the Daughter of Harry Stratton and Patty Pinson. He also says he has proof but the shape Jasper is in and it is pretty hard to tell. I did have another well educated descendant to tell me the same story as Jasper and he claimed to have proof but he could never find it. Hope one of them can find the evidence. I had always heard the story this way leaving out Richard Lincoln and William Martin. If you remember I told you the story having your William Martin and my Alexander Boone as brothers and about your William Martin going to Texas. There was something deep in my memory about being related to Daniel Boone, the Pioneer, but this is the first time I ever remember being told for sure. I am writing this on an electric typewriter and it is just too fast for me. I hope you can understand the above description.
Sincerely,
/s/
Forrest L. Preece

Alexander Boone Priest married Lovina Stratton October 24, 1822 in Floyd County and was living there in 1830 in the Johns Creek area close to the Deans, Jameses and McCoys.  Lovina was Tandy Stratton's sister. Tandy married Mary "Polley" Priest who was Alexander Boone's younger sister in 1813.  Sometime in the 1830's Alexander Boone and Lovina moved probably to Johnson County.   He and Lovina had seven children:  Cornelius Washington, William B., Elizabeth, Mary, Hiram Jasper, Henry Harvey, and Susanah. Alexander and his children received land grants in Johnson, Martin and Lawrence Counties.

In 1840's and 50's Alexander Preece recorded surveys for at least 390 acres of land in Johnson County and in the 1850 Census he and Lovina are living in Johnson County.  So it must have been sometime after that he moved to Martin County about 15 miles to the north of where John Priest lived and reared his family on Rockastle Creek near the town of Preece.

Alexander Boone's will reads "In the name of God Amen the Eighteenth day of February in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy three I, Alexander B. Preast, resident of (sic) Rockasel Creek in the County of Martin State of Kentucky, being through the blessing of God in a sound state of mind and memory but calling to mine the (sic) frale tenure of life and that it is appointed to all men once to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament that is to say first of all I recommend my sole to the (sic) Allmity God who gave it and the disposal of my body I leave with the discretion of my friends with respect to my (sic) wordly estate I give, bequeath and dispose of in the (sic) maner following:

First, I give and bequeath to my two (sic) sones, (sic) Corneleous W. and (sic) Henery H. Preast, my home farm according to a division that they have agreed on between themselves by them paying fifty dollars each to my three daughters, namely Elisabeth Smith, Mary Fletcher & Susanah Bond an_ ten dollars each to the five heirs of William Preast making fifty dollars to said heirs payable as they arrive to maturity and the fifty dollars each of my three daughters named above is to be paid in property on or before the 25th day of December, 1873, all the above named (sic) sumd is to be paid by my two (sic) sones above named in (sic) eaquel proportions.

Witness my hand 18th day of February, 1873

Alexander B. Preast

Mary (Polley) Priest was born in 1798 in Cedar Bluff, Tazewell County, Virginia. This Cedar Bluff is on the line of Russell and Tazewell Counties, on Cinch River. 

She married Tandy in 1813 probably shortly after her Father was killed. She was 15 years old and Tandy was a older widower (he was 22 years older than her) with four children: Solomon Hunter, Cintha, William Layne, and Nancy by Mildred Layne.  The Layne's were another old Floyd County family.  Maybe with Richard's death marriage was a good alternative for Polley and Tandy was looking for a wife to raise his children.  Tandy became the executor of Richard's estate and I think Jane and William Martin went to live with them after Richard Sr. death because in 1820 there are 10 people living with Tandy and Polley although none of them appear to be Richard Lincoln's widow Elizabeth or the two younger girls Bethanie or Lydia.

Tandy and Polley went on to have six children before Tandy died Nov. 5, 1928.  They were Richard Price, Betsy Price, Letitia Brown, Mary Jane, Milly Layne, and John Jackson who was actually born shortly after Tandy died.  It appears Tandy died of natural causes.  His oldest son Solomon was appointed his executor. In 1829 Polley filed suit against the heirs of Tandy because Solomon had taken four negroes from her house. She was suing to have them returned and/or recover her fair share of their value. They were a woman about 33 (Patience), and her children: a boy (Bob) about 13, a girl (Hettie) about 12 and a boy (Cesariage) about 4. Solomon Stratton said Patience was a gift from his Grandfather William Layne to his Mother Milly Lane and so should pass to her heirs. In addition the Tandy Stratton estate was in debt and he need the slaves to help pay off the debt. The Court ruled that the young boy should be sold at the Courthouse steps to the highest bidder ($200) to pay off debts, they appointed a commissioner to figure out the value of the slaves, what was owed Polley, what the estate owed and that Polly got the remaining three slaves. The case was finally resolved about 1834. As part of the suit they tried to find William Layne Priest, and after publishing notice of the lawsuit against him in the paper for 2 months to no avail they decided he no longer lived in the county.

In the 1860 Census Polly is living with her son John Jackson and Hettie one of the slaves she recovered is still living with her -  Hetty (slave) 41 F KY George (slave) 10 M KY Jane (slave) 25 F KY.

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