Some of the picks on this site"pop
up" into separate windows, and therefore may require that you allow pop-ups
to be viewed. I sponsor no commercial pop-ups here, though some of the
sites may!
Steve Dayman-Johns' Fine Art of Nunney.....click here
Our Major
Progenitor (click here-->): Thomas
Prater, ca. 1604 - ca.
1666
!
...To see this web site at its best, please download the unofficial font and install it from CONTROL PANEL, FONTS. (You may need to
FIND the file "Caligula" if you aren't given the option to save to a specific folder.)
It
is with a heavy heart that we announce author and Prater historian John
William Prather, Jr., 98, of Hendersonville, NC, died Thursday, April
15, 2015....
Study
to Determine Aaron Prather's Middle or Nickname (see
"Studies" in upper left corner of screen)
Exploring our Cross Manor Roots; a Trip to St. Mary's County Maryland
By Linda Stone
As
many of you know, descendants of John Smith Prather
(1706-1763) are also descendants of John Nuthall IV (1615-1667) of Cross Manor. His great granddaughter, Elizabeth Nuthall, was the wife John Smith Prather. While still a youth, John Nuthall, of a noble English family, came to Virginia as an indenture to 21 year old Hugh Hayes. John ran away at age 15 from Hugh Hayes, and ended up near the eastern shore of Virginia near Maryland as early as 1629. He was captured and returned to Virginia, after having lived with the Indians for some time, and after having learned their language and ways. As an adult, he became a very successful trader and merchant, gaining much wealth and political recognition in both Virginia and Maryland.
In Virginia, he was one of six men, all Royalists, to author the “Northampton Protest”. He was, therefore, somewhat instrumental in helping initiate our American independence. In 1661, he went to live in St. Mary’s, Maryland. He purchased Cross Manor and St. Elizabeth’s, each 2,000 acres, plus 200 more acres on St. Inigoes Creek from Thomas Cornwaleys (Cornwallis). Cornwallis’ red brick house situated at the head of St. Mary’s River, where it branches off from the Potomac River, was the original manor house. John then served as Commissioner of St. Mary’s County and Justice of the Peace. In 1664, John’s court testimony related to the “Pocomoke River” on the eastern shore of Virginia was instrumental in helping determine the boundary line between Virginia and Maryland. John Nuthall died at Cross Manor in 1667. Newscaster Ted Koppel presently (2014) owns the Cross Manor estate with its many building additions over time, and is selling the remaining 800 of the 2,000 acres for about $4,000.000. The original Cross Manor house is believed to be the oldest house in Maryland.
The sign (above) is posted at the edge of State Highway 5 going south, in St.
Inigoes, St. Mary’s County.
Click this graphic for a map:
Directions to Cross Manor: Take freeways 210 south to 228 south to 5 south to St. Inigoes. Turn right at on Villa Rd.; right on Grayson. Property is on the corner of Grayson and Cross Manor Road.
Our descent from John Nuthall begins when his descendant Eleanor
Nuthall, married Thomas Sprigg in 1668. Thomas’s daughter, Martha Sprigg, married Thomas McKay Prather, whose son, John Smith Prather, married Elizabeth
Nuthall, John Nuthall’s great granddaughter.
Thomas Cornwaleys (Cornwallis) was the grandfather of General Cornwallis, the general defeated by General George Washington at the Battle of Yorktown during the Revolutionary War.
These are pictures taken by Linda and Phil Stone on their trip to Maryland in September 2014. Cross Manor is hidden from view by large trees, but some of the estate grounds and out buildings are seen. The St. Mary's River can be seen between the structures. Going up the gravel driveway off Cross Manor and viewing to the right of the entrance, then returning back down the driveway, the pictures reveal the beauty of the area. Cross Manor is included in the National Registry of Historic Homes.
In recent weeks I started listing grave information
of recently departed friends and relatives on http://findagrave.com.
This perked my curiosity as to how many of our oldest PRATHER/PRATER
ancestors from the 17th and 18th centuries have
their graves identified. I found
little on Find-A-Grave (FAG). So, I searched most of the MD
cemeteries listed on http://www.interment.net/US/md/index.htm
.But what burials I found
were, for the most part, more recent ones.I tried a similar search of VA cemeteries with a similar result.
As the genealogist, Gary Benton Prather, pointed out,
a lot of the graves were on private property, unrecorded, and perhaps
weren’t even formal burials.And
what were burial sites might have been since destroyed.So I tried a different search to find old grave sites and to my
surprise found this document from the Maryland
Historic Trust, Inventory of Historic Sites:
And PRESTO!!!I
found the site where Aaron Prather (II) and some of his family are buried!The report stated that at that time (mid 1970's):
There are 35-45 upright stones, many without inscriptions. A
single large monument (obelisk) approximately 4'9" was erected in
1866 by the Prather family in memory of deceased family members. Stones
arranged in a circular shape.
See the pics taken in 1973 at the end
of the document, shown here:
With this information at hand, I posted the first of
a series of Find-A-Grave memorials.First
for Aaron:http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=127197347By the rules of FAG, I couldn’t use any photos without
permission, so seeking fresh photos and information did some more digging.
Surprisingly, I found the Prather Cemetery is on the Meadowside
Nature Center property (part of the Montgomery Co Parks Dept, MD).I found their FACEBOOK page and contacted them to see what info is
available and whether they might be able to take some pics:
One of the Meadowside employees, Julie, went to the
site, took some pictures (colored pics here), and sent them and a 70’s
genealogy report on the cemetery done by a student (send me an email if
you would like a copy of the PDF).The
open spaces pic shows some of the individual markers that are standing,
but deteriorated and unreadable.With
these data in hand, I have created more FAG memorials.There are links in each memorial, starting with Aaron’s above
that take you to others buried there.
On March 12 investigator Andrew Slaten visited the
cemetery after a mile hike into the woods. He took 45 pictures of
the vicinity...see HERE.
If anyone has found any other older PRATHER/PRATER
cemeteries or burials, please let me know!
H Martin Prather, Jr
martin (at) prather.net
Thomas
Ivye'’s Will - 1592.
Nancy
Magnuson and Carolyn Postgate have taken on the unenviable task of
translating Thomas Ivye's Will, prepared in 1592! And the result is
posted here! The abstract is below. To see the full text of
the translation, click on STUDIES in the upper left corner of this web
site:
ABSTRACT:
Thomas Ivye’s Will is dated 12 December 1592. It is rich in
detail regarding his home and its furnishings, his family and friends, his
servants and tenants, and his livestock. His main heir is his son
George; bequests are also provided for his other children, servants,
friends, and a number of other acquaintances. There is no mention of his
wife, who may have preceded him in death. He made significant
provisions for the poor of the village of West Kington and the parish of
Castle Combe.
-- Nancy Magnuson and Carolyn
Postgate 2014
Prater's
Mill
...picture
and description from a postcard...
by
Gary Benton Prather
I discovered
Prater's Mill about 28+ years ago and have visited it many times since.
Actually, I was there last year. It
looks a little more run-down today, more than it does in the photo, but
they still have a Prater's Mill Fair there every
year.
Just across the creek on the south
side of the road is the home that Benjamin Prater built about 1859.
He also built a store (which is
still there) but not in operation. Benjamin
Prater's home was built of the same type of brick which his father used
to built his two story plantation
home which is located east of Lenoir City, TN. and still stands
today (built 1799). (The
last time I visited the plantation home a young doctor and his wife
lived there.)
There is another plantation home
built by Baruck William Prather in Fayette Co., KY. that was built
from the same plan about the
same time, but Baruck Prather and Thomas Prater were so distantly
related it is unlikely they
knew each other. Fayette Co. owns the property and have created a
nature park and the house
can be seen by walking up a trail. Fayette
Co. replaced the roof several years ago but the house still needs major
renovation.
The last time I stopped to check on
Benjamin's house at Prater's Mill, a family by the name of Hart lived there. I do not know if they
still live there today, as I did not stop at the house the last time I
was there. The house at
Prater's Mill is a one story house and (very large for the time when it
was built) with a wrap-around
porch.
Prater's Mill is managed by the
Prater's Mill Assoc. and is considered the oldest business in the
county.
The Cedars Plantation home is located in Talladega Co., AL, was built,
as you see above, in 1838 by Middleton Adkins Praytor (Prater) who was the grandson of William
Prater and Mary Middleton. (William Prater a son of Phillomen
Gettings Prater) Middleton Adkins Praytor born in 1793 Greenville,
Laurens Co., SC migrated to AL. in 1832 and finely settled in Sumter
Co., AL.
"The Cedars Plantation", as it became known, was named for
the
cedar trees that the Praytors planted lining the road to the home. This
home is still owned by descendants.
Gary Benton Prather
THANKS! ...to Carol Bullard Huff for suggestions and corrections
Prathers
Covered Bridge
Located
north of Toccoa, GA.
The
first Prather Bridge was a swinging bridge built in 1804 by James Jeremiah
Prather. The first bridge was washed away during a freshet (an
overflow caused by heavy rain). A more substantial bridge was built in
1850, but was burned in 1863 during the Civil War to keep the enemy from
crossing. James Jeremiah and his son, James Devereaux rebuilt the bridge
in 1868. This bridge was also washed away in 1918 and was rebuilt in 1920
by James D. Prather. It was replaced by a concrete bridge, but was kept as
a landmark until burned by vandals in 1978. The pillars still stand, made
from rock quarried by Mr. Prather from a nearby hillside. <1>
click
picture for an enlarged view
Gary
Benton Prather’s Account of Visiting the Prather Plantation Near the
Prather’s Covered Bridge
“Prather
Bridge stood about 1/2 mile north of the Prather plantation called
"Riverside Plantation" which was built in 1810 and still stands
and is owned by the same family for all these years.Joseph and Ruby Prather were living there when I visited the
plantation back in the 1970's.Joseph's
daughter (by his first marriage) built a new house just down from the old
plantation house and she will most likely inherit the place.
Robert Tombs, Sec. of State of the Confederacy, was hidden there
and smuggled out of the country by the Prathers.He is the only high office Confederate person who did not sign the
surrender documents.
The
story goes:
They
kept a horse saddled and ready for Robert Tombs, day and night, as he
stayed at the Prather plantation. Tombs plantation was located about 50 or
so miles south and the Union Soldiers almost caught him there.But he escaped and came to the Prather plantation for
protection.Robert Tombs was
setting
on
the porch when he heard the Union Army horses coming across the old
Prather Bridge down the road.He
put a pistol in each hand and hid in the closet of his bedroom (The
Prather plantation home was the first in the region to have closets.)When the Union Soldiers came into the house one entered each
bedroom.They thought that
the door to the closet led into the next bedroom and did not open the it.When they left they were very upset not to find Robert Tombs.They knew he had been there because of his horse and saddle.They thought that the Prathers had supplied him a fresh horse for
his escape.After the
Soldiers left the Prathers smuggled him to the coast and put him on a ship
to Cuba and then to France.Robert
Tombs never surrendered.(this
story was told to me by Joseph Prather).
The
plantation house still had some of the old furnishings, including a desk
which was a gift from the first Gov. of NC.This desk had several Confederate documents including the list of
slaves that were freed at the end of the war, and many of the "house
slaves" used the last name "Prather". (these were the more
educated slaves.... (per Joseph Prather).
Joseph
Prather has since passed away but the last time I was there (re; 2001)
Ruby was still alive.”
Homer
Silsby Prather's Bible Found
April
15, 2010
The bible
of my 2nd-great grandfather (HERE
in the DB), Homer Silsby Prather, has been found in
the Estate of Virginia Hartford Saharov in Warsaw, VA
and sent to me by Sandy Weir! He died in 1905 in IL. The bible
is not in the best of shape, but is a great piece for my collection and
even has his signature (though unproven that he wrote it) in a
couple places. I love the metal catch used to hold it shut.
The bible is dated 1870 in Roman Numerals and all chapter numbers are in
RN.
Read the interesting Will and family accounts of Henry Pawling Prather and wife Martha Watson of PA/MD ca. 1800's... click HERE
"FINDING AID" for Lillard-Bonner Genealogical Collection: developed by Richard A. Stowe...will
soon be placed on the Kentucky Historical Society library website -
Get details by clicking: NEWS
VOL I sold out
1/15/00, but a reprint is available: by John W. Prather, Jr. See "Book I" and other books above for
status.
See ... Video clips of Nunney Castle and vicinity... click on the Nunney Castle picture below to get to the video clip selection button!
If
you find the information and support on this site useful and care to make a
small donation to help pay the ongoing costs, please click the following:
We would like to acknowledge the generous
support of this site by the following:
Now
Available - Praters
in Wiltshire 1480-1670 Volume 1 Reprint
Revision
1 - 2010 !
October 8, 2014 ------------STILL AVAILABLE!
Good
news! John W. Prather, Jr. has authorized the reprint
of his 1987 Volume I which has been out of print and unavailable for
years!! He asked me to spread the word to fellow researchers. For
details and order options, click HERE!.
This "Revision 1" includes updates and
corrections, as well as information for accessing John’s works in the
Maryland Archives.
See
ordering instructions for email, CD, and/or soft-bound.
H Martin Prather Jr
Massive
Prather/Prater Database is Now Available Here!!
April 13, 2010
Dear Cousins,
I want to inform you that my database on the Prather / Prater / Prator / Praytor, etc., family
genealogy is now available here... a database that has taken me 46-48 years to collect........... some 120,000
people. It has been a work of love for our family and my need to share information with those in need.
This database is a collection of the work of many
people. There is no way that I could personally research and prove the collected data on 120,000
people. I have done a great deal of research during all of these years and have added that to this
database, including what I have found while living in England, Australia and the
USA. I have also included my findings on the family while researching in a few other countries such as New Zealand, Mexico, Canada,
etc. Some information came from the 41 Prater / Prather / Praytor family reunions of which I was a
guest speaker and collected information that those families had
gathered. Through these years many others have also supplied me information that I added to the
database... so as I stated before, this is a collective work of many.
PLEASE consider this database as a GUIDELINE to doing your own
research. I have not personally proven all data that was collected and given to me by
others. There ARE mistakes in this database, which one could only expect in such as
large collection. I continue to update my database as mistakes are found and correct data has been
documented and proven.
I expect to provide an updated database at least once a year to be
posted on our family website.
A number of years ago H. Martin "Marty" Prather contacted me, asking for help with his family genealogy...since then Marty has been a great help to all of us........ creating and managing a Prater / Prather
family website since 1996, first with information I sent him, and later to be a website
where many others contributed to. It has grown and grown until the website became too small to hold the graphics and data that was coming in from so many members of the family wanting to
contribute. So, www.Martin.Prather.net has been replaced by a NEW WEBSITE:
http://PratherGenealogy.com ...where you are NOW!
With the new Prater / Prather family website there is space to put
my complete database (900+ mb in html format). Due to the
exposure the website has had over the years we have been able to reach more members of
our family who are interested in our families genealogy than any other website.........So, THANKS
EVERYBODY WHO CONTRIBUTED !
Go take a look and enjoy; click above.
Your Texas/Oklahoma Cuz,
Gary Benton Prather
PS Be sure to read the disclaimer on the opening page
Prather
Coat of Arms - Embroidery - STUNNING!
January 24, 2010
Some months back I received a solicitation from a
company who does hand embroidery of emblems, patches, and the
like. I emailed them a graphic of the coat of arms created by
Jennifer Prater, not expecting much in return, and last week I received
the following 4" embroidery in the mail:
Really Neat!!
H Martin Prather Jr
PS I have lost contact with Jennifer from
Galveston...if she is out there still, please have her email me.
Author
John
W. Prather, Jr. Moved to Care Facility
July 29, 2009
John's health has been deteriorating in
recent months and has moved out of his apartment to the medical center at
the same Carolina Village complex in NC. I called him today and
generally he is in good spirits. He turned 92 on his last birthday.
It would be really grand if we could
flood him with get well cards to show him our appreciation for the
genealogy work he has done for our benefit over the years!
His current address is:
Carolina Village Medical Facility
John W. Prather, Jr.
600 Carolina Village Rd, #137
Hendersonville, NC 28792
Regards,
H Martin Prather, Jr.
John
W. Prather, Jr.'s Books Vol I-III Materials Now at the Maryland Archives
"Special Collections"
June 2008 (Updated
April 2010)
Hello
Cousins and Prather/Prater researchers,
John's 22 boxes of research materials
related to his 2 published books (vols I & II) and the unfinished work
on vol III are now at the Maryland Archives for checkout (so I am
told). In a letter to John from the archives Special Collections
Director, Robert W. Schoeberlein, Ph.D. states "A request slip for
MSA SC 5764, with an appropriate stack location for a certain box (or
boxes), given directly to a member of our References Services Department
should (present) no problem for retrieval."
An inventory of the materials is
available by clicking the link HERE.
The Archives requires a user name and pw to access the materials and gave
me permission to share it, as long as users abide by the Archives
copyright rules: user name aaco, pw aaco#
See a sample of the Box
inventory you can view from the MD Archives by clicking HERE
(in PDF format). Beyond this, you need to submit a request of visit
in person.
Please note, the Archives have changed
the ID of John's Special Collection from 5097 to 5764, so the former
number no longer applies.
For those unable to go to the archives
personally, the Maryland Archives offers a list of researchers who may be
willing to take on specific tasks on a pay basis.
John is eager to hear what successes you
may have in reviewing these materials, so please email me and I will pass
on your constructive thoughts!
I live on Oregon, so will be a while
before I can make it to MD to check it out.
H Martin Prather, Jr.
John
W. Prather, Jr.'s Addendum to Vol I & II Available for Download
Hello
Cousins and Prather/Prater researchers,
John gave me permission to release the Adobe Acrobat PDF file of
his Addendum to volumes I & II, so here it is (the link is
below)!!!!. Essentially, it is the shell of what would have
been the volume III with the Addendum added, which was his
original planned format. Because of his health at age 90, he
will not be completing volume III.
I will save the details for your reading, but have a few things I
want to mention up front.
If you don't have either vol I or II, the
Addendum will make little sense to you.
The addendum is primarily in the format below I provide here as an
example:
Page 20. 3.007.07- JANE PRATHER
Delete:- --- first line --- JANE PRATHER (3.007.07) was b. ca.
1710 ---¬
Add in lieu of above:- --- JANE PRATHER (3.007.07) b. ca.
1716.
Source:- John W. Prather, Jr.
Page 22, 3.012.01- JOHN MULLIKIN. SR
Delete:- --- first line --- JOHN MUUIKIN, SR. (3.012.02) was b. 9
Mar. 1716 --¬
Add in lieu of above:- --- JOHN MULLIKIN, SR. (3.012.02)
was b. 29 Mar. 1684 There is confusion about the year John was
born. If we agree that his mother was born ca. 1664 and was
eighteen years old when she married she married ca. 1882. If we
assume she was married two years when JOHN was born then he was
born in the year 1684. We have no proof that this is true.
Source:- Linda Peper (93) (L.63).
As you can see, it isn't meant to read like a novel, but more like
an errata sheet.
The file is searchable by any keyword you enter by clicking on the
"binoculars" in Adobe Reader, and there is also an index
of surnames and their page numbers, as printed at the bottom of
the pages.
As an assistant to John, here is what I can and can’t do for
those who have questions-
What I can do:
If there are inconsistencies or seem to be typos, I can look at
John’s originals and see if the electronic copy is
consistent. I can be contacted at martin@prather.net
What I can’t do:
If there are issues about the content or changes shown here, you
will need to contact John at his mailing address indicated in the
PREFACE.
I also included information toward the back of the document on the
Maryland Archives and also an internet link. What is unclear
are the current procedures and costs to obtain copies of the
materials from the Archives.
To view the file, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your
computer. Then click on the link below or paste it into your
internet browser address bar.
If there are any changes, I will make them, change the file v-date
and repost it, informing all.
Hope this helps some of you who have the book(s).
John
W. Prather, Jr.'s Volume II Sold
Out
For
NEWS on John W. Prather, Jr.'s Volume III and Addendum to Volumes I &
II... click on the BOOK III Info link at the upper left!
Other Interesting
Tid-bits:
Exciting
NEWS!! Jennifer Prater; the one who created the C-O-A depiction used
on this site since 1996 and "borrowed" by many others, has sent
me an update that I have incorporated here....enjoy!
