A May-Prater Connection in 18th-19th Century Kentucky

The comment from Mightier Acorns on my newsletter last week tickled my brain. “Henry Clay” rang a bell, so I searched my notes and found a Henry Clay May, which is odd because their comment was about the May family and they had a Prater marrying in. Well, Henry Clay May who was born in 1860 was the great-grandson of Archibald Prater of Kentucky fame, an offshoot of my main paternal line. Could he be related to the “other” May family? Could this be another instance of pedigree collapse among the Praters? I don’t know yet - but as poor Henry Clay was a generation too late to be named in Four Hundred Years of Praters, I decided to do some work on his parents and see what we may already know.

Archibald Prater was born about 1755 in Halifax Co., Virginia, and was likely the brother of Jonathan Prater (~1757-1795). Archibald married Sarah “Sally” Fugate (1762-1832) about 1783 in Virginia. He was one of the first settlers of what is now Salyersville, Kentucky. Archibald died in August 1831 in Floyd Co., Kentucky. A monument can be found in Blue Grass Cemetery, Salyersville.

Among their dozen children, Archibald and Sarah had Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Prater was born in 1791. She married Lewis Power. She is said to have died in 1876 in Salyersville. She had at least the following children:*

1. Celia Power born about 1825. She married Samuel May. She died June 21, 1880, and is buried in Earl May Cemetery, Salyersville, Kentucky.

2. William Power born about 1828. He is thought to have never married. He is said to have died in 1858.

3. James Power born about 1830. He was a corporal in the 14^th Kentucky Infantry. He died May 7, 1883, and is buried in Blue Grass Cemetery, Salyersville.

4. Cynthia Ann Power born about 1832. She married William May. She died in 1907 and was buried in May Cemetery #1, Prestonsburg, Kentucky.

5. Holloway Power born January 25, 1812. He married Clarinda Prater in 1837. He died October 7, 1878, and was buried in Cain Cemetery, Magoffin Co., Kentucky.

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*1850 U.S. Census; See also: Garda M. Hodgson. Descendants of John Power and Mary Holloway. 2007. (this book is hard to find because it was self-published and Garda apparently passed away in 2013 - someone who owned the book shared the information online)

Based on the U.S. Censuses from 1860, 1870, and 1880, as well as Kentucky vital records when available and the obituary of their daughter Elizabeth in the Paintsville Herald (March 16, 1939), Celia “Selie” (Power) May and Samuel Lewis May had the following children:

i. Sarah Elizabeth May “Aunt Lizzie” born January 25, 1853, in what is now Magoffin Co., Kentucky. She married William Jefferson “Jeff” Prater (d. 1920, denoted as Captain) January 25, 1872. They had no children. She died March 11, 1939, in Paintsville, Kentucky.

ii. William L. May born February 1855 in Kentucky. He married Martha E. Patrick (1863-1951) November 15, 1881, in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. He was a judge and died by 1930. They had at least 9 children.

iii. Mary Alice May born September 21, 1856, in Salyersville, Kentucky. She married Samuel Prater (1853-1941) about 1882. She died August 16, 1956, in Joplin, Missouri. They had at least 7 children.

iv. Louisa Margaret “Lou” May born August 7, 1858. She married Judge Leander Cox “L.C.” Bailey (1858-1936) February 5, 1885, in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. She died September 3, 1894, in Salyersville, Kentucky. She had at least one surviving child.

v. Henry Clay May born June 23, 1860, in Salyersville, Kentucky. He married (1st) Mary Angeline Wilson (1862-1925) November 9, 1882, in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. They had at least 5 surviving children. He married (2nd) Evaline (Patrick) Collins (1866-1947) by 1930. He died June 18, 1948, in Charlevoix, Michigan.

vi. John Jordan May born about 1863 in Kentucky. He married Anna Laura Prater (1871-1949; daughter of Isaac and Rhoda Prater) February 9, 1893, in McDonald, Missouri. They lived a lot of places as their children were said to have been born in Nebraska, Washington, and Colorado. He died in 1954.

vii. James Harlan May born in February 1865 in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. He married Nannie Day (b. 1865) February 21, 1889, in Morgan Co., Kentucky. He died from an unexplained blood disorder April 27, 1907, in Fayette, Kentucky.

viii. Samuel David May born July 23, 1867, in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. He married (1st) Dora Rice (1874-1914) April 10, 1890, in Magoffin Co. They had at least 8 children. He married (2nd) Margaret Ann (Collinsworth) Taylor (1870-1960) June 26, 1918, in Salyersville, Kentucky. He died Feburary 12, 1955, in Salyersville.

The two Prater marriages in this generation were from different families as far as I can tell. I’ll dive into those next week.