William Martin Priest was born May 15, 1800 in Russell County, Virginia, so he was only 13 years old when his father died. We know that from the Floyd County Court records that the court tried in the “August Term Monday, 28th of August 1815 ordered that a subpoena be issued against the Administrators of Richard Priest to appear here next court to show cause if any they can why William Priest infant heir to said (sic) descendent shall not be bound as apprentice according to law, and in the March Term – Monday, March 25, 1816 subpoena was issued against the administrator of the estate of Richard Priest to appear and show cause why William Priest, infant son the deceased, shall not be bound out.” Somehow William’s brother-in-law Tandy Stratton the administrator of his Father’s estate somehow got around the court because there is no record he was ever bound out.
The next William Martin shows up is when he marries Mary “Elizabeth” Giddens March 22, 1825 in Pike County. Elizabeth’s parents were Ruben Giddens and Nancy Stratton, and Reuben was the minister who married them. There was quite a connection between the Priests and the Strattons. Nancy was Hezekiah Stratton’s daughter so was probably a cousin of Tandy and Lovina who married two of William’s siblings.
In all the information on the internet it usually shows Rueben Kendrick Priest as William Martin and Elizabeth’s oldest son. He was born April 4, 1824. If that is true then Elizabeth would have been 14 years old when she had Rueben and she and William Martin didn’t get married until she was 15 and pregnant with their second child – John. I found a letter from Louise Preece to Henry Scalf at the Pike County College Genealogy Section where she states: “The first two children of the older couple [William Martin Preece and Elizabeth Giddens Priest] were Reuben B. (shown as P., as I recall, in one record) who went to the Mexican War with the Red River Volunteers from Clarksville. He was dead within a few months. John C. must have been John Cyrus, who went with Reuben about the same time, and I understand he died in the War. I also find a John C. who was born and died in 1851-52; so there is much checking to be done.” I believe their son John never went to Texas and is my John Priest.
William and Elizabeth went on to have eleven more children: Nancy Ann, Alexander Cyrus, Richard Lincoln, Elizabeth Jane, William Martin Jr., Rachel Lydia, Mary Elizabeth, Wayne Pulaski, Taylor Winfield, John Castley, and Franklin Pierce. Rachel Lydia was born May 3, 1840 in Pike County in 1840 and Mary Elizabeth was born in Hopkins County, Texas Sept. 2, 1842.
I know that William Martin shows up in the tax records in the Johns Creek area of Pike and Floyd Counties between 1825 and 1841. He is also living between Abner James and William McCoy in the 1840 Census. I feel this census is critical because this is where John Priest is living in the same area next to William McCoy 1850 census.
I think that William Martin and Elizabeth moved to Texas between the taxes were taken in 1841 and September of 1842. (To confuse the issue they used the spelling of Preece. It seems in Floyd County the name is usually spelled Priest and in Martin County, Kentucky and Texas it is generally spelled Preece.) Apparently earlier in the 1820 or 1830’s one of the Strattons had led a party which included Rueben and Nancy Stratton Giddens to Illinois and then Texas. Louise Preece writes “They went into the Illinois Territory, probably with John Stratton and his group. He headed a delegation–I should say migration–into Edgar County, Illinois. Our Texas folk were in Vermillion County, Illinois when my records were made. Vermillion County was unorganized territory. Edgar was formed in 1823 from Clark, of which the county seat was Paris. Vermillion was formed in 1826 from Edgar, and the county seat was Danville. It was in Danville that Richard Franklin Giddens, eldest child of Nancy and Reuben, enlisted in the Blackhawk war. He received much land here in Texas, in addition to his land grant for such enlistment. Reuben performed the marriage ceremonies for people in Kentucky and also in Illinois, including those of his own children, of which we have some records.”
Since William Martin and Elizabeth were in Floyd County until 1841 I don’t think they went to Illinois but went straight to Red River County in Texas and met up with the Giddens. I believe that John Priest, son of Martin and Elizabeth Preece, did not go to Texas with his parents in 1841, but stayed in Floyd County. He would have been 16 and had lots of relatives in the area he could have lived with. I have a picture of John and you can tell he has Indian blood. Since his Mother was a Stratton (and from Louise Preece’s correspondence we know she had Indian characteristics) maybe he was more comfortable staying in Floyd County where the Strattons were a prominent family and he would have been accepted. Maybe he was in love with Mahala and didn’t want to leave her. He ended up marrying Mahala James and the James were also an old Floyd County family. As a note when Mahala applied for a Widow’s Pension and needed affidavits the people she went to were from the old Floyd County families. It is clear that both she and John were connected to the old families.
In her letter to her cousins Ada May Preece Allen and Forrest Preece of Martin County, Kentucky on 10.7.1966 Louise Preece continues “Forrest, the folks in Texas were relieved to learn that when William Martin whacked that man in the head the latter walked away. We always understood the man expired! If the trouble was over a woman, as we also heard, he still remained true to his part-Cherokee wife until he died.” Maybe this is why William Martin and Elizabeth decided to move to Texas so suddenly. Louise Preece continues I was told that Mary Elizabeth Giddens Preece was beautiful, part Cherokee. More about this later. She had large black or brown eyes and long hair.”
Louise Preece writes “When the Preeces left Red River County, they finally wound up in Travis County, as my story in the quarterly will tell you. Our people in Austin served with the Union, and also helped to guard the border. We have their military records.” So the (Priest) Preeces from the hills of Appalachia ended up in the hill country outside of Austin, Texas. They must of loved that kind of country and the solitude it provided. Or, maybe once a hillbilly always a hillbilly and they just didn’t want to be around people.