Vanessa WoodOn my recent genealogy road trip we crossed the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois and we visited the gravesite of a Frances (Hooe) Pryor, a wife featured in my book Pryor Wives.
The Confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi River
We drove around areas in Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee that were home to Frances (Hooe) Pryor and her children. The confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers occurs near Cairo, Illinois. A plaque commemorates Lewis and Clark’s encampment at this location. A stone marks the third principal meridian, the line from which United States lands were surveyed in Illinois. It is generally accepted that the Expedition did not cross the Mississippi to the West until later in the year and further up the river, closer to the St. Louis. An online aerial photo shows the difference in the colors of the two rivers as they join near Cairo (see photo).
Mrs. Pryor’s Grave Stone
Heading out of Cairo we took in some sights in Tennessee (more on that later). We continued eastward and visited Mrs. Pryor’s grave in Cadiz, Kentucky. Thank goodness there’s an earlier photograph of Mrs. Pryor’s grave maker on Find A Grave.1 The photos on Find A Grave were posted in 2015 and are considerably better than the stone looks now. There is more wear on the stone and moss or lichen have darkened the monument.
I looked on the back and sides but I didn’t see an carver’s mark.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Vanessa Wood, “Lewis and Clark Historical Marker,” photograph, Cairo, Illinois, 26 March 2025. And “Third Principal Meridian Marker,” and three photographs and Mrs. Pryor’s grave marker.
- Find a Grave, memorial 127832892, Frances Ann Pryor (1775–1847), Terry Cemetery, Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/127832892/frances-ann-pryor)
