Continuation of Ann Pryor Enke

The following is the rest of Jack's story of Mauch Chunk, Penn. I am quoting him on most of this posting.

"I mentioned that Mauch Chunk (Penn.) was founded in 1818 by Josiah White, head of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co. Josiah had an aunt Hannah who married Thomas Pryor. These were all Quaker folk from Burlington Co., New Jersey (and later Philadelphia). Thomas and Hannah had four known children: Mary, John, George, and Thomas Jr. Mary Pryor married William Letchworth and several years ago I was surprised to find that this was the ancestry of my uncle (by marriage - husband of my dad's sister). John Pryor (2/14/1771) married Keziah Weeks and they had 12 children, the third of which was Anne (6/24/1799) who married 'Mr. Enk'. John and Keziah Pryor were among the early settlers of Mauch Chunk and he died in 1838 in Mauch Chunk. Keziah died in 1843 in Wilkes Barre.

Of the other children of Thomas and Hannah Pryor, George married Betty Pierson in 1803 (the extent of what I know of that branch) and Thomas White Pryor married Susanna Edge and they seem to have settled in Montgomery Co., Pa.

It is interesting that John and Anne (Pryor) Enke ended up in Mahoning Co., Ohio. A few miles south of Mauch Chunk/Jim Thorpe is the township of Mahoning. It was carved out of East Penn Township about 1833 and is still a mostly rural area. The town of Lehighton was originally part of this township but separated from it in the 1860s. It would be interesting to know the roots of Mahoning Co., Ohio and how it got its name.

Enke sounds like it could be a name of Pennsylvania German background. Maybe the spelling is a variation on 'Eck', a common 'Pennsylvania Deutsch' surname in southeastern PA. As for Annie White Wilson and her son, Wm. White Wilson, it is probably just a coincidence with no connection to the Josiah White. I had mentioned that Lydia (Anne's daughter) married a William White Wilson...interesting repetition of the White name. Josiah White had 5 children but only a couple reached maturity and none had children - so there's no living descendent of Josiah White today. Of Josiah's 5 siblings, only one brother seems to have had children.

You should be in luck researching the Pryors and Whites since my understanding is the Quakers kept very good genealogical records. I haven't been able to find anything on the background of Thomas Pryor, but the Whites I've traced back to the 1600s using the Family Search (Mormon Archives) website.

Looking at the map of Pennsylvania, I see that Jim Thorpe is located not far from the home of my uncle David. He lives in Allentown. I checked the Internet for information concerning the Mauch Chunk/Jim Thorpe area and found some terrific photos and information. I think I'll visit eBay and see what is to be found there.