Pratt Families of Virginia

This book concentrates on that portion of the Pratt families in America originating primarily in the southwest counties of Virginia before the Revolutionary War. These folks lived in the areas which later became the counties of Washington, Smyth, Wythe, Tazewell and Russell, but chiefly in Smyth County. After presenting some background information about migration patterns in the colonial period, the book lists some "early arrivals"-Pratt family members who are known to have arrived in the colonies before 1700. Next the book describes some of the more prominent family members, such as Enoch Pratt, who funded the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore and contributed large sums of money to the Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick, Maryland; Thomas George Pratt, governor of Maryland in the late 1800s; Charles Pratt, an associate of John D. Rockefeller and one of the wealthiest men in America, who was a benefactor of Brooklyn's Pratt Institute among other institutions; and finally, several Pratt family members who were prominent in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Beginning with Henry Pratt (born pre-1765) of Washington County, Virginia, the bulk of the book then deals with the Pratts of southwestern Virginia. Four chapters trace Henry Pratt's descendants. Next are eight chapters primarily dealing with descendants of Oliver Pratt (born 1784), son of Henry Pratt (above) and Mary Fulks Pratt (born c.1813). To aid future researchers, several chapters present the descendants of Marshall Pratt of Accomack County, Virginia, and Jonathan Pratt (1714-1781) of Orange County, Virginia; connections have not yet been established between these and the book's central Pratt lineage. In two places, the book departs from the Pratt theme to deal with the related families of Fulks and Pritchett, who were also settlers of southwestern Virginia and who married into the Pratt family. The book closes with a chapter on miscellaneous Pratt family members which includes a list of military records. An impressive collection of photographs greatly adds to the value of the book. A full-name index (listing birthdates to distinguish people of the same name) makes every name easy to find.