Roger Atkinson Pryor was born in Petersburg, Virginia on July 19, 1828. Pryor was a newspaper editor, attorney, and politician. During the Civil War, he was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Virginia's 4th District from 1859 to 1861. Pryor died in New York City, New York on March 14, 1919.