| When Tom Prior contemplated possible heirs, there were no males who were clear contenders. His elder brother Richard had died. He did have two step-brothers from his father's second marriage to a possibly disreputable woman (given that the marriage was reputedly kept secret). Of these step-brothers, Robert Prior was considered a 'good' man but not his son John, while the other step-brother, William, 'eclipsed them all' in bad behaviour. The morally upright Thomas passed over these possible heirs because of their ‘riotous living’ (apparently more towards the disgraceful rather than mere fun-loving point on the behavioural spectrum). Instead, Thomas left the Rathdowney estate to his cousin John Murray, the son of his aunt Mary Prior (sister of Colonel Thomas Prior) who had married the Reverend Thomas Murray. The family lived at Rathdowney and were close to Tom Prior.((Teddy Fennelly, //Thomas Prior//, pp.4,81-82.)) In Thomas’s will dated 22 June 1751, his legacy was conditional on John Murray assuming or adding((need to check his will for wording)) ‘Prior’ to his surname, hence ‘Murray Prior’ was born, later to be hyphenated.((copy of the will is in JOLQ, Praed papers, OM64-01, 10/7/2))\\ | When Tom Prior contemplated possible heirs, there were no males who were clear contenders. His elder brother Richard had died. He did have two step-brothers from his father's second marriage to a possibly disreputable woman (given that the marriage was reputedly kept secret). Of these step-brothers, Robert Prior was considered a 'good' man but not his son John, while the other step-brother, William, 'eclipsed them all' in bad behaviour. The morally upright Thomas passed over these possible heirs because of their ‘riotous living’ (apparently more towards the disgraceful rather than mere fun-loving point on the behavioural spectrum). Instead, Thomas left the Rathdowney estate to his cousin John Murray, the son of his aunt Mary Prior (sister of Colonel Thomas Prior) who had married the Reverend Thomas Murray. The family lived at Rathdowney and were close to Tom Prior.((Teddy Fennelly, //Thomas Prior//, pp.4,81-82.)) In Thomas’s will dated 22 June 1751, his legacy was conditional on John Murray assuming or adding((need to check his will for wording)) ‘Prior’ to his surname, hence ‘Murray Prior’ was born, later to be hyphenated.((Rosa Praed Papers, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, MSOM64-01, copy of the will, Box 10/7/2))\\ |