{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Auburn Lorenzo Pridemore | image = ALPridemore2.jpg | state1 = [[Virginia]] | district1 = [[Virginia's 9th congressional district|9th]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] | term1 = March 4, 1877 &ndash; March 3, 1879 | preceded1 = [[William Terry (congressman)|William Terry]] | succeeded1 = [[James Buchanan Richmond|James Richmond]] | office2 = Member of the [[Virginia Senate]] | term2 = 1871 &ndash; 1875 | preceded2 = [[George H. Kendrick]] | succeeded2 = [[Henry C. Slemp]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1837|6|27|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Scott County, Virginia]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1900|5|17|1837|6|27|mf=y}} | death_place = [[Jonesville, Virginia]], U.S. | spouse = | profession = [[Politician]], [[Lawyer]] | footnotes = | allegiance = {{flag|Virginia|1861}}<br/>{{flagcountry|Confederate States of America}} | rank = [[File:Confederate States of America Colonel.png|35px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] (CSA) | branch = {{flagdeco|Virginia|1861}} [[Virginia Army National Guard|Virginia Militia]]<br>{{army|CSA}} | commands = 21st Virginia Infantry Battalion<br />[[64th Virginia Infantry]] | unit = | battles = [[American Civil War]] *[[Battle of Middle Creek]] | awards = }}

'''Auburn Lorenzo Pridemore''' (June 27, 1837 &ndash; May 17, 1900) was a nineteenth-century Virginia lawyer who served in the [[Virginia Senate]] and in the [[United States House of Representatives]] representing [[Virginia's 9th congressional district]].<ref>Virginia Biographical Encyclopedia, available online at ancestry.com</ref>

==Early and family life== Born in [[Scott County, Virginia]] on June 27, 1837 to mountain farmer Daniel Pridemore and his wife Mary Ann Ingram, Pridemore had an older brother Hiram Demothensese Pridemore (1833-1892) and a sister Sarah Eleanor Pridemore (1842-1859).<ref>the 1860 U.S. Federal Census indicates the family had a male servant, but no slave records appear online</ref> Despite his brother's classical name, he assisted on the family farm and received a limited education as a child.

He married Caladonia Justine Hill (daughter of a land agent in Jonesville) on February 24, 1869, but she died giving birth to their daughter Mary Ingram Pridemore Sewell (1869-1931). He lived with his in-laws, then married Lucy E. Crockett on June 27, 1875, who gave birth to Hiram Hagan Pridemore (1876-1926).<ref>They also had an elder female boarder named Mary, probably his mother, in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census for Jonesville district 41, dwelling 34, family 36</ref>

==Confederate military service== During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Pridemore raised a company of volunteer infantry for the [[Pound Gap]] battalion of the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] and was commissioned as its [[Captain (United States)|captain]] on October 17, 1861. In June, 1862 he received a promotion to [[Major (United States)|major]]. Following a reorganization after the [[Battle of the Cumberland Gap (1862)|Battle of the Cumberland Gap]], his unit was reconstituted as Company S of the [[64th Virginia Mounted Infantry]] under Colonel [[Campbell Slemp]] and Pridemore became a [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] on December 14, 1862. He was promoted to full [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] on February 5, 1864 and commanded the [[64th Virginia Cavalry]] until the end of the war.

==Political career== Elected to the [[Virginia House of Delegates]] in 1865, his Confederate record under [[Congressional Reconstruction]] prevented him from taking a seat.<ref>Encyclopedia of American Biography 1800-1902) p. 762</ref> Pridemore studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1867. He began his legal practice in [[Jonesville, Virginia|Jonesville]], the [[Lee County, Virginia|Lee County]] seat.

Voters elected Pridemore to the [[Virginia Senate]] in 1871, and he served until 1875. He succeeded [[George H. Kendrick]] and was succeeded by his former subordinate CSA Captain [[Henry C. Slemp]], who ran as a [[Readjuster Party|Readjuster]].<ref>Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 524, 528, 558</ref><ref>Rose Slemp Quillen, "Col. Campbell Slemp" in Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia, Southwest Virginia Historical Society Publication No. 6 (March 1970) p. 16</ref> The district boundaries were changed from the 1871 session, with Pridemore's native Scott County removed and added to Russell County, where John H.A. Smith was elected.

Lee County voters again elected Pridemore, as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] to the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 1876, where he replaced [[William Terry (congressman)|William Terry]] and he was re-elected once, serving from 1877 to 1879. He was defeated for re-election in 1878 and replaced by fellow ex-Confederate [[James Buchanan Richmond]], his former subordinate. Afterwards, Pridemore continued his legal practice in Jonesville until his death there.

==Death and legacy== Pridemore was interred in Hill Cemetery in Jonesville.<ref>Find a Grave No. 7932163</ref>

Pridemore named the unincorporated community of [[Ben Hur, Virginia]] after the novel ''[[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ]]'' by [[Lew Wallace]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gallant|first=Frank K.|title=A Place Called Peculiar: Stories About Unusual American Place-Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdbCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88|date=13 February 2020|publisher=Dover Publications|isbn=978-0-486-31081-7|page=88}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tennis|first=Joe|title=Southwest Virginia Crossroads: An Almanac of Place Names and Places to See|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=noiiZPTGk9IC&pg=PA4|year=2004|publisher=The Overmountain Press|isbn=978-1-57072-256-1|page=4}}</ref>

==Referenced== {{Reflist}} {{Portal|Biography}} {{CongBio|P000535}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Virginia | district=9 | before=[[William Terry (congressman)|William Terry]] | after= [[James Buchanan Richmond|James Richmond]] | years=March 4, 1877 &ndash; March 3, 1879 }}

{{s-end}} {{VirginiaRepresentatives09}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pridemore, Auburn}} [[Category:1837 births]] [[Category:1900 deaths]] [[Category:Democratic Party Virginia state senators]] [[Category:Virginia lawyers]] [[Category:Confederate States Army officers]] [[Category:People of Virginia in the American Civil War]] [[Category:People from Scott County, Virginia]] [[Category:People from Jonesville, Virginia]] [[Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Virginia]] [[Category:19th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly]]