Francis Prior Lewis was born in Marion County, SC c. 1813. His first wife's name is not yet known, but they had at least two children. In the 1830s, Francis Prior and his family moved to Brunswick County, NC, where his first wife died soon thereafter. On February 14, 1843, he remarried Julia Ann Jones, and they had many children, as shown below.

In August of 1862, Francis Prior joined Company G of the 61st NC Regiment and saw action in the Civil War at Kinston, NC, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, Petersburg, VA, and finally at Fort Fisher near Wilmington, NC. Fort Fisher was taken by Union forces on January 15, 1865, but Francis Prior managed to escape heavily wounded.

He was making his way back to Brunswick County, but could not get home because of his wounds. He had bought an ornate cup for Julia Ann while in Wilmington before the final battle, and when he could go no further because of his wounds, he gave the cup to a friend and made him promise to deliver the cup to Julia Ann. The next day, Julia Ann received the gift and went looking for Francis Prior. His body was never found. He apparently died around January 17th, 1865.