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      Alexander Prentice of Coylton, Ayrshire, Scotland
      By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
      Winter 2000 and Revised 5 Dec 2007

      With the help of Philippa Wells (North), we are helping John North of Dunedin, NZ in tracing the family tree of his great-great-grandfather. Here is what we have so far:

      A. Unknown Prentice, b. c. 1800-1816 at an unknown location. The name of his wife is not yet known. They had 2 or more children:

      1. Alexander Prentice was b. c. 1836. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [1]

      2. John Prentice, b. c. 1844, Danse (Duns?), Berwickshire. In the 1861 Dalkeith, Midlothian, census he is shown living with his brother, Alexander. He may, or may not, be the John Prentice shown in the IGI as chr. 27 Aug 1843 in Mordington Mains, Berwickshire, Scotland, son of Robert Prentice and Mary Grieve. The IGI also shows that Robert and Mary had another son, Thomas Prentice b. 31 Mar 1845, Mordington Mains, Berwickshire. Our Yahoo map does not show either Danse or Mordington Mains, but it does show a Duns about 10 miles E. of Mordington Holdings.

      1. Alexander Prentice was b. c. 1836 (per 1861 census) at an unknown location in England. However, that 1836 birth date might be an error since that would make him only 12 when he m. Marion Reed in 1848 when she was 25. He appears in the 1861 census in Dalkeith, Midlothian County, Scotland with his wife and family.

      Family tradition relates that Alexander was a "horsey" man; he was engaged in training racehorses for the Duke of Buccleuch (sp?) and at different times was a coachman for various prominent people in various parts of Scotland, and at one stage in Liverpool. Alexander is thought to have emigrated to NZ about 1884.

      He m. Marion Reid on 20 Nov 1848, St. Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Scotland (see Footnote 1). She was b. c. 1823 in Haddington, East Lothian (per 1861 Dalkeith census. Children:

      1. D. Prentice, dau., b. c. 1850, Liberston, Edinburghshire. At home in Dalkeith in 1861 census. Since Alexander's birth date is given as 1836, he would have been only about 14 when she was born; that suggests that she may have been Marion's daughter by a prior marriage.

      2. Fanny Prentice, b. c. 1851, Newton, Edinburghshire. Since Alexander's birth date is given as 1836, he would have been only about 15 when she was born; that suggests that she may have been Marion's daughter by a prior marriage.

      3. William Prentice, b. c. 1854, Newton, Edinburghshire. At home in Dalkeith in 1861 census.

      4. John Alexander Prentice, b. 2 May 1855 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. At home in Dalkeith, Edinburghshire, in 1861 census. He emigrated to Canada.

      5. James Reid Prentice, b. in Coylton Ayrshire, in 1857. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [2]

      6. Sarah Prentice, b. 11 Oct 1859 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. At home in Dalkeith in 1861 census.

      7. Elizabeth Guthrie Prentice, b. 15 Feb 1862 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland

      8. William Prentice.

      2. James Reid Prentice, b. 24 Jun 1857 Coylton, Ayrshire, Scotland, and d. in East Taieri, New Zealand.. Coylton lies about 5-6 miles ESE of the coastal town of Ayr and is about 30-40 miles SW of Glasgow.

      He m. Donaldina Sutherland on 31 Dec 1883, East Taieri, Otago, New Zealand. She was b. c. 1858, East Taieri, NZ, dau. of John Sutherland (b. c. 1816 in Caithness, Scotland and d. c. 1893, East Taieri, NZ). Children:

      1. Alexander Prentice m. Elsie Oulton. She was b. 17 Mr 1895 in Dublin, Ireland, and d. 1988 in Kaikoura, NZ, and was the dau. of Henry William Oulton (1850-1934) and Susannah C. Stephens (1853-1949). Children:
        1. Tony Prentice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3]
        2. Audrey Prentice, b. 21 Jul 1922, Auckland, NZ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4]

      2. Mabel Prentice. Mabel was interesting; she never married, was personality on Stewart Island (the southernmost and smallest of the 3 main NZ islands) and travelled widely for several decades, having many adventures, and sought out Prentice relatives in Scotland (no details).

      3. Elizabeth Prentice.

      4. John "Jack" Prentice. He m. Doris. Daughter:
        1. Marie Prentice. She m. Ron Finlay. Children:
          1. Adrienne Finlay.
          2. Claire Finlay.

      3. Tony Prentice, b. c. 1920-25, probably Auckland, NZ..

      He m. Geraldine Margaret Ames. She was b. 30 Aug 1931 and d. 30 Jan 1994 in Claverley. Children:

      1. Vicki Prentice. She m. Bob. Todhunter. Children (per Philippa Wells, email, 2 Dec 2007):
        1. Simon Todhunter.
        2. Rosie Todhunter.
        3. Perhaps another daughter.
      2. Richard Prentice.
      3. Andrew Prentice. He m. Miss Murray. At least 2 children.
      4. Lucinda "Cindy" Prentice. She m. Mr. Hampton.
      5. Jimmy Prentice. Drowned, young, at Claverley many years ago.

      4. Audrey Prentice, b. 21 Jul 1922, Auckland, NZ, and d. there 31 Oct 1984.

      She m. Henry North on 19 Dec 1944 in Christchurch, NZ. He was b. 5 Jun 1911 in Geraldine and d. 29 Jan 1995 in Richmond, NZ. He was the son of William Bernard North and Annetta Charlotte Dumville Holloway. An Ancestor Chart for him can be found at Ancestry.com . Children (per Philippa Wells, email, 2 Dec 2007):

      1. Alexandra North. She m. 1st Mr. Carson and had 3 children:
        1. Toni North.
        2. Joanna Mary Northl
        3. Derisly Andrew North.
        She m. 2nd Graeme Mead as of Jan 2003.

      2. Nicola Henri North. She m. Barry Birchall from Jan 2004

      3. Juliet Rosemary North. She m. 1st Mr. Edwards and had 2 children.
        1. Sara Edwards
        2. Keren Edwards.
        She m. 2nd Mr. Clarke.

      4. (dau.) North. She m. Mr. Wells and had 2 children:
        1. Nicola Rachel Wells.
        2. Simon Russell Wells.

      5. Christopher John Holloway North. He m. Ruth Johnston and had a daughter:
        1. Meghan North.

      Who are Alexander Prentice's Parents?

      Based on Alexander's marriage to Marion Reid on 20 Nov 1848 at St. Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Scotland, it seems likely that his roots lie within that general geographic area.

      We note that an Alexander Prentice m. Agnes Gray on 2 Jun 1821 st St. Cuthberts but we have not yet located children for them. That 1821 date almost matches the 1820 date for a Marion Reid discussed in Fn. 1.

      If you have any information about the folks mentioned in this article, please send your information to us at the Prentice Newsletter. Be sure to give the full title and date of this article in the Subject line of the email.

      Caution: If you don't use the above email link, your email to us may be deleted as spam by our email filter.

      Footnote 1   We have not yet identified Marion Reid's parents, but the the IGI shows a Marion Reid who was chr. 19 Mar 1820 at Coylton, Ayr,Scotland, dau. of Andrew Reid and Susan Hannah. Coylton is the birthplace of her son, James Reid Prentice in 1857. Perhaps she returned to her childhood home to have her son.
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