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Prentice Alexander
By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Spring 2000 and Revised: 17 Nov 2004
We are helping Prentice Alexander of Oakdale, CT in his efforts to determine whether he has a Prentice in his family tree. By his email of 2 Feb 2000, he has traced his tree as follows:
Thomas Alexander is said to have married Sally (surname unknown). They had a son:
- William Rodman Alexander, b. 29 Aug 1797 in Groton, CT where he also died on 13 Jan 1878. He m. Eliza Ann Williams on 4 Feb 1827 at Norwich, CT and d. in Groton, CT on 23 Feb 1871. Frank Alexander's email of 17 Nov 2004 indicates that Eliza Ann Williams was b. Sep 1798, that she had a prior marriage to William Hewitt of Stonington, CT. Both Groton records and her 1827 marriage record say she was born in Groton, CT which abuts New London on the eastern shore of the Thames River. Stonington lies nearby. There is some uncertainty about Eliza's birth date:
- In Groton, CT Vital Records it shows she was born in Groton, CT and died of consumption on 23 Feb 1871 at the age of 70 years. Her 70th previous birthday would have been 23 Feb 1801. Since it unlikely she was exactly 70 at death, she was probably born in 1800 in the 12 months preceeding that date.
- Her headstone in the Starr Cemetery in Groton says she died 22 Feb 1871 at the age of 68 years and 5 months. Her 68th previous birthday would have been 22 Feb 1703, and subtracting an even 5 months would place her birth about 22 Sep 1702.
If Eliza Ann Williams was born at Stonington, she may very well have a PRENTICE ancestor among the various Prentice families known to be living in Stonington at that time. But, unfortunately, Wheeler's HISTORY OF STONINGTON does not record her birth, nor can she be found in the IGI or Ancestral File.
Are Thomas and Sally really William Rodman Alexander's Parents? While updating some of our articles, we happened to check for the ancestry of William Rodman Alexander. To our surprise, the IGI identified his parents as James Alexander (b. 14 Jul 1761, RI) and Esther Dewey (b. 30 Jan 1754, KY)
Prentice Alexander also said that his William Rodman Alexander was b. 29 Aug 1797 in Groton, CT where he also died on 13 Jan 1878. However, while the IGI entry gave a birth date of c. 1796 in CT, it gave his death date as Oct 1838 in St. Joseph, MI.
Correspondence: 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.
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