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Charles John Prentice of England and Australia


Charles John Prentice of England and Australia
By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Spring 2001 and Revised 28 Feb 2011

Update of 28 Feb 2011: This article is now replaced by our Spring 2005 article entitled Thomas Prentice of Shudy Camps, Cambridgeshire, England .

John (or William) Prentice, perhaps b. c. 1820, England. By 1848 he was living in Oxford, England, when his son, Charles was born.

He m. Elizabeth. They had at least two children:

  1. Charles John Prentice Sr., b. c. 1848. . . . . . . . . . . . .[2]
  2. Arthur Prentice, b. c. 1840-1860.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3]

2. Charles John Prentice Sr. was born c. 1848-1852 in Oxford, England, and d. 18 Jul 1887 in Balranald, Australia and, according to Charles' Death Certificate, was b. in Oxford, England. However, the Birth Certificate of his son, Charles John Prentice Jr., shows his father's occupation as a publican, Clare Station, and born London England. (Clare Station would be a grazing property. Many of the big stations were like small villages and had stores and pubs etc. His father-in-law had a pub on Yanga Station, and after his death his mother-in-law, Louisa, bought a pub in Balranald.)

Charles Sr. emigrated to Australia, perhaps about 1862. Charles died on 18 Jul 1887 in Belranald, NSW, Australia.

Charles married Louisa Carter on 15 Dec 1874 at the Post Office Hotel, Balranald, NSW, Australia. Louisa was b. 12 Jun 1856 Balranald and d. 29 Jan 1941, Belranald, NSW.. Both of her parents, James Carter and Eliza Bowra, were convicts. No other useful informations appears on the wedding certificate other than that Charles' occupation is given as "Bushman" which probably equates to "cowboy" in the US. An Ancestor Chart for her can be found at Ancestry.com .

Charles may have emigrated to Australis with at least a brother named Arthur Prentice. The family story is that after Charles died on 18 July 1887 and his wife remarried, his son, also named Charles John Prentice, travelled by Cobb & Co coach up to his uncle Arthur Prentice at Lightning Ridge, NSW. We do not have a birth date for Arthur Prentice, but it may have been 1840-1860. Charles Jr. would have been about 13/14 years old at the time. Arthur was a butcher and may, or may not, have been born in Oxford, England.

After Charles d. in 1887, Louisa Carter m. 2nd George J.Smith on 14 Oct 1893, Balranald, NSW.

Children of Charles and Louisa (per John Godfrey, email, 22 Jul 2002):

  1. Charles "John/Jack" Prentice Jr., b. 1876, Belranald, NSW and d. 6 Oct 1944, Walgett, NSW. Bur. C/E cemetery, Walgett He opened the first butcher shop in Lightning Ridge about 1905-6. In 1911 he drew a block on the road between Lightning Ridge and Walgett hich he called "Wellwood". He m. Sarah Ann Troy on 1 Oct 1899 in her parents' home in New Angledool, New Angledool, NSW. She was b. 2 Apr 1877 and d. Oct 1966, dau. of Richard Robert Troy and Caroline Rottenbury. Children:
    1. Charles John Prentice, b. 1899, Angledool and d. 1914, Newtown, NSW, age 15 years.
    2. William Prentice, b. 7 Apr 1903, New Angledool and d. 5 May 1976. He m. Caroline Selina Collress in 1929. She d. 16 Oct 1991.
    3. Arthur Prentice, b. 8 Mar 1908, Lighting Ridge, NSW and d. that same year there in 1908.
    4. Arthur Maxwell Prentice, b. 1910, Walgett and d. 17 Nov 1989. He m. Mary Ellen Grant in 1935. She was b. 3 Apr 1910 and d. 11 Mar 1997. They had 2 children.
    5. Allan James Prentice, b. 5 Jan 1919, Walgett. He m. Beryl Ethel Dowdle in 1941. She was b. 28 Sep 1921, Collerenbri, and d. 14 May 1990. They had 2 children.

  2. Arthur Thomas Prentice, b. 1877, Balranald, NSW and d. 1952, VIC, age 74. He owned the Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne per Lena Amos, email, 16 Nov 2010. He m. Ellen/Kathleen Mary Tansey/Tansing in 1913. She was b. 1888 and d. 1956, dau of George Tansing and Ada May Stevens. Children:
    1. Dorothy Edna Prentice, b. 1916, South Fitzroy, Vic.
    2. Arthur Desmond Prentice, b. 1920, E. Melbourne, Vic.
    3. Child Prentice.

  3. Isabella Claire Prentice, b. 1880, Balranald and d. 1881, Wilcannia, NSW.
  4. Margaret Prentice, b. 1883, Balranald and d. 1921, Balranald. She m. Thomas W. B. Harris in 1919. 3 children.
  5. William Henry "Bill" Prentice b. 1885 and d. 28 Jan 1971, Balranald. He m. Mary Elizabeth Williams who d. 1980. They had 1 or more children, including:
    1. (dau.) Prentice, b. c. 1921 and living in 2010, age 89 years. Daughter:
      1. Lena Amos, email, 16 Nov 2010.

3. Arthur Prentice, b. c. 1840-1860, and d. 2 Mar 1945, Walgett. Bur. in New Angledool. Arthur was a butcher and may, or may not, have been born in Oxford, England. He may, or may not, be the Arthur Prentice who appears in Queensland, Australia records as b. c. 1850-60.

The latter Arthur m. Ellen Scanlan on 29 Nov 1882 in Queensland (per Judith Dickson, email, 4 Sep 2006). She may be the Ellen Prentice who died in New Angledool, New South Wales in 1935 (Ref: 21670/1935), daughter of Michael and Mary. Angledool is in New South Wales about a 40 to 50 klm drive from Lightening Ridge township.). This area is not far from the New South Wales Qld border.

Children of Arthur and Ellen:

  1. William "Long Bill" Prentice, born 18 Feb 1884 (ref: 1884/001748) and d. 2 Mar 1945, Walgett and is bur. in New Angledool. . He m., as her 2nd husband, Caroline (Thomas) Shaw. in 1912 in Narrabri (ref: 14931/1912) and Caroline S. F. Collress in Sydney in 1929 (ref: 10383/1929. They had 8 children, including:
    1. Clare T. Prentice, b. c. ?? and d. 1931 (ref: 8075/1931) (per Judith Dickson, email, 5 Sep 2006).
    2. Trevor W. Prentice, b. c. ?? and d. 1919 (ref: 19740/1919) (per Judith Dickson, email, 5 Sep 2006).
    3. (perhaps) Arthur Joseph Prentice, b. 2 Jul 1916, Narrabri, NSW, and d. 2 Oct 1970, Tyalgum, NSW. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 27 Apr 1941. He was discharged on 17 Oct 1944 as a Flight Lt., 7 Squadron (per Judith Dickson, email, 12 Sep 2006). He m. Lola Patricia Ryan on 17 Mar 1951, St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, NSW, per a href = "http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/6685171/person/-1247413613?ssrc="> Ancestry.com . he was b. 17 Mar 1926, Blayney, NSW, and d. 21 Jan 2000. See Ancestry.com . Children:
      1. (son) Prentice. He m. Kathleen Lillian Anderson. He also m. Gayle Suzanne Oberhardt and Had:
        1. Brock Michael Prentice
        2. Kris Joseph Prentice
        3. Rebecca Louise Prentice
        4. Vanessa Suzanne Prentice
      2. (son) Prentice. He m. Robyn Lee Condon and had:
        1. Kelly Patricia Prentice
        2. Lachlan Joseph Prentice
        3. Matthew James Prentice
      3. (dau.) Prentice. She m. Grahame Blackley. She als m. Tony Green and had a dau., Stephanie Danielle Green.
      4. (son) Prentice.
      5. (dau.) Prentice. She m. Roger Kenneth Laffey and had a son, Adam Laffey.
  2. Arthur Prentice, born 21 Jan 1886 (ref: 1886/001912). He might be the Arthur Prentice who died in 1913 and registered at New Angledool New South Wales (ref: 3108/1913).
  3. John Prentice, born 5 Feb 1888 (ref: 1888/002397), died 7 Feb 1888 (ref: 1888/001217)
  4. Thomas Prentice, born 3 May 1889 (ref: 1889/002606), died 15 Jun 1889 (ref: 1889/001431)

Who are Charles John Prentice's Parents?

John Godfrey indicates he has a copy of Charles' Birth Certificate which identifies Charles' parents as William Prentice, a carpenter, and Elizabeth. However, John Godfrey's father-in-law believes, for reasons not given, that Charles' father may be named John Prentice. They may have been pub owners at some stage in England. There is also a family tradition, of unknown reliability, that the first son was always named Charles John Prentice.

John Godfrey relates a family story is that Charles' parents were pub owners from England, but suggests this may be a bluring of the facts and that the pubs may be small one-roomed pubs.

A search in Oxford: We did a location search in our database and in the IGI for Prentices born in Oxford in the same general time frame as Charles and came up with the following:

  • Ann Prentice, chr. 1832 at St. Michaels-Wesleyan, Oxford, Oxford, England, dau. of John Prentice and Ann Shalford.
  • Ruth Prentice, chr. 1836 at St. Michaels-Wesleyan, Oxford, Oxford, England, dau. of John Prentice and Ruth Stratford.

No other Prentices are shown in Oxford in the IGI after that date.

A search in London: We did a search in London using John Godfrey's information that the Birth Certificate of his son, Charles John Prentice Jr., shows his father's occupation as a publican, Clare Station, and born London England.

Using England census records, we had been trying to find a family with sons Charles and Arthur but with no luck. It then occurred to us that perhaps Arthur was born after Charles and that they departed England prior to the next census on which both would appear. John Godfrey gives their emigration date as "perhaps about 1862" which leaves some elbow room from roughly 1860 to 1864.

We may have found their parents, Charles Prentice (b. c. 1817, Marylebone) and his wife, Mary Ann (b. c. 1820, Marylebone). They appear in the 1851 census in Holborn St Andrew with a son, Charles, b. c. 1847 in Lambeth, London. That location is shown in the red circle at Holborn St Andrew . No other Charles Prentice appears in the 1851 census as born within 2 years, either way, of 1847.

Neither the 1847 Charles nor his parents appear in the 1861 census, but the parents do appear in the 1871 census without their children. That would be consistent with Charles and his brother emigrating to Australia before the time of the 1861 census. It is curious that if Charles was b. c. 1847, he would have been only about age 14 when he emigrated, and Arthur, if born after 1851, would have been only about 10 years old.. It seems unlikely to me that they would emigrated alone at those ages so perhaps the parents accompanied them to Australia and then returned before 1871. The above possibility is only conjecture at this point and needs further investigation to either prove or disprove it.

If you have any information about the folks mentioned in this article, please contact us at dewald@prenticenet.com and please include the title and date of this article.


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