Summer 2003 and Revised 24 Jun 2003
1. Unknown Prentice. The 1861 Lexden, East Mersea, Rochester Fen Farm, contains 5 persons surnamed Prentice, probably all siblings and probably all children of the same parents:
- Prutton Prentice, b. c. 1806, Broxted, Essex. Not in IGI. She is probably Lucy Poulton Prentice, b. c. 1802, dau. of Christopher Branwhite Prentice (per Ian Prentice, email, 24 Jun 2003).
- Samuel Prentice, b. c. 1817, Broxted, Essex. Not in IGI.
- William Prentice, b. c. 1821, Broxted, Essex. . . . . . [2]
Also shown in that same household are 2 additional Prentices, perhaps kin, who are called "visitors". The 1881 census of North House Farm, East Mersea, Essex, identifies them as brother and sister, born in Boxted (note different spelling) and living together with Alice Smith, a servant:
- Catherine Prentice, b. c. 1812, Broxted, Essex (per 1861 census) or b. c. 1811, Boxted (per 1881 census). She might be the Catherine Prentice who is No. 8vi in our Winter 1998 article about the Prentices of Brent Eleigh .
- Edward Prentice, b. c. 1832, Broxted, Essex (per 1861 census) or b. c. 1828, Boxted (per 1881 census). He d. in 1881 leaving a Will (per Ian Prentice, email, 24 Jun 2003) .Not in IGI.
2. William Prentice was b. c. 1821 in Broxted, Essex, England. He appears in the 1881 Broxted census living on Browns End Road (Cottage) with his wife, Susan, b. c. 1820, Tilty, Essex. Children (per 1881 census):
- (probably) Humphreys Prentice, b. c. 1846 Broxted. . . . . . [3]
3. (probably) Humphreys Prentice was b. c. 1846 in Broxted, Essex, England. He appears in the 1881 census living on Church End, Broxted, with his wife, Ellen, b. c. 1843, Takely, Essex (the 1901 census says Mote Hill Green, Takeley, Essex) (see Fn. 1). He appears in the 1901 census as a "Horseman On Farm", Broxted. Children per 1881 and 1901 census:
- (probably) William Prentice, b. c. 1866, Broxted. He appears in the home of his grandfather, William, in the 1881 Broxted census. He is probably the same person as the William Prentice who appears in the 1901 census living in the home of William and Susan, #1, above.
- Rosa L. Prentice, b. c. 1867-68, Horsey Down Lane, Middlesex.
- (probably) Susan Prentice, b. c. 1869, Broxted. She appears in the home of her grandfather, William, in the 1881 Broxted census.
- Ambrose Prentice, b. c. 1870, Broxted, Essex. At home in 1901 census.
- Seymour Prentice, b. c. 1873, Broxted, Essex. He appears in the
1901 Edmonton, Waltham Holy Cross, census as a "Labourer in Gun Powder
Factory". No wife is shown, but shown in his household is probably a son:
- William Prentice, b. 1900, Broxted, Esses.
- Isabel Prentice, b. 1886, Broxted. At home in 1901 census.
- Humphrey Prentice, b. 1891, Broxted. At home in 1901 census.
We do have 2 good clues:
- Catherine Prentice, above, b. c. 1811 or 1812 in Broxted/Boxted, Essex, might be the Catherine Prentice who is #8vi in our Winter 1998 article about the Prentices of Brent Eleigh . She died in 1881, unmarried.
- Edward Prentice, above, b. c. 1828 or 1832, might be the Edward Prentice in the above article who is Catherine's brother who is shown as b. 1826, a farmer in East Mersea, and who d. there, unmarried, on 3 Aug 1909.
Since they both died, unmarried, after the 1881 census, there is a good likelihood that they are the Catherine and Edward called "visitors" in the 1861 census and shown living together in the 1881 census. And both are children of Christopher Branwhite Prentice, #8 in the above article.
Based on the likelihood that Catherine and Edward are kin of William Prentice and his siblings, and despite some discrepency in ages shown, it then seems likely that William, Samuel and Lucy, too, are children of the above Christopher Branwhite Prentice.
Still, if Catherine and Edward were siblings of William, Samuel and Lucy, one would have expected them to be be called "sister" and "brother" rather than merely "visitors." If they are not siblings, then the most reasonable view would be that they are first cousins. In that event, the brother of Christopher Branwhite Prentice most likely to be their father is Samuel Prentice who probably died in Colchester in 1852. Also, Colchester abuts Lexden where they were living in the 1861 census. Additional investigation is needed to confirm the foregoing hypothesis.
If you have any information about the folks mentioned in this article, please contact us by clicking on the following link: Prentice Newsletter.
Caution: If you don't use the above Email link , your email to us may be deleted as spam by our email filter.
Fn. 1: By email of 22 Jun 2003, Kerry Prentices provides a bit of color as follows:
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Please note below.........the Spellings.........TAKELEY, Essex and MOLE HILL
GREEN. Mole Hill Green is only 5 minutes drive from me. The road runs between
Elsenham Villiage and Takeley villiage, passing Broxted on the right.
There is still only a handful of houses along this road, which is about 2
miles long, including Elsenham Hall which was built by the Gilby
family who owned most of Stansted Mountfitchet and Elsenham. There is still a 1700th century public house known as the 3 Horse Shoes, an old thatched property that stands on the corner of Mole Hill Green and the road that leads to Broxted (abt 1/4 mile along).
Sadly the pub is due for demolistion to make way for another runway at Stansted airport, which was originally an American airbase during the 2nd world war.
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