PrenticeNet :: John Prentice of Rochford, Essex, England

John Prentice of Rochford, Essex Co., England
By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Summer 2002 and Revised 10 Sep 2016

Special Note to Ethel Padfield: Please contact our Prentice Newsletter so we can have your current email address.

We are helping Ethel Padfield in tracing her Prentice roots. Here is what we have so far:

1. John Prentice was likely b. c. 1800-1825 and perhaps in the vicinity of Rochford, Essex County, England where his son, James. was born. James' marriage record identifies John's occupation as "labourer." We do not yet know the name of his wife. They had 1 or more children, including: (See Footnote 1 for apparent parents)

James Prentice, b. 11 Mar 1848, Rochford, Essex Co., England. . . . . [2]

2. James L. Prentice, b. 11 Mar 1848,Rochford, Essex Co., England and d. 30 Aug 1916 in North Carolina, USA where had been living with his son, William Prentice. James was a brick maker. He appears in the 1891 and 1901 census in Sittingbourne, Kent with his wife and family.

He m. Louise/Louisa Mason about 1869, daughter of Henry Mason, a mariner, in Milton, Kent, England. Louisa was b. c. 1851 in Milton, Kent, and d. 28 Aug 1895 in Sittingbourne. Children of James and Louisa:

Clara Prentice,b. 15 May 1872, Sittingbourne, Kent. At home in 1891 and 1901.
Reginald William James Prentice, b. c. 1875 in Sittingbourne, Kent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3]
Maud L. Prentice, b. c. 1877 in Sittingbourne, Kent. At home in 1891 and 1901. She m. Jack Barnett.
Lily A. Prentice, b. c. 1880 in Sittingbourne, Kent. At home in 1891 and 1901. She m. Fred Vaughan.
Beatrice Prentice, b. c. 1882, Sittingbourne, Kent. At home in 1891 and 1901. She m. Larry Smeed, a successful Realtor in Sittingbourne.
Thelma Prentice in Sittingbourne, Kent. She is thought to have emigrated to Australia. (But see Footnote 2)
Frederick Prentice, b. 8 Nov 1885 in Sittingbourne, Kent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4]
Hilda May Prentice, b. 13 Sep 1888, Sittingbourne, Kent. At home in 1891 and 1901. She d. 16 Dec 1921 in Australia. Did not marry.

3. William James Prentice (son of James), b. 18 Oct 1874 in Sittingbourne, Kent, England (per Death Certificate) and d. 15 May 1945, Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC, bur. Muirs Chapel UMC Cemetery, Greensboro, at the age of 70. At homein 1891. Naturalized as citizen on 25 Jun 1917, Greensboro. 1920 in Morehead, Guilford Co., NC.

He m. Florence Annie Mary Metson, b. c. 1878 in Faversham, England. They emigrated to Washington DC in 1906 as a ceramic engineer. They moved to Greensboro, NC in 1917 where he was associated with Terra Cotta Mfg. as an engineer (per Ethel Padfield, email, 8 Jul 2002). Children (per 1920 Guilford Co., NC census:

Reginald William James Prentice, b. 24 Jul 1902, England. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [5]
Thelma May Prentice, b. 16 May 1911, Washington D.C. and d. 20 Nov 1990 (per Ethel Padfield, email, 8 Jul 2002)

Also shown living in their home in the 1920 census is Alford T. (?) Metson (?), called a Father in Law, and probably Florence's father.

4. Frederick Prentice (son of James), b. 8 Nov 1885, Sittingbourne, Kent, England and at home in 1891 and 1901 census. He emmigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada. Frederick d. 2 Jun 1968 in Saskatchewan and is buried there. He is Ethel Padfield's father.

Frederick m. Victoria Stangler in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Canada on 4 Dec 1914. Victoria died 21 Oct 1996. Children of Frederick Prentice and Victoria Stangler with names of the living removed per request of Ethel Padfield's email of 10 May 2003:

Earl Prentice, b. 2 May 1916. He m. Virginia Anderson at Assiniboia, Saskatchewan on 4 Dec 1946. Earl died 20 Jul 1990 They had 7 children. (see edit)
Gladys Muriel Prentice, b. 15 Jun 1917. She m. Steve Ostapovitch. Gladys died 11 Sep 1977. They had 2 daughters.
(see edit)
James Prentice, b. and d. 1919.
Jerry Prentice, b. and d. 1919.
(see Edit)
(see Edit)
(see Edit)
(see Edit)

5. Reginald William James Prentice (son of William James Prentice), b. 24 Jul 1902, bap. 7 Sep 1902, Faversham, Kent, England and d. Apr 1977 in Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC (per SSDI). Connected with the Greensboro Motor Car Company (per Ethel Padfield, email, 8 Jul 2002).

He m. Jewel Nancy Sheppard. They had 1 or more children, including:

Reginald W. Prentice, b. 11 Feb 1939. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . [6]

6. Reginald William Prentice, b. 11 Feb 1939, probably in Guilford Co., NC and d. c. 27 Nov 1991 at an unknown location (per SSDI). His obituary reads as follows:

A native of Greensboro, he was a former member of the National Guard, a member of the National Railway Historical Society - Greensboro chapter, and a member of the National Rifle Association. He was a retired employee of the Guilford County Health Department, was currently working for the North Carolina Department of Human and Natural Resources, and was a graduate of Guilford College.

Surviving are wife, Mrs. Erin Spruill Prentice; son, Reginald W. Prentice III of Greensboro; daughter, Mrs. Valarie P. Snow of Greensboro; one grandchild.

Funeral for Reginald W. "Bill" Prentice Jr., 52, of Pleasant Ridge Road, who died Wednesday, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Muirs Chapel United Methodist Church, of which he was a member. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery.The family will be at Lambeth-Troxler Funeral Home 7-9 p.m. today. Memorial contributions may be made to Greensboro Urban Ministry, 407 N. Eugene St., Greensboro, N.C. 27401.

He m. Erin Spruil. Children:

Reginald William Prentice III. 1991 in Greensboro, NC.
Valarie Prentice. She m. Mr. Snow and in 1991 lived in Greensboro, NC.

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

Footnote 1: By email of 7 Jul 2002, Paul Prentice indicated that John Prentice may be his own John Prentice, b. 1785 and d. Dec 1838 at Rochford(?). His brothers and sisters, probably b. c. 1775-1800, were:

Joseph Prentice, Paul's ancestor.
James Prentice.
Susannah Prentice.
Sarah Prentice.
Benjamin Prentice.
Elizabeth Prentice.
Hannah Prentice.

Additional investigation is continuing.

Footnote 2: By email of 4 Jan 2004, Dennis Olson relays information from one of Frederick's daughters raising a question whether there was a daughter named "Thelma." Investigation is continuing.

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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