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1. George David Prentice was b. 20 Feb 1877 in Black Rock or Smithville, Lawrence Co., AR, and d. 18 Sep 1939 in Corona,Riverside Co., CA. (Ref: Ancestry.com .) He appears in the 1900 census as an unmarried Private in the military in Vigan, Philippine Islands.

He m. 1st Dorothy "Dora" Margaret Brunneron 24 Feb 1908, OK. She was b. 10 Aug 1884, IL or IA, and d. 7 Nov 1915, OK. They appear in the 1910 census in Justice Precinct 2, Hopkins Co., TX. He later appears in the 1920 census in Corona, Riverside Co., CA, where he is a farm tractor driver.

Note: We found the following couple in the 1910 census in Justice Precinct 2, Hopkins Co., TX, which may, or may not, be the same couple:
• George Prentice, Head, b. c. 1877, AR, with his father b. in TN and mother in AR.
• Dora Prentice, Wife, b. c. 1885, IA, with both parents b. in Germany.

Children of George and Dorothy per Daniel George Prentice, email, 14 Nov 2010:

1. Everett Prentice, b. 18 Feb 1915, San Diego Co., CA, and d. 4 Jun 1979, Los Angeles Co., CA. 1930 at home in Temescal, Riverside Co., CA. Everett's wife was Bessy. Everett retired from the Navy and lived in Long Beach, CA, per Daniel Prentice, email, 18 Mar 2013.
2. Dora Prentice.
3. David Prentice. Lived in San Diego per Daniel George Prentice, email, 14 Nov 2010. David's wife was Sue. David retired from the Navy and lived in San Diego, CA per Daniel Prentice, email, 18 Mar 2013.

George appears in the 1930 Temescal, Riverside Co., CA census with his 2nd wife, Beulah, b. c. 1881 in England (the 1920 in Carona, Riverside Co., CA census gives her name as "Isabel", b. c. 1881-2 in England). George and Isabel were m. in 1918. Children of Isabel by a prior marriage per David George Prentice, email, 14 Nov 2010.:

1. Grace Feldman.
2. Ada Feldman.
3. Samuel "Bud" Feldman

Isabelle is Isabelle Patterson in 1918. She was b. 24 Sep 1881 in Manchester, England, and d. 22 Jun 1963, Corona, Riverside Co., CA. . She was the dau. of Tomas Patterson and Hannah McMaugn. We found this brief biography by Isabelle in a Google search:

For us, Corona will always be our home, and this, no matter how much time goes by, will always be our sky.

My name is Isabel Prentice, but my George always called me Belle. George David Prentice was my husband for many years. We had 5 children together, plus my 3 that always knew George as their Daddy, and by the time I died we had 11 grandchildren and 7 great grand children.

We didn’t do anything Earth-shattering—I worked as a Cafeteria Manager for Corona High School and George worked at the Chase Plantation and for Joy Jameson as a farm hand, doing irrigation for Chase Ranch. We weren’t one of the founding families, and we didn’t discover anything or build anything that you may have seen. We were just regular people—a loving family, one that saw this town through many changes. Even our own little house is a piece of Corona history that’s still around today, just part of the Corona scenery—like the sky.

I was from Manchester, England, born September 24, 1881. My family moved to Pennsylvania in 1887, then to Corona in 1905. George was born in Arkansas on February 25, 1877. His parents were born in Arkansas, too—they were pioneers of that state. George came to Corona in 1909 to settle down after spending time in the Philippines serving in the Spanish American War as a cook. There were many soldiers who suffered with illnesses during and after that war, especially stomach problems. He tried to reenlist, but then his own illnesses, especially his epilepsy, forced him to spend months in the hospital before being honorably discharged.

In 1918, my George went to the post office to register for military service again during the Great War—the World War—registering was required of all men, even those who knew they couldn’t serve. So, he filled out his card like everyone else—eyes: brown, hair: auburn, height: 5’ 4 ½”, next of kin: Belle, and his status: honorably discharged. He never served again, but he was always known for being a person of excellent character who was very proud to be a veteran.

We were very active in community groups such as the Spanish American War Veterans and the American Legion. We even have a picture of one of their many parades commemorating the Veterans. We tried to bring up our children to be people of good character—like all parents do. Our oldest son, George Junior, went on to be a pillar in Corona as well, spending 36 years working with the Corona Post Office, saying, “I like to think that I have contributed something to this community.” With all our children and grandchildren and great grand children, we would like to think that we’ve contributed, too.

Our family home has many memories for us, but it has more memories in its walls than just ours. We bought the bungalow at 620 West Sixth Street from Everett Brockman in January of 1931, and even after George died in 1939, I continued to live there with our daughter, Betty—the other children had grown and moved away to start families of their own. That house was built by J. R. Myers, who owned Myers Trucking. We lived there until 1953, when it was bought by the Frazers, who owned the Frazer Real Estate Company. From 1978 to 2003 it became Harmony Antiques—the cutest little antique store. Then, in 2003, John Kane bought the house for $1.00 to save it from destruction. He moved it to 809 E. Grand and completely restored the house. It still stands today, and is well-tended-to by the current owner, who is an avid family historian.

We would all like to think that we’re leaving a mark on this world when we go. Not everyone gets to be a prominent scientist or the first person to do some amazing thing. Some of us are just regular people, but it takes a world full of regular people to make life happen. We may not have etched our names into the world’s history books, but we did leave an impression on our home town, from the family we raised to the little home we left behind. The Corona that stands today is the way it is because we were a part of it—one of the many wonderful families that just lived and did their best every day to be a part of something bigger. When we look up at the sky, we can’t see the outline of every cloud that was there before, but we need only to look at the trees and the grass and the flowers to know that every cloud was important for its time. And I’m proud to lie here, beneath the clouds of today, looking up at my Corona’s sky.

Children of George and Isabel per David George Prentice, email, 14 Nov 2010 & 20 Nov 2010:

1. George David Prentice Jr., b. c. 1919, CA. . . . . . . . . [2]
2. Betty J. Prentice, b. c. 1926, CA. She m. Arthur Louis Karnesky on 1 Sep 1946, Corona, Riverside Co., CA. He was b. 16 Jan 1927, Pomona, Los Angeles Co., CA, and d. 18 Feb 2007 in Grass Valley, Navada Co., CA. He was the son of Frank J. Karnesky and Angeline Simontacci. They had 3 sons.

2. George David Prentice, b. 19 Apr 1919, Corona, Riverside Co., CA, and d. 24 Jan 2004 in Riverside, Riverside Co., CA. He might be the George Prentice shown in the 1900 census in Vigan, Philippine Island, Military and Naval Forces, as b. c. 1877, AR. George and his family appear in the 1930 census in Temescal, Riverside Co., CA. His then occupation was "Irrigator, Ranch." His obituary in The Press-Emnterprise of 28 Jan 2004, reads as follows:

George Prentice, 84, died Saturday at his home in Redlands. Born in Corona, Mr. Prentice lived in Redlands nine years. He formerly lived in Corona most of his life.

He worked for the U.S. Postal Service for many years until he retired in 1981 as postmaster of a Corona post office. He graduated from Corona Senior High School in 1937. Mr. Prentice was grand knight of the Corona Knight of Columbus and president of the Corona Rotary Club. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

Mr. Prentice is survived by his wife of 56 years, Rita; four sons, Daniel of La Quinta, Joseph of Temecula, John of Redlands and James of Ramona; three grandchildren; a great-grandchild; a sister, Betty; three step-sisters, Dora, Grace and Aida; and three step-brothers, David of La Quinta, Everet and Bud .

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Redlands. Friends may call from 5 until 8 p.m. today at Cortner Chapel in Redlands. The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Interment will be in Pierce Brothers Crestlawn Memorial Park in Riverside. Memorial contributions: Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center Hospice.

He m. Rita Clara Donart on 7 Feb 1948, Corona, Riverside Co., CA. She was the dau. of Charles A. Donart and Elizabeth Bickel. In 2010 she was retired and living in Redlands,CA. They had 4 children per Daniel George Prentice, email, 20 Nov 2010:

1. Daniel George Prentice, b. 3 Feb 1949, Corona per his email of 13 Nov 2010. In 2004 he lived in La Quinta, CA. He m. 1st Sharen Sue Arby of La Mirada, CA. He m. 2nd Sharon Le Sullivan of Grand Junction, CO. In 2010 he was employed by the Coachella Valley Unified School District teaching English I at the Coachella Valley High School (founded 1910). He is a voluteer at the Indio Performing Arts Center for a third year. He has been part of cast and crew in several productions. Currently, he is appearing as Mort in Neil Simon's California Suite. In December, he appeared as Edgar, the Second Solictor, and Jedediah Fezziwig in Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol. He is a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Council of the Knights of Columbus, the Coachella Valley Airborne Association, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foriegn Wars (per Daniel G. Prentice, email, 18 Mar 2013.
2. Joseph Edward Prentice, b. 25 Mar 1951. He retired from the Post Office and in 2010 lived at Lake Havasu City, AZ, where he has worked as a youth and adult probation officer. He m. Janet Sue Prentice. They have 2 married children, Dana and Mindy, who each have 2 children. Joseph's son from his first marriage, Jeffery, is married and has a child. Ref: David George Prentice, emails of 14 Nov 2010 and 18 Mar 2013.
3. John Fletcher Prentice was b. 2 Dec 1953. In 2010 he was living in Redlands and was the managing partner for Eddie and Payme Cerfified Public Accounts in Redlands CA. He m. Melody per Daniel George Prentice, email, 18 Mar 2013.
4. James Donald Prentice, b. 27 Apr 1962 and in 2010 he lived in Ramona, CA, at the Hidden Valley Ranch for people who suffered head and neck trauma. James Donald Prentice was driving big rigs cross-country until he was injured. He was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the street and was in a coma for three months. In 2013 he lived in a facility for head and neck trauma patients in Ramona, CA. He is divorced from Christine Prentice. He has two children:
   1. Tiffany Prentice who later changed her name to Katalina Prentice.
   2. Heather Prentice.
Who are George David Prentice's Parents?

The only clues we have for now are in the 1910 census tells us his father was b. in TN and his mother in Arkansas and in the 1930 census which indicates both parents were b. in AR.

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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