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Nelson Prentiss of NY and Franklin, Lenawee Co., MI
By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Winter 1998 and Revised 19 Jul 2009

1. Unknown Prentiss may have been b. c. 1800-1815.

He m. Unknown. The following males, probably all brothers, appear in the 1850 census in Tecumseh, Lenawee Co., MI, in the home of Ansel Blossom (b. c. 1776, VT) and Martha Blossom (b. c. 1812, NY). Also in the home was Labers A. Blossom, b. c. 1846, MI.

It is unclear whether the relationship between Ansel and Martha might be father-daughter, husband-wife, or some other relationship. It is also unclear whether Martha is the mother of the 3 boys. The presence of 4 year old Labers A. Blossom suggests the possibility that Martha was the mother of Nelson, Ransom and James and that she had remarried to a Mr. Blossom, either Ansel or his son.

The 3 males, Nelson, Ransom and James later appear in the 1860 Franklin, Lenawee Co., MI census, living with the family of Nelson Prentiss.

  1. Nelson Prentiss, b. Jul 1835 in NY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [2]
  2. Ransom Prentiss, b. c. 1837, MI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3]
  3. James Prentiss, b. c. 1839, NY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[4]

2. Nelson Prentiss was b. in Jul 1835 in NY. He appears in the 1860 Franklin, Lenawee Co., MI census, occupation: day brlaborer. Nelson, at 64, is shown living alone in the 1900 Clinton, Lenawee, MI census.

He m. Mary, b. c. 1835, MI.

    Note: We note in the IGI a Nelson Prentice, b. 1833 in Milan, Monroe Co., MI, and d. there. He is shown as m. Mary Jane Reeves, b. 1835 in Milan and d. there. It is unclear whether they are the correct persons.

Children of Nelson and Mary:

  1. Gabriel Prentiss, b. Jul 1855, MI. He m. Ida M., b. Nov 1865, NY and was living in Lanawee in 1900 and 1920. Son per 1900 census:

    1. Homer Prentiss, b. May 1885, MI. He appears in the 1920 Lenawee Co., MI census with his wife, Haxel M., b. c. 1890, MI and children:
      1. Alice M. Prentice, b. c. 1906, MI.
      2. Anna M. Prentice, b. c. 1911, MI.
      3. Marian L. Prentice (dau.), b. c. 1915, MI.

  2. Martha Prentiss, b. c. 1858, MI.

Living with Nelson in the 1860 census were Ranson Prentiss (#3, below) and James Prentise (#4, below), probably his brothers.

3. Ransom Prentiss, b. c. 1837, MI.

He m. Caroline, b. c. 1848, OH and was living in Lanawee in 1880 with his children:

  1. Josephine Prentiss, b. c. 1866, MI.
  2. John Prentiss, b. c. 1870, MI.
  3. Oliver Prentiss, b. c. 1872, MI.
  4. William Charles Prentiss, b. c. 1875, MI. By email of 8 Feb 2001, Mary (Prentiss) Rasmussen advises he m. Alice Evans in 1900. He does not appear in the 1880, 1900 census. He does, however, appear in the 1910 census in Lincoln, Clare Co., MI and in the 1920 census in Clare, Clare Co., MI with his wife and family. Alice was b. c. 1874, MI, (per 1910 census, or 1885 per 1920 census) with both parents b. in Michigan (per 1910 census) or father in MI and mother in NY (per 1920 census).Their children are:
    1. Beatrice Prentiss, b. 13 Jan 1901, MI. At home in 1910 but not in 1920.
    2. Henry Waite Prentiss, b. 11 Jan 1905, MI and d. Sep 1973, Harrison, Clare Co., MI (per SSDI). He appears in the 1920 census in Pontiac, Oakland Co., MI with his wife, Perlina(?), b. c. 1905, OH. No children are shown.
    3. Wilma Prentiss, b. 18 Dec 1917
    4. Elizabeth Prentiss, b. Aug 1920 died Nov 1920
    5. Oliver Lynn Prentiss, b. 24 May 1927.
  5. Olive Prentiss, b. 1879
  6. Infant Prentiss, b.1880
  7. For another possible daughter, Armentia Prentiss, b. 1864, (See Fn. 1)

Living with Ransom in the 1860 census were Nelson Prentiss (#2, above) and James Prentise (#4, below), probably his brothers.

4. James Prentiss, b. c. 1839, NY. However, the earlier 1850 Tecumseh, Lenawee, MI census showing Nelson, Ransom and James living together identified James' birthplace as b. c. 1840 MI. The 1860 Franklin, Lenawee, MI census also appears to contain a duplicate, separate entry for James and shows him as a farm laborer, b. c. 1840 in MI.

Living with James in the 1860 census were Nelson Prentiss (#2, above) and Ransom Prentise (#3, above), probably his brothers.

James is also probably the same person as the James Prentiss in the 1870 Hartford, Van Buren, MI census, age 28 and b. c. 1842 in MI. Also in that household is Walter(?) Prentiss, age 2 and b. c. 1868, MI and a much older female, Martha Prentiss, age 63 and b. c. 1807 in NY. It is unclear whether she is the Martha Blossom (b. c. 1812, NY) who appears in the 1850 census in Tecumseh, Lenawee Co., MI, above.

Who are the parents of Nelson, Ransom and James Prentiss?

We note that there is an Jonas Prentiss (age 40-50 and b. c. 1790-1800) who appears in the 1840 census in Macon, Lenawee Co., MI, with 1 son b. 1830-1835 and 2 sons b. 1835-1840. Those ages match those of Nelson, Ransom and James, but further investigation is needed.

There is a chance that Nelson's father might be Nelson Prentice, a carpenter, who is edb 5990 in our computerized database and who appears in the 1850 Cazenovia, Madison Co., NY census with his wife and 6 children ranging in ages from 6 to 23. There are gaps in the ages sufficient to allow the 3 men, above, to fit into that birth pattern. Nelson and his family also later moved to MI as did Nelson and his probable brothers.

Another possibility as to Nelson's father is Willard Prentice, b. c. 1807 in NY and who appears on pg. 394 of the Hartford, Van Buren Co., MI census (Nelson is on pg. 394R). Williard is shown with his wife, Marg, who was b. c. 1810 in NY.

An article about Nelson Prentice appears in our Summer 2001 Prentice Newsletter.

If you have any information which can help us identify any of the folks mentioned above, please contact us at dewald@prenticenet.com..

Fn. 1: Email correspondence with Sherranlynn Kincaid Nichols appears to indicate the possibility that Ransom Prentiss may have had another daughter, Armentia Prentiss who does not appear in the 1880 census but was b. March 1864 in MI to a father born in MI and a mother born in OH.

Armentia m. Henry Nixon at an unknown date. He was b. Jun 1867. Both are shown in the Lenawee Co., MI in in 1900, 1910 and 1920. They are bur. in Clinton, MI. They had daughters:

  • Mary Nixon, b. 1887
  • Gertrude Charlotte, b. 23 Jan 1891
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