By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Spring 2001 and Revised 30 Jan 2006
We are helping Roxanne Kent-Drury 1. Charlotte "Lottie" Prentice was b. in 1879, MI per 1920 census. Her 1897 marriage certificate shows that in 1897 she was then a resident of Rea, Monroe Co., MI. It also gives her age as 19 but does not give the names of her parents even though spaces are provided for such information. Marriage ceremony witnesses were Mr. & Mrs. J. Hister of Rea, Monroe County. There relationship to her, if any, is not known. 1920 census in Tecumsch, Lenawee Co., MI, with her father b. in MI and mother in OH.
She m. 1st James Melvin Kent on 8 Sep 1897 in Calhoun Co., MI. He was b. c. 1871-75, MI, son of Joshua E. Kent (1846-1920) and Catherine K. Vandercook (1849-1880), both b. in MI. At the time of his marriage he was a Telegraph Operator.
By email of 7 Dec 2003, Roxanne relates that she visited the spot marked "Rea" in Monroe County and discovered that it is basically a crossroads where two roads--Rea and Kent--meet. She located a plat map that shows the Histers with property near that of the Kents, and there is a Hister road in the vicinity. She alI also found an old railroad map with "Rea" on it, perhaps indicate that it was a railroad stop at some point. That would be consistent with James' occupation given in his marriage record as a Telegraph Operator.
The children of Charlotte and James were:
Charlotte m. 2nd "Doc Jones" (per Roxanne Kent-Drury, email, 30 Jan 2006).
Efforts have been made to obtain Charlotte's birth record from Monroe County. Unfortunately, her birth record was destroyed in a courthouse fire. Calhoun County records have not yet been checked.
2. Harold J. Kent, b. Dec 1902 in Wakerusa, IN. Not home in 1920.
He m. Anna Bernadine McGlone. She was b. 8 Sep 1911, New York Mills, Oneida Co., NY, and d. Jan 1982, Broomfield, Boulder Co., CO. Children:
Possibility 1: Charlotte "Lottie" Prentice may be a daughter of Alonzo K. Prentice and his wife, Sarah, who appear in both the 1880 and 1900 Calhoun Co., MI census even though neither record shows a daughter, Charlotte/Lottie. Reasons for such possibility are:
Possibility 2: In reviewing the 1880 census, we noted in the Monroe, Monroe Co., MI a William Prentice, single, age 26 and b. c. 1854 in Italy. He was a Printer. There is a chance that he might be the father of Charlotte who was b. 1879. If she was born out of wedlock, that might be a reason for not wanting to list her parents on her marriage license.
Possibility 3: Monroe Co., MI abuts the Canadian border. Experience tells us that Canadians often cross into MI where they are married. With that thought in mind, we checked the 1881 Canada census and found a Charlotte Prentiss, b. c. 1879, daughter of Howard and Alice Prentiss of Hull, Ottawa, Quebec. As noted in Possibility 1, above, she might have been below the age of consent and did not want to identify her parents.
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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