By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Fall 2004 and Revised 18 Oct 2012
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea and are currently owned and under the authority of the United States Government. They were formerly owned by Denmark (and called Danish West Indies), and were sold to the U.S on January 17, 1917, because of fear that the Germans would capture them and use them as a submarine base in World War I.
It is for that reason that the USVI are included in the United States 1920 and 1930 census. In those two census records there appear a number of persons surnamed Prentice who were born on St. Kitts and Nevis.
The following is from Wikipedia:
- Saint Kitts and Nevis : The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies It is the smallest nation in the Americas in both area and population.
Nevis was named Oualie ("Land of Beautiful Waters") by the Caribs and Dulcina ("Sweet Island") by the early British settlers. The name Nevis is derived from the Spanish Nuestra Señora de las Nieves or Our Lady of the Snows, and first appears on maps in the 16th century.
The majority of the approximately 12,000 citizens of Nevis are of primarily African descent per Wikipedia. Those Prentices appearing in the 1920 and 1930 USVI census with Nevis and St. Kitts origins reflect that heritage; in the 1920 census they are called "Colored" and in the 1930 census they are called "Negro". Those families include those set out below.
About Slave Registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834 (Ref: Ancestry.com .) This database contains slave registers from former British colonial dependencies, many of them in the Caribbean, for various years in between 1812 and 1834. Information available on these records includes: name of owner, parish of residence, name, gender, age, and nationality of slave. For more information about this database, click here. In 1807 The Abolition of Slave Trade Act came into force. The act made the trade in slaves from Africa to the British colonies illegal. To combat illicit transportation following this act many of the British Colonies began keeping registers of black slaves who had been so-called lawfully enslaved. In 1819 the Office for the Registry of Colonial Slaves was established in London and copies of the slave registers kept by the colonies were sent to this office. Registration generally occurred once every three years. The registers continue through to 1834 when slavery was officially abolished.
The Slave Registers of Former British Colonial Dependencies (1812-1834) at Ancestry.com show that a William Prentis of Nevis was the owner of the following slaves:
Name Sex Country Color Age Born Moco F Native Black 40 1777 Jim M Native Black 25 1792 Betty F Native Black 20 1797 John M Native Black 15 1802 Toby M Native Black 10 1807 Joseph M Native Black 6 1811
We also found another listing in our Fall 2008 article entitled Slave Owners in British Colonial Dependencies :
NAME BORN PARISH DEPENDENCY Year OWNER'S NAME Ned abt 1795 Nevis 1828 Lawrence Haddock Prentice Betty abt 1800 Nevis Lawrence Haddock Prentice Mary Newton abt 1807 Nevis 1828 Lawrence Haddock Prentice Kitsey abt 1813 Nevis 1828 Lawrence Haddock Prentice William abt 1813 Nevis 1828 Lawrence Haddock Prentice Isabella abt 1822 Nevis 1828 Lawrence Haddock Prentice Elina abt 1825 Nevis Lawrence Haddock Prentice
Although conjecture for now, one or more of the above slaves of William Prentis or Lawrence Haddock Prentice may have been the ancestors of the Prentices set out, below, in this article.
1. Daniel "Denny" Prentice may have been b. c. 1885-1895 and was b. on Nevis in the Leeward Islands. The family originated from the Brown Hill or Church Ground area of Nevis. He later moved to Bermuda and had several children there (per correspondent We also note that there is no male Prentice, or female surnamed Prentice, born before 1900, appearing in the 1920 or 1930 USVI census who was old enough to be Daniel's parents. However, Daniel's parents may not have moved to the Virgin Islands. What is needed is a thorough searching of Prentice birth, marriage and death records on Nevis and St. Kitts.
Daniel Prentice had 4 children with Rhoda Morgan of Craddock Road, Charlestown, Nevis. Rhoda Morgan was formerly of Brown Pasture, Nevis. She was b. b. 18 Jul 1890, and d. c. 1980, age 90.Her Funeral Service was at the Charlestown Methodist Church on 20th September 1980 with interment at the Bath Cemetery, Nevis. Rhoda was the dau. of George and Eliza Morgan. Rhoda also had a sister, Ivy Morgan. Presently known children::
Other children of Daniel "Denny" Prentice in no particular order (per correspondent
Ancestry.com has an obituary for Edna Powell Prentice published in a newspaper in St.Thomas, Virgin Islands,, Caribbean Although her race is not indicated in her obituary and she does not appear in the 1920 or 1930 census, it seems likely that she was related to one of the Colored and Negro Prentices, either as a blood relative or perhaps as an in-law. More information is set out below.
2. Cecil Edmund Vernon Prentice (Rev.) was b. 8 Sep 1918 and d. 4 Dec 2004 at City Hospital, Birmingham, England. .He is bur. at Uplands Cemetery, Manor Road, Smethwick on 17 Dec 2004. His name was changed from Edmund Cyril Morgan on 27 June 1977 in the Birmingham magistrates Court. He was referred to as "Cecil Prentice" all his life. He Lived in Birmingham, United Kingdom for 49 years. Children: (per email, 9 Dec 2007):
3. Edna "Mama" Powell Prentice was b. c. 1917, Nevis, and d. 3 Aug 2004 at East Chester Rehab Center in Bronx, NY. Her last known residence was the Ralph de Chabert housing community on St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Viewing was at the Ebenezer Methodist Church with services at 11 and burial was in Kingshill Cemetery, both on St. Croix.
Edna was not married and "Prentice" was her maiden surname (per correspondent Siblings of Edna mentioned in her obituary were:
Granddaughters named in her obituary were:
Grandsons named in her obituary were:
Great-grandchildren named were:
Jerrilyn Abraham,
Whitney George,
Khadijah Heyliger,
Phillip Nisbett,
Brian Jr.,
Amanda,
Dilon,
Calonisa,
Calvonis,
Juwan,
Janea and
Divon Prentice,
Dale and Dwayne Thomas;
nieces, Violet Rodgers,
Emelda Thomas,
Evelyn Miranda,
Janet Drew,
Iola Byron, Doretha Ward,
Juliette Brade,
Amabel Prentice,
Sylvia Bye,
Dowie Rouse
and Irma Prentice
Nephews and others named were Adrian "Bucky" Miranda, Roy, Spencer and Vincent Prentice and Cecil Rouse; great-nieces and nephews, the Rev. Bonny Byron, Sandra, Allington and Osei Rodgers, Melba, Debbie Lisie and Arlene, Courine, Ambrose and Claude Drew, Juliette Wilkinson, Sylvester, Jude Rochelle, Rai, Raiel and Danielle Prentice, Lloyd Richards Jr., Corinne, Michelle, Desiree, Glen, Yvette, Adrian Jr., Anselmo Jr. and Roan Miranda, Leatrice Andrews, Kenneth Woods, Cirgie and Jurene "Tricia" Bell, Laverne Woods-Bailey, Miguel and Virgil Solis, Avery, Paula, Cherie, Clemento Monsanto, Grace McNamara, Debra Mason, Steve Williams, Kila Vanterpool, Kimo Urgent, Leon Prentice and Steve Prentice; other family members to include, the Prentice, Powells, Stapleton, Claxton, Liburd and Francis families; special friends, Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor, Wilmot Williams, Olette Pemberton, Jenkins family, Oretha Hanley, Cynthia Roland, members of Ebenezer Methodist Church, members of the Salvation Army Home League and the East Chester Rehabilitation Center family; and many other relatives and friends.
Our correspondent's email of 9 Dec 2007 relates that Prentice families of the Virgin islands have their roots in Nevis with many moving to St.Kitts where another generation of Prentices have been born, with some of these have migrated to other parts of the world including the Virgin Islands,
A search of the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) shows the following Prentices dying in the Virgin Islands (VI). Their race is not specified, but it is possible that some of them are descendants of the Prentices mentioned in the 1920 and 1930 census:
We also note the following obituary for Heather Evelyn Prentice at Ancestry.com who is likely related to the foregoing Prentices:
Heather Prentice, SEPT. 22, 1943 -- NOV. 25, 2004
DAYTONA BEACH -- Heather Evelyn Prentice, 61, of Millard Court, a former laundry attendant for Howard Johnson Hotels, died Thursday at Indigo Manor.
Mrs. Prentice moved to this area in 1991 from her native Saint Kitts, West Indies. She was a member of St. Timothy Episcopal Church.
Survivors include four sons, Maxwell, Daytona Beach, Asher, Seattle, Roy, Atlanta, and Slyvester, Tortola, Virgin Islands; six daughters, Hazel Prentice, Daytona Beach, Beverly Prentice-Cozier and Bernddeth Prentice, Brooklyn, N.Y., Heather Govia, Teaneck, N.J., Carolyn Prentice, Atlanta, and Jacqueline Prentice, Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands; her mother, Frances Bradshaw, Saint Kitts; two brothers, Wingrove Warner, Tortola, and Jakey Palmer, Saint Kitts; two sisters, Allison Archibald, Toronto, and Cynthia Warner, Saint Kitts; and seven grandchildren. Gainous is in charge.
4. Rebecca Prentice. By email of 9 Oct 2010, Itesica Eusson Rebecca, by Nathan/Nathaniel Liburd had 1 or more children, including:
5. Wilfred G. Prentice, perhaps b. c. 1890-1910, Nevis, and d. 1979, St. Kits (St. Christopher).
He m. Henrietta Nisbeth. She was b. in Anguilla and d. Aug 1979, St. Kits (Stt. Christopher). Children per Jacqueline (Prentice) Courtar, email, 18 Oct 2012:
In our Summer 2000 article about Henry Hamilton Prentice of St. Kitts, West Indies, it was suggested by Malcolm Prentis' email of 7 Sep 2006 suggests that Black Prentices having their Roots in St. Kitts may have some Scottish roots. It reads, in part, as follows:
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.
Caution: If you don't use the above email link, your email to us may be deleted as spam by our email filter.
Last Name Birth Death Last Residence Last Benefit
Alfred Prentice 20 Nov 1903 Nov 1984 Frederiksted, St. Croix, VI Puerto Rico or VI
Anna M. Prentice 5 Aug 1952 21 May 1995 Frederiksted, St. Croix, VI Puerto Rico or VI
Charles Prentice 2 Sep 1905 29 Jan 1996 Kingshill, St. Croix, VI Puerto Rico or VI
Frances Prentice 23 Aug 1930 24 Sep 2000 Christiansted, St. Croix, VI Puerto Rico or VI
Newman H. Prentice 20 Dec 1933 27 Jan 2003 Christiansted, St. Croix, VI Puerto Rico or VI
Susannah Prentice 14 Jul 1933 22 Jul 1997 Christiansted, St. Croix, VI Puerto Rico or Virgin Island
Walter L. Prentice 14 Nov 1955 17 Sep 1999 St. Thomas, St. Thomas, VI Puerto Rico or VI
Albertha Prentiss 12 Apr 1914 11 Mar 1999 Christiansted, St. Croix, VI Puerto Rico or VI
The evidence is circumstantial, despite heroic efforts on my part and that of others on my behalf to find
documentation one way or the other.
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