By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Spring 2006 and Revised 19 Feb 2009
Update of 19 Feb 2009: A number of web pages identify Abigail Prentice's parents as Samuel Blanchard and Mary Sweetser. None of the websites show a man named Prentice as her father. We have emailed several of those posting that Blanchard/Sweetser information asking why her father is not surnamed Prentice.
Compounding the problem are at least 2 websites:
- The website at Ancestry.com which says Mary Sweetser d. 1665, the year before Abigail Prentice was b. in 1666. It also lists 6 children of Samuel and Mary, the last of which was Jonathan Blanchard, b. 1664, and none of whom are surnamed Prentice.
- The website at Ancestry.com says Mary Sweetset d. 20 Feb 1669 in Charlestown, but lists 9 children, the last 4 born 5 to 12 years after her death and none of the 9 named Abigail,
We may have discovered the answer.
The person submitting the Group Sheet at http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/person.aspx?tid=1825910&pid=-1350182239 shows an Abigail Blanchard, dau. of Samuel Blanchard, b. 5 Mar 1668, Charlestown, and d. there on 25 Oct 1732. No husband is shown. You will note that "Abigail Prentice" was also shown as dying 1732.
It seems highly likely to us that somebody preparing a Group Sheet for John Stratton's marriage to Abigail mistakenly wrote "Prentice" instead of "Stratton" for his wife's surname. That resulted in a Group Sheet showing "Abigail Prentice" as the daughter of Samuel Blanchard and Mary Sweetser.
That incorrect Group Sheet then found its way into Ancestry.com and other computerized databases and was then picked up and used by a great many other people who then put the garbled name on their own Group Sheets and entered those garbled sheets into the various computers.
A quick check of Ancestry.com for a marraige of Abigail Blanchard to John Stratton shows more than a dozen such marriages, thereby providing strong confirmation for our hypothesis.
If someone will go to Charlestown to check their records, we think it probable that our hypothesis is correct. In any event, please let us know what is found.
1. Abigail Prentice (Blanchard?), b. 1666 at an unknown location, but likely in the Boston, MA area. She d. 1732.
She m. John Stratton on 20 Nov 1696, Boston. He was b. 1661 and d. 1718. They had 1 or more children, including:
- Jabez Stratton, b. 28 Mar 1701, Watertown, Middlesex, MA. On 29 Apr 1725 he m. Tabitha Coolidge.
She was b. 2 Nov 1702, Watertown, Middlesex, MA. She was the dau. of Thomas Coolidge and Sarah Eddy.
Children (additional information can be found at Ancestry.com):
- Abijah Stratton, b. 4 May 1726, Watertown and d. 16 Mar 1769 at Sherborn, Middlesex, MA. He m. Mary Learned on 3 Jun 1747, MA.
- Nathan Stratton, b. 1728, MA.
- Elias Stratton, b. 1730, Athol, Worcester, MA.
- Child Stratton, b. 1734, MA.
- Child Stratton, b. 1742, MA.
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.
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