By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Winter 2006 and Revised 25 Jun 2011
1. Unknown Prentice may have been b. c. 1790-1798 at an unknown location.
He m. Ann/Anne/Annie, b. c. 1798, Christchurch, Hampshire, England. She was living with her son, Thomas, in the 1871 census in St. Pancras, Middlesex. They had 3 or more children, including:
- Thomas C. Prentice, b. c. 1825, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. . . . . . [2]
- Henry Prentice, b. c. 1829, Brighton, Sussex, England. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3]
- Annie Prentice, b. c. 1841, High Worth, Wiltshire, England. Living with the family of her brother, Thomas, in the 1871 census in St. Pancras, London.
2. Thomas C. Prentice was b. c. 1825, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. He appears in the 1851 census in St. George Hanover Square, Middlesex, as a Servant. He appears in the 1861 and 1871 census in St. Pancras, Middlesex, and in the 1881 census in Kensington, London, with his wife and family. They appear in the 1901 census in St. Pancras, London. Thomas does not appear in the 1901 census when he would have been about 76 years of age.
He m. 1st Sophia, b. c. 1828, Cranmore, Somerset. Children:
- Sophia A. J. Prentice, b. c. 1857, St. Pancras, Middlesex. At home in 1861 and 1871.
- Thomas H. B. Prentice, b. c. 1859, St. Pancras, Middlesex. At home in 1861 and 1871. Not in 1881 census.
Living with Thomas' family in 1871 were his siblings, Henry and Annie, a nephew, Henry Prentice, b. c. 1867, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and cousins, Elizabeth Salmon, b. c. 1842, Stone Easton, Somerset, and Priscilla Salmon, b. c. 1840, Stone Easton, Somerset.
Thomas m. 2nd. Elizabeth/Eliza M., b. c. 1841, Olddown, Somerset. She was living with her son, Frank, in the 1901 census (see below).
- Emily J. Prentice, b. c. 1879, Chiswick, Middlesex. At home in 1891.
- Frank Prentice, b. c. 1883, London. At home in 1891. He appears in the 1901 census living with his mother in St. Andrew Holborn Above the Bars and St. George The Martyr, London.
Living with Thomas' family in 1871 was a nephew, William G. Talcum, b. c. 1869, Olddown, Somerset.
3. Henry Prentice, b. c. 1829, Brighton, Sussex, England. Living with the family of his brother, Thomas, in the 1871 census in St. Pancras, London. He appears in the 1881 census in London as a Hotel Proprietor with his wife.
He m. Anne, b. c. 1841, Highworth, Wiltshire. Henry and Ann appear in the 1871 census in St. Pancras, London. They had 1 or more children, including:
- Henry Prentice, b. c. 1867, Worksop, Nottinghamshire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4]
Living with Henry and Anne's family was Henry;'s mother, Annie Prentice, b. c 1798, Christchurch, Hampshire.
4. Henry Prentice, later known as Harry Prentice, b. c. 1867, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, which conforms to the information about Harry in the 1901 census. In the 1891 census, however, Henry/Harry appears in Downham, Norfolk, as a "Job and Post Master,"b. c. 1867, Clumber, Nottinghamshire, with his wife and family.
He m. Elizabeth Sherwood, b. c. 1867, Davenham, Norfolk (a posting at Ancestry.com says b. c. 1867, Downham, Norfolk). Also shown living with Harry's family in the 1891 census is Maria Sherwood, b. c. 1872, and called a sister in law. Children of Frank and Elizabeth:
- Henry K. Prentice, b. c. 1888. At home in 1901 census.
- Frank Winnold Prentice, b. c. 1889, Davenham, Norfolk. . . . . . . . . . . [5]
- Eva M. Prentice, b. c. 1892, Davenham, Norfolk. At home in 1901.
- Annie K. Prentice, b. c. 1896, Davenham, Norfolk. At home in 1901.
In the 1901 census in Bexhill, Sussex, Harry, Elizabeth, and their childen are shown living with their widowed grandmother (and likely Frank's mother), Annie Prentice, b. c. 1841, Leighworth, Wiltshire, England.
5. Frank Winnold Prentice, b. c. 1889, Davenham, Norfolk. Living with his parents and grandmother in the 1901 census in Bexhill, Sussex, England. He is quite probably the same person as Frank Winnold Prentice who appears in the following article from the "Encyclopedia Titanica:
Mr. Frank Winnold Prentice
Mr Frank Prentice was born in Norfolk on 12 February 1890 (2).
When he signed-on to the Titanic, on 4th April 1912, he gave his address as 71 Denzil Avenue, (Southampton). He transferred from the Celtic. As an Assistant Storekeeper he received monthly wages of £3 15s.
At the time of the collision, Prentice was in his berth on the port side of E deck (a cabin he shared with 5 other kitchen storekeepers) sitting in his bunk talking to another storekeeper. He didn't notice anything strange other than the ship stopping. He went up onto the promenade deck to survey the scene and saw the forward well deck covered in ice.
He either helped to load the lifeboats or watched the loading, but later in the night he ended up on the poop deck chatting with his mates. When the poop deck became crowded with people, Prentice, with his colleagues Cyril Ricks and M. Kieran, climbed over the port side railing and jumped into the icy water. He found Ricks was injured, and floating nearby, and stayed with the man until Ricks died. Prentice began swimming and found Lifeboat 4, the crew and women in the boat pulled him in.
Prentice signed-on to the Oceanic on 10 July 1912. He later recalled that he was on board when one of Titanic's lifeboats was found drifting in mid-Atlantic. Shortly before his death on 19 May 1982 at the age of 92 Frank Prentice told his story in a British documentary Titanic: A Question of Murder.
Don Mitchell also relates that he found a reference to a statement by Jill Swateman: "Jill Swateman, Southbourne, Bournemouth, Connection: Her uncle, Frank Prentice, was one of the longest surviving people who made it through that fateful night. She has a watch of his which stopped at the time the ship went down. Frank lived in Southbourne and made many TV appearances relating to his rescue."
It is unknown whether Frank married and had children.
Annie's son, Thomas C. Prentice, b. c. 1825, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, so Annie was probably married before that date, and perhaps in Hampshire or Gloucestershire.
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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