PrenticeNet :: Adam Prentice of Java

Adam Prentice of Java
By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Winter 1999 and Revised: 12 Sep 2015

We have been helping Pat Shipman at and Patricia Lynn Prentice in tracing the ancestry of Adam Prentice in the Dutch East Indies. From our earlier correspondence , here is what we have so far:

1. Adam Prentice was b. c. 1857 in Java and in the 1890's was a planter.

He m. Jane (de) Clonie MacLennan on 16 Jan 1890 in Pasoerean, East Java. Jane was b. c. 1856 and d. at age 36 in 1892. Jane died in childbirth when Gerard was born. Jane's epitaph in English on her grave in Malang reads:

According to the "subscription information" about this epitaph, Jane was the daughter of Duncan de Clonie Maclennan and a local woman Doortje who was either his second wife or mistress. For Duncan's family tree, see Appendix 2 , Appendix 3 , and Appendix 4

The names Clonie, de Clonie, Cluny, Cloony, MacCluny are all variants of Scots names. There is even a Cluny Parish in Aberdeenshire.

Jane might be the sister of Theo. C. MacLennan (also spelled Mac.lennan, with a period in the middle!) , who was the second husband of Isabella Mary Boyd. Theo. and Isabella m. 12 Jun 1889 in Toeloeng Agoeng (now spelled Tulungagung) East Java. Isabella is the daughter of Robert Boyd who was b. 2 Feb 1828 in in Batavia (Jakarta) Java.

Isabella was his fifth child & second daughter. The Boyds came to Java from Aberdeenshire early in the 1800s, probably when Java was under British control; it may be that the Clonie MacLennans and the Prentices did too. There is a chance that perhaps Adam Prentice has roots in Aberdeenshire

Robert Boyd, above, was the son of a Robert Boyd from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, born c. 1795 and d. 11 Dec 1865, emigrated to Soerabaya, Java.

Adam Prentice and Jane (de) Clonie MacLenan a son:

Gerard/Gerardus Alexander Prentice-MacLennan, b. 21 May 1892. Patrricial Lynn Prentice's email of 12 Sep 2015 relates that Adam Prentice did not want his only child living with him as he repuded his only son, blaming him for the death of his wife. She says that Gerard, her grandfather, left Indonesia after it gained its' independance from the Dutch. Gerard had 1 or more children, including:
1. William John Adam Prentice, living in 2015. He had 1 or more children, including:
  1. Patricia Lynn Prentice per her email of 12 Sep 2015.
.

Adam Prentice also took an unidentified Javanese woman as his mistress. They had a daughter:

Samila. . . . . . . . [2]

2. Samila. Her birth date is unknown, but may have been either before or after 1890. Samila d. 16 Apr 1910. She, like many daughters of Dutch-Javanese alliances, often were not legally recognized at the time while sons were.

On 19 Dec 1906 Samila married, as his 2nd wife, William Boyd (1859-1938) in Bitar, Java. Samila may have been very young at the time of her marriage since babies apparently did not start arriving until 1913. The name of William Boyd's first wife is not known. The two children of William's 1st marriage, Errol (b. 1880) and Janet (b. 1895), died.

William Boyd was b. 18 Aug 1859 and d. 17 Sep 1938 in Blitar. He was the administrator of a "culture company" and he was the son of the planter Robert Boyd, (1828-1914) and grandson of Robert Boyd, (b. c. 1793 amd d. 11 Dec 1865) who emigrated to Soerabaya, Java from Aberdeenshire Scotland). .

Samila and William had two children:

Adam W. Boyd, b. 16 Jan 1913 at Ngrowo, Java, on a plantation near Blitar. Adam was in Java when the Japanese invaded in 1940, was interned in a prison camp. In 1950, Adam Boyd had the \ choice whether to go to Holland or Dutch New Guinea (now Irian Jaya). He chose New Guinea and lived there until March 1962, when he went to Holland. He married a Dutch woman in \ Amsterdam in May 1962 and stayed in Holland thereafter. Adam Boyd had no children.
Anne Helen Boyd, b. 1915 at Ngrowo, Java, on a plantation near Blitar. . . . . . . [3]

3. Anne Helen Boyd, b. 1915 at Ngrowo, Java, on a plantation near Blitar.

She m. Theodorus Daniel van Zolingen. They had 3 sons:

Fred van Zolingen. No children.
Jan van Zolingen. He had 3 sons:
1. Jeffrey van Zolingan. No children.
2. Richard van Zolingan. No children.
3. Gino van Zolingan.He had 2 sons:
  1. Joris van Zolingan.
  2. Elias van Zolingan.
Rob van Zolingen. Rob had 4 children:
1. Robine-Sharon-Charrel van Zolingen. Daughter:
  1. Isa Noa
2. Andy-Andrew-Quincy van Zolingen: Children:
  1. Lynn van Zolingen.
  2. Abby van Zolingen.
  3. Billy van Zolingen.
3. Gilbert-Daniel van Zolingen.
  1. Jesse van Zolingen.
  2. Julie van Zolingen.
4. Maureen Ann Christy van Zolingen. Sons:
  1. Nick van Zolingen.
  2. Syljo van Zolingen.

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.

Caution: If you don't use the above email link, your email to us may be deleted as spam by our email filter.

Correspondence from Pat Shipman:

Following is part of her latest E-mail: ". . . I still have no info about Adam [Prentice's] parents, which I would dearly love to find.

Isabella is the daughter of Robert Boyd (b. 2 Feb 1828 in Batavia (Jakarta) Java). Isabella was his 5th child & 2nd daughter. Robert himself was the son of a Robert Boyd (see above, who b. c. 1795 and d. 11 Dec). . . "

By recent email, Pat Shipman has provided the following additional information:

Samila and William had two children, Adam W. Boyd born Jan. 16, 1913, in Java on a plantation near Blitar and Anne Helen Boyd born 1915. Adam was in Java when the Japanese invaded in1940, was interned in a prison camp. In 1950, Adam Boyd had the choice whether to go to Holland or Dutch New Guinea (now Irian Jaya). He chose New Guinea and lived there until March 1962, when he went to Holland. He married a Dutch woman in Amsterdam in May 1962 and stayed in Holland thereafter. Adam Boyd had no children.

I have a good deal of information about various Boyds if anyone is interested."

Appendix 2: Duncan MacLennan Genealogy from Pat Shipman:

[Pat Shipman's] husband is related to a half-brother of Jane. Janes' father, Duncan MacLennan, had several wives and about 11 or 12 children.

Duncan MacLennan was b. 18 Oct 1824 in Soerabaja Java. He m. 1st Jane Willy De Clonie, who passed away shortly after their marriage. No children where born.

Duncan MacLennan had a relationship with, 2nd, Doortje, a native woman, unknown last name or birth. They had at least one child, named Jane De Clonie MacLennan. (maybe another child, called Theo?) (then at once the name De Clonie apears. Probably it was custom to include the last name from the wife?, I really havent got a clue)

Duncan MacLennan, then m. 3rd Mathilde Francis Barends, with her he had 8 children. 7 children didn't make it very long. Some of them died at birth or within 2 á 3 years. Their children included:

Duncan (Jan-Willem? De Clonie MacLennan), b. 23 May 1870. He left Java and emmigrated to the Netherlands and married Johanna Maria Francisca Cornelissen, early the 19 century (1909). They had 8 children, a few are still alive today. By email of 11 Jul 2007, Tamara Waters-Wheeler of Bismark, ND, USA, advises that she is one of their descendants; that Tamara's grandmother was their youngest child, Johanna Maria Francisca de Clonie MacLennan Waters and in 2007 was living in Kelowna, BC, Canada.
Johan Willem Duncan De Clonie MacLennan (Duncan's 4th son), b. 30 May 1910 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He is the grandfather of Pat Shipman's husband.

Appendix 3: Duncan MacLennan Genealogy from Pat Shipman, 20 Dec 2003:

My information is from the records at the Centraal Bureau voor Geneaology in The Hague, so it reflects official records, plus some information from surviving Boyd family members.

Duncan de Clonie McLennan and Matilda Francis Barens had (in order) the following children:

Matilda 31 Jan 1863, died 19 June 1864
Eliza, born 1 Feb. 1864, d. 21 July 1864
Donald, b. 10 Oct. 1867, d. 22 Jan. 1869
Flora b. 3 April 1869, d. 3 Dec. 1872
Alexander, b. 4 July 1872, d. 8 Dec. 1872.

The General or Public Cemetery in Pasoerean, Java, gives the epitaph for "Duncan de Clonie Mc.Lennan/ born 18th October 1824/died 21st January 1907/ Rest in peace/" This is in English on the tombstone. He was Jane's father. There is a description in Bloys van Treslong Prins (a major reference for Indies genealogy), Part 1, pp. 312-323 that says there is a second cemetery in Pasoerean is "on the after-yard of the nurse's school and behind the building of the land-counsel or on the yard of the house where in the past Mr. Duncan de Clonie MacLennan lived." Many of Duncan's children are buried there but he is buried in a different cemetery, the general or public one.

Jane Willie, one of Duncan's wives, is buried in Batavia; her epitaph is "Sacred to the memory/ of/ Jane Willie/ wife of D. de Clonie Mc. Lennan/ Batavia 7 July 1847.

Jane de Clonie McLennan, daughter of Doortje and Duncan McLennan, married Adam Prentice in Pasoerean on Jan. 16, 1890; she died giving birth to their first & obviously only child, Gerard (or Gerardus) Alexander Prentice or Prentice-McLennan on 21 May 1892.

I have not been able to trace Gerard but he was sent as a baby to his grandparents --Duncan and one of his wives or Doortje's parents -- in Malang as Prentice could not raise the child alone. This is recorded in letters from Prentice to a great friend of his, the scientist Eugene Dubois. Although Doortje is said to be a native (Indonesian) woman, the name is Dutch; she might be the offspring of Dutch and Indonesian parents but we don't know.

Prentice married an Indonesian woman, Samira or Samila, in Blitar in 1906 and had two children:

Adam William/Willem in 1913
Anne Helen in 1915.

Theo Mc. Lennan's birth is not mentioned in the records but he married C.M. (Isabella Mary?) Boyd in Toeloengagoeng, June 12, 1889. It was Isabella's second marriage. I believe Theo (Theodoor?) was a brother or half-brother of Jane's and he is in the right place -- Toeloengagoeng -- at the right time to be so, but this is a speculation. The Boyds all lived in Toeloengagoeng and thereabouts, as did Jane McLennan Prentice and her husband. I know nothing more about Theo.

Does Bionda have more information about Duncan MacLennan's wives other than Doortje and Jane Willie? We are clearly talking about the same family.

Best, Pat

Appendix 4: Duncan MacLennan Genealogy from Bionda De Clonie MacLennan, 20 Dec 2003:

Lodewijk MacLennan (one ot the decedent from Duncan MacLennan) wrote a book about the Clan MacLennan. Lodewijk mentioned another wife of Duncan. Called Anna Kovaqic, born Somobor Austria, died 7 april 1929. They had (in order) the following children:

Norman De Clonie MacLennan, born 10 Nov 1873,
Kenneth De Clonie MacLennan, born 12 Nov 1874
Eleanor De Clonie MacLennan, born 5 Mar 1876.

Between Duncan and his children has been a lot of problem about this marriage (probably) and about inheritance. I'm still processing in finding any information about this. Maybe I should visit the Hague to find out more.

- note - I do not have the book Lodewijk has written. Sadly Lodewijk passed away last year so I can't receive the book unless I can lend it from anyone. I understand you can't find any information about the birth of Theo. So that's a dead end for now. I will try to find the son Gerard (Gerardus) Alexander Prentice MacLennan. It ammazes me that sometimes names came together. Like De Clonie MacLennan (wich was at first MacLennan) and Prentice (wich became Prentice MacLennan). If the son indeed studies Civil Engineer at Delft. I really should be able to find more, because my mother-in-law still lives there.

I hope this makes anything a little bit clearer. Merry Christmas to you.

Bionda De Clonie MacLennan

Appendix 5: Christel Terwiel, Utrecht, Netherlands, descendant of Robert Boyd (born 1793 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland), whose son Robert Boyd (b 1828) was Adam Prentices (and Eugene-the-missing-link-Dubois') friend.: This email was sent from a PrenticeNet visitor regarding your page or query. From: "Adam Prentice of Java"

http://www.prenticenet.com/pnet/news/?s=1&k=&f=%2Fnews%2F99%2Fadam_prentice_java.htm Adam William Boyd, b 16 August 1913 in Blitar, at that time living in Monnickendam, Netherlands, wrote a letter, dated 23 Oktober 1975, to 'Indisch Familie Archief' (Indian Family Archive, meaning Dutch East Indies), in The Hague). In this letter he stated he was the son out of William Boyds (b. 18 August 1857) second marriage with 'Mada, a not legally recognized daughter of Adam Prentice'. He also stated his father's first marriage was with Samila or Mila (this is different from what I read in your article) and two children were born out of this marriage: Janet Grace Boyd and Erroll Boyd. Unfortunately Adam W. Boyd does not elaborate on his mother's role in his life, but he does 'a little' on Adam Prentice (his grandfather from his mothers side). I quote (and translate from Dutch to English): "He (Adam Prentice- CT) was a resident of Semampir (Kediri) up to the Japanese invasion. Was a friend of my grandfather (here he refers to Robert Boyd, b 1828 - CT), and father (William Boyd, b 1856 - CT). He was the owner of one or more 'cultuur-ondernemingen' (something like plantations - CT) in Djember or Banjoewangi. Was not married, but had a Javanese housekeeper." I have reason to believe that in both your article on Adam Prentice as well as in Adam W. Boyd's letter there are inaccuracies, worthy to correct, if someone is interested.

Best wishes, Christel Terwiel, Utrecht, Netherlands, descendant of Robert Boyd (born 1793 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland), whose son Robert Boyd (b 1828) was Adam Prentices (and Eugene-the-missing-link-Dubois') friend.

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