PrenticeNet

---

Henry Prentice and Elizabeth White
of Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, England
By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Winter 1999 and Revised: 27 Aug 1999

---

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register Volume CXLIII, January 1989, Number 569, Genealogical Notes, pg. 24, contains a brief article titled, "Possible English Origin of Henry Prentice of Cambridge, Massachusetts." This article was contributed by John Brooks Threlfall, of Madison, Wisconsin. The following contains the highlights of this article:

Henry Prentice's first wife, Elizabeth, died at Cambridge, 13 May 1643. Two possible English origins for this couple are proposed.

The first is the marriage of a Henry Prentice and Elizabeth White, married at Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, on 26 Nov. 1638. The second possibility is the marriage of a Henry Prentice and Elizabeth Fosdick, at Bures Saint Mary, Suffolk, on 2 Aug. 1628.

The second marriage appears more attractive, due to the fact that many New England colonists who settled in Cambridge came from Bures Saint Mary and surrounding communities, while none are known to have come from Stewkley. The only Prentice records in the Bures Saint Mary parish (and nearby parishes) are the following: Thomas Prentice buried 10 July 1579; Daniel, son of Richard Prentice, bapt. 23 Oct. 1586.

By E-mail of 25 Aug 1999, Ian Prentice reports that Henry (son of Henry Prentice and and Joan, m. 1610 in Stewkley) and Elizabeth White had two daughters:

• Ann Prentice, baptised 1639.
• Elizabeth Prentice, baptised 1640.

He also says it is probable that the Henry who was m. in 1638 had a brother, Richard Prentice, who married Ann White in 1640 in Stewkley and they had a son:

• Richard Prentice who had a son:
  • John Prentice who was baptised in 1663 in Drayton Parslow.

However, if Henry and Elizabeth were already in Cambridge by 1640 that would seem to rule this couple out unless Henry came in 1640 and the "before 1640" is an incorrect statement.

Although a Will by the father of Henry Prentice of Stewkley could help answer the question, there appears to be no Will. In addition, the father of Henry Prentice of Bures Saint Mary died in 1623, prior to his son's marriage.

If you can provide us with more information about any of the folks mentioned above, please contact us at dewald@prenticenet.com

---

Return to Top of this Article

---

A member of PrenticeNet - Questions/Comments? Email: webmaster@PrenticeNet.com

---

 

---