PrenticeNet

1. Henry Prentice of Great Saling, Essex, England (per Ian Prentice, email, 21 Jul 1999). For a map showing Great Saling, see Great Saling, Essex Co., England.

We do not have a birth date or place for Henry Prentis, but documents in the Essex County Record Office in Chelmsford indicate Henry was alive in 1594/5. Those documents provide his wife's name, Elizabeth Haward, and indicate she died in 1597. Her brother, Thomas Haward, lived in Hempstead. Their known children are:

1. Walter Prentis, probably b. after 1574 and called of Shalford, Essex. He married Anne.
2. Richard Prentis.
3. Thomas Prentis, the younger.
4. Mathew Prentis who lived in Great Braxted in 1599 and in Chelmsford in 1606 and 1620.
5. Margaret Prentis who was unmarried in 1597.

Since Henry Prentis had a married son, and using some rules-of-thumb, one could estimate Henry's birth date as roughly 1535-1550.

The probable ancestor of Valentine Prentice, William Prentis, was born about 1514, perhaps at Great Saling in northern Essex County which lies about 35 miles northeat of Central London.

Unfortunately, Great Saling church records exist only from the early 1700s and other sources have not yet been found which would shed light on the ancestry and relationships of those early families. It does seem likely, however, that Prentis families living in, and near, Great Saling are related.

Additionally, although one should not read too much into similarity of first names since there was not that much variety, Valentine Prentice, b. c. 1561, had siblings named:

• Walter Prentis, b perhaps after 1574 and d. after 1594.
• Richard, b perhaps after 1574 and d. after 1594.
• Margaret Prentis who was unmarried in 1597

If you have any information which can help us identify the ancestry and descendants of any of the folks mentioned above, please contact us at dewald@prenticenet.com..