By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Spring 2000 and Revised: 24 Aug 2014
1. Othaniel Prentice was b. c. 1835 in Indiana and d. 22 Mar 1865. He was a Pvt. in the US Army in the Civil War. He is bur. at Sec. O, Site 828, Lexington National Cem., Lexington, KY.
Othaniel appears in the 1850 Monroe, Clark Co., IN census and in the 1860 Utica, Clark Co., IN census with his mother, Esther Prentice, b. c. 1785, RI, but no father is shown in either census record. Clark County lies in southeastern Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, KY.
The 1860 census shows Othaniel was then married to Mary (maiden surname unknown), b. c. 1837, Indiana and that he and Mary had a daughter:
- Sophia Prentice, b. c. 1858 in Indiana.
It seems likely that Othaniel and Mary may have had one or two more children before he died.
Second marriage: Clark County, IN Marriage Records show that an Othneil Prentice m., apparently as a 2nd wife, Alzina Rose McCrary on 24 Mar 1864 (Bk. H, pg. 354). Alzina was was b. c. 1831 (per 1880 census), the dau. of Mary Hawes Rose. Alzina appears in the 1880 census in Munroe, Clark Co., IN; she might then be a widow since Othaniel is not shown in the household. Othaniel and Alzina had 1 or more children, including:
- Mary Alice Rose Prentice, b. 19 Jan 1865, IN, and d. 2 Jan 1935, Auburn, IN, at the age of 69.
She appears in the 1880 census in Munroe, Clark Co., IN, with her mother, Alzina,
and Millie A. Rose, b. c. 1826, perhaps a sister to her mother, Alzina (Rose) Prentice. She had two
children from one relationship between 1886 and 1893.
- Walter Earl Prentice (great grandfather of Lethia Prentice Nall), b. 27 Dec 1886, IN, and d. Dec 1973,
Jeffersonville, IN, at the age of 87, and was bur. there. He appears in the 1930, 1940 census in
Jeffersonville, Clark Co., Indiana, shown as b. c. 1887, IN,
with his wife, The SSDI shows he was b. 27 Dec 1886
and d. Dec 1973 in Jeffersonville, Clark Co., IN. He m. Eva Maude Wilson, b. 28 Feb 1888. IN. and d. 1953 at the age of 65. Children (per 1930 census):
- Edith Alice Prentice, b. c. 1914, IN. 1940 not home.
- Wilson E. Prentice, b. 7 Nov 1914, IN, and d. 19 Sep 2007, Jefferon, Clark Co., IN. 1930 at home, 1940 a Dentist at home.
- Joy E. Prentice, b. 1916 in Jeffersonville, IN, and d. 9 Sep 2005, at the age of 89. She lived in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1930 and moved to Whittier, CA sometime between 1930 and 1940. She m. Ward Keith Goodwin who was b. April 9, 1914, in Charlestown, IN. He died on June 7, 1990, in Ventura County, California, at the age of 76.
- Robert J. Prentice, b. 28 Dec 1917 and d. 27 Jan 2000 in Clarksville, Clark Co., IN.
1940 at home. He m. 1st Maude. Children:
- son Prentice.
- dau. Prentice.
- Dixon Wright Prentice, b. c. 1920, IN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [2]
Known children of Walter Earl Prentice:
- (son Prentice?) (grandfather of Lethia)
- Mary Prentice, b. Clark Co., IN (mother of Lethia)
- Lethia Prentice Nall, b. Louisville, KY
- Mary Prentice, b. Clark Co., IN (mother of Lethia)
Mary Alice then m. John Daily and they had four children together between 1886 and 1896.
- Annie Daily, b. Oct 1890 in IN.
- Rennie Daily, b. 1891, IN.
- Anna "Rennie" Daily, b. 1893, in IB, She lived in Clark Co., IN in 1910 and moved to Sellersburg, IN sometime between 1910 and 1920.
- Joseph Ross Daily, b. 3 Dec 1896, in Henryville, IN, and d. 7 Aug 1965, Muncie, IN, at the age of 68 and bur. there. He married his first wife, Mary Katherine Koehler, on August 27, 1919, in Clark Co., N. They ghad 2 sons and 1 daughter. On August 27, 1919, he married his second wife.
- Walter Earl Prentice (great grandfather of Lethia Prentice Nall), b. 27 Dec 1886, IN, and d. Dec 1973,
Jeffersonville, IN, at the age of 87, and was bur. there. He appears in the 1930, 1940 census in
Jeffersonville, Clark Co., Indiana, shown as b. c. 1887, IN,
with his wife, The SSDI shows he was b. 27 Dec 1886
and d. Dec 1973 in Jeffersonville, Clark Co., IN. He m. Eva Maude Wilson, b. 28 Feb 1888. IN. and d. 1953 at the age of 65. Children (per 1930 census):
2. Dixon W. Prentice, b. 3 Jun 1919, IN, and d. 20 Jul 2014, Tucson, AZ. His obituary reads as follows:
- Dixon Prentice, 95; Tucson, Ariz.: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Evening News and Tribune (Jeffersonville-New Albany, IN) - Thursday, July 24, 2014
Dixon Prentice, 95; Tucson, Ariz, a Jeffersonville lawyer elected to the Indiana Supreme Court, died July 20 in Tucson, Ariz.
He was born June 3, 1919, in Sellersburg, grew up in Jeffersonville, and married Phyllis Ropa of New Albany in 1941. He graduated from the Indiana Law School and enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He served in World War II, including D-Day, and retired as Lt. Commander from the Navy Reserves. He practiced law in the firm Prentice and Prentice 1946-1970. He served on the court 1971-1985, drafting nearly 700 opinions. He also was a partner in the development of Greentree Mall in Clarksville.
Survivors include his wife, Phyllis Prentice; daughter, Penelope "Penny" Rauzi, Mount Vernon, Ohio; and son, William Prentice, Tucson; and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Peter Prentice.
He m. Phyllis Ropa of New Albany, IN, in 1941. Children per his obituary, above:
- Penelope Prentice. She m. Mr. Rauzi and in 2014 lived in Mt. Vernon, OH.
- William Prentice. In 2014 he lived in Tucson, AZ.
- Peter Prentice. Died before 2014
The only lead we have to the identity of Othaniel's father is that a Felix Prentice also was living in Clark County in the 1840 census but does not appear there in 1850. He might be the missing husband of Othaniel's mother, Esther, who the 1850 and 1860 census shows as born c. 1785 in Rhode Island.
That possibility is consistent with the information contained in the 1840 Clark Co., IN census as to the makeup of Felix's family showing a husband and wife, each b. c. 1780-1790 (Esther was b. c. 1785), and children:
- son, age 5-10 and b. c. 1830-35 (might be Othaniel, b. c. 1835, IN.
- son, age 10-15 and b. c. 1825-30.
- dau., age 10-15 and b. c. 1825-30.
- son, age 15-20 and b. c. 1820-25
- dau., age 15-20 and b. c. 1820-25.
- dau., age 15-20 and b. c. 1820-25.
- son, age 20-30 and b. c. 1810-20.
- son, age 20-30 and b. c. 1810-20.
The following tentative solution should not be accepted as true without further investigation:
Felix Prentice, mentioned above in the 1840 Clark Co., IN census, may in fact be a misspelling of Peleg Prentice. A look at the 1850 Clark Co., IN census, on a different Peleg, shows that the handwriting on the page in question draws a capital "F" which looks similar to a capital "P" (compare, for example, the name "Pauline" with the name "Peleg" and contrast it with the name "Franklin). If so, his wife might be the Esther Prentice, b. c. 1785, RI, who appears in the 1850 Monroe, Clark Co. census with her son, Othaniel, b. c. 1835, IN.
If the misspelling theory is correct, then Peleg might be the Peleg Prentice, b. 1 Jun 1790, a descendant of Robert Prentice of Roxbury, pg. 236, #13a iii, and might be the same person as the Peleg Prentice who m. Esther Young on 1 Jan 1811, Mendon, Worcester, MA. And, although further confirming documentation is need, it seems likely he may be the Peleg Prentice who appears in the 1820 Indiana census with 2 boys and a girl, all b. betwen 1810 and 1820.
We note also a Peleg Prentice who appears in the 1860 Madison Twp., Daviess Co., IN census. A farmer, he was born c. 1822 in Indiana and m. Christina A. Payton on 24 Oct 1844 in Clark Co., IN. The name, Peleg is sufficiently unusual, with the Clark Co., IN location suggesting strongly that he may also be a son of the Peleg Prentice who m. Esther Young; if so, he would be a brother of Othaniel Prentice.
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