Nathaniel Prentice (1785-1826)
Susannah Harris (1787-c. 1879)
Nathaniel5 Prentice, son of James Prentice and Abial Fuller was born 12 Oct 1785, in Shaftsbury, Bennington, VT76. Died, Apr 1826, in Fairfield Co., Ohio.
Nathaniel was the third of the thirteen children of James and Abial. Like some of his forebearers, he was a blacksmith and pursued that occupation by the time he was 21 and married in 1806. Soon thereafter he moved to Redfield, NY and then to Mexico, NY, some 40 miles from Sackett's harbor, and was living there at the time of the battle of that name.
Later Nathaniel and his family moved to Ohio, on the Ohio River near Gallipolis. He died in 1826 from an unknown cause at the age of 41, leaving his 39 year old widow to support their 9 young children ranging in age from 2-18.
Nathaniel married Susannah Harris, daughter of John Harris Jr. and Susannah King, 14 Nov 1806, in haftsbury, Bennington, VT244. Born, 28 Jun 1787, in Mansfield, Tolland, CT. Died, circa 1879, in Lancaster, Fairfield, OH245.
Although it is unclear when Susannah moved to Shaftsbury, it was prior to her 1806 marriage at the age of 19. It may be reasonable to assume her parents and siblings moved to Shaftsbury at the same time; a search of Mansfield records fails to disclose any record of the deaths of her parents, or marriages for her siblings.
She may have lived in or near Coventry, CT in 1795 where her brother married Priscilla Dunham. She may have lived at Arlington, Bennington Co., VT in 1802 where one Sarah Harris married one Daniel Oden on 14 November 1802; it is not confirmed that such Sarah is Susannah's sister, but the odds favor that possibility.
It is also unclear where her parents died. When Nathaniel and Susannah bought 640 acres in 1817 at Meigs Co., Ohio, the name "John Harris" appears just four names away on county records. He would have been 78 at the time. It could be him, but the name is a common one. It might be his son, and it is to be expected that at least one of his sons would have named a son John, but no son or grandson named John Harris has yet been identified.
After the death of Nathaniel in 1826, Susannah was left to raise their 9 young children. No record has been found showing she remarried. She was appointed administrator of his estate. In later years, the 1850 Baltimore, Fairfield Co., OH Census shows her living with her son, William. He died in 1851 so she apparently went to live with her son, Dewitt Clinton Prentice; the 1860 Census shows her living with him in East Lancaster, Fairfield Co., OH. He may have died before 1879 since a letter by her son, John, dated 2 May 1879 says Susannah was still living.
Binney's 1883 book said she was living with Dewitt's son, Nathaniel, but she had apparently died before 5 June 1880 as she does not appear in the census of Nathaniel's household in Lancaster. She outlived her husband, Nathaniel, by more than 50 years. Children of Nathaniel and Susannah:
- Nathaniel6 Prentice.
- George Prentice.
- Elias Prentice.
- John Roland Harris Prentice.
- Susan Prentice.
- Dewitt Clinton "Clinton" Prentice.
- Nancy Prentice.
- Margaret Prentice.
- William Prentice. Born, 16 Mar 1824, in Athens, Athens, OH. Died, 1851, in Baltimore, Fairfax, OH. Occupation: Broommaker. William apparently never married. The year before his death, the 1850 Census showed only two persons in his household, himself and his mother, Susannah.
We invite the submission of any additional information you may have so as to make this website ever more helpful to others. Please email your ideas to Linus Joseph Dewald Jr. at dewald@prenticenet.com.
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