Mary Prentis

Biography

Mary Brooke, daughter of John and Ann Brooke of York County, Virginia, was born October 1708 and died in 9 April 1768.

Mary Brooke Prentis survived three years after her husband's death.

Mary died on or about 9 April 1768 as reported by the Virginia Gazette:

Last Saturday morning died in the 58th year of her age, Mrs. Mary Prentis, relict of the late William Prentis, a Lady of exemplary piety, and most affable disposition.

She is buried in the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery in Williamsburg next to her husband.

Family

Retrieved from https://www.prenticenet.com/people/america/william/

William Prentis may have had a first wife before marrying Mary Brooke in 1726. Mary Brooke was the daughter of John and Ann Brooke. She had been born in 1710 in York County, Virginia12.

William Prentis had six children. The dates of their birth, where known, is shown.

1. John Prentis was born about 1753 13 [sic: before 1629] and died in 1775. He succeeded his father as the manager of the Prentis store. His will was proved on Nov. 20, 1775, at Williamsburg14. In the records of Lord Dunnmore, the last royal Governor of Virginia, he refers to the fact that he sent his letter to the House of Burgesses by Major John Prentis, whom he speaks of as "my friend". It was John's misfortune to serve during the days of crisis leading to the Revolution. In 1774 he ran afoul of the non-importation agreement: two half chests of tea consigned to his store were tossed into the York River by enraged inhabitants of Yorktown. Public uproar caused John to publish an abject apology in the Virginia Gazette. This tea party and other troubles, including the insanity of his wife, probably caused the early death of John Prentis in 1775.15
2. Sarah Prentis was born in 1749 and married William Waters of Williamsburg. Sarah and William had one daughter:
   1. Sarah Waters. Sarah m. David Meade in 1768. David Meade (1744-1830) was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1774 the Meades moved to Maycox plantation in Prince George County, Virginia. In 1796 they moved to a newly constructed estate, "La Chaumiere du Prairie" near Lexington, Kentucky. David Meade died in 1830.18 25
3. Daniel Prentis b: 1750 English Colony Williamsburg, Virginia.
4. Elizabeth Prentis b: 1752 English Colony Williamsburg, Virginia
5. Joseph was born Jan. 24, 1754 and died May 18, 1809. He married Dec. 16, 1778 Margaret Bowdoin, daughter of John Bowdoin II and Grace Stringer of Northampton County. She was born Nov. 27, 1758 and died in Williamsburg August 27, 1801. They lived in Williamsburg and had eight children. He died on June 18, 1809, in Williamsburg, York County, Virginia. Joseph was member of the Virginia Convention which met in December, 1775; and was appointed, with James Hubard and John Tyler, a judge of admiralty16, by ordinance of convention, July 5, 1776, to hold till December 1777. He studied at William and Mary College in 1777 and was a member of the first House of Delegates in 1777, from Williamsburg; member from York 1778-1788; speaker of House of Delegates 1788; member of Patrick Henry's privy council 1779; judge of the General Court from 1789 to his death in 1809; member of Board of Visitors of William and Mary College. He was one of the revisers of the Code of 1792.17
6. William Prentis, Jr. was a civil engineer who surveyed Winchester, Virginia in planning for the village19 and later moved to Petersburg, Virginia where he was a newspaper publisher and four-term mayor of the city.20

Prepared in part by Bill Boggess.

Origins

Named in her father’s Will:

Brooke, John - will Williamsburg

• As to my houses and lots in Williamsburg, I give and bequeath the same unto my loving wife during her natural life, and after her decease unto my daughter Mary Prentis and the heirs of her body lawfully begotten and in defaults of such heirs unto the said William Prentis and his heirs forever.
• Wife Anne Brooke appointed executor.
• Probated Nov. 17, 1729.
• (Book 17 - Orders, Wills. York County, Virginia)

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Notes

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35710369/mary-prentis

The grave under this marble slab was marked MRS. PRENTIS, OBIT. 1794.

Mary Prentis, daughter of John and Ann Brooke, of York County, and the wife of William Prentis of Williamsburg, VA died in 1794. Two other unmarked graves were found nearby. This marble was put in the church during the 1905 restoration.

All above quoted from the pamphlet titled A GUIDE TO THE MEMORIALS OF BRUTON PARISH CHURCH with maps, published by Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, VA, 2006 edited by Susan H. Godson, maps by Joseph L. Spruill, photographs by Hal Lindsay and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Comments

https://www.prenticenet.com/people/america/william/

In reading the story on William Prentis, the only issues I have about the of marriage William Prentis to Mary Brooke. They were married before 1726 when John Brooke wrote his will leaving his house to daughter Mary Prentis. He had sold a small house on this property to William Prentis in 1724. John Brooke ran an ordinary in 1714 in this residence. William Prentis and Mary Brooke's daughter, Sarah married William Waters who lived only 2 doors down Duke of Gloucester Street. Williamsburg was not an independent town or city back than. It was split down the middle of Duke of Gloucester Street, the north side was York County and the south side was James City County. Mary Brooke probably was born in her father's house on Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg, York County. The Prentis Store is down Duke of Gloucester Street on the York County side. Research information on the Prentis House and Store can be found online under the digital library research tab of the Colonial Williamsburg Rockefeller Library.

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William Prentis in the Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775

References

• Ancestry.com. Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data:Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades, editors. Colonial Families of the United States of America: in Which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. 7 volumes. 1912. Reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1966, 1995. “Prentis Family.” Vol. Vll, page 386. < AncestrySharing >. William Prentis married Mary Brooke, daughter of John Brooke and his wife Ann (surname not given) of York County. Page 387. < AncestrySharing >
• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Mar 6 2020, 3:15:32 UTC
• “Prentis House Historical Report, Block 17 Building 11A Lot 51.” Originally entitled: "A History of the Prentis House Colonial Lot #51 Block # 17 - Site # 11. By Helen Bullock (1938) Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1366.Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library. < link >
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brooke-474 cites

1. Richter, Caroline Julia, "The Prentis Family and their Library" (1985). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625287. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-42by-1r17
2. Winter, Kari J. The American Dreams of John B. Prentis Slave Trader. The University of Georgia Press, 2011.
3. Bullock, Helen Duprey. A History of the Prentis House, Colonial Lot #51, Block #17, Site #11 / by Mary A. Stephenson. 1938. Print. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Ser. ; RR-1366.; a detailed history of the lot, its improvements and ownership https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/DigitalLibrary/View/index...
4. “Virginia Gazettes.” Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2015, Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds., April 14, 1768, page 2, column 3