Prence Family Line
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Grandy's 7x Great-Grandmother:
My 9x Great-Grandmother:
Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 10x Great-Grandmother:
Mercy Prence (1631 - 1711)
Mercy Freeman
Also known as: "Marcy", "Mary"
Birthdate: January 4, 1631
Birthplace: Plymouth, Plymouth Colony
Denomination: (probably) Puritan / Congregationalist
Date of Marriage: ca. February 13, 1649/1650
Place of Marriage: Eastham, Plymouth Colony
Death: September 28, 1711 in Eastham, Barnstable County, Province of Massachusetts
Burial: Cove Burying Ground, Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Parents:
Thomas Prence, Governor of Plymouth Colony
1599-1673
Patience Brewster
1600-1634
Family
Spouse:
Major John Freeman
John Freeman
John Freeman, Sr.
Birthdate: ca. 1622 (some records indicate 1626)
Birthplace: Pulborough, Sussex, England
Christened: ca.1626 at St Mary's Church, Billingshurst, Sussex
Denomination: (probably) Puritan / Congregationalist
Arrival: In 1635, he emigrated to Plymouth Colony aboard the Abigail with his family, and settled at Lynn, and then Sandwich. The Abigail of London (Master: Richard Hackwell) sailed from foreign ports, the last being Plymouth, England on June 4, 1635. She sailed with about 220 passengers aboard along with livestock. She arrived in Boston about October 8, 1635 with smallpox aboard.
Military Service: John Freeman settled in Eastham, where he rose through the ranks of the militia from ensign, to captain, lieutenant and major. He took an active part in the Indian Wars. He was a major in the expedition against Indians at Saconet in 1677. He served as a member Council of War from 1667-76. He served as captain in the fight against Indians at Taunton in 1675. He was a major of Barnstable Troop in 1685
Public Service: served as a Deputy at Eastham for eight years. He served as a selectman for ten years starting in 1663. On December 7, 1692, he was appointed to the Bench of the Court of Common Pleas. For many years he was a Deacon of the Eastham Congregational Church.
Death: October 28, 1719 in Eastham, Barnstable County, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Burial: Cove Burying Ground, Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Immediate Family:
Son of Edmund Freeman, II and Bennett Hodsoll
See: Freeman Family Line
Children:
1. John Freeman, II 1650–1651
2. Rev. John Freeman, Jr. 1651–1721
3. Patience Freeman 1667–1745
4. Deacon Thomas Freeman 1653–1716
5. Edmund Freeman 1657–1719
6. Mercy Freeman 1659–1745
7. William Freeman 1661–1687
8. Hannah Freeman 1665–1743
9. Prence Freeman 1665–1747
10. Nathaniel Freeman, Esq. 1669–1760
11. Bennet Freeman 1671–1716
About Mercy Prence
Mercy (Prence) Freeman was related to a passenger on the Mayflower.
Biography
Robert Charles Anderson in Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, page 580, says that John Freeman married Mercy, dau of Thomas Prence. He cites Plymouth Colony Records volume 8, page 26 for their 13 Feb 1649/50 Eastham, Barnstable Co., marriage; he cites his own Great Migration Begins, volume 3, pp 1518-24 for identification of her parents.
Mercy, b. at Plymouth about 1631; d. at Eastham September 28, 1711, aged 80 years; m. (recorded at Eastham as February 13, and at Sandwich as February 14) February 13 or 14, 1649/50 John Freeman. Apparently she and her sister Hannah had a double wedding. [1] m. at Eastham, 13 Feb. 1649 (sic Sandwich 14 Feb.), John Freeman, bpt. Billingshurst, Sussex, Eng., 28 Jan. 1626/7; d. at Eastham, 28 Oct. 1719 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Mercy, d. Sept. 28, 1711, aged 80 years (g.s. at Eastham); m. Feb 13, 1649/50, Major John Freeman, brother of Edmund Freeman, Jr., who m. her sister Rebecca. He was b. in Eng.; d. Oct. 28, 1719, in the 98th year of his age (g.s. at Eastham). Res. Eastham. He is mentioned in records as 'among the early settlers, with Governor Prence.' 'Was many years prominent in public affairs, and has to this day been regarded as one of the fathers of Eastham.' 'He was deputy from 1654, eight years.; selectman from 1663, ten yrs.; assistant in the Government from 1666, several yrs., and Dec. 7, 1692, was appointed to the Bench of the Court of Common Pleas. Was a deacon of Eastham church many yrs. and was somewhat conspicuous in the military, doing service in the Indian wars. Through life he was a large land holder.'
Children born at Eastham, Massachusetts include[1]:
John Freeman, b. Feb. 2, 1650; d. inf.
John Freeman, b. Dec. 1651; d. 27 July 1721 in Harwich; m. 1st, Dec 18, 1572, Sarah, daughter of Ensign William and Rebecca Merrick, b. at Eastham, Aug. 1, 1654; d. at Brewster, Apr. 21, 1696; m. 2d, 1701, Mercy Hedge, widow of Captain Elkanah Watson, of Plymouth. She d. Sept. 27, 1721, age 63. Res. Harwich, now Brewster, Mass. 'He was one of eight persons who constituted the original church in H., Oct. 17, 1700.' 11 children.
Deacon Thomas Freeman, b. Sept 1653, d. 9 February 1715/16; m. at Harwich, Dec. 31, 1673, Rebecca, daughter of Captain Jonathan and Rebecca (Bangs) Sparrow, of Eastham, b. at Yarmouth, Oct. 30, 1655; d. at H., Feb. 7, 1740. Res. Harwich, now Brewster, Mass. He was a deacon of First chh. of H.; was the first town clerk, also treasurer and selectman. 10 children.
Lieut. Edmund Freeman, b. June 1657; d. at Eastham, Dec. 10, 1717; m. Sarah, daughter of Samuel and Thomasine (Lumkin) Mayo. Res. Eastham. 'He was a man of distinction, and many years selectman of E.: 12 children.
Mercy Freeman, b. July, 1659; d. 1744 (g.s. at Eastham); m. Dec. 16, 1679, Samuel Knowes, Esq., son of Richard and ruth (Bower) Knowels, of Plymouth, b. there Sept. 17, 1651 (T. Rec.); d. June 19, 1737 (g.s. at E.). Res. Eastham. He 'was a deacon of the chh. in E., and some time selectman and rep.' 10 children. [6]
William Freeman, b. abt. 1660; d. before 31 May 1687; m. abt. 1684/5, Lydia, dau. of John Sparrow. 2 children.
Hannah Freeman, b. 1664 d. Feb. 15, 1743/4 in Harwich at age 79: (g.s); m. Apr. 14, 1681, John Mayo, bro. of Warah, who m. her......(continued on page 24, which needs to be copied. ) [7] [5]
Prence Freeman, b. 3 February 1665. [1]
Patience Freeman, b. c 1667, d. Feb. 15, 1745; m. Jan. 31, 1682/3, Lieut. Samuel Pain, son of Thomas and Mary (Snow - g.dau. of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower) Paine, of E. He d. Oct. 13, 1712. Res. Eastham. 'He was a prominent citizen, and from 1697 selectman several years.' 9 children. [1] [8]
Nathaniel Freeman, b. 20 March 1669; m. Mary Howland [1]
Bennet Freeman (daughter), b. February 1670/71; d. 30 May 1716 in Eastham. Married John Paine son of Thomas and Mary (Snow - g.dau. of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower) Paine [1]
Sources
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Roser, Susan E. Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Volumes 1 & 2. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.
↑ Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Applications for Membership. Microfilm. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
↑ U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Author: Yates Publishing Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. [1]
↑ Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls.
↑ 5.0 5.1 Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting.
↑ Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
↑ Source: #S403 Page: p.23
↑ Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
See also:
Winsor, Justin. A History of the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts, With Genealogical Registers, published online by Ancestry.com, The Generations Network, Inc., Provo, UT, 2007. Originally published Boston, 1849, reprinted for Clearfield Company, Inc. by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1995. [2]
Freeman, Frederick, Periodical: The History of Cape Cod: The Annals of The Thirteen Towns of Barnstable County, Volume II, Publication: Boston, 1862 [3]
Munsey-Hopkins Genealogy, being the ancestry of Andrew Chauncey Munsey and Mary Jane Merritt Hopkins Abbreviation: Munsey-Hopkins Author: Lowell, D.O.S. Publication: author, Boston, 1920. [4]
Mary Walten. Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines Ferris Publication: 1931
Brewster, Lewis W Elder William Brewster and the Brewster Family of Portsmouth, New Hampshire Press of A.G. Brewster, Portsmouth, 1908 [5]
Roser, Susan E. Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Volumes 1 & 2. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.. Google Books
"Records from Old North Cemetery, Truro." Mayflower Descendant, Vol. XII
Title: Anna Lea Lloyd Spencer, compiler, "Edmond Freeman - Bennett Hodsole"; ancestral file number(s) G477-GT and G477-H1, Ancestral File, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah
Thurtle, Robert Glenn (ed.), Assistant Genealogist General. [Lineage Book of] Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors, Ann Arbor: Edwards Brothers, Inc., (Published by the Register, Society of the Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors, Our Members and Their Colonial Governor Lineages), 1980, p. 116 [Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-67264.]. [Repository: Ancestry.com: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/48084/DescColonialGovs-007425-116/189429?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.ancestry.com%2ffamily-tree%2fperson%2ftree%2f48668506%2fperson%2f322031318471%2ffacts&ssrc=&backlabel=Return] (dates/places of births/deaths/marriage)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Ancestral File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:1:9SKW-5FR : accessed 2016-08-02), entry for Mercy Prence.
References:
https://www.geni.com/people/Mercy-Freeman/6000000006444349670
http://www.johnlisle.com/newenglandhall/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I9516&tree=NewEnglandHall
http://huntingtonfamily.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I2534&tree=johnandtuly
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Prence-5
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LZJ5-7J8/mercy-prence-1631-1711
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6023848/mercy-freeman
https://familypedia.wikia.org/wiki/Mercy_Prence_(1631-1711)
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LZJ5-7J8
https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Mercy_Prence_%281%29
________________________________________________________________________________
Grandy's 8x Great-Grandfather:
My 10x Great-Grandfather:
Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 11x Great-Grandfather:
Thomas Prence, Governor of Plymouth Colony (1599 - 1673)
Gov. Thomas Prence, Esq.
Also Known As: "Thomas Prince"
Birthdate: ca. 1599
Birthplace: Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England
Christened: 1600 in England
Denomination: (probably) Puritan / Congregationalist
First Governor of the American Colonies
Arrival: came in the second ship, the "Fortune," that arrived in Cape Cod on November 9, 1621 with thirty five passengers, among whom was his future brother-in-law, Jonathan Brewster. Prence's place of origin was All Saints, Barking, London, England. Prence likely received formal education, likely in England, given his election to the position of Assistant Governor, Governor and Treasurer of Plymouth Colony, as well as the number of books, both on religion and law, in the recorded inventory of his library.
Occupation: 1621 Carriage Maker; Undertaker
Public Service: Governor of Plymouth, 1634-5, 1638-9, 1657-73, 4th, 8th & 12th Governor of New Plymouth Colony (1634-1635, 1638-1639, 1657-1673) - he was notable for his especial hatred of heretics, particularly Quakers.
Military Service: He raised a corps of volunteers to assist the Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay Colonies in defeating the Pequot Indians.
Residence: 1644-1663 Plymouth, Plymouth Colony
Death: March 29, 1673 in Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts
Place of Burial: Burial Hill, Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Parents:
Thomas Prence
1576-1630
Elizabeth Tolderby
1577-1630
Family 1
Spouse:
Patience Brewster
1600-1634
Patience Prence
Also Known As: "Prince", "Patience Brewster", "Patience Brewster - Prence (1600-1634)", "Patience Brewster (Prence)"
Birthdate: ca. 1595
Birthplace: Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England
Denomination: (probably) Puritan / Congregationalist
Arrival: She arrived in Plymouth aboard the 'Anne' around 10 July 1623 accompanied by her sister Fear and Lucretia Oldham, who would later become her sister-in-law.
Death: before December 12, 1634 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts ("Pestilential fever" [smallpox, influenza ?])
Place of Burial: Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Immediate Family:
Daughter of Elder William Brewster and Mary Wentworth
See: Brewster Family Line
Children:
1. Rebecca Prence 1627–1651
2. Thomas Prence 1627–1672
3. Hannah Prence 1629–1698
4. Mercy Prence (Freeman) 1631–1711
Family 2
Spouse:
Mary Collier
1612-1644
Mary Prence
Also Known As: "Mary Collier", "Mary"
Birthdate: before February 18, 1612
Birthplace: St Olave,Southwark,Surrey,England
Denomination: (probably) Puritan / Congregationalist
Date of Marriage: April 1, 1635
Place of Marriage: Plymouth Colony
Death: bef. 1644 in Eastham, Plymouth Colony
Immediate Family:
Daughter of Hon. William Collier, of London & Duxbury and Jane [unknown]
Children:
1. Jane Prence 1637–1712
2. Mary Prence 1639–1711
Family 3
Spouse:
Apphia Quicke
1604-1668
Apphia Prence
Also Known As: "Apphia Freeman", "Appia", "Quick"
Birthdate: 1604
Birthplace: Mawlyn, Kent, England
Denomination: (probably) Puritan / Congregationalist
Date of Marriage: ca. 1644
Place of Marriage: Plymouth Colony
Death: August 1, 1668 in Plymouth, (Plymouth Colony
Immediate Family:
Daughter of William Quick and Elizabeth Hodges
Children:
1. Judith Prence 1645–1738
2. Sarah Prence 1646–1707
3. Elizabeth Prence 1647–
Family 4
Spouse:
Mary Burr
1603-1695
Mary Prence
Also Known As: "Mary Howes", "Widow Howes"
Birthdate: ca. 1603
Birthplace: England
Denomination: (probably) Puritan / Congregationalist
(1st Married, 1630, to Thomas Howes, in England)
Date of Marriage: August 1, 1668
Place of Marriage: Plymouth Colony
Death: December 9, 1695 in Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Province of Massachusetts
Place of Burial: Dennis, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Immediate Family:
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[no children]
About Thomas Prence, Governor of Plymouth Colony
Thomas Prence Jr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Governor Thomas Prence Jr. aka Prince
Thomas Prence had 4 wives. 1) Patience Brewster 2) Mary Collier 3) Apphia (Quick) Freeman (divorced from Samuel Freeman) and 4) Mary (?) Howes (widow of Thomas Howes)
Note: Thomas Prince, Senior, carriage maker of All Hallows, Dorking, London, England, in his will of 1630 mentions, "my son Thomas Prence now remayninge in New England in parts beyond seas." The proper spelling of this surname is Prince and it was so written by his immediate and collateral forebares, but Gov. Thomas chose to write it as Prence.
He was the first elected Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Served either as Governor or Assistant Governor for the remainder of his years.
He raised a corps of volunteers to assist the Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay Colonies in defeating the Pequot Indians. In 1638, he was active in the capturing, trial, and execution of four young servant men of Plymouth who attacked a solitary Indian at Pawtucket, within the Colony limits, robbing and mortally wounding him.
Later, in 1644, he and several other prominent families left Plymouth for better land and founded the community of Eastham, Massachusetts. Eastham was the site where in 1621 a hunting expedition comprised from the crew of the sailing vessel Mayflower, which had stopped in Provincetown harbor on Cape Cod Bay after a rough crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, which led to the first encounter of the Pilgrims and the local Nauset Indians at First Encounter Beach. The area would not be settled by Europeans, however, until 1644. Today, Eastham is mostly known as the “Gate” to the Cape Cod National Seashore,
He was the first of a group of Plymouth residents to settle at Eastham on Cape Cod in 1644, where he built his home in 1646.
Thomas Prence House – (taken in 1880’s) Built 1646 Eastham, Barnstable, Mass. Demolished
Legend, woodcut and poem testify to the pear tree which he brought from England and planted on his Eastham farm. . . He again became Governor in 1657, stipulating that he must continue to reside in Eastham, contrary to the usual requirement of Plymouth residence for Governors of the Colony. In October of 1665, the Colony finally requested his removal to Plymouth 'for the more convenient administration of justice'. The Colony purchased of Edward Gray the residence 'Plain Dealing' for the Governor's use, located nearly two miles from the center of town on the road to Boston.
"It was in 1660 when Thomas Prence was Governor of the Colony, and concerned his daughter. "The tolerant course of the elder Arthur Howland toward Quakers had earned the ill will of Gov. Prence, and when in 1660 he found Arthur Howland, Jr., had woed his daughter Elizabeth, he had the swain before the General court, where he was fined œ5 because he had disorderly and unrighteously endeavored to obtain the affections of Mistress Elizabeth Prence, and was put under a bond of œ50 to refrain and desist. But Prence, like Canute, was unable to control the forces of nature. This action was in July, but before the next spring the imperious Governor seems to have been forced to capitulate, for Arthur, Jr., and Elizabeth were united and in the course of events there was a Thomas Howland and a Prence Howland. " - Lysander Salmon Richards, History of Marshfield, Volume One3rd
The Plymouth Church Records said of him, 'He was excellently qualifyed for the office of a Governour, he had a countenance full of majesty and therein as well as otherwise a terrour to evil doers"
Biography
Thomas, the son of Thomas Prence, a carriage maker and his wife Elizabeth Tolderby, the daughter of Reverend John- was born in Lechlade, a village in Gloucestershire, England, about 1600, during the last years of the reign of Elizabeth Tudor.[1] During the first years of young Thomas's life, the English suffered horrible calamities. The bubonic plague scorched across the country in 1603 and 1604, emptying whole villages. In 1606 and 1607, floods, that like of which the people had never known before, swept the coast and the waters ran to Gloucestershire and Somerset, laying waste to the lands in an unrelenting, unstoppable destruction. Young Thomas and his family survived.
In 1621, during the reign of James, the first Stuart, Thomas, with many adventurous Puritans, left England. With hopes for a wonderful future, they came to America, Thomas aboard the ship Fortune, reaching Plymouth, Massachusetts in November. [2] They hadn't brought enough supplies and as the harsh New England winter continued, the young colonists knew hunger and hardship. Some didn't survive. Thomas did.
In the summer of 1624 [Anderson, without citing a source claims 5 August 1624], Thomas married Patience Brewster, the daughter of William and had four children- Rebecca, Thomas (who returned to England, married there and died young), Hannah and Mercy. Patience died of a fever in the winter of 1634.[3] The following Spring, Thomas, now governor, wed Mary Collier, the daughter of William.[4]
On August 15, 1635, in the midst of a heatwave that withered the leaves on the trees, the Great Hurricane struck Massachusetts. It twisted and turned around Plymouth for nine days. The colonists had never known such storms and the thing shredded homes, ripped away crops. Many lives were lost. Thomas and his family survived and with their friends and neighbors, began to rebuild, knowing, with the crops gone, the winter would be another of hunger. Thomas left the office of governor before his daughter, Jane was born but gained re-election for the birth of his daughter, Mary, serving another year.
Thomas prospered through the years, fur-trading and buying and selling land. 1644 brought more changes to his life. His wife died. He moved again. With Edward Bangs, John Smalley, John Doane, Nicholas Snow, Richard Higgins and Josiah Cook, he founded the new town of Eastham. Thomas married again. His third wife, Apphia Quick, the daughter of William, is said to have divorced her first husband, Samuel Freeman. Thomas had three more daughters- Judith, Elizabeth, and Sarah. He was re-elected governor in 1657 and remained in office.
Though he was one of the richest and most powerful men in the community of Puritans, these weren't tranquil years for him. Thomas was a dedicated Puritan and intolerant of those who didn't share his religious and political agenda. His third term as governor was a savage and constant battle to suppress the Quaker religion. He fined the members of the sect. He imprisoned them. He exiled them. Thomas, the man who built schools and paid some of the colony's debt to English merchants, out of his own pocket, proudly led the persecution of innocent Quaker families.
And then a young Quaker came courting his daughter. Thomas fined the boy, threatened him with dire punishments, but the young man persisted and true love won. Elizabeth Prence married Arthur Howland. About the same time, Thomas wed his fourth wife. Mary Burr, the widow of Thomas Howes, was a companion and comfort in his last years.
Throughout his years, public and private, Thomas sought to maintain friendships with the Native Americans living nearby. In time, he earned their trust and respect. They knew that from Governor Prence, they would have just and fair treatment. This agenda, of peaceful coexistence, wasn't emulated by Thomas's successor in office. Thomas died March 29, 1673 and within two years, the horror that would become King Philip's War had begun.
He was particularly remembered for his interest in establishing a public school system of education which resulted in the passage of a law requiring each township of fifty families to maintain a teacher of reading and writing, while each of a hundred families was called upon to establish a grammar school.
Additional Information
The Inventory of Thomas Prence's Estate
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_Inventory_of_Thomas_Prence%27s_Estate
Additional Information on Thomas Prence
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Additional_Information_on_Thomas_Prence
Timeline
Religion (1600) Separatist (Puritian) England & Maryland
Christening (1600) England
Occupation (1621) Carriage maker
Land (1621) Large land owner Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America
Immigration (Nov 1621) on the ship Fortune Plymouth Colony
Arrival (November 1621) Ship - Fortune Plymouth, Massachusetts
First Marriage (5 August 1624) Patience and Thomas were the ninth marriage recorded at Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Residence (22 May 1627) Plymouth,Plymouth,Massachusetts
Removed (1632) Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation (from 1634 to 1635) Governor Plymouth, British Colonial America
Married Second (1 APR 1635) In Plymouth,MA,Mary Collier,b. Feb 18, 1614, Surry, Eng.; d. Bef. Dec 1662, Plymouth, MA.
Occupation (1635) Governor Massachusetts
Occupation (from 1638 to 1639) Governor Plymouth, British Colonial America
Residence (from 1635 to 1644) Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America
Residence (Aug 1643) Plymouth,Plymouth,Massachusetts
Married Third (about 1644)
Religion (1644) Puritan
Removed (1644) Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts
Residence (22 May 1655) Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts
Removed (1663) Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Occupation (from 1657 to 1673) Governor Plymouth, British Colonial America
Will (13 March 1673) Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America
Burial (8 April 1673) Old Burial Ground, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Will proved (5 June 1673)
Age at Death 73
Sources
↑ Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration...," Boston, NEHGS (Year), (which volume? what page numbers?): "In his will, dated 31 July 1630 and proved 14 August 1630, Thomas Prence, carriage-maker, of Lechdale, Gloucestershire, left a legacy to his son Thomas Prence "now remaining in New England in the parts beyond the seas" [ EIHC 7:103-04, citing PCC 70 Scroope]."
↑ POPULATION OF PLYMOUTH TOWN, COLONY & COUNTY, 1620-1690 [ http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/townpop.html link]
↑ Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration...," Boston, NEHGS (Year), (which volume? what page numbers?): "she died late in 1634 (in a letter to his son John Winthrop Jr. dated 12 December 1634, John Winthrop reported that 'the pestilent fever hath taken away some at Plimouth, among others Mr. Prence the governor his wife...' [WP 3:177]"
↑ Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration...," Boston, NEHGS (Year), (which volume? what page numbers?): "2) Plymouth 1 April 1635 Mary Collier [ PCR 1:34], daughter of WILLIAM COLLIER ; she died perhaps by 1644."
↑ William T. Davis, ed., Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation: 1606-1646 (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1908). (Archive.org: accessed 2016).
↑ (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: accessed Aug 2016). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Historical Archaeology and Public Engagement, Dept. of Anthropology. Last updated: March 28, 2015.
See also:
Wikipedia article on Thomas Prence
First Settlers of Eastham, Massachusetts
Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts (Lewis historical Publishing Company - Boston, Mass., 1908)
Rosner, Susan E. Mayflower Increasings (1996 2nd edition)
History of the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts
Hawes, James W. Esq., Cape Cod Library, Vol. 1, Thomas Howes of Yarmouth, Mass, and Some of His Descendants (Copyright, 1917, by C. W. Swift)
Cape Cod Library, vol. 1, The Prince-Howes Court Cupboard
Prince, Louise Marguerite.Outstanding Members of the Prince Family 1600-1900 (L.M. Prince, Bangor, Maine, 1975)
Ferris, Mary. Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines (Privately Printed, 1943) Page 683-693
Brewster, Lewis W. Elder William Brewster and the Brewster Family of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (Press of A.G. Brewster, Portsmouth, 1908) Page 21-23
Banks, Charles. The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers (Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, 1962) Page 125
Parke, Nathan. The Ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley & His Wife Emma Arabella Bosworth (The Elm Tree Press, Woodstock, Vt., 1960)
Library of Cape Cod History and Genealogy
Deyo, Simeon. History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts (H.W. Blake & Co., New York, 1890)
Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33, Edition: [database online], Volume: 1-3; Author: Robert Charles Anderson; Publication: New England Historical Genealogical Society, Boston, 1995
National Genealogical Society Quarterly Abbreviation: NGS Quarterly
Otis, Amos. Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families (F.B. & F.P. Goss, Publishers and Printers, Barnstable, Mass., 1888) Vol. 1, Page 386
Ancestral Records and Portraits (Grafton Press, 1910) v.1 & 2; pp.68-69.
English Origins of New England Families, 1st series; p.230.
Mayflower Source Records; p.501.
"Bresteer Genealogy" Jones vol. 1. p. 22
"Families of the Pilgrims" Shaw. pp. 51 52
Curtis, Joseph O. The Descendants of Elisha Cole Who Came From Cape Cod to What is Now Putnam County, New York about 1745 (Higginson Book Company, 1909) p. 9.
"The Mayflower Planters" Hills, vol.2. pp 147 148
Find A Grave: Memorial #7497193
Moore, Jacob Bailey. Lives of the Governors of New Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay (C. D. Strong, Boston, 1851) Page 139-74
Wikipedia for Thomas Prence on the Fortune: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passengers_of_1621_Fortune_voyage
"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQDD-75V : 4 December 2014), Thomas Prince in entry for Jane Prince, 01 Nov 1637; citing EASTHAM,BARNSTABLE,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0907350 IT 2-6, 905406.
"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5NZ-MNY : 4 December 2014), Thomas Prence in entry for Thomas Prence, 24 Dec 1650; citing GLOUCESTER,ESSEX,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 823,641, 823,642.
"Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FC4F-8MH : 4 December 2014), Thomas Prence in entry for Mark Snow and Jane Prince, 09 Jan 1666; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 778,357, 905,406.
"Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FC4F-8MH : 4 December 2014), Thomas Prence in entry for Mark Snow and Jane Prince, 09 Jan 1666; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 778,357, 905,406.
"Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F7NW-Z4L : 3 December 2014), Thomas Prince in entry for Mercy Prince, 28 Sep 1711; citing , reference 20; FHL microfilm 3,319.
Find A Grave: Memorial #7497193
"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVVQ-VCJY : 13 December 2015), Thomas Prence, 1673; Burial, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States of America, Burial Hill; citing record ID 7497193, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
"Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 14 November 2017, 09:38), entry for Thomas Prence V(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:9MWV-FM6); contributed by various users.
Hotten, John Camden, The Original Lists Of Persons Of Quality (John Camden Hotten, 1874) Page xxviii
References:
https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Prence-Governor-of-Plymouth-Colony/6000000006987586098
http://www.johnlisle.com/newenglandhall/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I8385&tree=NewEnglandHall
https://minerdescent.com/2010/05/17/gov-thomas-prence/
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9MWV-FM6
http://huntingtonfamily.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I2649&tree=johnandtuly
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Prence-1
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/9MWV-FM6/thomas-prence-1599-1673
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7497193/thomas-prence
https://familypedia.wikia.org/wiki/Thomas_Prence_(1600-1673)
https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Thomas_Prence_(1)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Prence
http://massandmoregenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/thomas-prence-gov-of-plymouth-colony-b.html
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9MWV-FM6
http://homepages.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy2/ps33/ps33_001.htm
https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/prence-thomas
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Grandy's 9x Great-Grandfather:
My 11x Great-Grandfather:
Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 12x Great-Grandfather:
Thomas Prence (1576 - 1630)
Thomas Prence, Sr.
Also known as: "Thomas Prince"
Birthdate: January 29, 1576
Birthplace: Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England
Christened: February 8, 1576 St Mary le Port Church, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England
Denomination: (probably) Anglican / Puritan
Occupation: Carriage Maker
Death: August 14, 1630 in All Hallows Barking, London, England.
Place of Burial: All Hallows-by-the-Tower, Barking, London
Parents:
Thomas Prince
1550-1630
Elizabeth Maxham
1552-1602
Family
Spouse:
Elizabeth Tolderby
1577-1630
Elizabeth Prence
Also known as: "Elizabeth Tolderbury"
Birthdate: ca. 1577
Birthplace: All Hallows Barking, London, England.
Denomination: (probably) Anglican / Puritan
Date of Marriage: January 1597
Place of Marriage: England
Death: August 14, 1630 in Probably, London, Middlesex, England
Place of Burial: Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England
Immediate Family:
Daughter of Dr. John Tolderby and Ann Prince
Children:
1. Mary Prence 1598–1664
2. Thomas Prence, Governor of Plymouth Colony 1599–1673
3. Mercy Prence 1600–1650
4. Susanna Prence 1602–1678
5. Rebecca Prence 1604–1688
6. Katherine Prence 1606–
About Thomas Prence
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=bob_fitzgerald&id=I19573
"Thomas Prence, senior, removed from Lechlade at an unknown date to All Saints, Barking, London,where he carried on the trade of carriage-maker, and where on July 31, 1630 he made his will, which was probated on August 14, following. It made bequests to daughter Katherine Crayford, daughter Rebecca Diple, and 'to son Thomas Prence now remayninge in new England in the pts beyond the seas one beere bole of silver and alsoe my seale Ringe of gold to be deld to him at his next return . . .' ".
He was "Thomas Prince of All Hallows, Barking, London, carriage maker." He "had lived at Lechlade, Gloucestershire, before coming to London, but the parish records, such as survive in transcripts, do not indicate that this was the original home of the family. nterseting contemporary letters concerning the father and grandfather of Governor Prence are in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Thomas Prince, Senior, of All Hallows, in his will of 1630 mentions 'my son Thomas Prence now remayninge in New England in parts beyond seas' (P.C.C. 70, Scrope). As he bequeaths a 'seale Ringe of Gold' to his son, it may be presumed that the family was armigerous. The future Governor was brought up in the neighborhood whence came so many of the passengers of the first two ships, and the Mayflower must have taken her passengers in sight of his home, near the Tower.
The proper spelling of this surname is Prince and it was so written by his immediate and collateral forebears, but he chose to write it as Prence. He lived in the hamlet of Ratcliffe, parish of Stepney, as a boy and probably remained there with his parents until his emigration."
Name may have originally been Prince. Was a carriage maker at Lechlade, Gloucestershire, but was at All Hallows (Saints), Barking, London, when he made his will 31 July 1639. (1630 in one source)
Reference:
https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Prence-Sr/6000000002930988443
http://www.johnlisle.com/newenglandhall/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I8489&tree=NewEnglandHall
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MRL4-4HT
http://huntingtonfamily.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I4673&tree=johnandtuly
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Prence-33
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136701312/thomas-prence
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MRL4-4HT/thomas-prence-sr.-1576-1630
https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Thomas_Prence_%283%29
https://familypedia.wikia.org/wiki/Thomas_Prence_(1576-1630)
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Grandy's 10x Great-Grandfather:
My 12x Great-Grandfather:
Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 13x Great-Grandfather:
Thomas Prince (1550 - 1630)
Thomas Prence, II
Birthdate: ca. 1550
Birthplace: Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England
Denomination: (probably) Anglican
Death: August 1630 in Bristol, Somerset, England
Parents:
Thomas Prence, Jr.
1530-1559
Dorothy Parsons
1532-1550
Family
Spouse:
Elizabeth Maxham
1552-1602
Elizabeth Prince
Also known as: "Jane Elizabeth Maxham"
Birthdate: ca. 1552
Birthplace: Gloucestershire, England
Denomination: (probably) Anglican
Date of Marriage: 1569
Place of Marriage: Lechlade, Gloucester, England
Death: 1585 in England
Immediate Family:
Daughter of James Maxham and Elizabeth Collyer
Children:
1. Jean Prince 1570–1629
2. John Prence 1571–
3. Robert Prence 1572–
4. Alice Prince 1575–1587
5. Thomas Prence 1576–1630
6. Simon Prince 1578–1612
About Thomas Prence
Thomas Prince was born in 1550. Thomas passed away in 1630. [1]
Children
Thomas, b. 1570, d Aug 1630
Jean, m. ___ Milton, had son 'Mager' Milton
Robert 4. Alice, m. ___ White, a weaver
Simon, b. 1585; had 4 ch 6. Anne, m. ___ Allen, a tailor[2]
Sources
↑ Entered by Heidi Maxham, Jun 18, 2011
↑ Source: #S136 Page: p.212
Title: Outstanding Members of the Prince Family 1600-1900 Louise M. Prince Publication: 1975
References:
https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Prence-III/6000000002930988556
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LZN1-Y9J
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Prince-234
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LZN1-Y9J/thomas-prence-1550-1630
https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Thomas_Prence_%2827%29
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LZN1-Y9J
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Prence History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The origins of the Anglo-Saxon name Prence come from its first bearer, who was a person who acted in a regal manner, or who had won the title of prince in a contest of some sort. Prence is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. This surname comes from the Old and Middle French word prince, which means first.
Prince Surname Name Meaning, Origin, History, & Etymology
The English surname Prince, originally the French surname LePrince, derives from the Middle English and Old French word prince, ultimately from the Latin word princeps, that denoted a person who behaved in a regal manner or won the title of Prince in a contest of skill. It is also possible this Anglo-French-Latin last name originally denoted someone who was a prince’s servant.
Early Origins of the Prence Family
The surname Prence was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.
Prence Spelling Variations
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Prence has been spelled many different ways, including Prince, Prinse, Prynce, Le Prince, Prinz, Printz, Prins and others.
Prence Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Thomas Prence, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621