Joseph Prentis
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Joseph Prentis (January 24, 1754 – June 18, 1809) was a
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
politician. He represented Williamsburg in the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
, and served as that body's
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
from 1786 until 1788. From 1788 until his death, Prentis was a judge in the General Court of Virginia.


Early life and education

Joseph Prentis was the youngest son of Williamsburg merchant William Prentis (pre-1720-1765) and his wife, the former Mary Brooke. His great grandfather, also William Prentis (pre-1720-1765), had emigrated to the Virginia Colony from Norfolk County in England, settling in Williamsburg about 1725 and marrying another Mary Brooke, daughter of John and Mary Brooke of York County, Virginia. Although orphaned at the age of 15, Prentis became a ward of lawyer Robert Carter Nicholas, then attended the
College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
in his home town, where he studied law under
George Wythe George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...
. His elder brother
John Prentis John Prentis (c. 1726 – c. 1775) eldest son of William Prentis and Mary (Brooke) Prentis of Williamsburg, Virginia. His father owned and operated a successful ordinary store which he inherited upon his father's death in 1765. During his life h ...
succeeded his father operating the store, and served as Williamsburg's mayor (1758-1760) before his death in 1775, when his nephew (this boy's cousin) Robert Prentis took over the family business. That business closed in 1779 because of wartime disruptions.


Career

Prentis was admitted to the Virginia bar and began a private legal practice. However, the American Revolutionary War began his political career. When George Wythe was away representing Virginia at the Continental Congress, Prentis was Williamsburg's other delegate in the Fourth Virginia Revolutionary Convention (of 1775), but was replaced by Edmund Randolph in the Fifth Virginia Revolutionary Convention (and Wythe also returned). Thus he attended the convention session at St. John's Church in Richmond where Patrick Henry delivered the famous words, "Give me liberty, or give me death!". When the Virginia House of Delegates when was formed in 1776, Prentis again represented Williamsburg. Over the next decade Prentis at various times represented nearby York County (1777–1778, 1782–1788) or James City County (1781-1782) in that body. Fellow legislators elected Prentis a judge of the Court of Admiralty on June 5, 1776, but he resigned the following August 1, and again became a legislator (a part-time position, but one no judge nor executive officer could hold during his legislative service). Prentis became a member of the Virginia Privy Council in 1778, serving under Governor
Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...
. Prentis received a special appointment to attend the Session of the House of Delegates on May 7, 1781. Upon his return to the legislature, Prentis represented York County until his judicial appointment discussed below. During the 1785 session, beginning on October 15, 1785, Prentis chaired the committee which prepared a bill to authorize Virginia's delegates to the Continental Congress to assent to the general regulation of commerce in the United States. In 1786, fellow legislators elected Prentis their Speaker, On January 4, 1788, they elected him a judge of the General Court of Virginia. Prentis continued as such until his death two decades later. Also, Prentis was one of the revisers of Virginia's legal code in 1792.


Personal life

Prentis married Margaret Bowdoin, the daughter of John Bowdoin of Northampton County on 16 December 1778. The couple had eight children, but only four survived infancy or childhood. One of them, Joseph Prentis Jr. followed his father's path as a lawyer but lived in Suffolk County, Virginia. He married Susan Caroline Reddick, daughter of one-term delegate Robert Moore Reddick and granddaughter of multi-term delegate Willis Riddick of Nansemond County. Joseph Prentis Jr. served many years as clerk for Nansemond county and was a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830 (representing, Nansemond, Norfolk and other Hampton Roads counties, long after his father's death). In 1782 Joseph Prentis Sr. acquired Green Hill plantation, where he and his wife lived for the rest of their lives. Prentis enjoyed gardening and his papers, correspondence and even the naming of his home demonstrate that interest. The published 1787 tax census does not include Prentis as a taxpayer in either York nor James City county, possibly because legislators were exempt from tax assessment (as normally indicated in the notes). His Williamsburg household included nine people in 1788, probably three of them enslaved.


Death and legacy

Judge Prentis died on the 18th of June in 1809 at the age of 55. In addition to his son Joseph Prentis Jr's many years of service as clerk of Nansemond County mentioned above, his great grandson Robert Riddick Prentis also became a judge of the
Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
. The Library of the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
in
Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...
holds the Prentis family papers.A GUIDE TO THE WEBB-PRENTIS FAMILY PAPERS
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References


See also

* Winter, Kari J. (2011)
''The American Dreams of John B. Prentis Slave Trader''
The University of Georgia Press. * Richter, Caroline Julia
"The Prentis Family and their Library"
(1985). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625287. * Colonial Williamsbur
Portrait of Joseph Prentis
Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Williamsburg, Virginia 1754 births 1809 deaths Virginia colonial people {{Virginia-delegate-stub