Judson Prentice (March 2, 1810 – July 27, 1886) was a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after ...

Biography

Prentice was born in Oriskany Falls,

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenosa ...

, to Lucy Stafford and Thomas Prentice. He lived in

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York State. As of the 2020 census, the population was 954,236. The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population. Both the county and Lake Eri ...

for 30 years, where he met and married his first wife, Almira Woodruff. They had two children together before her death in July 1844. Shortly after her death, Prentice moved to Trenton, Dodge County, in the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

, before eventually settling in

Watertown, Wisconsin Watertown is a city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. The population of Watertown was 2 ...

. In 1848, Prentice married Olive Thompson, a Congregationalist from

Riga, New York Riga is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 5,590 at the 2010 census. The Town of Riga is southwest of the city of Rochester on the western border of the county. Locally, the town's name is pronounced RYE-ga, ins ...

. They would have five children.

Career

Prentice represented Dodge County in the

for two years. In 1852, as the senator from the 10th District, and in 1853, after redistricting, as the senator from the 22nd District. Additionally, he was an alderman of Watertown, Wisconsin, Surveyor of Dodge County, and a justice of the peace. He was a member of the Whig Party. Prentice died in Watertown at the age of 78."Obituary", ''Portage Daily Democrat'' (July 27, 1886), p. 1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prentice, Judson People from Oneida County, New York Politicians from Watertown, Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin city council members American surveyors American justices of the peace Wisconsin Whigs 19th-century American politicians 1810 births People from Trenton, Dodge County, Wisconsin 1886 deaths 19th-century American judges