Inventory of Prentis Family Papers

Descriptive Summary
Prentis Family Papers
1807-1830

Source: Peter Prentis Causey, Jr.
Number of items: 12. Number of Volumes: 2. Legal papers and accounts, relating to the Joseph Prentis estate, and various members of the Riddick and Bowdoin families. Includes correspondence of Joseph Prentis, Jr., and Peter Bowdoin Prentis' license to practice law.

Scope and Content Note

Form of material and dates: Legal papers and accounts, primarily 1807-1830, relating to the settlement of the estate of Joseph Prentis (1754-1809), of Williamsburg, Va., and various members of the Riddick and Bowdoin families, of Nansemond Co., Va. Also included are correspondence of Joseph Prentis, Jr., and Peter Bowdoin Prentis' license to practice law.
 

Container List and Descriptions
Prentis Family Papers

7 October 1807

Private will of Joseph Prentis, Williamsburg, Va., dividing his property equally among his four children Joseph, John B., Eliza, and Mary Ann; some property to be sold to pay his debts; various bequests to friends including Mr. and Mrs. Fulwar ? Skipwith and Alex. Green. 3pp. CDS. Including DS, 2 September 1817, of the Court of Quarterly Sessions held for the city of Williamsburg ordering Joseph Prentis'will to be recorded. Signed by Leonard Henley, Clerk Hustings Court. 2pp. Also including DS, 22 September 1817, by William McCandlish, presiding Justice of the Court of Hustings for the City of Williamsburg, certifying that Leonard Henley is clerk of the Court of Hustings for the City of Williamsburg. 1 p. See medium oversize file.

31 July 1809

Account of the sales of the estate of Joseph Prentis, deceased, Williamsburg, Va., kept by Robert Anderson, listing household items and names of purchasers. 10 pp. D.

21 April 1815

Account of the administration of the estate of Joseph Prentis in account with Joseph Prentis, Jr., the acting executor, and signed by William Browne, Jessee [sic] Cole, and Robert Saunders, who were appointed by the Court of Hustings of the City of Williamsburg. 4pp. CyDS. See medium oversize file.

20 August 1817

Notice that Josiash Riddick, executor of William Riddick, deceased, has settled all "matters of difference" with Thomas Swepson, executor of Robert M. Riddick deceased, and exonerates the estate of Robert M. Riddick from all "contracts, actions and causes of actions" which existed between Robert M. Riddick and him. 2pp. DS.

4 Feb. 1820

Statement of the settlement of the estate of Robert M. Riddick, deceased, 27 Nov. 1809-1 Jan. 1820. 9 pp. CyD. Includes CyDS, 4 February 1820, of the settlement of the account of Robert M. Riddick, deceased, in the presence of Joseph Prentis, administrator, with Thomas Swepson, signed by R.H. Baker and Thomas P. Smith, Nansemond County, Va., 1p. CyDS.

12 January 1828

Final settlement by Joseph Prentis, Suffolk, Va., of the estate of his father Joseph Prentis among himself, his brother John B., and his sisters Eliza B. and Mary Anne. 1 p. DS.

29 July 1829

Joseph Prentis, Jr., Suffolk, Va., to his son Joseph Prentis, at Colonel Woodley's Seminary near Smithfield, Va. Has taken his wife to Old Point Comfort, Va., to try to restore her health by the "salt bath"; the rest of the family is well except for Maria Louise who has the "whooping cough"; hope he has recovered from his "indisposition"; mentions the tickets his son has won at school. 2pp. ALS.

8 March 1835

Will of Susan Bowdoin in which she leaves legacies to the Bible Society, the Episcopal Education Society, Courtney Cocke, Joseph Prentis, Margaret Susan Webb, Mari Anna Saunders Riddick, Mrs. Susan Parker, Peter Bowdoin, Eliza B. Vickery; appoints as executors Joseph Prentis and Dr. Robert H. Webb; witnessed by Mary Jones and William Shepherd. 3pp. CyDS. Including a Cy DS, 17 April 1835, signed by John T. Kilby, stating that the will was recorded in Nansemond Co. Va., Court. 1p.

28 June 1841

License to practise as an attorney and counsellor granted to Peter Bowdoin Prentis of Nansemond Co., Va. Signed by Philip Norborne Nicholas, Abel Parker Upshur, and Richard H. Baker, Va. Supreme Court. 1p. CyDS.

22 September 1855

William E. Jordan, Quaker Neck, to Mr. ? Prentice, n.p. Received his brother's letter, sends thanks; considers himself under obligation to him for his kindness. 1p. ALS.

Manuscript volumes

1809

Joseph Prentis, Jr.'s transactions in the settlement of his father's estate, including the last will and testament of Joseph Prentis, Sr. of Williamsburg, Va., inventory of his slaves; and account of the sales of the estate, listing purchaser and amount paid. 45 pp. MsV. Transferred from MsV/Aa8.

13 December 1819-31, December 1827

Copies of legal records relating to the settlement of the estate of Robert Moore Riddick, (Jospeh Prentis, "administrator de bonis nom"), Nansemond Co. court record, including the substance of his will; inventory and appraisement of his slaves; inventory of his estate, 1820-1827; including the accounts for medical and other expenses of his slaves; and the final settlement of the estate, June 1827. 27 pp. MsV.