Governor
Thomas
Prence
Jr.
aka Prince
[uncertain]
Born about in England
Ancestors 
Son of Thomas Prence Sr.
and [mother unknown]
Brother of
Katherine (Prence) Crayford and Rebecca (Prence) Dipple
Husband of
Patience (Brewster) Prence
— married
5 Aug 1624 (to 12 Dec 1634) in Plymouth Colony
Husband of
Mary (Collier) Prence
— married
1 Apr 1635 (to about 1644) in Plymouth Colony
Husband of
Apphia (Quick) Prence
— married
1645 (to before 1 Aug 1668) in Plymouth Colony
Husband of
Mary (Unknown) Prence
— married
1 Aug 1668 (to 29 Mar 1673) in Plymouth Colony
Descendants 
Father of
Rebecca (Prence) Freeman, Thomas Prence III, Mercy (Prence) Freeman, Hannah (Prence) Sparrow, Jane (Prence) Snow, Sarah (Prence) Howes, Mary (Prence) Tracy, Judith (Prence) Tubbs and Elizabeth (Prence) Howland
Died
at about age 73
in Plymouth Colony, New England
Profile managers:
Michael Warner 
[send private message], Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], Shirley Becker [send private message], Heather Brown [send private message], and Ellen Blackwell [send private message]
[send private message], Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], Shirley Becker [send private message], Heather Brown [send private message], and Ellen Blackwell [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 14 Apr 2010
This page has been accessed 31,761 times.
| Thomas Prence Jr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 3, p. 1518) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
| Preceded by 3rd Governor Edward Winslow 7th Governor William Bradford 11th Governor William Bradford |
Thomas Prence 4th Governor of Plymouth Colony 1634 —1635  1638—1639 12th Governor 1657—1673 |
Succeeded by 5th Governor William Bradford 9th Governor William Bradford 13th Governor Josiah Winslow |
Contents |
Biography
Thomas Prence Jr. is Notable.
Thomas was the son of Thomas "Prince," a carriage maker of All Saints, Barking, London, England [1] He was born about 1600, based on his death notice in the Plymouth Colony records.[2] This profile previously listed his mother as Elizabeth Tolderby, daughter of "Reverend John". That relationship has been severed, the name of the wife of Thomas Prence "Sr", father of this profile, is not known at this time.
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, the likes 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.[3] 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.
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. 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 "in the 73 yeare of his life," meaning he was 72.[2] 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
See the Will of Thomas Prence[4]
See The Inventory of Thomas Prence's Estate[5][6]
See Extracts from Banks and Ferris - References/Miscellaneous
Timeline
- Born about 1600, England
- Religion Separatist (Puritan)
- Land (1621) land owner in Plymouth Colony
- Immigration (Nov 1621) on the ship Fortune to Plymouth Colony
- First Marriage (5 August 1624) Patience and Thomas were the ninth marriage recorded at Plymouth Colony
- Residence (22 May 1627) Plymouth Colony
- Removed (1632) Duxbury, Plymouth Colony
- Occupation (from 1634 to 1635) Governor of Plymouth Colony
- Married Second (1 Apr 1635) In Plymouth Colony Mary Collier
- Occupation (1635) Governor of Plymouth Colony
- Occupation (from 1638 to 1639) Governor Plymouth Colony
- Residence (from 1635 to 1644) Duxbury, Plymouth Colony
- Residence (Aug 1643) Plymouth Colony
- Married Third (about 1644)
- Removed (1644) Eastham, Barnstable, Plymouth Colony
- Residence (22 May 1655) Eastham, Barnstable, Plymouth Colony
- Removed (1663) Plymouth, Plymouth Colony
- Occupation (from 1657 to 1673) Governor of Plymouth Colony
- Will, 13 March 1672/3
- Death, 29 March 1673
- Burial, 8 April 1673, Old Burial Ground, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Will proved 5 June 1673
- Age at death, in his 73rd year (age 72)
Family
On 5 August 1624,[7] Thomas married Patience Brewster, the daughter of William.[8] Patience died of a fever in the winter of 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 ...'"[9] Thomas, now governor, married (2) at Plymouth, 1 April 1635, Mary Collier,[10][11] the daughter of William; Mary died perhaps by 1644. Thomas married (3), after 1 July 1644, Apphia (Quick) Freeman, the daughter of William Quick of London. She is said to have divorced her first husband, Samuel Freeman. Pence married (4), after 26 February 1665/6, but before 1 August 1668, Mary (_____) Howes, widow of Thomas Howes.[12]
Children with first wife,
- Thomas Prence, b. bef. 22 May 1627[13]
- Rebecca Prence, b. bef. 22 May 1627;[13] m. Edmund Freeman[13]
- Mercy Prence, b. bef. 28 Sep 1631;[13] m. John Freeman[13]
- Hannah Prence, b. bef. 12 Dec 1634;[14] m(1) Nathaniel Mayo;[13] m(2) Jonathan Sparrow;[13] d. bef. 23 Nov 1698
Children with second wife,
- Jane Prence, born Duxbury, 1 November 1637.[15]
- Mary Prence, born about 1639.[16]
Children, perhaps with third wife,
- Judith Prence, born say 1645.[3]
- Elizabeth Prence, born about the spring, 1647.[17]
- Sarah Prence, born about 1648.[18]
Sources
- ↑ The Will of Thomas Prince of All Saints, Barking, Carriage Maker: The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 158 Piece Description: Piece 158: Scroope, Quire Numbers 64-117 (1630)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, also called Records of Plymouth Colony, vol. 8, Miscellaneous Records, 1633-1689 (Boston: 1857), 34 [1].
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vols I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence); digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
- ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-V3R1 : 9 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 336 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
- ↑ William T. Davis, ed., Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation: 1606-1646 (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1908). (Archive.org: accessed 2016).
- ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-V35R : 9 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 337 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
- ↑ Citing "Prince, 229," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vols I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence), at 1522; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
- ↑ [Rev.] Thomas Prince (1687-1758) A Chronological History of New England: In the form of Annals … (Boston: Antiquarian Bookstore, 1852), p. 229, August 5 [1624], "The ninth marriage at New Plymouth is of Mr. Thomas Prince with Mrs. Patience Brewster … "; digital images, InternetArchive.
- ↑ Citing "WP 3:177," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vols I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence), at 1522; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
- ↑ Citing "PCR 1:34," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vols I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence), at 1523; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
- ↑ “Plymouth Colony records, court orders, 1633-1690”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3S3-4QXG-T : 3 April 2023), FHL microfilm 008492483, image 54, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Vol 1-3, 1633-1640, Page 78.
- ↑ Citing "MD 6:157-65, 230-35," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vols I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence), at 1523; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, vol. 24, part 1, p. 80.
- ↑ Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, vol. 24, part 1, p. 156.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQDD-75J : 15 January 2020), Jane Prince, 1637.
- ↑ Citing "Tracy Gen 26," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence), at 1523-24; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
- ↑ Citing "WP 5:169," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence), at 1523-24; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
- ↑ Noting conflicting sources as regards her date of birth, Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 1518-25 (Thomas Prence), at 1523-24; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
See also:
- Thomas Prence - Some Other Sources
- Anna Kingsbury (1870-1943), A Historical Sketch of Thomas Prence ([Boston?], n.p., 1924), 20-23 for Massachusetts Historical Society holding, letters "to and from Governor Prence and his relatives in England," 8 March 1668/9--15 March 1669/70; digital images, InternetArchive; author notes, the letters "were found to be among the [Massachusetts Historical Society's] Edward Winslow Papers" (p. 20).
- Wikipedia article on Thomas Prence
- Rosner, Susan E. Mayflower Increasings (1996 2nd edition)
- Hawes, James W. Esq., Cape Cod Library, Vol. 1, Thomas Howes of Yarmouth, Mass, and Some of His Descendants</i> (Copyright, 1917, by C. W. Swift); Cape Cod Library, vol. 1, The Prince-Howes Court Cupboard</i>
- Ferris, Mary. Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines (Privately Printed, 1943) Page 683-693
- 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)
- Wikipedia for Thomas Prence on the Fortune
- "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch; Jane Prince, 01 Nov 1637; FHL microfilm 0907350 IT 2-6, 905406.
- "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch; entry for Thomas Prence, 24 Dec 1650; FHL microfilm 823,641, 823,642.
- "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch; entry for Mark Snow and Jane Prince, 09 Jan 1666; FHL microfilm 778,357, 905,406.
- "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934," database, FamilySearch; entry for Mercy Prince, 28 Sep 1711; FHL microfilm 3,319.
- Find A Grave: Memorial #7497193 See also "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch; Thomas Prence, 1673; Burial, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Burial Hill; citing record ID 7497193.
- "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch, entry for Thomas Prence V; contributed by various users.
- Hotten, John Camden, The Original Lists Of Persons Of Quality (John Camden Hotten, 1874) Page xxviii
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- PGM: Who can help clean up Thomas Prence's Narrative? May 14, 2013.
- Is there anyone working on the Prence/Prince Family? Sep 14, 2012.
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P > Prence > Thomas Prence Jr.
Categories: Massachusetts, Notables | Fortune, sailed 1621 | Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts | Puritan Great Migration | England, Notables | Notables
edited by Doug Sinclair
edited by Kathy (Foote) Durham
For example, the phrase "Thomas was a dedicated Puritan." Would you say instead "Thomas was a dedicated Separatist"? (that doesn't sound right to me) or maybe "Thomas was a dedicated Calvinist?"
I'm only vaguely familiar with the topic here...so understand that my comments are made with some hesitation.
edited by M Cole
Have completed this brief work. I note that some carving could be done on the overly long "see also" source list.
Edited to add: Have done some carving; added link in other sources to FSP
edited by GeneJ X
[Edited to add:] agreed that it does not mention Lechdale in the will as Anderson suggests. I would keep a statement in the biography that disputes what Anderson gives as his place of birth.
edited by Bobbie (Madison) Hall
Kingsbury, Anna. A Historical Sketch of Thomas Prence. (1924): pages 20-24, see page 22.
Thank you for keeping a watchful eye on Prence's profile.
Seems my take on this might be a little different.
Is there a reason we wouldn't leave the place of birth as it is, and comment about the uncertainty in the narrative, including a footnote in which we identify the sources examined in which no evidence was found?
That his father was at one time "of Lechlade" is just about everywhere--it is almost an identifier for Thomas, Sr. (and Thomas, Jr.). That the son was born there is even included in the British History Online narrative about the place! See "Lechlade," Gloucestershire; British History Online for "Natives of the town have included Thomas Prence ..."
Mary Walton Ferris' work (Dawes-Gates) is, I'm sure, not without fault, but she didn't tend towards the speculative.
Mary Walton Ferris, Dawes-Gates Ancestral lines .., 2 vols., 1931-1943, 2(1931):683-694, esp. 683n for Thomas Prence, Sr.; digital images, Hathi Trust.
The footnote reads, "Thomas Prence, senior, removed from Lechlade at an unknown date to All Saints, Barking, London, where he carried on the trade of carriage-maker ... "
The association with Lechlade--even if in error/mispelled or misspoken, originated somewhere.
I see that WikiTree has Sr.'s in-laws as born and married at Lechlade. Those profiles seem mostly unsourced. Do you know if any of those surnames or facts show up in the research about the area?
If I come across any better information, will advise. --Gene
I'm still pulling references, perhaps will learn an early if not the earliest published mention of Lechlade.
The footnote in Dawes-Gates suggests to my total nerd side that we aren't looking for a parish record. (It doesn't say, sometime after XXXX, he left Lechlade.) Again, from the nerd--more of the information style that might come from a deposition or business related document.
As to parish records, I don't have the kind of ready access to the early records about Gloucestershire--I am definitely not knowledgable enough to know which records are extant vs those that are not.
It's clear that you, and perhaps others, are doing valuable work on this topic, and that this work relates to several WikiTree profiles.
What do you think of creating a free space page, onto which we can capture the different sources examined (whether positive search or negative) and a wish list of those we'd like to see? This could be linked to the various profiles that cover different names (Govs parents, his grandparents, etc.)
You wrote, "I certainly think we should note in the profile that Lechlade has been linked as the place of origin for this family but that rigorous sources have not yet been found ..."
Yes, although I remain hopeful that the list of rigorous sources might be listed somehow.
As earlier, I don't see the benefit of changing the data field to "England," but do see the need to make it clear that the good folks on WikiTree and those with the England Project are unable to verify that location.
Will post the information from my digging as that work proceeds.
Thank you again--Gene
More to post (later), but wondering if anyone has seen the "Interesting contemporary letters concerning the father and grandfather of Governor Prence [that are] in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society."
Charles Edward Banks, The English ancestry and homes of the Pilgrim Fathers who came to Plymouth on the 'Mayflower' in 1620, the 'Fortune' in 1621, and the 'Anne' and the 'Little James' in 1623 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1962), 125; digital images, Hathi Trust.
For the elder's will, Banks cites (see note) "P. C. C. 70, Scrope."
Note: Lordy, Lordy, show me the way. I have not yet identified that underlying reference. It is presumed the same source referred to in Anderson's article by "EIHC [1]7:103-04, citing PCC 70, Scroope," and in EIHC 17:103-4 as "Scroop, L. 70." For the latter, see Hathi Trust.
edited by GeneJ X
Kingsbury, Anna. A Historical Sketch of Thomas Prence. (1924): pages 20-24.
Anna Kingsbury said the originals were found in the papers of Edward Winslow, probably here / Winslow family papers II, 1638-1760; bulk: 1638-1680.
"He refers to the grandfather and grandmother of the Governor and himself in such manner that it is evident their home was in Lechlade or Leachlade."
edited by Joe Cochoit