Administrative Information

Access

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Publication Rights/ Restrictions on Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Librarian/ Associate Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, and the holder of the copyright, if not the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg.

Preferred Citation

Prentis Family Papers, Manuscript # MS 75.2, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Acquisition Information

Purchase, 1975.

Alternative Form

Microfilm copy (M-1317.1) available.

Biographical/Historical Information

John Prentis (1729-1775) was a Williamsburg merchant; Robert was his cousin. Robert later moved to Trinidad and died there. Joseph Prentis (1782-1851) was a lawyer in Suffolk and the son of Judge Joseph Prentis (1754-1809) Williamsburg.

Scope and Content Information

Ledger of accounts receivable of the Prentis Store dating from about 1778, including a list of bad debts from 1742. The account book seems to be by Robert Prentis (1741-ca.1809) of the firm of John Prentis and Company. The firm became Robert Prentis and Company during 1775-1779. Names in the account book include Carter Braxton, Nathaniel Burwell, Christiana Campbell, Landon Carter, Robert Carter, Josiah Chowning, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, John Page, Peyton Randolph, William Randolph, and George Wythe. The nine pieces are notes or accounts to Joseph Prentis from John Giles, Henry W. Wills, Thaddeus Powell, and Merrit Jordan, dated 1813 to 1828.

Arrangement

Items are arranged chronologically.

Index Terms

Persons:

• Braxton, Carter, 1736-1797.
• Burwell, Nathaniel, 1750-1814.
• Campbell, Christiana, 1722-1793.
• Carter, Landon, 1710-1778.
• Carter, Robert, 1728- 1804.
• Chowning, Josiah, d. 1772.
• Giles, John.
• Harrison, Benjamin, ca. 1726-1791.
• Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826.
• Jordan, Merrit.
• Page, John, 1744-1808.
• Powell, Thaddeus.
• Prentis, Joseph, 1754-1809.
• Prentis, Robert, d. 1803.
• Randolph, Peyton, 1721-1775.
• Willis, Henry W.
• Wythe, George, 1726-1806.

Corporate Names:

• John Prentis & Co.
• Prentis Store (Williamsburg, Va.)
• Robert Prentis & Co.

Geographical Names:

• Williamsburg (Va.) --History --Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.
• Williamsburg (Va.) --People --18th Century.
• Williamsburg (Va.) --People --19th Century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Account books --Virginia.
• Merchant accounts --Virginia --History --19th Century.
• Merchant accounts - -Virginia -- History --18th Century.