Mark and Mariah's Family Tree
consisting, at present, of 166 generations
He came to Plymouth on the "Fortune" in 1621, and from the beginningseemed to have taken a le
ading role in Plymouth affairs. Of the eightPlymouth Undertakers, who seemed to be the most i
mportant men in thecolony in 1627, Prence was the only one who had not arrived on the"Mayflow
er".
He became governor in 1634, and was elected an Assistant in 1635,and from then on he wa
s either an Assistant or governor every year forthe rest of his life. He also served as trea
surer, as president of theCouncil of War, and in various other capacities. With the death of
Bradford in 1657, Prence became without doubt the most important andinfluential man in the co
lony. He was of a conservative nature, as isshown by his
siding with Bradford and Winslow in the 1645 Vassall controversy, and by
his actions against the Quakers. He was involved in several law suits
which were decided in his favor, such as 1650, when Strong Fumell of
Boston submitted a written humble apology to the court for having evily
slandered Mr. Prence after the latter sued him for 200 pounds damage. In1665 as compensatio
n for having required Prence, as governor, to residein Plymouth, the court ordered that he wo
uld be paid 50 pounds per yearas long as he remained governor, and he was given a house in th
e PlainDealing area of Plymouth as a residence (in 1668, at his request, thecourt sold him th
at house for 150 pound.
He engaged in many land transactions, and he died a wealthy man,leaving a personal estat
e in excess 400 pounds and some eleven tracts ofland, at least two of them containing 100 acr
es each.
His chagrin over Arthur Howland's eventually successful suit forthe hand of his daughte
r Elizabeth is related in the text, and heprobably was not happy over the marriage of two o
f his daughters to sonsof Edmond Freeman. The mention in his will of his deceased son Thomas
'sdaughter Susanna Prence would indicate that he died without survivingmale issue in the Pren
ce line.
His reputation for intolerance, particularly toward the Quakers, hasclouded over his ext
ensive service to the colony. He presided over thecourt in the very sane and reasonable hand
ling of Plymouth's firstwitchcraft trial in 1661. He dealt in a humane way with the Indians
, andmissionary Thomas Mayhew wrote of his "gentle and kind dealing" withthem, and he also pr
esided over the court as governor in 1638 when themomentous decision was made to execute th
e white men who
had murdered an Indian. He showed wisdom in 1637 when he negotiated
with the Massachusetts men who unjustly demanded much of the land on theConnecticut River tha
t Plymouth had purchased from the Indians and
he advocated and brought about a free school system in the colony.
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