Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/132

106 was one of its most influential members. On the inauguration of the new state government of 1820 he was appointed a judge of the supreme court. In 1829 he was made U. S. minister to the Nether- lands, and he subsequently held other public offices. He was the first president of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence railroad company in 1847, and published pamphlets relating to this corporation (1845-'7). Bowdoin gave him the degree of LL. I), in 1829.

'''PREFONTAINE. Aymery'''. Chevalier de (pray- fon-tane). French soldier, b. in Coutances in 1720 ; d. in Cayenne in 1767. He entered the army very early, and served all his life in the French posses- sions of South America, holding the post of police lieutenant of Cayenne from 1759 till his death. He contributed much to the improvement of tin- col- ony, promoted emigration, and preseiited several papers to the king's councils in advocation of the scheme of " France equinoxiale." He published several works, including " liaison rustique a I'usuge des habitants de la partie de la France' equinoxiale connue sous le nom de Cayenne" (Paris, 1763). to which is prefixed a dictionary of the Galibi dialect and a grammatical essay, which was afterward reprinted by Lesueur, and is yet con- sidered as one of the best treatises on the language of the Guiana Indians.

PRENCE, or PRINCE, Thomas, governor of Plymouth colony, b. in England in 1601 ; d. in I'kmiiiilh, MII-S., 29 March, Hi?:!. lie was a son of Thomas I'rence of Lechdale in Gloucestershire, and sailed for this country on the " Fortune " in 1(121. His first wife was a daughter of William Brewster. He was one of the first settlers of Nan- sett, or Kitstluim, was chosen governor of Ply- mouth colony in 1634, serving until 163s. and again from 1657 till 1673, and was an assistant in 1635-7 and 1639- '57. He was an impartial magistrate, was distinguished for his religious zeal, and opposed those that he believed to be heretics, particularly the Quakers. In opposition to the clamors of the ignorant he, procured revenue for the support of grammar-schools in the colony. Gov. Prence gave to Wamsutta and Pometacom, the sons of Massasoit, the names of Alexander and Philip as a compliment to their warlike character.

PRENTICE, George Denison, journalist. I,, in Preston, Conn., 18 Dec.. 1802 ; d. in Louisville, Ky., 22 Jan., 1870. Before the age of fifteen he was principal of a public school. He was gradu- ated at Brown in 1823, studied law. and was ad- mitted to t he bar in 1829, but never practised his pro- fession. In 1825 he was the editor of the " Connecti- cut Mirror." and in 1828 he took charge of the" New England Weekly Review," which he conducted for two years, and then re- moved to Louis- ville. Ky. In 1831 he became editor of the Louisville " Journal," a daily paper, which he made the principal advocate of the Whig party in that region, and won a reputation for political ability, wit, and satire. In 1860 he sustained I lie Union party, but although maintaining its c-aiiM- during the "civil war he was not a zealous sup- porter of President Lincoln's administration. He- resigned his office, but contributed to this journal until its consolidation with the " Courier " under the name of the "Courier Journal." He also fur- ni-hed a column of wit and humor to the "New York Ledger " for several years. He wrote numer- ous poems, which have been collected in book-form and published, with a biography, by John James Piatt (Cincinnati, 1875). Mr. Prentice was the author of a " Life of Henry Clay " (Hartford, 1831). A selection of his writings was published under the title of " Prenticeana ; or, Wit and Humor" (New York, 1859: 2d ed., with biographical sketch by Gilderoy W. Griffin, Philadelphia, 1870). Sec- also a "Memorial Address " by his successor, Henry Watterson (Cincinnati. 1870).

'''PRENTISS. Benjamin Mayberry,''' soldier, b. in Belleville. Wood co.. Va., 23 Nov.. 1819. He removed with his parents to Missouri in 1835, and in 1841 settled in Quincy, 111., where he learned rope-making, and subsequently engaged in the commission" business. In 1844-'5 he was 1st lieu- tenant of a company that was sent against the Mormons in Hancock. 111. He served in the Mexi- can war as captain of volunteers, and on his re- turn was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for congress in 1860. At the beginning of the civil war he reorganized his old company, was ap- pointed colonel of the 7th Illinois regiment, and became brigadier-general of volunteers. 17 May, 1861 He was placed in command of Cairo, after- ward served in southern Missouri, routed a large body of Confederates at Mount Zion on 28 Dec., 1861, and joined Gen. Grant three days before the battle of Shiloh, on the first day of which he was taken prisoner with most of his command. lie was released in October, 1862, and appointed ma- j"i- 'jeneral of volunteers on 29 Nov. He was a member of the court-martial that tried Gen. Fitz- John Porter (q.v.). He commanded at the po-t ot Helena, Ark., and on 3 July, 1863, defeated Gen. Theophilus II. Holmes and Gen. Sterling Price, who attacked him there. Gen. Prentiss resigned his commission on 28 Oct., 1863.

'''PRENTISS. Charles''', editor, b. in Reading. Mass., 8 Oct., 1774; d. in Brimfield, Mass., 20 Oct., 1820. His father, Caleb, was pastor of a church in Reading. The son was graduated at Harvard in 17!iri. and in that year became editor of the IJural Repository," a short-lived weekly journal, at Leominster, Mass. Subsequently he edited "The- Political Focus," which was afterward called the Washington Federalist," in Georgetown, D. C. v the Anti-Democrat," and a literary paper called The Child of Pallas " in Baltimore. In 1804 he visited England, in 1809 he published "The Thistle," a theatrical paper of brief duration, and after 1810 he reported the congressional proceed- ings in Washington, where he edited " The Inde- pendent American." He was the author of "A Collection of Fugitive Essays in Prose and Verse " (Leominster, 1797) ; "Life of Robert Treat Paine" (Boston, 1812); "Life of Gen. William Eaton." printed anonymously (Brookfield. 1813) : ' Poems" (1813); a " Bistory of the United States"; and the "Trial of Calvin and Hopkins" (1819).

PRENTISS, George Aldrirh. naval officer, b. in Keene, N. H.. in 1809; d. near Charleston. S. C., 8 April. 1868. His father, John (1777-1873). served in the New Hampshire legislature, established the " New Hampshire Sentinel," which he conducted for forty-nine years, and at his death was the oldest editor in New England. The son entered the ('. S. navy us midshipman on 1 March, 1825, was on duty at I he Portsmouth navy-yard, served in the sloop-