THE PRENTICES

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PRENTICES, A LITTLE NOBILITY IN THE FAMILY.

                                             ARCHIBALD PRENTICE

1792 - 1857.

Early marriage registers for Cambusnethan, Lanark, Scotland, suggest that there were several male Prentices who were heads of families during the mid-1600s, including Henry who married Janet Smallie, Robert and John. Possibly these men were brothers. Although it is believed that the Prentice might have originated in England, it is not known when they came to Cambusnethan.

However, there was also a John Prentice who was known as the Laird of Stone (Stane), which was presumably in Cambusnethan, Scotland. Also, "John Prentice...by extraordinary prowess and personal bravery, having saved the life of (John) Lockhart, one of Cromwell's generals, was by him presented with the lands of Thorn (in Carluke, Lanark, Scotland), at nominal quit-rent, as an acknowledgment of his gratitude. He afterwards held a subordinate office at Dunkirk (France), when that important fortress was reluctantly yielded up by Lockhart at the restoration, so that he was among the last who submitted to Charles the Second..."

The properties referred to as Thorn and one known as Thornmuir, are now in ruins. A place called Thorn Cottages still exists in the rural area near Carluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Archibald, "whose son afterward married the daughter of Alexander Reid," was described as "the second son of John Prentice (the Laird of Stone) by his great-grandson, Archibald Prentice of Manchester. He is also referred to as "Archibald of Thorn, portioner of Stone" in the Index to the Lanark Register of Sasines.

Archibald fought at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge on 22 June 1679. Many lost their lands if they were even suspected of being at Bothwell, and those who were actively engaged and would not renounce the principles of Presybyterianism which induced them take up arms, were fortunate if they escaped the scaffold. Possibly because his family had been under the protection of the grateful Sir William Lockhart, Archibald Prentice of Stone was exposed to less persecution than his friend Alexander Reid.

next page