Skip to main content

Sylvester Prentiss papers

 Collection
Call Number: RH MS P809

Overview

These papers of Dr. Sylvester B. Prentiss, an early Lawrence, Kansas settler, contain handwritten autobiographical and biographical sketches of Dr. Prentiss and his second wife, Mary (Converse) Prentiss, as well as a portrait of Dr. Prentiss. Also included are news articles featuring reminiscences of early Lawrence and of the Coal Creek Library at Vinland, Kansas by Dr. Prentiss's third wife, Annie (Soule) Prentiss, who emigrated to Lawrence in 1855.

Dates

  • Creation: 1928 - 1929

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of Sylvester B. Prentiss

Sylvester B. Prentiss was born in Chester, Massachusetts on May 4, 1817. He pursued medical study and began the practice of medicine Coventry, New York, then in Jackson, Georgia. In 1855, he moved to Kansas, settling in Lawrence, where he continued his medical practice. In 1855, he was commissioned Surgeon General of the Kansas Volunteers by Major General Charles Robinson. In 1858, he was elected by the Legislative Assembly to be Surgeon General of the Kansas Militia.

Dr. Prentiss married Louisa Brooks on October 24, 1839 at Norwich, New York. Following the death of his first wife, he married Mary N. Converse of Coventry, New York on April 14, 1847. Dr. Prentiss's second wife died on May 22, 1865 at Lawrence. On June 21, 1867, he married his third wife, Annie Julia Soule, daughter of Amasa Soule. Annie Soule's father had emigrated to Lawrence in 1854 in the New England Emigrant Aid Company's second party of emigrants. He was joined by his wife, daughter Annie, and son Silas in the summer of 1855.

Extent

6 folders

Language of Materials

English

Physical Location

RH MS P809

Physical Location

RH MS-P P809

Title
Guide to the Sylvester B. Prentiss Collection
Subtitle
Sylvester Prentiss papers
Author
Finding aid prepared by mh, 2007; revised by, cl 2010; Finding aid encoded by mh, 2007
Date
2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in <language encodinganalog="language">English.</language>
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/2354948824
Preferred citation
Prentiss, Sylvester B, Papers, Kansas Collection, RH MS P809, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334