Books published by Heritage Books

This book of will abstracts comes from an author who published two volumes of Princess Anne County, Virginia Land and Probate Records with Heritage Books, Inc. The wills are arranged by date of probate (each will record comes with two dates: when written and the date of probate). Each entry also notes witnesses and executors, when available. The author took care to preserve original notes, names, and variations. The records were taken from four will books for this county, and the author noted original page numbers, for further research. A surname index is included.

Prentice is an old English name and has been spelled variously as Prentice, Prentys, Prentiz, Prentis, and Prentiss. Valentine Prentice was born c.1568 in Essex, England, immigrated to the U.S. 1631, and died in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He married Alice Bredda. His father, also called Valentine, and his probable grandfather and great-grandfather are also mentioned. The bulk of the book; however, treats the descendants of the grandsons and covers a total of seventeen generations. In addition to vital statistics, data covered may include residences, the spouse's parents, biographical information, and analysis of conflicting or unclear facts. A variety of primary and secondary sources were used to compile this work.

This important work chronicles the development of the Stamford settlement from its difficult and demanding early days to its later period of relative prosperity and independence. Details of the hardships and triumphs of the young village include: the constant threat of Indian incursion; the development of military order and strong defenses; King Philip's War, which decimated the Indian force; conflicts which arose with the Dutch over boundaries; and the struggle of Stamford to break free from New Haven to free itself of taxes levied by the Colony and its overwhelming judicial control. These are just a few of the notable incidents that occurrd during the first sixty days of Stamford's existance. Many aspects of everyday life are also described in this book. A lenghthy chapter provides outline genealogies covering the first three or four generations of all the families which arrived in the seventeenth century and stayed for an exteded period.

St. Joseph Polish Cemetery covers a very large area and is divided in two parts: the Old Section, which consists of Section A through and including Section H, and the Perpetual Care (PC) section, which is designated as PC1-PC2-etc. This book primarily covers all of the Old Section. You will find a few gravesites designated PC1-these are included because the author had personally researched these particular families. Utmost care has been taken to translate into the English language all pertinent information which appeared on any memorial. The author has also taken the liberty of including the maiden names of most wives as she found them recorded in the marriage records at the county courthouse in South Bend, Indiana. This, she hopes, will be helpful to anyone attempting to complete their family research. Gravesites with no designated section were obtained from other sources; the lack of a designated section does not indicate they are interred in the Old Section. One should contact the St. Joseph Undertaker and Cemetery Association at 824 S. Mayflower Road, South Bend, Indiana 46619 for exact locations. A full-name index adds to the value of this work.