General Notes

Thomas Prence was born in the area of Lechlade, Gloucestershire about 1600 to Thomas Prence/Prince and Elizabeth Todlerby, but  this may not have been the original home of the family.
The surname may have been “Prince” but in Plymouth he always spelled it Prence.
At some time Thomas, the father, moved to the London parish of All Hallows Barking, near Tower Hill, where he was a carriage maker.
Thomas Prence, Senior, of all Hallows, in his will of July 31, 1639 mentions “my son Thomas Prence now remayninge in New England in parts beyond the seas.”
In his will he also bequeathed a “seale Ringe of Gold” to his son, which indicates the family may have been armigerous (entitled to use a coat of arms

The proper spelling of the family surname was “Prince” and it was so written by his immediate and collateral forebears.
The London residence of Thomas Prence was in the hamlet of Ratcliffe, parish of Stepney and most likely remained there until his emigration.
Thomas used the spelling Prence in the New World

Thomas Prence came to Plymouth on the ship "Fortune" in November 1621 as a single man.

In 1627, he was a member of the Plymouth Undertakers, who were the most important men in the colony at that time.
This group was composed of colony leaders such as Bradford, Winslow, Brewster, Standish, Alden, Howland and Allerton, with Prence being the only member who had not arrived on the Mayflower.
They had agreed to assume the colony’s debt with London with an understanding that they would receive the fur trade monopoly.

In 1634 he became Plymouth Governor, and from then on he was either Governor or Assistant Governor of Plymouth for the rest of his life.
He was, at various times, also colony treasurer, as president of the Council of War, and in various other positions.

Thomas Prence married 4 times:

1. Patience Brewster, daughter of Pilgrim Elder William Brewster on August 5, 1624.
Patience died in an outbreak of “pestilent fever” in 1634, which was later determined to have been a smallpox and influenza outbreak, and was quite destructive to both English and Indians.
She was buried at Burial Hill in Plymouth.
Her sister Fear Brewster, the wife of Isaac Allerton, also died during this time.

2. Mary Collier, daughter of William Collier, a Merchant Adventurer, on April 1, 1635.
Burial unknown.

3. Apphia (Quicke) Freeman sometime between between 1662 and 1668.
Burial unknown.]

4. Mary (Burr), widow of Thomas Howes, before August 1662 (or, per Stratton, before 1 August 1668.) ”They had no children and she died in December 1695.
Buried in Howes Cemetery, Dennis, Barnstable County, Mass., as “Mary Burr.

Children of Thomas and Patience (Brewster) Prence:
Rebecca was born about 1625.
She married Edmund Freeman on April22, 1646 and was buried on March 23, 1648.
They had two daughters.

Thomas was born about 1627 and died in England sometime before 13 March 1672/73.
He had moved back to England where he married and had a daughter.

Hannah was born about 1629 and died in Eastham before November 23, 1698.
She married: 1. Nathaniel Mayo on February 13, 1649/50 and had six children.
2. Jonathan Sparrow by 1671 and had two children.

Mercy was born about 1631 and died in Eastham September 28, 1711.
She married John Freeman, brother of Edmund, married to her sister Rebecca, on February 13, 1649/50 and had eleven children.

Children of Thomas and Mary (Collier) Prence:
Jane was born on November 1, 1637 in Duxbury and died in 1712.
She married, as his 2nd wife, Mark Snow and had eight children
.
Mary was born about 1639 and died possibly 1711.
She married John Tracy about 1661.

There is conjecture about the mother of these children, but it is believed it was the 2nd wife of Thomas Prence, Mary Collier:
Judith was born around 1645.
She married: 1. Isaac Barker on December 28, 1665
2. William Tubbs after 1693 Elizabeth was born around 1647.
She married Arthur Howland on December 9, 1667
.
Sarah was born around 1648 and died on March 3, 1706
She married her step-brother Jeremiah Howes by about 1669.