Charles E. Prentis Biography


	This biography appears on pages 46-49 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				CHARLES E. PRENTIS.  

	C. E. Prentis, one of the pioneer merchants of South Dakota, 
actively identified with the business interests of Vermilion, was born 
September 30, 1847, in Dane county, Wisconsin, a son of John and 
Catherine P. (Williams) Prentis, who were natives of Massachusetts and 
Vermont respectively and descendants of early New England families. The 
father was a farmer by occupation and about 1830 made the overland trip 
to Wisconsin, where he engaged in general agricultural pursuits until 
his death.  

	C. E. Prentis attended the public schools of his native county to 
the age of eighteen years and then went east to Poughkeepsie, New York, 
where he pursued a course in Eastman's Commercial College. Later he 
returned to Madison, Wisconsin, where he secured a position as 
bookkeeper, acting in that capacity for about one and a half years. 
Consideration of the opportunities offered in the west led him to the 
belief that he would find it profitable to try his fortune in Dakota 
and in company with a friend and associate, A. E. Lee, he determined to 
engage in general merchandising at Vermilion. It was about the middle 
of the year 1869 that Mr. Lee reached that place and selected a site in 
what is now known as the bottoms. A small building was erected and a 
few months later Mr. Prentis removed to Vermilion, arriving in 
September, 1869. Both then went to Chicago, where they purchased a 
stock of general merchandise and the firm of Lee & Prentis was thus 
formed and launched into business. From the beginning their enterprise 
prospered, reliable business methods, unfaltering energy and 
perseverance winning for them a growing trade. Later a two story brick 
building was erected, which they occupied until 1881, the year of the 
big flood. The little village grew apace and with the increase in its 
population their trade became larger and larger, for straightforward 
business methods commended them to public support. With the growth of 
Vermillion the business center of the city was removed from the bottoms 
to the present site of the town and in 1881 Lee & Prentis erected their 
present building, in which they have continued successfully to the 
present time. Their house is not only widely known throughout Clay 
county but also over the greater part of South Dakota and is the 
largest establishment of its kind in the county. Moreover, in point of  
continuous existence theirs is the oldest business house in North or 
South Dakota and has  become one of the most important. It meant much 
in pioneer times when trade facilities were few in their section of the 
state and it has ever kept abreast with modern progress.  

	Mr. Prentis, however, has not confined his activities to 
merchandising alone. He recognized the future value of farm lands 
throughout the west and began making investments, being at one time the 
owner of over seven thousand acres in Clay county. In 1914, when prices 
had greatly advanced he sold practically all his holdings in Clay 
county, although he still has property in other sections of the state. 
He and his partner, Mr. Lee, own and operate a fine ranch of sixteen 
thousand acres in  Nebraska and Mr. Prentis is a stockholder in and 
vice president of the Citizens Bank & Trust  Company of Vermilion.  
On the 7th of November, 1872, Mr. Prentis was united in marriage to 
Miss Mary F. Stanley, who died September 14, 1906, leaving a daughter, 
Kathryn, the wife of Robert Howe Munger, of Sioux  City. On the 2d of 
September, 1909, Mr. Prentis wedded Mrs. Belle (Stanley) Bell, a sister 
of his first wife.  

	In his political views Mr. Prentis has long been a stalwart 
republican and has filled a number of local offices, to which he has 
been called by the vote of his fellow townsmen, serving at the present 
time  as mayor of Vermilion. He also became the first charter member of 
the Congregational church, in  the work of which he has ever taken an 
active and helpful interest. He is likewise a member and vice president 
of the Vermilion Commercial Club and he is a Mason, belonging to the 
blue lodge, chapter and commandery of Vermilion, and to El Riad Temple 
of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls. He is a lover of outdoor life and 
enjoys traveling. In nature he is quiet and unassuming but is most kind 
hearted and public spirited. His business life has not been void of the 
trials and tribulations that constitute the struggle of pioneer days 
and many residents of this part of the state are grateful for the 
credit and favors extended them in the period of financial depression 
caused by the grasshopper scourge and other incidents of pioneer life. 
The record of Mr. Prentis is a most creditable one. There have been no 
esoteric chapters in his life history but a manifestation of 
indefatigable industry and unswerving integrity in all his business 
dealings.