| Notes |
- !Birth place provided by Robert Gardine.Marriage rec on LDS film says m.bef
1663 Calvert Co.MD.He is also sealed to Jane McKay-AFN;227H-4N-,m.1660,MD.
Date 1 Oct 1992 Arizo.There is a question as to Jane's last name and was she m.
before.GRS-NGC Confrences,21 Oct,1993,Cyndi Pote gives his wife as Lyle Jane
MacKay.She refers to Gary Benton Prather as her source.In Calvert Co.MD.He
purchased land on Swan Creek and built Prather Hall[inf from Don
Silvius,E-mail. His 2 wives listed here are the same person,she could be a relative of his mother as I question whether her maiden name was McKay or Powell, The death rate of that colony was so high that few families
stayed intact.(see Jonathon's mother's line) Wendell J Prater.
Jonathan was born in Va. and later moved to Maryland ca. 1652/58.
His name is recorded in several documents and we find it spelled several
different ways. As example; he assigned land he owned,which stated it was
land owned by Jonathan Prether but when he signed the document he signed:
Jonathan Prater. He is also recorded in other such documents as Prater,Prator,
Prether,Praither and Prather. Such was the level of education in those days,
most people "sounded out" the spelling, and then spelled that way.
We find the names Prater and Prather the most commonly used in documents
concerning Jonathan.
When Jonathan died his wife remarried to John Smith, a very wealthy Planter.
He was very good to Jonathans children and when he died he willed them a
Plantation he called "Orphans Gift" which was located near the city of St.
Mary in Maryland. John Smith's will was proved 13 Oct. 1707
Jane(Prather) Smith's Will was proved 7th Dec., 1713.
We thought for years that "Jane" was a Goldsmith, daughter of George Goldsmith
but now know she was Lyle Jane McKay. She was raised by the Goldsmiths.
Jonathan Prathers Coat-of-Arms was registered with the College of Heraldry
and has proven to be the continueing and long established "Prater Family"
whose ancestrial estates were located on Eaton Water, in the County of
Wiltshire, England. The Eaton Water Estates include Latton Manor, Inglesham
Manor which are located along the head waters of the Thames River North of
Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Jonathan used the "Prater" coat-of-arms
on some of his documents. Several other docucments were also found.
Below are examples of some of the documents we have found:
MSS. (preserved in the State Paper Dept. of Her Majesty's Public Record
Office, Eng.) "Muster Rolls of the Settlers of Va.".
21 Aug. 1680 Inventory of Estate of Jonathan Prather, dec'd. appraised by
Jn. Mils and Robt.Clark.
6 Oct. 1658 Jonathan and settled on his land at the Potomac River.
12 Nov. 1658 Jonathan Prator demandeth Warrant agst. Cornelius Kennede
warrant to the Sheriff of Calvert Co.
1 Apr. 1680 Jonathan Prater serving as Juror at Resurrection Manor, in
Calvert Co., Maryland.
Ref. Liber Q, Folio 302, Maryland Provencial Records, Land Office, Annapolis,
Md.
Jonathan Prather was transported by water from Virginia
up Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River to Swan Crk. then to
Calvert Co.,Md. (now Pr.George Co.) with four men and one other woman;
Alexander Forcarson, Robert MacKay & wife, Wm. Woodrose, Wm. Mill and
Wm. Jones. In a small vessel owned by young George Reed of Calvert Co.,
Md. We suspect that the "other woman" was Lyle Jane Mackay, sister of Rbt.
Vol. I, p.35 "Calendar of Wills - Maryland
Jonathan Prather and wife Jane , on Swan Crk., built their home on their
estate they called "Prather Hall Plantation". Arrived Md. 6 Oct., 1658.
They did not live there long and disposed of it to George Gouldsmith, who
in his Will of Apr. 1666, bequeathed Prather Hall to his daughter, Mary
Gouldsmith.
This "Prather Hall" was located near present site of Ft. Washington,
near what became Swan Crk. Rd. on the Potomac River. (about 10 miles
south of the present Capitol Bldg., Washington D.C.)
----------------------------------------
Many earlier searchers have claimed that Jonathan was born in England
but these were assumtions made by people who were involved in the "early"
research of our family before the research was more complete.
It was also reported that Jonathan Prather and Thomas Prater (the father
of Jonathan ) were not of the same family. --------- But even these
earlier researchers have stated that Jonathan was from Latton, Wiltshire
and Thomas was from Eaton Water, Wiltshire. Little did they know that these
two places are in fact the same estate. Eaton Water, Latton Manor, Inglesham
Manor all adjoining one another and owned by John Prater in 1547 and later
his son George who died in 1564. Their property was so vast that it borderd
three county lines in Nothern Wiltshire.
"Eaton Water" was located in the area known today as Eaton Hastings /
Lechlade / Inglesham and also included Latton Manor which is located about
one mile up river. All of these Manors are located along the bank of the
Thames River in North Central Wiltshire. (About 4 miles North of Swindon).
I have spent many a wonderful evening visiting and exploring this part of
England and still find myself returning again, year after year.
In the time of our forfathers, England was the worlds supplier of wool and
woolen goods. While England was the supplier of wool, it was Flanders that
converted the greatest amount of this wool into products, using their
great weaving houses and world market connections.
The Thames River was very important to the family, because it supported
the primary family business, the woolen trade. They used the river waters to
wash and process the wool and then transport it down river to the ports of
London. This was only one of many businesses the family was involved in.
Today the village (manor) of Lechlade has grown and is a beautiful village
with its sidewalk shops, tea rooms and a large church of a later period.
Inglesham was much larger than Lechlade when John Prater lived there in 1547,
and now "old Inglesham" only has the church to remind us that the village
even existed. ("new Inglesham" has about 6 houses and is located about one
mile south of the Inglesham of Johns Praters day..).
At Eaton Hastings, only the old church and "Ferry House" remain to remind
us that a village once stood there. The north side no longer exist.
Lord Hastings came into possession of southern part of Eaton village and it
became known as Eaton Hastings, while the "old Eaton Water" no longer exist.
He built a beautiful Manor home on the foundation of the old abot house
which sat next to the church. Lord Hastings later desided that he did not
approve of the location of the old church because it obstructed his view of
the Thames River, so he had the church moved stone by stone and
reconstructed about 50 yards west of its original location.
The local residents (which most likely included members of the Prater
family) were upset with Lord Hastings "for fear for the souls of their
ancestors buried in the floor of the old church", thus they proceded to take
Lord Hastings from his home and "stuffed him down his well, drowning him".
There were several hundred years of Prater ancestors that lay under the floor
of that old church at Eaton Hastings but today they lay in what is now the
flower garden of the Hasting Manor House at Eaton Hastings.
I had coffee with the present residents of the old Eaton Hastings Manor
House and to my supprise they were totally unaware that the church had
ever been moved, but they did exclaim, "that explains why our gardener
finds an odd bone from time to time". (Such is the British humor.)
Latton Manor is the most beautiful of what remains of our family manors
which sat on Eaton Water, on the Criklade of North Wiltshire.
I spent several nights in Latton Manor, sleeping in one of the homes
that stood during the time that George Prater lived there (d.1564).
George Prater is buried under the floor (3rd. Isle 7 Row) of the church of
Latton Manor, Wiltshire.
Latton has been in existance since before Roman occupation of England
(A.D.64) and Roman villa ruins can be found there today. It is a small
beautiful, quiet village with only about a dozen houses and the church
remaining. Some homes have the old style grass roofs.
We now know that Jonathan was born near Newport News, Va. and was the
son of Thomas (Prater) Prather of "Eaton Water, Wiltshire, England "
who landed in Elizabeth Citties, Va. in 1622. Thoams was between 18
and 20 years old when he came to America.
* Thomas was Born at Eaton Water, on the Criklade, Northern Wiltshire 1602/4.
His son Jonathan was his heir in America, Jonathan Prather's estate was
valued at 13,750 pounds at his death. Jonathan and his wife Jane, lived
in their home near the present site of Ft. Washington on the Potomac
River, Swan Creek Road, about 10 miles due south of the U.S. Capital
Building. It was called "Prather Hall". G.B.Prather
!Birth place provided by Robert Gardine.Marriage rec on LDS film says m.bef 1663 Calvert Co.MD.He is also sealed to Jane McKay-AFN;227H-4N-,m.1660,MD.
Date 1 Oct 1992 Arizo.There is a question as to Jane's last name and was she m. before.GRS-NGC Confrences,21 Oct,1993,Cyndi Pote gives his wife as Lyle Jane MacKay.She refers to Gary Benton Prather as her source.In Calvert Co.MD.He purchased lan d on Swan Creek and built Prather Hall[inf from Don Silvius,E-mail.
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Prater/Prather Genealogy* 120,000+ Family Members
1630 - Bef 1680 (< 50 years)