Ezra P. Prentice

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Ezra Parmelee Prentice (August 19, 1877 – July 19, 1966) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life[]

Prentice was born on August 19, 1877 in Albany, New York, the son of William Packer Prentice and Florence Kelly.[1] His father was Chief of Staff for General O. M. Mitchell during the American Civil War and counsel for the New York City Health Department from 1873 to 1892. His paternal grandfather, Ezra P. Prentice, was president of the National Commercial Bank in Albany and the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad. His maternal grandfather, Robert Kelly, was City Chamberlain of New York in 1856.[2]

Prentice attended Halsey Collegiate School in New York City. He then went to Princeton University, graduating from there with a B.A. in 1898. He also received an M.A. from there in 1903. In 1899, he enlisted in Squadron A of the New York National Guard. He later re-enlisted and served in the National Guard until 1910. He graduated from the New York Law School with an LL.B. in 1900 and was admitted to the bar later that year. He initially worked in the law office of his father and brother, W. P. & R. K. Prentice. In 1901, he became a law clerk in the office of Parsons, Shepard & Ogden. In 1903, he opened a law office at 52 Broadway.[3]

In 1903, Prentice was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican, representing the New York County 25th District. He served in the Assembly in 1904,[2] 1905,[4] 1906,[5] and 1907.[6] While in the Assembly, he was a member of the Armstrong Committee. He was a delegate to the 1908 and 1912 Republican National Conventions. He was Deputy Attorney General of New York from 1909 to 1910. was a member of the New York Republican State Committee, and in October 1910 he was elected Chairman of the Committee[1] after Theodore Roosevelt ousted the Party's Old Guard. He resigned as chairman after Henry L. Stimson lost the governor's election to John Alden Dix.[7]

In 1910, Prentice became a member of the law firm Hall, Hawkes & Prentice. In 1913, the firm was dissolved after the senior partner died, and he formed the firm McClure & Prentice. In 1915, he became a member of the law firm Clark, Prentice & Roulstone. The firm was later dissolved, and by 1923 he was in the law firm Prentice, Collins & Dwight at 55 Liberty Street. During World War I, he served on the War Committee of the Bar of the City of New York, which provided assistance for the government and gave free legal service for people serving in the military as well as their family and dependents, and was Assistant to the Legal Committee of the Home Service Section of the American Red Cross and aided with issues related to the War Risk Insurance Act. He was a director of the Spicer Manufacturing Corporation, the Salisbury Axle Company, the Hartford Auto Parts Corporation, the Corralitos Company, the Cuba Development Company, the Lanman Company, and the Rogers Peet Company.[3]

Prentice attended the First Presbyterian Church of New York. He was president of the New York Young Republican Club and a member of the University Cottage Club, Phi Beta Kappa, the Sons of the American Revolution,[7] the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York County Lawyers' Association, the New York Law Institute, the Academy of Political Science, the American Bar Association, the National Security League, the Civil Service Reform Association, and the Legal Aid Society. In 1914, he married Mary Prentice Russell. They had a son, Ezra Parmalee Jr.[3]

Prentice died in Beacon, New York on July 19, 1966.[7] He was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Holmes, Frank R., ed. (1924). Who's Who in New York (City and State), 1924 (Eighth ed.). New York, N.Y.: Who's Who Publications, Inc. p. 1015 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b Murlin, Edgar L. (1904). The New York Red Book. Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company. pp. 175–176 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c Easton, Roswell Francis (1923). The Class of Eighteen Ninety Eight, Princeton University, Twenty-Fifth Year Record. Princeton University Press. pp. 223–225 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Murlin, Edgar L. (1905). The New York Red Book. Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company. p. 157 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Murlin, Edgar L. (1906). The New York Red Book. Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company. pp. 164–165 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Murlin, Edgar L. (1907). The New York Red Book. Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company. pp. 148–149 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b c "Ezra Parmelee Prentice '98". Princeton Alumni Weekly. LXVII (23). 25 April 1967. p. 20.

External links[]

New York State Assembly
Preceded by New York State Assembly
New York County, 25th District
1904–1907 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the New York Republican State Committee
1910–1911 		Succeeded by
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