Settler of township lots: Lot 32, Conc. A, Stanhope

Location: Map point is the approximate location within this 45 acre broken lot at the north end of Kushog Lake on the east side of Hwy 35 (19518 Hwy. 35, currently Pine Springs Resort)

Land acquisition: 1927 from Malcolm Kent. Ontario Land Parcel Register Book - Stanhope (Image 107).

Other land:

• Lot 31, Conc. A, Hindon - 1946 from Malcolm Kent. Ontario Land Parcel Register - Stanhope (Image 122).
• Lot 31, Conc. A, Hindon - 1933 from William Francis Kent, Jr. Ontario Land Parcel Register - Stanhope (Image 135).
• Lot 34, Conc. A, Hindon - 1924 from The Crown. Ontario Land Parcel Register - Stanhope (Image 143).

Dates of residency:

• 1901 He is a railroader in Ironwood, Michigan when he married Melvina Rose Gray, a school teacher.
• 1903 Their son Morgan is born in Minden township.
• 1097 Their daughter Marion is born in Snowden township.
• 1910 They are living with Melvina's parents in Bridgewater, Minnesota.
• 1921 Census. They are living in Ridout township in Muskoka.

Interesting facts:

William Walker Prentice built Camp Prentuskoka on the north end of Kushog Lake in the 1920s. It was a fishing and hunting lodge run by the Prentice family, who farmed and were into logging and trucking. The name was changed to Pine Springs when the post office came in. The Post Office operated from 1953 to 1955.

History of the property:

• William Francis Kent Sr acquired the property form Joseph Fuller in 1916 for $50. After Frank's death in 1918, Lot 32, Conc. A, Stanhope passed to his wife Sarah Letitia in 1926 by her children giving up their stake as heirs of the property (Quit Claim Deed Inst #774). then immediately to son Malcolm (Grant Inst #775). Other lots included in these two transactions were the west half of Lot 34, Conc. A Hindon (75 1/2 acres), Lot 31 Conc. A, Stanhope, Lot 32, Conc. A Stanhope, and Lot 1, Conc. 13 Stanhope.
• In 1927, Malcolm sold the 45 acre Lot 32, Conc. A, Stanhope to William Walker Prentice for $250.00.
• In 1931, Malcolm Kent sold his farm (on which lot?) to the Crown for $1.00 in settlement of a Crown Land debt, having moved to Northern Ontario. This surrender of land to the Crown also included Lot 32, Conc. A, Hindon and the west half of Lot 34, Conc. A, Hindon.
• The Crown then patented Lot 31, Conc. A, Hindon to William W. Prentice for the sum of $304.00. Further research may show that this debt to the Crown was incurred when the Kents, along with other settlers in the area, were relocated by the government to the Charlton area in northern Ontario.

Preceding landowner:

• 1926 Malcolm Kent

Succeeding landowners:

• From 1936 until his death in 1952, in a series of over 20 transactions, small parcels of this 45 acre waterfront lot were transferred to their children at a nominal price or sold to other parties.

Link to Settlers of Algonquin Highlands family tree

• William Walker Prentice, b. 26 Feb 1872, Hamilton, d. 15 May 1952 (Age 80 years)
• Parents:
  • John Prentice, b. Nov 1835, Scotland  d. 23 Apr 1909, Minden, (Age ~ 73 years)
  •  Christine McColl, b. 22 Sep 1836, d. 1 Sep 1912  (Age 75 years)
• Melvina Rose Gray, b. Abt 1880, Michigan, d. 30 Mar 1965  (Age ~ 85 years)
• Children:
  1. Morgan Lee Prentice, b. 27 Jun 1903, Minden,  d. 22 Apr 1976 (Age 72 years)
  2. Maron De Lynn Prentice, b. 23 Sep 1907, Snowdon, Haliburton
  3. Duncan Buchcannon Prentice, b. 1917, Ontario, d. 15 May 1988  (Age 71 years)

Photo 1: Family of John Prentice and Christina McColl. Source: Haliburton County Echo, May 18, 1988

Image 2: William Walker Prentice Obituary. Highland News May 22, 1952