Francis Ensor Prendergast1,2

M, #563, d. 7 December 1897
  • Birth: 28 October 1841; Dublin, Ireland2,3
  • Immigration*: 14 November 1866; Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts; Cunard mail steamer "Java", Boston via Halifax4
  • Marriage*: 20 August 1873; home of Warren Child, Henniker, New Hampshire; by W. Morrill, congregational minister; Spouse=Mary Abbie Childs5,6
  • Death*: 7 December 1897; Redlands, San Bernardino Co., California2
  • Burial*: Hillside Memorial Park, Redlands, San Bernardino Co., California2
  • Note*: Bio:
    Francis Ensor Prendergast was the only child of a Dublin, Ireland barrister and historian of some note. After schooling in Dublin, he continued his studies with tutors in Dresden, Germany, overseen by his uncle Jeffrey. After a short stint as a railroad engineer in England and Scotland, he immigrated in 1866 to America, and continued that profession surveying and engineering railroads, mostly in Iowa, Oregon, and the upper mid-west. He married Mary Abbie Childs of Henniker, New Hampshire. In 1879 after living in frontier Iowa, Oregan and Wisconsin, Mary and the children moved to the Boston suburbs. In 1889 Francis quit railroad engineering and the family moved to San Diego County, California, where he laid out orange groves and irrigation, and then in 1893 they retired to Redlands, California.

    F. E. Prendergast was quite literate. He wrote letters about conditions in America for publication in Dublin newspapers; he wrote technical and business articles for journals and magazines; he wrote his parents weekly throughout their lives.

    See Cunningham and Savage's memoir for a list of his many railroad projects.

    See this website for scans of some of his letters home, for other family materials, and for his sketch of an Oregan camp, near the end of his photo album.7,3,8
  • Note: Religion:
    Francis Ensor Prendergast was brought up in the Church of Ireland. After his marriage he followed his wife into the Congregational Church, as did her parents.9
  • Note: Articles by Francis E. Prendergast published in Harper's Magazine:

    "Railroads in Mexico", 6/30/1881, LXIII, p. 276-81. Extensively quoted in book by Fred Wilbur Powell (https://archive.org/stream/railroadsofmexic00powe/railroadsofmexic00powe_djvu.txt)

    "Canadian Pacific Railway and the new Northwest", 7/31/1882, Vol. 65 p. 414-418
    (https://books.google.com/books?id=SsoaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA414#v=onepage&q&f=false)

    "Transcontinental railways", 10/31/1883, Vol . 67 ( 1883 ) , pp . 936-944
    (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Harper_s_New_Monthly_Magazine/RGxDAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA936)

    "But the West has a future", 9/30/1950, in a centennial collection by John Atlee Kouwenhoven10
  • Note: Timeline - personal:

    1841          Born Dublin
    1859          Dresden - Engaging tutors, traveling.
    1860-1863     Attending college in Dublin
    1863 Jul     Working at Coalbrookedale / Ironbridge, England
    1864 Oct      Working at Coalbrookedale / Ironbridge, England
    1864 Oct     Working at Glasgow
    1865 Aug     Appears to be looking for work
    1865 Oct - 1866 May     Travels in Europe
    1866 Sept-Oct     In London looking for work. Discussing foreign posts of his peers. Nothing in England.
    1866 Oct     Pays fare for Cunard Steamer from Liverpool to Boston
    1866 Nov     Immigrates, arrives Boston
    1873          Marries Mary Abbie Childs
    1875          Resides Green Bay Wisconsin
    1875          His mother dies
    1879          Moves family to rented house in suburban Dorchester.
    1884          Builds house in Newton Highlands (near Boston)
    1889 Dec     Moves to Chula Vista, San Diego County, California
    1893          His father dies
    1893          Moves to Redlands, San Bernardino Co., Calif.
    1897          Dies Redlands
    1900          Furnishings from Villa Bianca brought around the horn
    1912          His widow dies

    Timeline and work history quoted from memoir in Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers:

    "He was graduated in Arts from the School of Engineering of the University of Dublin in 1863. After graduation from college he traveled quite extensively in Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy, and, owing to his keen observation and judgment, his travels were very profitable to him in his professional career.

    In 1864 he commenced his engineering practice, after the English fashion, as an apprentice, being articled to the engineer in charge of the Coalbrookdale Railway and Craven Arms Extension Railway, in Shropshire, England. In 1865 he was Assistant Engineer of the City of Glasgow Union Railway, Scotland, and in 1867 Division Engineer on Construction.

    He first came to this country in November, 1868, and brought letters of introduction to some of the best people of Boston and New York. He accepted a position as Locating Engineer of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in Iowa.

    In 1870 he was engaged on the preliminary surveys of the Oregon Central Railroad from Astoria to Portland;

    in 1871, Engineer in charge of construction of the Oregon and California Railroad, between Harrisburg and Pass Creek, 44 miles;

    in 1872, Locating Engineer of the Oregon Central Railroad, from Forest Grove to Junction City, 100 miles.

    In 1873 he was Resident Engineer on the construction of the Chicago and Northern Pacific Air Line Railroad, from Geneva Lake to Jefferson, Wis., 35 miles;

    in 1875, Chief Assistant Engineer of the Chicago and North Eastern Railroad, from Flint to Lansing, Mich.

    In 1877 he was engaged on surveys for monumenting the City of Omaha.

    In 1878-79 he was Locating and Resident Engineer on the construction of the Republican Valley Railroad, in Nebraska.

    In 1881--82 he was Assistant Engineer on the New York and New England Railroad;

    in 1884, Locating and Constructing Engineer of the Mahopac Falls Railroad, N. Y.

    In 1885-86 he was engaged on the Chicago, Burlington and Northern Railroad, as resident engineer of the Galena River Drawbridge, and from East Dubuque to Glen Haven, Wis., 37 miles.

    In 1887 he was Locating Engineer in Iowa for the same railroad.

    He was Assistant Engineer with the New York and New England Railroad, in 1887 and until August, 1888, when he went to Sault Ste. Marie as Resident Engineer for the St. Mary's Falls Water Power Company, remaining until November, 1889, when work was stopped for lack of funds.

    In the winter of 1889 he accepted a situation with the San Diego Land and Town Company as Horticultural Superintendent, in which capacity he developed the pioneer details of soil preparation, selection of trees, contour arrangement, setting out and care for the first citrus groves of any magnitude in San Diego County, Cal. In this field, as in all other work undertaken by him, his natural ability and foresight has been highly exemplified; the pioneer methods introduced by him at that time are the universal practice and the most successful at present.

    Failing health necessitated a change in residence, and in 1893 he resigned his position and moved to Redlands, Cal., where he resided until his death, his time being taken up with the care of his extensive citrus groves.

    ...

    He was elected a Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, March 7th, 1888."1,3
Last Edited: 19 Dec 2023

Parents:

Father: John Patrick Prendergast1,2 b. 7 Mar 1808, d. 6 Feb 1893
Mother: Caroline Ensor1,2 b. 10 Dec 1805, d. 1875

Family:

Mary Abbie Childs b. 29 Aug 1849, d. 28 Feb 1912

Children:

unnamed girl Prendergast11 b. Jun 1874, d. Jun 1874
Jeffry Joseph Prendergast12 b. 31 Aug 1875, d. 14 Aug 1962
Frederick Francis Prendergast13 b. 1 Jul 1878, d. 9 Feb 1972
Lucretia Ensor Prendergast 14,15 b. 21 May 1880, d. 6 Mar 1969
John Patrick Prendergast16 b. 18 Nov 1881, d. 25 May 1945
Ruth Lane Prendergast17 b. 22 Nov 1884, d. 18 Nov 1906
Arthur Curtis Prendergast18 b. 24 Dec 1888, d. 27 Jul 1969
Joseph Samuel Prendergast19 b. 3 Feb 1892, d. 19 Apr 1974

Citations

  1. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, The Prendergasts, 1169 to 1969; the 800 year history of a family (Redlands, Calif.: J.S. Prendergast, 1972), p. 98, 104-141.   Prendergast-Caroline-Mattingly--The-Prendergasts-Study-of-a-Family.pdf
  2. [S110] Redlands Ca., Hillside Cemetery. Photograph taken by Jeff Moore 2012 of gravestone of Francis Ensor and Mary Abbie Prendergast.
  3. [S33] Cunningham, David W. and H.N. Savage, "Memoir of Francis Ensor Prendergast", Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers Volume 24, No. 6 (June 1898), p. 656.   Cunningham-and-Savage--Memoir-of-Francis-Ensor-Prendergast.pdf
  4. [S106] Prendergast, Francis Ensor, Newspaper clippings of letters written by Francis Ensor Prendergast between 1866 and 1873, published in Irish newspapers, Dublin and Belfast, and two American pieces, bound in one slim volume. "From a correspondent, Boston, Nov. 14, 1866", The Dublin Evening Mail.
  5. [S105] Prendergast, Francis Ensor, Letters of Francis Ensor Prendergast 1858-1889. Over 1600 letters to his parents and uncle, typically four pages, weekly. Bound in fourteen volumes, missing only volume for 1861. Vol. Letters from America 1871-73, M.S. 3, Letter #90, dated 22 Aug 1873, FEP to his mother.
  6. [S24] Chapman, Rev. Jacob & Rev. James H Fitts., Lane Genealogies, Volume I William Lane of Boston Mass., 1648, including the records of Edmund J. Lane and James P. Lane (Exeter N.H.: The News Letter Press, 1891), p. 173.   Chapman-Fitts--Lane-Genealogies.pdf
  7. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 104-141.
  8. [S1]
    Francis Ensor Prendergast Collection, online. https://jeffsgenealogy.info/FEPCollection/…
  9. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 105, 115.
  10. [S149] Website:, online , Harper's Magazine, search Prendergast url: https://harpers.org/search/
  11. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 118.
  12. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 119.
  13. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 120.
  14. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 122.
  15. [S105] Prendergast, Francis Ensor, Letters, Letter dated 21 May 1880.
  16. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family.
  17. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, 129.
  18. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 133.
  19. [S104] Prendergast, Caroline Mattingly, Prendergasts, history of a family, p. 136.