Jackson L. Prentice was born on October 17, 1827 in Aurora, Erie County, New York. About 1844 he migrated to Fox Lake, Wisconsin with his parents Thomas and Lucy Spafford Prentice, his brother James Prentice, who became one of the first physicians in Wisconsin, and other members of the family. From there he moved to Portage where he received an offer from the government to serve as a topographical engineer in the work of platting northern Wisconsin. In 1850 he married Sarah Van Deusen in Marcellon, Wisconsin and settled in Stevens Point. In addition to his government work Prentice did a great deal of surveying for individuals. In Stevens Point he also engaged in land and timber sales and a mercantile business. In later year he farmed and operated a large cranberry marsh. In the early 1860's he served as Portage County surveyor and after Stevens Point was organized as a city he served as alderman. In the 1880s and 1890s he was surveyor for the city of Stevens Point. In October 1861 he enlisted in Company A, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Volunteers, and when he was mustered out in September 1865 he was a sergeant major of his regiment. For about two years he also served in the Engineer Corps, and when he left this service he was lieutenant of his company. He died in 1902. A short biographical sketch of his life is found on page 755, History of Northern Wisconsin...Sketches of its Counties, Cities, Towns, and Villages (Western Historical Company, 1881).
