Prentis Beeman was the son of Jay and May E. Beeman. He was born in Jerseyville, Illinois on October 19, 1874. When Prentis was a child, his family decided to move from Illinois to the Winfield-Elsberry area. His family was not active in the community.
In 1901, Prentis married Mabel Stonebraker and soon after they had two children. In 1903 they had a baby girl and named her Hazel Pauline Beeman. The next year they had a boy and named him Howard J. Beeman.
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