Narcissa Whitman - Early Life

Early Life

Narcissa Prentiss was born in Prattsburgh, New York, in the Genesee Valley on March 14, 1808. She was the third of nine children of Judge Stephen and Clarissa Prentiss. She was the oldest of the five girls, followed by Clarissa, Mary Ann, Jane, and Harriet. She also had four brothers. Like many young women of the era, she became caught up in the Second Great Awakening. She decided that her true calling was to become a missionary, and was accepted for missionary service in March 1835. Narcissa was educated at the Female Academy at Troy, on the Hudson before her marriage to Dr. Marcus Whitman. It was on February 18, 1836 in Angelica, New York.