Virginia Prentiss

Daphne Virginia Prentiss, also known as "Jennie", "Jenny", or "Mammy Jenny" (c. 1832–November 27, 1922) was an African-American woman who was the foster mother of the writer Jack London and a significant figure in his life. She was also a notable community leader through her work with organisations such as the Federated Negro Woman's Club.

Early life Prentiss was born into slavery on a plantation in Tennessee around 1832. Baptized Virginia, she was separated from her parents during a sale, and their identities are unknown, other than that her mother was from North Carolina. The arrangement was initially for eight months, but Jack continued to live with Prentiss on and off throughout his teenage years. It was Prentiss who first nicknamed the baby 'Jack', since he jumped on her like a jumping-jack. The young London spent much of his childhood with the Prentiss family, including attending services at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church with them. She also encouraged him in his early attempts at getting recognition for his writing and encouraged him to enter competitions.

While Prentiss worked as a nanny, nurse and midwife during her lifetime, she also volunteered much of her time and was a prominent figure in the African-American community. She was a leader of the Federated Negro Woman's Club. London's daughter Becky wrote of Prentiss:

Later life Prentiss lived at the house London purchased for her until she was no longer able to care for herself. When London predeceased her in 1916, his will gave her a pension for the rest of her life and paid for her funeral expenses. Some of his work spoke out against lynching, yet in other stories he perpetuated a caricature of Prentiss as a simplistic woman, a view which did not help to challenge public misconceptions about race. Described by critic Tony Williams as "an impressionistic fictionalized biography", he did praise the questions about race that the work raised.