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William Preston (Virginia soldier)
William Preston | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from Botetourt County | |
| In office 1769–1771 Serving with John Bowyer | |
| Preceded by | position created |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Lewis |
| Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from Augusta County | |
| In office 1766–1769 Serving with John Wilson | |
| Preceded by | Israel Christian |
| Succeeded by | Gabriel Jones |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 25, 1729 Limavady, Ireland |
| Died | June 28, 1783 Price's Fork, Montgomery County, Virginia |
| Resting place | Smithfield Plantation |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Susanna Smith |
| Occupation | surveyor, officer, planter, politician |
| Signature | &sq=crain_ford&lang=en&file=File:William_Preston%27s_Signature.JPG) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Colonies |
| Branch/service | Virginia militia |
| Years of service | 1765–1781 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | Draper's Meadow massacre Sandy Creek Expedition Lord Dunmore's War American Revolutionary War Battle of Guilford Courthouse |
Colonel William Preston (December 25, 1729 – June 28, 1783) was an Irish-born American military officer, planter and politician who founded a political dynasty.[1] [2] After service in the French and Indian War, Preston served five years in the House of Burgesses before becoming one of the fifteen signatories of the Fincastle Resolutions, then a colonel in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War.[3] His descendants became leaders of the South for nearly a century and played crucial roles in developing the Southern Colonies under plantations operating using slaves.[4][5] Preston also supported education, as would his descendants. He was a founding trustee of Liberty Hall when it was transformed into a college in 1776.[6] His son, Virginia governor James Patton Preston, helped charter the University of Virginia roughly five decades later. His grandson, Congressman William Ballard Preston founded Olin and Preston Institute, which was in financial difficulties by 1872, when another grandson, former CSA Col. James Preston, sold three plantations (including Smithfield Plantation which this man purchased in 1773 and made his main home), to the Commonwealth of Virginia to become the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, which is now the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.[7]
- ^ John Frederick Dorman, The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia (Filson Club Publications 2d series No.3) (Louisville, ISBN=0-9601072-1-5) 1982) pp. 12-24,
- ^ Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Dictionary of Virginia Biography, vol.1, p. 308, available at hathitrust.org
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