Person:Francis Preston (2)

Notes

Gen. Francis S. Preston (1765-1835)

Smithfield Prestons

General Francis Smith Preston b.8-2-1765 at Smithfield d.5-26-1835 in Columbia, SC at the home of his son the Honorable William C. Preston. Francis Smith Preston was the son of Col. William Preston and Susanna Smith. Francis was a lawyer, a member of the State Senate of Virginia and a Brigadier General in the War of 1812. He married Sarah Buchanan Campbell b.4-21-1778 d.7-23-1846, daughter of General William Campbell 1745-1781 and Elizabeth Henry 1749-1825, on Jan. 10, 1793. (William Campbell was a Colonel prior to Kings Mtn, became a General and apparently died possibly as a result of wounds sustained in the battle. He was a hero of the battle.) (Elizabeth Henry was one of nine sisters of Patrick Henry. Four of the other sisters lived to adulthood and had children. They were Jane Henry m. Samuel Garland Meredith, Susannah Henry married Col. Thomas Madison, Ann Henry married Col. George William Christian and Lucy Henry married Col. Valentine Wood.) Francis Preston and Sarah had 15 children.

[Source: http://members.fortunecity.com/fpreston/prsffrsm.htm]

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Francis Preston.

From: The National cyclopaedia of American biography. Indexes. Personal and topical indexes to ... the National cyclopedia of American biography, including the first and revised editions. 1935. New York: J.T. White & Co.

PRESTON, Francis, congressman, was born at Greenfield, Botetourt со., Va., Aug. 2, 1765, son of William Preston, who became a colonel in the revolutionary army. He was graduated at William and Mary College in 1783, and having studied law at that institution under George Wythe was soon admitted to the bar. He practiced in Montgomery, Washington and other counties until 1793, when he entered congress.

After serving for two terms, until March, 1797, he declined a re-election, and retired to his home at Abingdon, Va. At the beginning of the war of 1812 he enlisted, was appointed colonel of volunteers, and marched with his regiment to Norfolk. Subsequently he was appointed brigadier-general and major-general of militia. He was frequently elected to the Virginia house of delegates and to the senate, and was greatly admired for his eloquence and for ability in debate, Gen. Preston was married, in 1792, to Sarah, daughter of Col. William Campbell, who distinguished himself in the battle of King's mountain.

Her mother was Elizabeth Russell. Their sons, William Campbell, John Smith and Thomas Lewis, became prominent, the rirst as a legislator and educator; the second as an orator; the third as a legislator and soldier. Gen. Preston died while on a visit to his son, William, at Columbia, S. C., Mav 25, 1835.

1.   Francis Preston, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. (Online: Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.).

   the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

   Francis Preston (August 2, 1765 – May 26, 1836) was an American lawyer and politician from Abingdon, Virginia. He served in both houses of the state legislature and represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1793 to 1797.

   Preston had a house built in Abingdon, now used as an Inn, called The Martha Washington Inn.

   Preston was the father of William Campbell Preston and John S. Preston and the uncle of William Ballard Preston and William Preston.