LXXXIX.
LXXXIX. JAMES P. PRESTON.
LXXXIX. Governor.
LXXXIX. December 1, 1816, to December 1, 1819.
The Preston family of Virginia was originally from Londonderry,
Ireland, where John Preston, its founder in the
New World, married Elizabeth Patton, and emigrated to
Virginia in the summer of 1735. He settled in that portion
of Orange County from which Augusta County was erected
in 1738. Elizabeth Patton was the sister of Colonel Patton,
who was distinguished in the early annals of the Colony as a
man of property, enterprise, and influence. He, like many
of the pioneer settlers, fell a victim to Indian warfare and was
killed at Smithfield, Virginia, in 1753.
John Preston first settled at "Spring Hill," but in 1743
he purchased a tract of land near Staunton, and died soon
after. William, his third child, married Susanna, daughter
of Francis Smith, of Hanover County, Virginia, a member of
the House of Burgesses and a prominent patriot in the American
Revolution.
The eighth child of William and Susanna Preston, viz.,
James Patton Preston, is the subject of this sketch. He was
born at Smithfield, June 21, 1774, and enjoyed early advantages
of education, being a student at William and Mary
College from 1790-1795. In 1802 he was elected to the State
Senate of Virginia, was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the
12th Infantry, United States Army, March 19, 1812, and for
gallantry was promoted, August 15, 1813, to the rank of
Colonel and assigned to the command of the 23d Regiment
of Infantry. On November 11, 1813, he was severely
wounded in the thigh, in the battle of Chrystler's Field, from
which casualty he became a cripple for life. It is a fact
worthy of notice, that when in 1848 Queen Victoria issued
medals to the surviving soldiers of battles from 1793 to 1814,
creating a sort of Legion of Honor, that "Chrystler's Farm"
found a veteran upon whose breast this token of the hard-fought
field was hung. But Virginia did not wait to crown
her gallant son with tardy recognition of his valor. Upon
the conclusion of peace with Great Britain, James Patton
Preston, in remembrance of his patriotic services and as a
tribute to his known ability, was elected by the General
Assembly, Governor of his native state. He served in this
capacity until December 1, 1819. It is a matter of interest
to note, that in the last year of Governor Preston's incumbency,
the law was passed establishing the University of Virginia in
Albemarle County, and also that in 1819 a revision of the
Code of Virginia was made.
Subsequent to his gubernatorial service, Mr. Preston
was for several years postmaster of the City of Richmond,
after which he retired to his estate, "Smithfield," in Montgomery
County, where he died May 4, 1843. He married
Ann Taylor, daughter of Robert Taylor, of Norfolk, and has
left distinguished descendants; in fact, it is claimed that few
American families have numbered so many honored representatives
as the Preston family of Virginia, with its collateral
branches and alliances.
The County of Preston, now in West Virginia, formed in
1818 from Monongalia County, perpetuates this eminent name.
