General William Preston
THE FILSON CLUB HISTORY QUARTERLY VOL. 43 LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, OCTOBER, 1969 NO. 4 GENERAL WILLIAM PRESTON BY J. FREDERICK DORMAN Washington, D.C. Paper read before The Filson Club, May 5, 1969, on the occasion of the Dedication of the bronze bust of General Preston* The Preston family has been a distinguished one in Virginia and in Kentucky through many generations. The founder, John Preston, came from Londonderry to Augusta County, Virginia, in 1735.1 His descend- ants have played a major role in both military and civic affairs, and not the least of them was General William Preston, whom we are honor- ing this evening. William Preston, who was the third of his name in a direct line and a member of the fourth generation of the family in America, was born on October 16, 1816, at the plantation of his father, Major William Preston, near Louisville.2 His grandfather, Colonel William Preston, had been County Lieutenant, the chief militia officer, of Fincastle and Montgomery counties, Virginia, a member of the House of Burgesses, a soldier of the American Revolution, and one of the founders of Lib- erty Hall Academy which eventually became Washington and Lee University.s His son, Major William Preston, the General's father, was an offi- cer of the United States Army who served in the campaigns under General Anthony Wayne against the Indians in the Northwest. He "F.DITOR'S NOTE: The Filson Club has been given valuable Preston Family papers, •'ome original and som•- co•i•, and a ma&nificent bmnTe bust nf General William Preston: C.S.A.
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