Colonel William Preston (December 25, 1729 – June 28, 1783) was an Irish-born American military officer, planter and politician. He played a crucial role in surveying and developing the Southern Colonies, exerted great influence in the colonial affairs of his time, owned numerous slaves on his plantation, and founded a dynasty whose progeny would supply leaders of the South for nearly a century. He served in the House of Burgesses and was a colonel in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the fifteen signatories of the Fincastle Resolutions. Preston was also a founding trustee of Liberty Hall when it was transformed into a college in 1776. Personal life William Preston was born on Christmas Day in 1729, in Limavady, Ireland, to Col. John Preston and his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth's father, Henry Patton, was a prominent shipwright and merchant, and her brother, James Patton, served with distinction in the Royal Navy. The Crown granted him between 100,000 and 120,000 acres in America to permit British colonization beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains. The family immigrated to Augusta County, Virginia in 1738. Subsequent French and Indian resistance and reversal of British policy limited the impact of the family's grants, but Prestonsburg, Kentucky was named in John's honor. In June 1752, William accompanied his uncle James Patton, acting as his secretary at the Logstown Treaty Conference. Patton arranged for William to be apprenticed to Thomas Lewis, the County Surveyor and Patton's cousin, and in November 1752, William was hired as a deputy surveyor. He later served as surveyor in Augusta, Botetourt, Fincastle, and Montgomery Counties, surveying 36 tracts for Patton along the New River. In July 1755, William survived the Draper's Meadow massacre, an attack by the Shawnee against a settlement that was part of a property later known as Smithfield Plantation, that he purchased in 1773. He completed the construction of his Smithfield Plantation home in 1774.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Colonel William Preston (December 25, 1729 – June 28, 1783) was an Irish-born American military officer, planter and politician. He played a crucial role in surveying and developing the Southern Colonies, exerted great influence in the colonial affairs of his time, owned numerous slaves on his plantation, and founded a dynasty whose progeny would supply leaders of the South for nearly a century. He served in the House of Burgesses and was a colonel in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the fifteen signatories of the Fincastle Resolutions. Preston was also a founding trustee of Liberty Hall when it was transformed into a college in 1776.

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Overview

Colonel William Preston (December 25, 1729 – June 28, 1783) was an Irish-born American military officer, planter and politician. He played a crucial role in surveying and developing the Southern Colonies, exerted great influence in the colonial affairs of his time, owned numerous slaves on his plantation, and founded a dynasty whose progeny would supply leaders of the South for nearly a century. He served in the House of Burgesses and was a colonel in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the fifteen signatories of the Fincastle Resolutions. Preston was also a founding trustee of Liberty Hall when it was transformed into a college in 1776. Personal life William Preston was born on Christmas Day in 1729, in Limavady, Ireland, to Col. John Preston and his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth's father, Henry Patton, was a prominent shipwright and merchant, and her brother, James Patton, served with distinction in the Royal Navy. The Crown granted him between 100,000 and 120,000 acres in America to permit British colonization beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains. The family immigrated to Augusta County, Virginia in 1738. Subsequent French and Indian resistance and reversal of British policy limited the impact of the family's grants, but Prestonsburg, Kentucky was named in John's honor. In June 1752, William accompanied his uncle James Patton, acting as his secretary at the Logstown Treaty Conference. Patton arranged for William to be apprenticed to Thomas Lewis, the County Surveyor and Patton's cousin, and in November 1752, William was hired as a deputy surveyor. He later served as surveyor in Augusta, Botetourt, Fincastle, and Montgomery Counties, surveying 36 tracts for Patton along the New River. In July 1755, William survived the Draper's Meadow massacre, an attack by the Shawnee against a settlement that was part of a property later known as Smithfield Plantation, that he purchased in 1773. He completed the construction of his Smithfield Plantation home in 1774.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

William Preston across IJR

In the Arcade

Landgrab: William Preston EditionPaint the map. Hold the line. Take the world. Now starring the William Preston parody.Landgrab: William Preston EditionPaint the map. Hold the line. Take the world. Now starring the William Preston parody.

Studio characters

William PrestonThe late-night sketch version — live in your chat.William PrestonThe late-night sketch version — live in your chat.

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