In 1774, William and Susanna Preston settled into their new home, Smithfield Plantation. Smithfield is now operated as a house museum, adjacent to the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Back then, it was a remote outpost on the westerly edges of white settlement in Virginia .
William and Susanna Preston went on to have a large family, including twelve children and an astonishing ninety-two grandchildren. Those descendants scattered across the southeast, settling not only in various parts of Virginia but also in neighboring states such as Kentucky and South Carolina. Ultimately, the extended Preston family included four Virginia governors, four governors of other states, fourteen U.S. Senators, five college presidents–and countless other influential figures in American politics and education.
The extended Preston family also played important roles during the American Civil War era, on and off the battlefield. In Fall semester 2015, VCCWS director Paul Quigley taught an undergraduate research seminar at Virginia Tech that focused on the extended Preston family’s Civil War era experiences. Each student picked an individual to study (one student selected two enslaved brothers). Students conducted primary and secondary research and produced a research paper that connected their individual to larger themes of Civil War era history. Finally, each student distilled his or her research into a webpage.
Those webpages are published here. We invite you to follow the links and explore the fascinating Civil War stories of the Preston family.
John C. Breckinridge: From U.S. Vice-President to Confederate Secretary of War. Son of Joseph C. Breckinridge and Mary Clay (Smith) Breckinridge; great-great grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By James Scallon.
Robert J. Breckinridge: A Slaveholding Critic of Slavery. Husband of Virginia Hart Shelby Breckinridge; son-in-law of Nathanial Hart and Susanna (Preston) Hart; grandson-in-law of William and Susanna Preston. By Eleanor Boggs and Jacob Clore.
John Buchanan Floyd: Author of the Confederacy or Inept Leader? Son of John and Letitia (Preston) Floyd; grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By Marshall Runkle.
Thomas and Othello Fraction: From Slavery to Freedom. Former slaves of Robert Taylor Preston, who was the grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By William G. Foster.
Jessie Benton Fremont: Civil War Stateswoman. Daughter of Thomas Hart Benton and Elizabeth Preston (McDowell) Benton; granddaughter of James and Sarah (Preston) McDowell; great-granddaughter of William and Susanna Preston. By Rachel Snyder.
George Frederick Holmes: Southern Intellectual. Husband of Eliza Lavalette Floyd Holmes; son-in-law of John and Letitia (Preston) Floyd; grandson-in-law of William and Susanna Preston. By Colin Stamper.
James Francis Preston: Possible Author of the Rebel Yell. Son of James Patton Preston and Ann Baraud Preston; grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By Michael M. Higgins.
John Lewis Peyton: A Confederate Abroad. Son of and Ann Montgomery (Lewis) Peyton and John Howson Peyton; grandson of John Lewis and Mary (Preston) Lewis; great-grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By Kelly Cooper and Brett Romig.
John Smith Preston: Spokesman for the South. Son of Francis Preston and Sarah Buchanan (Campbell) Preston; grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By Andrew Climo.
John Thomas Lewis Preston: Founder of VMI. Son of Thomas Lewis Preston and Edmonia Madison (Randolph) Preston; grandson of Francis Preston and Sarah Buchanan (Campbell) Preston; great-grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By Alec Hoke.
Margaret Junkin Preston: Poetess of the South. Daughter of Julia Rush Miller and George Junkin; wife of John Thomas Lewis Preston; daughter-in-law of Thomas Lewis Preston and Edmonia Madison (Randolph) Preston; great-granddaughter-in-law of William and Susanna Preston. By Emily Oliver and Courtney Penzo.
Thomas Lewis Preston: Southern Gentleman. Son of Fancis Preston and Sarah Buchanan (Campbell) Preston; grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By Allison Hurley.
William Campbell Preston: Harbinger of Secession. Son of Fancis Preston and Sarah Buchanan (Campbell) Preston; grandson of William and Susanna Preston. By Christopher Biehl.
Acknowledgments
The course benefited greatly from the contributions of several Preston family experts who visited our class and/or gave tours of Preston family sites. Very many thanks to April Danner, William C. “Jack” Davis, Laura Wedin, Anita Puckett, and Kira Dietz.