Isaac Trimble Preston (1793 – July 4, 1852) was a 19th-century

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

lawyer, politician, and Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Preston was born in

Rockbridge County, Virginia Rockbridge County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its county seat is the city of Lexington. Rockbridge County completely surrounds the ...

, the son of

Francis Preston Francis Preston (August 2, 1765 – May 26, 1835) was an American lawyer and politician from Abingdon, Virginia. He was the son of Col. William Preston of Virginia, served in both houses of the state legislature, and represented Virginia in th ...

. In a letter to

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

, Francis Preston suggests Isaac's birth to have been illegitimate, describing the younger Preston to have been ''"the fruit of Youthfull (sic) folly."'' He studied at

Greenville College Greenville University is a private university in Greenville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Established as Greenville College in 1892, the institution was renamed Greenville University in 2017. History In 1855, Stephe ...

Greene County, Tennessee Greene County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,152. Its county seat is Greeneville. Greene County comprises the Greeneville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1812 as class valedictorian. He began studies as

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporat ...

the same year, but put his education on hold to join the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

as a captain in the 35th Infantry during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

on March 31, 1813. He received an honorable discharge in June 1815 and resumed his legal studies under William Wirt in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Preston settled in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana and began a law practice. He twice served terms as

Attorney General of Louisiana The office of attorney general of Louisiana (french: Procureur général de la Louisiane) has existed since the colonial period. Under Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the attorney general is elected statewide for a four-yea ...

from 1824 to 1828 and again from 1843 to 1846, and also served as land office register in New Orleans around 1829. He was a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention in 1844 and served a term in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

in 1845. In 1850, he was appointed to the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (french: Cour suprême de Louisiane) is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orlea ...

where he remained until his death. Preston had a great interest in developing better transportation throughout the south and was a promoter of a railroad from New Orleans to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. He also pursued charitable interests and gave land for the Methodist Episcopal Church in Carrollton in 1843. Preston married Catherine Lawn Layton, daughter of Robert Layton and Susan Gilchrist, on November 20, 1828 and together they had six children, one of whom died in infancy. After Catherine's death in 1842, he married again to Margaret Hewes, the widow of his father-in-law, in 1845. He died in the explosion of the steamboat ''St. James'' on

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from west ...

which was engaged in a race from

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

to New Orleans.Dodsley, J. "''The Annual Register: Or a View of the History, Politics and Literature, for the Year 1852, Volume 20'', (1853).
/ref>

Sources

Litchfield Historical Society

References

1793 births 1852 deaths Accidental deaths in Louisiana United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Deaths due to ship fires Lawyers from New Orleans Litchfield Law School alumni Louisiana Attorneys General Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives People from Rockbridge County, Virginia United States Army officers Yale University alumni 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Preston family of Virginia {{Louisiana-politician-stub