James Patton Preston (June 21, 1774May 4, 1843) was a U.S. political figure who served as Governor of Virginia.

Biography

James Patton Preston was born at Smithfield Plantation, in what is now Blacksburg, Virginia. He attended the College of William and Mary from 1790 to 1795, and managed his family's vast estate which included the land that is now the campus of Virginia Tech and large portions of its college farm. The 7,500 acre (30 km²) tract previously known as Draper's Meadow was granted sometime before 1737 by Governor Robert Dinwiddie to Preston's great uncle and namesake, Colonel James Patton, an Irish sea captain turned land speculator who had died in the Draper's Meadow Massacre. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he served for four years the Virginia State Senate, and two years in the Virginia House of Delegates. James Patton Preston by Gilbert Stuart, 1803

James Patton Preston by Gilbert Stuart, 1803

He joined the United States Army for the War of 1812, serving as

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and second in command of the 12th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to Colonel of the

23rd Infantry Regiment The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. A unit with the same name was formed on 26 June 1812 and saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812. In 1815 it was consolidated with the 6th, 16th, 22nd, and ...

in August 1813, and served until being seriously wounded at the Battle of Crysler's Farm in Ontario. After the war Preston returned to the House of Delegates. He served as the

20th 20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score. In mathematics *20 is a pronic number. *20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20. *20 is the ba ...

Governor of Virginia from 1816 to 1819, and his term was marked by the state's payment of more than $1.5 million in debt incurred to cover expenses during the War of 1812 and the establishment of the University of Virginia. After leaving office, Preston served as

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Richmond before retiring to his estate. He died at Smithfield Plantation on May 4, 1843 and is buried in the estate's cemetery. Preston County, Virginia (now West Virginia) was formed in 1818 and named in his honor. Also named for him is a residence hall at William and Mary.

Family

His father was Colonel William Preston and his mother was Susanna Smith (1739–1823). Preston was married to Ann Taylor (1778–1861), with whom he had three children. Their son William Ballard Preston served as a Member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Secretary of the Navy. During the American Civil War William B. Preston was a Senator in the Congress of the Confederate States. James Patton Preston was the brother-in-law of John Floyd and the uncle of James McDowell and John Buchanan Floyd.

References

External links

*
“Memoirs of Letitia Preston Floyd, written Feb. 22, 1843 to her son Benjamin Rush Floyd,"
by Letitia Preston Floyd, James Preston's sister. ;Archival Records
A Guide to the Governor James Patton Preston Executive Papers, 1816–1819
a
The Library of Virginia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, James Patton 1774 births 1843 deaths People from Blacksburg, Virginia College of William & Mary alumni United States Army officers Virginia Democratic-Republicans Virginia state senators Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Governors of Virginia Virginia postmasters Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Preston family of Virginia