Francis PRESTON, Congress, VA (1765-1835)

PRESTON, Francis, (father of William Campbell Preston and uncle of William Ballard Preston and William Preston), a Representative from Virginia; born in Greenfield, Botetourt County, Va., August 2, 1765; was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va., in 1783; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced in Montgomery and Washington Counties; member of the state house of delegates in 1788 and 1789; elected as an Anti-Administration candidate to the Third Congress and reelected as a Republican to the Fourth Congress (March 4, 1793-March 3, 1797); declined to be a candidate for renomination; settled in Abingdon, Va., and resumed the practice of law; again a member of the state house of delegates 1812-1814; colonel of Volunteers in the War of 1812; served in the state senate 1816-1820; died at the home of his son, William C. Preston, in Columbia, S.C., May 26, 1835; interment in Aspinvale Cemetery, near Seven Mile Ford, Va.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present