William PRESTON, Congress, KY (1816-1887)
PRESTON, William, (nephew of Francis Preston), a Representative from Kentucky; born near Louisville, Ky., October 16, 1816; pursued preparatory studies and was graduated from St. Josephâs College, Kentucky; attended Yale College in 1835; was graduated from the law department of Harvard University in 1838; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Louisville, Ky., in 1839; served as lieutenant colonel of the Fourth Kentucky Volunteers in the war with Mexico 1846-1848; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1849; member of the State house of representatives in 1850; served in the State senate 1851-1853; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Humphrey Marshall; reelected to the Thirty-third Congress and served from December 6, 1852, to March 3, 1855; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1854 to the Thirty-fourth Congress; Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain 1858-1861; during the Civil War served in the Confederate Army and attained the rank of major general; appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the Confederacy to Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, in 1864; again a member of the State house of representatives in 1868 and 1869; died in Louisville, Ky., September 21, 1887; interment in Cave Hill Cemetery.
Bibliography
Sehlinger, Peter J. Kentuckyâs Last Cavalier: General William Preston, 1816-1887. [Frankfort, Ky.]: Kentucky Historical Society; Lexington: Distributed by The University Press of Kentucky, 2004.Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
