Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers
Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837
Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847
Preston, Francis, 1765-1835
Preston, John, 1764-1827
Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903
Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860
Ms.1997.002
0.6 Cubic Feet
2 boxes
1784-1881, n.d.
The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.
The materials in the collection are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are available online (most with text transcripts).
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.
Biographical Note
Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).
Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.
See also the detailed list of correspondents in the collection, with some biographical information.
For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,
The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).
Scope and Content
The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.
Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by correspondent.
Related Archival Material
There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on thePreston Family Resoures Research Guide.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Blacksburg (Va.)
Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
Montgomery County (Va.)
Women -- History
McDowell, James, 1770-1835
McDowell, James, 1795-1851
McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841
McDowell, Susana Smith Preston
McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)
Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)
Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)
Letter from Susanna Smith Madison [Peyton] to her uncle James McDowellJanuary 8, 180211Letter from J. Preston at Smithfield to James McDowellApril 15, 179512Letter from J. Preston at Smithfield to James McDowellJuly 21, 179912Letter from Francis Preston in Greenfield to James McDowellJanuary 16, 182313Letter from William Preston from home to James McDowellDecember 5, 180114Letter from Thomas Lewis Preston to William Campbell PrestonJuly 3, 183815Letter from Thomas Lewis Preston to Susanna PrestonOctober 20, 183815Letter from Thomas Lewis Preston to William Campbell PrestonNovember 29, 183815Letter from Thomas Lewis Preston to Susanna PrestonJanuary 30, 184315Letter from Thomas Lewis Preston to William Campbell PrestonJune 23, 184515Letter from Thomas Lewis Preston to Susanna PrestonOctober 4, 184715Letter from William Campbell Preston to Susanna Smith Preston McDowellAugust 9, 181616Letter from William Campbell Preston to Susanna Smith Preston McDowellApril 23, 181916Letters from William Campbell Preston to Susanna Smith Preston McDowelln.d.16Eight legal letters and documents of the McDowell and Preston families1816-185817Seven letters from William Campbell Preston to James McDowell1819-184518Ten letters from William Campbell Preston to Susanna S. McDowell1819-184719Nine letters from Francis Preston to Susanna McDowell1819-1833110Eight letters from E.M. Preston to James McDowell (1795-1851), Sarah McDowell and Susanna Smith Preston McDowell (1800-1847)1820-1846111Two letters from Susanna Preston Hart to Sarah McDowell1821112Twelve letters from Sarah Ballard Preston to Susanna S. McDowell and Thomas L. Preston1821-1844113Nine letters from William Campbell Preston to Sally (Sarah B. Preston)1821-1854114Sixteen letters to and from members of the Preston and McDowell families1822-1859115Four letters from Eliza Preston Carrington to Susanna S. McDowell1824-1825116Thirteen letters from Francis Preston to James McDowell1826-1833117Letter to Susanna McDowell from Ed. William Johnston1829118Two letters from Isaac T. Preston to James McDowell1829, 1846119Six letters from John T. L. Preston to James McDowell1830-1844120Two letters from William B. Preston to James McDowell1833, 1847121Thirteen letters from Francis Preston to James McDowell1834-1836122Thirteen letters to William C. Preston from Alexander McCall1840-1843123Three letters to William C. Preston from James Dellets(?)1840-1843124Eleven letters from William C. Preston to unidentified persons1841-1859125Letter from Rev. B.R. Smith to James McDowell1843126Three letters from Wade and Margaret Hampton to James McDowell1847-1851127Letter from Robert Jefferson Breckinridge to "my dear Sally"1848128Two letters from John Smith Preston to "my dear Sally"1853, n.d.129Manuscript will of William C. Preston1859130Obituary of John Smith Preston with photograph1881131Circular about John Smith Prestonn.d.132Letter from Mary Preston Lewis to James McDowell,n.d.133Letter from Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge to Sarah Preston McDowelln.d.134Letter from Francis Preston to James McDowellJune 17, 179821Letter from Francis Preston to James McDowellOctober 5, 179821Letter from Francis Preston to James McDowellMay 27, 180421Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowellJanuary 16, 182121Letter from Francis Preston to James McDowellJanuary 30, 182121Letter from Francis Preston to James McDowellJune 5, 182121Letter from Francis Preston to James McDowellDecember 21, 182121Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowellMarch 10, 182221Letter from Francis Preston to James McDowelln.d.21Letter from James Patton Preston in Richmond, Virginia to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaMay 5, 180422Letter from James Patton Preston in Richmond, Virginia to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaJuly 11, 182722Letter from James Patton Preston at Smithfield to Susanna McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaFebruary 12, 183122Letter from James Patton Preston in Richmond, Virginia to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaJuly 16, 183122Letter from James Patton Preston in Richmond, Virginia to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaSeptember 12, 183122Letter from James Patton Preston at Smithfield to Susanna McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaOctober 16, 183122Letter from James Patton Preston in Richmond, Virginia to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaJune 8, 183222Letter from James Patton Preston at Smithfield to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaMarch 9, 183522Letter from Eliza Preston Madison in Stafford, Virginia to her sister Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaJanuary 10, 178423Letter from Edmonia M. Preston in Stafford, Virginia to Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaMay 30, 181324Letter from George C. Thompson in Shawnee Springs, Kentucky to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaJune 28, 183325Letter from William Preston from Fincastle to James McDowellJanuary 12, 179926Letter from William Preston from Fincastle to James McDowellJanuary 29, 180226Letter from Nathaniel Hart in Franklin, Kentucky to James McDowell in Fairfield, VirginiaJune 15, 180527Letter from Nathaniel Hart in Spring Hill, Kentucky to James McDowell in Lexington, VirginiaNovember 23, 183427Letter from John Lewis in Covington to James McDowell in Rockbridge County, VirginiaAugust 5, 180428Letter from John Preston to James McDowellAugust 29, 179429Letter from John Preston at Greenfield to James McDowellMarch 23, 182229