Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Tyler Williams, Student Assistant
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
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.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], William Preston Land Grant, 1773, Ms1994-027, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The William Preston Land Grant was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in memory of Frank Brockenbrough Preston, Jr., in August 1994.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the William Preston Land Grant completed in October 2023.
Biographical Note
William Preston (1729-1783) 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. Preston was appointed as a commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Shawnee and Delaware tribes in 1757. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. Preston was also a milita colonel during the American Revolution.
Administrative History
The Greenfield Plantation was located in Botetourt County, Virginia, and was originally owned by Colonel William Preston. Greenfield was purchased as a 191 acre tract by Preston in 1759, and by the time this land grant was drafted the property consisted of more than 2100 acres. Preston and his family lived at Greenfield until they moved to the Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia, in 1773. The house located on the property was destroyed by a fire in 1959.
External Source:
"Greenfield's Early Days", Botetourt County, Virginia website, https://www.botetourtva.gov/799/Greenfields-Early-Days
Scope and Content
This collection contains a land grant for 2,175 acres in Botetourt County, Virginia, that belonged to Colonel William Preston and the Preston family, which includes the land for Greenfield. The document is signed by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, who was the Governor of Virginia from 1771 to 1775.
Related Material
The following collections at Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives also contain materials related to William Preston:
Preston Family (Alice Preston Moore Collection) Papers, Ms1962-004
Anna Whitehead Kenney Papers, Ms1991-022
Preston Family (Charles Peale Didier Collection) Papers, Ms1985-020
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Botetourt County (Va.)
- Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
- Preston, William, 1729-1783
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the William Preston Land Grant by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Dunmore, John Murray, Earl of, 1732-1809
- Preston, William, 1729-1783