William Preston (Virginia soldier)

Alt William Preston's Signature
William Preston's signature

Colonel William Preston (December 25, 1729 – June 28, 1783) was an Irish-born American military officer, planter and politician. He played a crucial role in surveying and developing the Southern Colonies, exerted great influence in the colonial affairs of his time, owned numerous slaves on his plantation, and founded a dynasty whose progeny would supply leaders of the South for nearly a century.[1][2] He served in the House of Burgesses and was a colonel in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the fifteen signatories of the Fincastle Resolutions.[3] Preston was also a founding trustee of Liberty Hall when it was transformed into a college in 1776.[4]

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