Passage

The story and lives of the Smithfield enslaved community were on the margins of the Preston’s world, and played supporting, not integral roles, much like this lower passage - which would have been used as a storage and walkway for the enslaved. Hundreds of enslaved people lived, worked and died here at Smithfield between 1774 - 1865. Some of these individuals may have been direct descendants of the original 16 souls that William Preston purchased from the True Blue.

“Collectively, the men and women enslaved at Smithfield were still in the process of creating their own distinctive community. Preston’s first enslaved workers had all been African but that does not mean that they were a homogeneous group. Captive brought to Anomabu (port in Ghana known for selling slaves) and transferred to ships like the True Blue came from a variety of West African linguistic and ethnic groups. They spoke a variety of languages, organized their families and communities in a variety of ways and worshiped a variety of gods. The sixteen Africans William Preston bought in 1759 may have shared some common characteristics but they almost certainly represented an array of cultures and languages. Some of them may have spoken the same or mutually intelligible languages, but others may have initially been unable to communicate with anyone around them. And, of course, none of them spoke English and none of them were familiar with the Anglo-American world in which they found themselves after leaving Anomabu. Following their arrival in the new world, they learned to communicate in an alien language, to dress and behave in ways their owners thought appropriate and to work in ways that were often unlike anything they had known in Africa.” (In the True Blue’s Wake, p. 17). “As for the men and women Preston acquired after 1759, it is impossible to say who they were. They may also have been Africans, from cultures similar to or different from those carried aboard the True Blue, or they may have been born and raised in Virginia or another British colony.” (In the True Blue’s Wake, p. 17).

The Museum

The Museum cases have lists included within the cases that label and explain the artifacts inside.

Cases 1 & 2: Includes artifacts from later generations of Prestons (great-grandchildren/spouses, great nieces/nephews, cousins etc.)

Case 3: Contains archaeological artifacts found onsite at Smithfield during different digs in the 1960s, 1970s and early 2000s.

Case 4: 1st and 2nd generation Preston artifacts - these artifacts were either a) in the house in 1774 and after, or b) used by the people we interpret.

Case 5: Contains archaeological artifacts found onsite at Smithfield during different digs in the 1960s, 1970s and early 2000s.

Other items in the museum:

Portraits:

1. James McDowell (Preston descendant) - Governor of Virginia from 1843 - 1846

2. John Floyd (husband of Letitia Preston child of William and Susanna), Governor of Virginia from 1830 - 1834

3. James Patton Preston (8th child of William and Susanna - inherited Smithfield - Governor of Virginia from 1816 - 1819

4. Small portraits L to R: Robert Taylor Preston, Susanna Smith Preston, James Francis Preston.

Exhibit Pieces:

1. Flax Breaker - a tool used for breaking flax stalks into smaller sections to access the fibers inside. The set of intersecting wooden blades crush the flax stalks and break the outer hard shell into pieces.

2. Flax Heckles - Spiked, metal combs that are used in flax production - once the fibers are removed from their outer stalk, the fibers are combed through these heckles, which untangles the fiber; much like the process of carding wool.

3. Spinning Wheel - Saxony style dark brown spinning wheel. The "maiden" has no bobbin, spindle whorl, or hackle.

4. Preston Family Tree - shows a few generations of the Preston Family - now over 500 known descendants large.

5. Construction Square - reportedly used in the construction of Smithfield. (no primary source proving this exists.)

6. James Patton Preston’s dagger - reportedly used in and found at the site of the Draper’s Meadow Massacre. (no primary source proving this exists.)

Biographies of Preston Children

1. Elizabeth Preston Madison (1762-1837) Born May 31, 1762 in Augusta County VA and died February 7, 1837 in Montgomery County, first born to William and Susanna, Elizabeth married William Strother Madison (1752-1782) (cousin of James Madison) in 1779. William and Susanna kept with the Irish naming tradition of naming for the maternal grandmother, thus Elizabeth. Elizabeth and William had two daughters: Susanna Smith Madison (1780-1820), Agatha Strother Madison (1782-1869). William died from smallpox at age 29 and Elizabeth never remarried and lived at “Madisonville” in current day Shawsville VA, running her plantation and raising her daughters. She is buried with her husband in Shawsville.

2. John Preston (1764-1827)

Born May 2, 1764 at Greenfield in Botetourt County and died there on March 27, 1827. He married Mary Radford in 1789 and when she passed, married Eliza Ann Carrington Mayo in 1811. John Preston was a member of Captain James Byrn’s company of militia in Montgomery County and served under his father, William in the Guilford expedition in 1781. John served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1783. He served as: justice of the peace, county surveyor and captain of the 2nd regiment of the Montgomery County Militia. In 1810, he served as Treasurer of the Commonwealth. He owned large tracts of land in Floyd County, KY and gave his name to the town of Prestonsburg there. His children were: William Radford Washington, John Breckinridge, Elizabeth Madison, Susanna Smith, Sarah Radford, Mary, Polly Radford, Edward Carrington, Whitley. John inherited Greenfield and lived there until his death.

3. Francis Preston

The third child of William and Susanna was born August 2,1765 at Greenfield and died on May 26, 1835 in South Carolina and was named for the maternal grandfather as was Irish tradition. Francis married Sarah Buchanan Campbell in 1793 and was appointed lieutenant in the militia company of his brother John, in 1784. He attended the College of William and Mary and studied law. Francis served as a House of Delegates member from 1788-1789 and 1812-1814 and served as a 2 term U.S. Congressman 1793-1797. Francis was elected Brigadier General in 1814 and then Major General of Virginia Militia and served as a Virginia State Senator 1817-1820. Francis had built and lived in what is now the Martha Washington Inn in Washington County, VA - Salt Works near Abingdon. Francis and Sarah had 14 children: most notable 6: William Campbell Preston, orator, US Senator, President of the University of South Carolina; Susanna Smith Preston, married Cousin Governor James McDowell; Sarah Buchanan Preston, Married cousin Governor John Buchanan Floyd; Ann Sophonisba Preston, Married cousin Reverend Robert Jefferson Breckinridge; General John Smith Preston, Married Caroline Elizabeth Hampton, sister of Governor Wade Hampton; Margaret Buchanan Frances Preston, Married Governor Wade Hampton

4. Sarah Preston McDowell

Born on May 3, 1767 at Greenfield and died on July 3, 1841, Sarah married James McDowell (1770 - 1835) in February 1792. James rose to Colonel in Virginia Militia and refused Brigadier General due to health concerns. James and Sarah had built and lived at “Col Alto'' which still exists in Lexington, VA as a historic Inn. The pair had 3 children: James McDowell Jr., Married Susanna Smith Preston, Daughter of Francis Preston, 29th Governor of VA 1843-1846; Elizabeth Preston McDowell, married Senator Thomas Hart Benton who was a senator for over 30 years, died July 3, 1841, and is buried in the McDowell Family Cemetery near Lexington

5. Ann (Anne) Nancy Preston

Ann/Anne was born February 12, 1769, at Greenfield and died in 1782 at Smithfield from a childhood illness, likely smallpox; Ann was the first person to be buried at the Preston Family Cemetery in 1782. Her exact burial location is unknown but it may be between her father who died one year later in 1783, and her brother, William Preston of Kentucky. Family legend states that her father, William, was so saddened by her death that he did not smile again.

6. Wiliam Preston of Kentucky

William Preston was born on September 5, 1770 at Greenfield and died on January 24, 1821 in at “Thorn Spring” home of his sister Letitia Preston Floyd, located in current-day Dublin. He married Caroline Hancock in 1802 and lived at “Fotheringay” next door to “Madisonville” where his sister Elizabeth resided. William served as Surveyor of Montgomery County and as captain in the army until the County Court dictated in 1793 that he couldn’t hold both and he chose to remain in the military. In 1793, William fought under General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the final battle in the Northwest Indian War; a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States for control of the Northwest Territory. Serving with him were his friends Merriweather Lewis and William Clark. William Clark married Caroline’s sister, Julia. In 1814, William and Caroline moved their family to Kentucky to live on lands he inherited from his father in the area that is today Louisville. The couple had 8 children including; Henrietta (who married General Albert Sydeny Johnston, Civil War general), Maria, Caroline Letitia, Josephine, William and Susan. William is buried in the Preston Family Cemetery.

7. Susanna Preston Hart

Susanna was born on October 7, 1772 at Greenfield; she was the last Preston child to be born at Greenfield. She died on June 21, 1833. In 1796, she married Nathaniel Hart, who fought alongside her brother in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The pair moved to Kentucky and built their home “Spring Hill” which became the center of entertainment for generations. Susanna and Nathaniel had 9 children including: Sarah Simpson, Letitia Preston, Louisiana Breckinridge, William, and Mary. Both Susanna and Nathaniel were buried at Spring Hill and were moved to Old Frankfort Cemetery after Spring Hill burned. Their graves are on the same slope as Daniel Boone.

8. James Patton Preston

James was born on June 21, 1774 and was the first child to be born at Smithfield. He died at Smithfield on May 4, 1843. James was 9 years old when his father died in 1783 and he inherited Smithfield. His mother Susanna ran the plantation in his stead, but James would eventually live at Smithfield as an adult with his family. James was the deputy surveyor and later Justice of the Montgomery County Court. He served as a General Assembly delegate, a state Senator and rose to the office of Colonel in the US Army. While serving in the War of 1812, he was wounded in the thigh at the Battle of Chrysler’s Field in Canada and was crippled for life. He was again elected a General Assembly Delegate after returning from the war and then to 3, one year terms as Governor of Virginia: 1816 - 1819. He also served as the Postmaster of Richmond from 1824 - 1837. He married Ann Barraud Taylor in 1801 and they had 8 children, 4 of which lived into adulthood: William Ballard Preston “Ballard” (inherited Smithfield), Robert Taylor Preston (built Solitude on land inherited from his father), James Francis Preston, (built White Thorn on land inherited from his father) and Catherine Jane Grace. James is buried in the Preston Family Cemetery, but the location of his grave is unknown.

9. Mary Preston Lewis

Mary was born on September 29, 1776 at Smithfield and was the ninth child of William and Susanna; she died on February 4, 1824. Mary married John Lewis, the nephew of famous pioneer, Andrew Lewis. John was a soldier during the Revolutionary War and spent the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge. He also commanded a company at the Battle of Monmouth. Their home “Lynnside” was well known as the largest house in the area and was inherited by their son William. Mary and John had 10 children including: Susannah Preston, Mary Sophia, William Lynn, Ann Montgomery, Margaret Lynn, John Benjamin, and Polydora Eugenia. Mary and John are both buried in the Lewis Family Cemetery at Lynnside.

10. Letitia Preston Floyd

Letitia Preston Floyd was born on September 29, 1779 at Smithfield and died on December 13, 1852. In 1804, she married John Floyd, who practiced as a doctor and politician: he served as a US Congressman, and later as a Governor from 1830-1834 based on his views on states rights. Letitia was known for her letter writing: one of the letters that is often quoted in the history of Southwest Virginia is the “Dear Rush” letter she wrote to her son Benjamin Rush Floyd. Letitia was once asked why so many Prestons married their cousins, and her reply was: “poor roads and low fences.” Letitia and John had 12 children including: Governor John Buchanan Floyd, Benjamin Rush Floyd, Letitia Preston Floyd and Necketti Buchanan. Letitia and John established Thorn Spring plantation in present day Dublin, VA. She died in Tazewell, Virginia and is buried at the Lewis Family Cemetery in Monroe County, West Virginia. Transcript of the Dear Rush Letter:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FJQ6ys9-_yKV1XZFKEhTqJSzvFmzbbpS/view?usp=sharing

11. Thomas Lewis Preston

Thomas was born on August 19, 1781 at Smithfield and died on August 11, 1812. As a young man, Thomas attended William and Mary but was expelled from the College of William and Mary for acting as a second for cousin James Breckinridge in a duel. In 1806, Thomas married Edmonia Madison Randolph daughter of Edmund Jennings Randolph, Governor of Virginia. They moved to Lexington where they had two children: Elizabeth Randolph and John Thomas Lewis Preston. After the Civil War, Elizabeth offered her farm “Derwent” to Robert E. Lee who lived there until he became President of Washington College. Their son, John Thomas Lewis (JTL) established Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and he served with General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson both as an adjunct general on his staff and on faculty at VMI. JTL married twice, his first wife was Sara Lyle Caruthers and his second was Margaret Junkin, sister of Stonewall Jackson’s widow. Margaret Junkin was a renowned poet and was called the “Poet of the Confederacy” and was a confidant of Stonewall Jackson. Thomas Lewis Preston is buried in the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in Lexington.

12. Margaret Brown Preston Preston

Margaret Brown Preston Preston was born at Smithfield on February 23, 1784 and was the last child of William and Susanna. She was born almost 8 months after the death of her father, William Preston in 1783; Susanna may have learned she was carrying Margaret at the time of William’s death. Margaret died on May 4, 1843. In 1802, Margaret married John Preston who’s family may have been related to the Prestons back in Ireland.The Smithfield Prestons and the Walnut Grove Prestons (John’s line) were connected through this marriage. Margaret and John had 14 children, including: Susanna Smith, Robert Fairman (who married Sarah Marshall - we have a bracelet and ring containing intertwined hair from Robert and Sarah on their wedding day - it is located in Case 2 in the Museum.), Margaret Rhea, William Alfred, John, Ellen Fairman, Elizabeth Madison, Thomas White, Walter Eugene, Jane, Francis, James Tecumseh, Joseph and Henry. Margaret is buried in the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Washington County VA.