Two letters, 4 Oct. 1873 and 7 June 1874, from John Smith Preston, in New York and Baltimore, to his grandson John Preston Darby, express a grandfather's affection and the earlier one mentions the "Revolving advertisements" in New York City. "I see Barnums Circus pass nearly every day. Last time there were Six Elephants - drawing one carriage - and eight Camels drawing another - with the Band in it - and there were about a hundred men and women - in Spangles and gold - on horseback."
Receipts, promissory notes, tax receipts, Middlebury Savings Bank bank book (1837), certificates for shares in Middlebury Manufacturing Company, appointments as guardian of David Goodrich (1822) and Azra I. Munger (1831), and other papers of Asa Preston; plus receipts and other papers of family members, including deposition and court papers relating to a law suit (1844) involving Jonathan S. Preston.
The collection consists of family papers, receipts, correspondence, and original and photocopied materials relating to the Preston family, primarily William and Susanna Smith Preston, John Preston, and William Ballard Preston, dating from the 1740s to the 1880s. Other materials include 19th and 20th century genealogy research on the Prestons.
A definitive new volume of the retirement papers of Thomas Jefferson This volume’s 601 documents show Jefferson dealing with various challenges. He is injured in a fall at Monticello, and his arm is still in a sling months later when he narrowly escapes drowning during a solitary horseback ride. Jefferson obtains temporary financial relief by transferring a $20,000 debt from the Bank of the United States to the College of William and Mary. Aided by a review of expenditures by the University of Virginia that uncovers no serious discrepancies, Jefferson and the Board of Visitors obtain a further $60,000 loan that permits construction to begin on the Rotunda. Jefferson drafts but apparently does not send John Adams a revealing letter on religion. He exchanges long letters discussing the Supreme Court with Justice William Johnson, and he writes to friends about France’s 1823 invasion of Spain. Jefferson also helps prepare a list of recommended books for the Albemarle Library Society. In November 1822, Jefferson’s grandson Francis Eppes marries Mary Elizabeth Randolph. He gives the newlyweds his mansion at Poplar Forest and visits it for the last time the following May. In a letter to James Monroe, Jefferson writes and then cancels “my race is near it’s term, and not nearer, I assure you, than I wish.”
The Didier Collection of Preston Family Papers includes papers of James Patton, Patton's grandson William Preston, and Preston's eldest son, John Preston, all of Montgomery County, Virginia. The Preston family was important in the surveying, settlement, military affairs, and government of Southwest Virginia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their papers consist of business and legal documents, surveys, and correspondence. Much of the collection relates to John Preston (1764-1827), treasurer of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1810 to 1819. For further information on the Preston family, see John F. Dorman, The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia (1982).
