Francis Preston (politician)

Francis Preston (born August 2, 1765 in Greenfield , Botetourt County , Colony of Virginia , †  May 26, 1835 in Columbia , South Carolina ) was an American politician . Between 1793 and 1797 he represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Francis Preston attended the College of William & Mary until 1783 . After studying law and being admitted to the bar, he began to work in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career. He served in the Virginia House of Representatives in 1788 and 1789 . He was an opponent of the federal government under President George Washington ( anti-administration faction ) and joined the Democratic Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson in the late 1790s .

In the congressional elections of 1792 Preston was elected in the fourth constituency of Virginia in the US House of Representatives, which was then still in Philadelphia , where he succeeded Richard Bland Lee on March 4, 1793 . After re-election, he was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress until March 3, 1797 . In 1796 he renounced another candidacy. After his tenure in the US House of Representatives ended, Francis Preston settled in Abingdon , where he practiced as a lawyer. During the British-American War of 1812 he was a colonel in a volunteer unit. In the years 1812 to 1814 he was again a member of the Virginia House of Representatives, from 1816 to 1820 he was a member of the State Senate .

Francis Preston died on May 26, 1835 in Columbia on the estate of his son William C. Preston (1794-1860), who at that time represented the state of South Carolina in the US Senate . His nephews, William B. Preston (1805–1862) and William Preston (1816–1887), were each congressman.

Web links

• Francis Preston (politicians) in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)