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Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in Montgomery County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Preston Cemetery

— Historic Smithfield Plantation —

 
 
Preston Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Craig Doda, July 25, 2020
1. Preston Cemetery Marker
Inscription. Cemetery Map - map by Hartwell H. Gary in 1961.

Roman numerals stand for generations beginning with Archibald Preston. III - Col. William Preston presents the third generation. 28 Marked Graves 2 Memorials 3 Out of situ • 64 Known or Assumed burials

Resources:
1927 Map by Harvey L. Price, dean of agriculture, VPI, 1908 - 1948
c. 1930 Map by Rudolph D. Michael, agricultural editor, VPI 1928 - 1965
1961 Map by Hartwell H. Gary, Sr., revised by C.H. Powers in 1981.

The Preston Cemetery at Smithfield 1782 - 1980 by Anna Whitehead Kenney, revised in 1984. (Anna Kenney was Smithfield's first curator from 1965 - 1972.)

The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in VA by John F. Dorman. Louisville: Filson Club, 1982.

Special Collections of the Virginia Tech Library

BURIED AT THE PRESTON CEMETERY *denotes a shared grave
III-1 William Preston (1730-1783) m. Susanna Smith Preston (1739-1823)*
IV Ann Nancy Preston (1769-1782) no marker, actual location of grave unknown
IV-2 William Preston of Kentucky (1768 -1821)
IV-3 John Preston (1762-1827) no marker, also said to be buried at Greenfield in Botetourt
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IV James Patton Preston (1774-1843) m. Ann Barraud Taylor (1778-1861) no marker, actual location unknown
V Sarah Barraud Preston d. 1804 as infant - grave is not marked or located
V-8 Susanna Edmonia Preston (1818-1823) died young no marker
V-10 Virginia Ann Preston (1816-1833) died young no marker
V Susan Preston (1825-1835) died young- grave is not marked or located
V-18 William Ballard Preston (1805-1862)t m. Lucy Redd (1819-1891)*
VI-20 1. Ann Taylor Preston (1843-1868) m. (Walter Coles 1839-1892) - died from childbirth
VII 21 Ann Preston Coles (1868-1869) as infant
VI-17 2. James Patton Preston (1846-1920)t- pointed native stone marker
VI-16 3. Waller Redd Preston (1847-1872)t m. Harriet Means (1846-1869)*
VI-19 4. Keziah Preston (c. 854-c.1861)- native stone marker near her parents
VII-23 Ann Radford Beale (1868-1893) child of Lucy Redd Preston and William Beale
VII-22 Charles Trigg Beale (1872-1890) -child of Luey Redd Preston and William Beale

This family group marked by large granite obelisk 24
[V]-24 Robert Taylor Preston (1809-1880)+ m. Mary Hart (1810-1881)*?
[VI]1. Virginia Ann Emily (1834-1898)
Preston Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Craig Doda, July 25, 2020
2. Preston Cemetery Marker
m. Robert Stark Means (1833-1874)+*?
[VII]-i. Sallie Stark Means (1860-1861) as infant
[VII]-ii. Mary Hart Means(1861-1861) as infant
[VII]-iii. Ballard Preston Means (1867-1867) as infant
[VII]-iv. Courtney Hanson Means (1868-1877) as young child
[VI]2. Benjamin Hart Preston (1836-1851) as young child
[VI]3. James Patton Preston (1838-1901)+

V-11 James Francis Preston (1813-1862)t m. Sarah Anne Caperton (1826-1908)*
VI-14 1. Hugh Caperton Preston (1856-1905) m. Cary Baldwin (1858-1935)*
VII-13 i. James Francis Preston (1878-1879) as infant
VII-25 ii. Robert Baldwin Preston Sr. (1881-1944) m. Merle Page (1892-1973)
VIII-30 Robert Baldwin Preston Jr. (1916-1982) m. Elnora Coffman (1920-2001)*
VIII-31 Edwin Page Preston (1921-2001)
VII-27iii. Cary Baldwin Preston (1883-1960) m. Hartwell Gary (1881-1966)*
VII-28iv. Sarah Caperton Preston (1885-1965) unmarried*
VII-28vil. Katherine Stuart Preston (1894-1967) unmarried*
VII-26 v. William Ballard Preston (1888-1959) m. Lelia Dew (1893-1984)*?
VII-29 vi. Hugh Caperton Preston, Jr. (1893-1966)
VI-15 2. William Ballard Preston (1858-1901) m. Elizabeth Blackford Scott (1864-1920)*
VI-12
Preston Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Craig Doda, July 25, 2020
3. Preston Cemetery Marker
3. James Francis Preston (1860-1862) as infant
V-9Catherine Jane Preston (1821-1852) m. (Judge George H. Gilmer 1810-1874)
[VI]-i. James Preston Gilmer d. 1852 as infant -buried with mother?

Burials in cemetery not related to Preston Family
7 Emily Ann Byre (1805-1832) - family from Byre Hall, Northampton, VA m. (Dr. George Terrill)
Miss Julia Binners of Pittsylvania Co., VA, d. Dec. 23, 1859 - exact burial location unknown

Ledgerwood Plot (overseers of Whitethorn and Smithfleld in mid-to-late 1800s)
L1 Allen Ledgerwood (1857-1880)
L2 Anderson Ledgerwood (1823-1892) m. L3 Hester Ledgerwood (1820-1870)
L4 Isabell Ledgerwood (1782-1862)

Slave/Servant graves (as marked on 1961 Gary map)
S1 "Aunt Ginny” Virginia Capers • S2 Unknown • S3 Unknown
(Virginia Capers was a former slave and African-American childminder for older children of Hugh Caperton and Cary Baldwin Preston.)

Markers out of situ - unknown/original location in cemetery unknown
"Benjamin” d. 1840 probably an infant (near large oak tree)
"G.S.” d. Aug. 21, 1841 aged 6 years (behind L4, near Ledgerwood plot)
Lavinia Hart Berkeley no date (leaning on Preston/Means
Preston Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Craig Doda, July 25, 2020
4. Preston Cemetery Marker
Monument)
+ Veteran of the Civil War
There are several unmarked graves scattered throughout the cemetery and other side of north fence.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial SitesWar, US Civil.
 
Location. 37° 12.946′ N, 80° 25.668′ W. Marker is in Blacksburg, Virginia, in Montgomery County. It is in Virginia Tech. It can be reached from Smithfield Plantation Road south of Smithfield Road. Located along a tree line 500 yds southeast of the Historic Smithfield Plantation home. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1000 Smithfield Plantation Rd, Blacksburg VA 24060, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Highlands, and in the New River Gorge. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the
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Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Cemetery Landscape (a few steps from this marker); Smithfield Blacksmith Shop (approx. Ό mile away); William Ballard Preston (approx. Ό mile away); Liberty and Justice for All (approx. Ό mile away); Revolutionary War Patriots (approx. Ό mile away); 1820 Slave Cabin (approx. Ό mile away); Slaves' Garden (approx. Ό mile away); Site Of The Law Offices Of Wm. Ballard Preston (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blacksburg.
 
Also see . . .  Historic Smithfield. (Submitted on July 6, 2024.)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on April 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on December 19, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,370 times since then and 86 times this year. Last updated on July 6, 2024, by Dreanna Belden of Highland Village, Texas. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 19, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
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Jul. 21, 2026