The Special Collections department at Virginia Tech houses rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and other materials relating to the history of Virginia Tech and the surrounding region. It has extensive holdings documenting the Preston family, including papers, deeds, letters, and other items spanning from 1745 to the late 19th century. The department actively collects materials about the Prestons, Blacksburg, and other topics and makes the collections available for research.

1. The Prestons at
Virginia Tech
Special Collections
Kira A. Dietz
Acquisitions and Processing Archivist
kadietz@vt.edu

2. A little about Special Collections
• We have a lot in common with the rest of the university
libraries, but we’re more than a little bit different, too
• We are home to the university’s:
• Rare Book Collection
• Historical Manuscripts
• University Archives
• Records Management
• We also house photograph, map, art, and artifact
collections
• We work hard to dispel the myths that we are a museum, a
treasure room, or some secret hoard of forbidden materials

3. Why you might want to know
about us
• We have a LOT of cool materials
• We are a library department that is open not only the
campus community, but the national and global research
community
• We are actively collecting materials in six major areas:
• Local History (Blacksburg, Montgomery County, SW VA, &
Southern Appalachia)
• the American Civil War
• the History of Food & Drink
• Science & Technology History
• Speculative Fiction/Science Fiction
• the History of Women in Architecture
• Oh, and we might have a little something about the
Prestons

4. Preston Family Collections
• Preston Family (Alice Preston Moore Collection) Papers,
1745-1882 (Ms1962-004)
• Preston Family (Charles Peale Didier Collection) Papers,
1747-1897 (Ms1985-020)
• Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities,
Montgomery County Branch Papers, 1754-1966 (Ms1962-
001)
• William Preston Land Grant, 1773 (Ms1994-027)
• Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, 1784-1881, n.d
(Ms1997-002)
• Francis Preston Receipt, 1791 (Ms2013-067)
• John Preston Papers, 1796-1844 (Ms1994-034)

5. Preston Family Collections
• John Preston Deed, 1826 (Ms2005-014)
• Saran Buchanan Campbell Preston Land Deed, 1835
(Ms1987-034)
• Robert Taylor Preston Papers, 1849-1871 (Ms1992-003)
• Thomas L. Preston Letter, 1860 (Ms2008-041)
• Preston Family Correspondence,1861, 1872 (Ms2010-070)

6. Preston-Related Collections
• Anne Judkins Hager Papers, 1828-1990 (Ms1995-008)
• Patricia Givens Johnson Papers, 1920-1986 (Ms1988-007)
• Anna Whitehead Kenney Papers, 1965-1972 (Ms1991-
022)
• Dorothy McCombs Papers, 1970-1989 (Ms1995-006)
• Willard Preston Genealogy, c.1998 (Ms2009-121)
• Smithfield Plantation House Architectural Drawings
(Ms2011-053)

7. Published Preston-Related
Materials
• Books
• Genealogies/family histories
• Memoirs
• Historical research about the family, lands, and properties
• Journals
• Microfilmed collections of papers from other institutions

8. Other Materials in Special
Collections
• Biographical research files:
• James Patton
• The Preston family generally
• Subject research files:
• Smithfield
• Blacksburg & Montgomery County
• Greenfield
• Historical photographs
• Historical maps

14. Ms1994-027,WilliamPrestonLandGrant,1773

15. GordonCloydtoJohnPrestonatSmithfield,concerningtheland
surveysatHorseshoe,Aug.3,1799(Ms1985-020,PrestonFamily
[CharlesPealeDidierCollection]Papers)

16. WilliamPrestontoCol.JohnPrestoninMontgomeryCounty,Sept.
25,1797(Ms1985-020,PrestonFamily[CharlesPealeDidier
Collection]Papers)

17. WilliamPrestontoCol.JohnPrestoninMontgomeryCounty,Sept.
25,1797(Ms1985-020,PrestonFamily[CharlesPealeDidier
Collection]Papers)

18. WilliamPrestonathometoJamesMcDowell,December5,1801
(Ms1997-002,SmithfieldPrestonFoundationPapers,1781-1881,
n.d.)

19. WilliamPrestonathometoJamesMcDowell,December5,1801
(Ms1997-002,SmithfieldPrestonFoundationPapers,1781-1881,
n.d.)

20. WilliamPrestonathometoJamesMcDowell,December5,1801
(Ms1997-002,SmithfieldPrestonFoundationPapers,1781-1881,
n.d.)

21. WilliamPrestonathometoJamesMcDowell,December5,1801
(Ms1997-002,SmithfieldPrestonFoundationPapers,1781-1881,
n.d.)

22. Ms2005-014,JohnPrestonDeed, 1826

23. Ms2005-014,JohnPrestonDeed, 1826

24. Ms2005-014,JohnPrestonDeed, 1826

25. James PattonPrestonatSmithfieldtoJamesMcDowellin
Lexington,October16,1831(Ms1997-002,SmithfieldPreston
FoundationPapers,1781-1881,n.d.)

26. James PattonPrestonatSmithfieldtoJamesMcDowellin
Lexington,October16,1831(Ms1997-002,SmithfieldPreston
FoundationPapers,1781-1881,n.d.)

27. James PattonPrestonatSmithfieldtoJamesMcDowellin
Lexington,October16,1831(Ms1997-002,SmithfieldPreston
FoundationPapers,1781-1881,n.d.)

28. Ms1987-034,SarahBuchananCampbellPrestonLandDeed,
1835

29. Ms1987-034,SarahBuchananCampbellPrestonLandDeed,
1835

30. Ms1987-034,SarahBuchananCampbellPrestonLandDeed,
1835

31. JamesFrancisPrestontoSarahCaperton,aftertheFirstBattleof
BullRun,July28,1861(Ms2010-070,PrestonFamily
Correspondence)

32. JamesFrancisPrestontoSarahCaperton,aftertheFirstBattleof
BullRun,July28,1861(Ms2010-070,PrestonFamily
Correspondence)

33. RobertTaylorPreston’s“Calltoarms,”writtenMay15,1863
(Ms1997-002,RobertTaylorPrestonPapers)

34. RobertTaylorPreston’s“Calltoarms,”writtenMay15,1863
(Ms1997-002,RobertTaylorPrestonPapers)

35. RobertTaylorPreston’spardonfromAndrewJohnson,
September1865(Ms1997-002,RobertTaylorPrestonPapers)

36. RobertTaylorPreston’spardonfromAndrewJohnson,
September1865(Ms1997-002,RobertTaylorPrestonPapers)

37. SarahCapertonPrestontoColonelGrabowskiatVMI,May15,
1872(Ms2010-070,PrestonFamilyCorrespondence)

38. SarahCapertonPrestontoColonelGrabowskiatVMI,May15,
1872(Ms2010-070,PrestonFamilyCorrespondence)

39. Questions?
Want to ask me a question later? Curious to learn more
about Special Collections? Wondering more about me?
You can find me lots of places:
Email: kadietz@vt.edu
Phone: 540-231-3810
Twitter: @archivistkira
Special Collections blog (Wordpress):
http://vtspecialcollections.wordpress.com/