{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers","next":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026page=2","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026page=7"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1,"next_page":2,"prev_page":null,"total_pages":7,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":0,"total_count":70,"first_page?":true,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c40","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Circular about John Smith Preston","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c40#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c40","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c40"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c40","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Circular about John Smith Preston","box 1","folder 32"],"title_filing_ssi":"Circular about John Smith Preston","title_ssm":["Circular about John Smith Preston"],"title_tesim":["Circular about John Smith Preston"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["n.d."],"normalized_title_ssm":["Circular about John Smith Preston"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":40,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 32"],"_nest_path_":"/components#39","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c40"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c15","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Eight legal letters and documents of the McDowell and Preston families","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c15#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c15","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c15"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c15","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Eight legal letters and documents of the McDowell and Preston families","box 1","folder 7"],"title_filing_ssi":"Eight legal letters and documents of the McDowell and Preston families","title_ssm":["Eight legal letters and documents of the McDowell and Preston families"],"title_tesim":["Eight legal letters and documents of the McDowell and Preston families"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1816-1858"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1816/1858"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Eight legal letters and documents of the McDowell and Preston families"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":15,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 7"],"_nest_path_":"/components#14","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c15"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c19","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Eight letters from E.M. Preston to James McDowell (1795-1851), Sarah McDowell and Susanna Smith Preston McDowell (1800-1847)","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c19#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c19","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c19"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c19","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Eight letters from E.M. Preston to James McDowell (1795-1851), Sarah McDowell and Susanna Smith Preston McDowell (1800-1847)","box 1","folder 11"],"title_filing_ssi":"Eight letters from E.M. Preston to James McDowell (1795-1851), Sarah McDowell and Susanna Smith Preston McDowell (1800-1847)","title_ssm":["Eight letters from E.M. Preston to James McDowell (1795-1851), Sarah McDowell and Susanna Smith Preston McDowell (1800-1847)"],"title_tesim":["Eight letters from E.M. Preston to James McDowell (1795-1851), Sarah McDowell and Susanna Smith Preston McDowell (1800-1847)"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1820-1846"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1820/1846"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Eight letters from E.M. Preston to James McDowell (1795-1851), Sarah McDowell and Susanna Smith Preston McDowell (1800-1847)"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":19,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 11"],"_nest_path_":"/components#18","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c19"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c33","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Eleven letters from William C. Preston to unidentified persons","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c33#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c33","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c33"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c33","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Eleven letters from William C. Preston to unidentified persons","box 1","folder 25"],"title_filing_ssi":"Eleven letters from William C. Preston to unidentified persons","title_ssm":["Eleven letters from William C. Preston to unidentified persons"],"title_tesim":["Eleven letters from William C. Preston to unidentified persons"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1841-1859"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1841/1859"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Eleven letters from William C. Preston to unidentified persons"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":33,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 25"],"_nest_path_":"/components#32","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c33"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c24","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Four letters from Eliza Preston Carrington to Susanna S. McDowell","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c24#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c24","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c24"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c24","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Four letters from Eliza Preston Carrington to Susanna S. McDowell","box 1","folder 16"],"title_filing_ssi":"Four letters from Eliza Preston Carrington to Susanna S. McDowell","title_ssm":["Four letters from Eliza Preston Carrington to Susanna S. McDowell"],"title_tesim":["Four letters from Eliza Preston Carrington to Susanna S. McDowell"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1824-1825"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1824/1825"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Four letters from Eliza Preston Carrington to Susanna S. McDowell"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":24,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1824,1825],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 16"],"_nest_path_":"/components#23","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c24"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c42","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge to Sarah Preston McDowell","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c42#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c42","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c42"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c42","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Letter from Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge to Sarah Preston McDowell","box 1","folder 34"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge to Sarah Preston McDowell","title_ssm":["Letter from Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge to Sarah Preston McDowell"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge to Sarah Preston McDowell"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["n.d."],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge to Sarah Preston McDowell"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":42,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 34"],"_nest_path_":"/components#41","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c42"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c61","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Edmonia M. Preston in Stafford, Virginia to Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c61#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c61","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c61"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c61","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Letter from Edmonia M. Preston in Stafford, Virginia to Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia","box 2","folder 4"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Edmonia M. Preston in Stafford, Virginia to Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia","title_ssm":["Letter from Edmonia M. Preston in Stafford, Virginia to Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Edmonia M. Preston in Stafford, Virginia to Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["May 30, 1813"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1813"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Edmonia M. Preston in Stafford, Virginia to Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":61,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1813],"containers_ssim":["box 2","folder 4"],"_nest_path_":"/components#60","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c61"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c60","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Eliza Preston Madison in Stafford, Virginia to her sister Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c60#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c60","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c60"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c60","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Letter from Eliza Preston Madison in Stafford, Virginia to her sister Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia","box 2","folder 3"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Eliza Preston Madison in Stafford, Virginia to her sister Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia","title_ssm":["Letter from Eliza Preston Madison in Stafford, Virginia to her sister Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Eliza Preston Madison in Stafford, Virginia to her sister Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["January 10, 1784"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1784"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Eliza Preston Madison in Stafford, Virginia to her sister Sarah Preston McDowell in Lexington, Virginia"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":60,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1784],"containers_ssim":["box 2","folder 3"],"_nest_path_":"/components#59","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c60"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c46","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c46#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c46","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c46"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c46","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell","box 2","folder 1"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell","title_ssm":["Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["January 16, 1821"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1821"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":46,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1821],"containers_ssim":["box 2","folder 1"],"_nest_path_":"/components#45","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c46"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c50","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c50#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c50","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c50"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c50","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"text":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell","box 2","folder 1"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell","title_ssm":["Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["March 10, 1822"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1822"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Francis Preston in Abington to James McDowell"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":50,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1822],"containers_ssim":["box 2","folder 1"],"_nest_path_":"/components#49","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_2038.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1784-1881, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1997.002"],"text":["Ms.1997.002","Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","Blacksburg (Va.)","Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History","The collection is open for research.","Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts).","The collection is arranged by correspondent.","Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).","The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.","There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide .","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.","These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","The materials in the collection are in English."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1997.002"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"geogname_ssm":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"creator_ssm":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"creators_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860"],"places_ssim":["Blacksburg (Va.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1997."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","Montgomery County (Va.)","Women -- History"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["0.6 Cubic Feet 2 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824,1825,1826,1827,1828,1829,1830,1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access  "],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSelected letters from this collection have been digitized and are \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms1997_002_SmithfieldPreston\"\u003eavailable online\u003c/a\u003e (most with text transcripts).\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Selected letters from this collection have been digitized and are  available online  (most with text transcripts)."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged by correspondent.\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged by correspondent."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSmithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSee also the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170406065153/spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/spf/list.htm\"\u003edetailed list of correspondents\u003c/a\u003e in the collection, with some biographical information.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman, \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia\u003c/title\u003e (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982).\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).","Smithfield Plantation remained in the family for generations and is currently maintained by the Montgomery County branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Greenfield was a home in Botetourt County where William and Susanna Smith Preston resided in the 1760s.","See also the  detailed list of correspondents  in the collection, with some biographical information.","For more information about the Preston family, see John Frederick Dorman,  The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia  (Filson Club, Inc.; Louisville, Kentucky, 1982)."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers, Ms1997-002, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Additional description was completed in 2009. Minor updates to the finding aid were made in 2020."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the\u003ca href=\"https://guides.lib.vt.edu/specialcollections/prestonfamily\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePreston Family Resoures Research Guide\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Archival Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["There are several collections in Special Collections related to the Smithfield Plantation and the Preston family in Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries. Links and descriptions can be found on the Preston Family Resoures Research Guide ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The collection also includes a will of William Campbell Preston, an obituary of John Smith Preston and his photograph, and a circular asking for funds for a memorial in honor of John Smith Preston.","Many of the correspondents are the children and grandchildren of William (1729-83) and Susanna Smith (1740-1825) Preston, settlers of Botetourt and then Montgomery County, Virginia. The letters were written by Sarah Preston McDowell's brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Other letters were written by the children of her brothers Francis Preston and James Patton Preston. Most of the letters are addressed to Sarah Preston McDowell and James McDowell or their son James McDowell and his wife Susanna Smith Preston McDowell."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThese materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["These materials are not in copyright and personal, scholarship, and educational use is permitted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining exhibit/display, commercial, or other use. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_6b364ce39fbbc01773e989f54a8f6bbe\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers consist of 200 letters written almost exclusively by two generations of members of the Preston family of southwest Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, to James and Sarah Preston McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia."],"names_coll_ssim":["Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)","McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)"],"famname_ssim":["McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)"],"persname_ssim":["Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","Preston, John, 1764-1827","Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","McDowell, James, 1770-1835","McDowell, James, 1795-1851","McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","McDowell, Susana Smith Preston"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":69,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:18:51.534Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2038_c50"}}],"included":[{"type":"facet","id":"repository_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Repository","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","value":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","hits":70},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Polytechnic+Institute+and+State+University"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/repository_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"facet","id":"collection_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Collection","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","value":"Smithfield Preston Foundation Papers","hits":70},"links":{"remove":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/collection_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"facet","id":"date_range_isim","attributes":{"label":"Date range","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"1784","value":"1784","hits":2},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1784"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1785","value":"1785","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1785"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1786","value":"1786","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1786"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1787","value":"1787","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1787"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1788","value":"1788","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1788"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1789","value":"1789","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1789"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1790","value":"1790","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1790"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1791","value":"1791","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1791"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1792","value":"1792","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1792"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1793","value":"1793","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1793"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1794","value":"1794","hits":2},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1794"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/date_range_isim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"facet","id":"creator_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Creator","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","value":"Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Madison%2C+Elizabeth+Preston%2C+1762-1837"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","value":"Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+Edmonia+M.+%28Edmonia+Madison+Randolph%29%2C+1787-1847"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","value":"Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+Francis%2C+1765-1835"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, John, 1764-1827","value":"Preston, John, 1764-1827","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+John%2C+1764-1827"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","value":"Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+Thomas+L.+%28Thomas+Lewis%29%2C+1812-1903"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","value":"Preston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+William+C.+%28William+Campbell%29%2C+1794-1860"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/creator_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"facet","id":"names_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Names","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","value":"Madison, Elizabeth Preston, 1762-1837","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Madison%2C+Elizabeth+Preston%2C+1762-1837"}},{"attributes":{"label":"McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","value":"McDowell family (Rockbridge County, Va.)","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=McDowell+family+%28Rockbridge+County%2C+Va.%29"}},{"attributes":{"label":"McDowell, James, 1770-1835","value":"McDowell, James, 1770-1835","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=McDowell%2C+James%2C+1770-1835"}},{"attributes":{"label":"McDowell, James, 1795-1851","value":"McDowell, James, 1795-1851","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=McDowell%2C+James%2C+1795-1851"}},{"attributes":{"label":"McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","value":"McDowell, Sarah Preston, 1767-1841","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=McDowell%2C+Sarah+Preston%2C+1767-1841"}},{"attributes":{"label":"McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","value":"McDowell, Susana Smith Preston","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=McDowell%2C+Susana+Smith+Preston"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","value":"Preston family (Montgomery County, Va.)","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Preston+family+%28Montgomery+County%2C+Va.%29"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","value":"Preston, Edmonia M. (Edmonia Madison Randolph), 1787-1847","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+Edmonia+M.+%28Edmonia+Madison+Randolph%29%2C+1787-1847"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","value":"Preston, Francis, 1765-1835","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+Francis%2C+1765-1835"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, John, 1764-1827","value":"Preston, John, 1764-1827","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+John%2C+1764-1827"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","value":"Preston, Thomas L. (Thomas Lewis), 1812-1903","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Preston%2C+Thomas+L.+%28Thomas+Lewis%29%2C+1812-1903"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/names_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"facet","id":"geogname_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Places","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Blacksburg (Va.)","value":"Blacksburg (Va.)","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Bplaces%5D%5B%5D=Blacksburg+%28Va.%29"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/geogname_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"facet","id":"access_subjects_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Subjects","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","value":"Local/Regional History and Appalachian South","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Local%2FRegional+History+and+Appalachian+South\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Montgomery County (Va.)","value":"Montgomery County (Va.)","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Montgomery+County+%28Va.%29\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Women -- History","value":"Women -- History","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Women+--+History\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/access_subjects_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"facet","id":"level_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Level","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Collection","value":"Collection","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Collection"}},{"attributes":{"label":"File","value":"File","hits":21},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Item","value":"Item","hits":48},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Item"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/level_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"all_fields","attributes":{"label":"All Fields"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=all_fields"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"keyword","attributes":{"label":"Keyword"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=keyword"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"name","attributes":{"label":"Name"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=name"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"place","attributes":{"label":"Place"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=place"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"subject","attributes":{"label":"Subject"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=subject"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"title","attributes":{"label":"Title"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=title"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"container","attributes":{"label":"Container"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=container"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"identifier","attributes":{"label":"Identifier"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026search_field=identifier"}},{"type":"sort","id":"score desc, title_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"relevance"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026sort=score+desc%2C+title_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"date_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"date (ascending)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026sort=date_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"date_sort desc","attributes":{"label":"date (descending)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026sort=date_sort+desc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"creator_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"creator (A-Z)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026sort=creator_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"creator_sort desc","attributes":{"label":"creator (Z-A)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026sort=creator_sort+desc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"title_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"title (A-Z)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026sort=title_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"title_sort desc","attributes":{"label":"title (Z-A)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Smithfield+Preston+Foundation+Papers\u0026sort=title_sort+desc"}}]}