Confusion about William Preston's identity doesn't start or end with family tradition, either. Any number of published historical accounts--even a shiny bronze marker (2010)--are ripe with error and omission in the telling of his story.
While it does not stand alone, evidence contributing to the genealogical proof that William Preston, the old sheriff of Defiance, Ohio, was the son William and Elizabeth (Clark) Preston of Rumney, New Hampshire, includes information developed during the research to better understand an 1829 deed (see, "One Good Deed" and the wiki supplement). By virtue of the deed, William Preston (wife Asenath) of Defiance, Ohio, transferred an undivided interest in land at Rumney, New Hampshire, to Collins Preston, then a minor of that place.
Researching the 1829 deed involved (a) reading the Grafton County deed books through about 1803 and, still later, (b) targeted research in the deed books through about 1850 based on information from select deed indices (surname Preston and full name Charles Clark). The deed research led to identifying three other transactions (deeds) at Grafton County that relate in different ways to the 1829 deed.
Images of each of the deeds, the map and composite above (larger) may be viewed on the
Wiki supplement, "One deed, two deeds ..."
Based on work with the four deeds and extended research, as above, I concluded
- the property interest transferred in 1829 from William Preston (Asenath) of Defiance (Ohio) to Collins Preston of Rumney (New Hampshire) had been acquired in 1808 by William Preston, Jr. of Rumney. [Grafton County deeds 111:312-313; 37:557; 37:262 and 46:474-5; see the wiki supplement, One deed, two ...]
- the minor to whom the property interest was transferred in 1829 was Collins Preston (1812-1857), son of Benjamin and Ann Williams (Robie) Preston. Collins was born at Rumney [NHVR]; he died 1857 at Boston, then a resident of West Newton, Massachusetts. [MAVR; Boston Daily Atlas, April 6, 1857, p. 2, c. 5; gravestone, Rumney Depot Cemetery] Collins' father, Benjamin Preston, died 12 April 1828 [gravestone, Rumney Depot Cemetery (ae 44)]; he was born 01 April 1784 at Rumney, the son of Maj. William and Elizabeth (Clark) Preston. [NHVR; duplicate entry, Presson and Preston]. See also “Rummaging about Rumney,” for the subsection, “OOooO. Oops.”
- an identifiable property underlying the transactions (including William Preston’s 1808 acquisition and the 1829 disposition) was a farm that had been owned by [Capt.] Charles Clark. This Capt. Clark is likely the same Charles Clark who married Molley Brown [24 Sept 1767 (NHVR, Rumney)]. [1] He is further presumed the same Charles Clark whose name, just prior to the marriage, appears on the second grant of Rumney, 19 Mar 1767 [NHSP (1895) 25:485-489]. Yet again separately, the same Charles Clark of Rumney appointed 1775 to settle the estate of Joseph Clark of Haddam. [2] He is believed to be, but not proven, a son of Joseph Clark [3] and brother of Elizabeth (Clark) Preston. [4] [Grafton County deeds 111:312-313; 37:557; 37:262 and 46:474-5] See also “Mention of an early Clark Family of Rumney” (graphic) in “Through the Peep Hole.”
Given the above three findings and believing a reasonable search had been made of the Rumney area deed books, town and vital records, published histories, news items, Rumney Depot cemetery, local archives, etc., I further concluded that
- the only man even likely to have been identified in the 1808 Grafton County deed as "W[illia]m Preston, Jr. of Rumney" was the man born in 1780, [NHVR; duplicate entry, Presson and Preston], eldest child of Major William Preston and his wife Elizabeth [Clark].[5] This eldest child of Maj. William and Elizabeth would have been a brother to the then-late (in 1829) Benjamin Preston (1784-1828), and thus the uncle of the minor to whom the property interest was transferred, Collins Preston (1812-1857), said then of Rumney.
Finally, no intervening recorded transaction was found between the 1808 deed and the 1829 deed that involved William Preston or William Preston, Jr. and the Rumney property interest. As such, the 1829 recorded sale is circumstantial evidence contributing to the genealogical proof that our William Preston (wife Asenath) of Defiance, Ohio, was indeed the man born 1780, son of William and Elizabeth (Clark) Preston.
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[1] Charles Clark (wife, Molley Clark) to Jabez H. Weld and Oliver F. Weld, 1803; Grafton County (New Hampshire) deeds 37:262. See wiki supplement, "One deed, two ...."
[2] Mention of the estate of Joseph Clark in Haddam, Carolyn Porter-Fraher, “Haddam Land Records,” message board posting, Connecticut Middle-List, 13 Jan 2001; archive online, RootsWeb.com (http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CTMIDDLE/2001-01/0979416705 : accessed 2008)
[3] See Carolyn Porter-Fraher, “Haddam Land Records.” Without seeing the deed and researching further in the Haddam records, a relationship between Charles Clark and Joseph Clark is presumed, but not proven.
[4] See Carolyn Porter-Fraher, “Haddam Land Records.” Without seeing the deed and researching further in the Haddam records, a relationship between Joseph, Charles Clark, Elizabeth Clark, Jonathan Clark, Michael Clark and Susannah Clark is presumed, but not proven.
[5] The mother's surname from the marriage record of William Presson and Elizabeth Clark. [NHVR]
[5] The mother's surname from the marriage record of William Presson and Elizabeth Clark. [NHVR]
One deed, two deeds, three deeds, four by GeneJ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://theycamebefore.blogspot.com/2012/07/one-deed-two-deeds-three-deeds-four.html.
Note: This article was updated 31 July 2012 to provide links to improved/larger graphics; further links added to select NHVR. Updated 1 Aug 2012 to specify a Creative Commons license for this article.
