Born in
Halifax, Franklin County, Virginia, Preston was raised on a farm but at age 19 became a store clerk. He traveled to California by the Panama route in 1852. He shortly afterward became a farmer in
Yolo County, California. It was here that he joined the LDS Church. Preston was baptized by Henry G. Boyle in February 1857 and shortly afterward was ordained an
elder by
George Q. Cannon. Preston then served as a
missionary in northern California until later that year when he led a company of Latter-day Saints to Utah Territory, responding to the call to gather in anticipation of the
Utah War. Among those in Preston's company gathering to Utah was
Moses Thatcher. Thatcher's sister Harriet A. Thatcher was also in this company, and the following February Preston married Harriet Thatcher. In 1859 Preston was among the first settlers of
Logan, Utah. He was made
bishop of Logan in November 1859. Beginning in 1862, Preston served as a member of the
Utah territorial legislature. From 1865 to 1868 Preston served as a missionary in England. The next winter he spent as a sub-contractor working on the
Union Pacific Railroad. He served as a member of the territorial legislature again from 1872 to 1882 and continued to serve as bishop of Logan after his return from England. In 1871, he became presiding bishop over
Cache County, succeeding
Peter Maughan, the first holder of this office, who had just died. Preston served as vice-president of the
Utah and Northern Railway (the president was
John W. Young), which was key to further economic development of Cache Valley. In 1877, Preston became first counselor to
Moses Thatcher in the presidency of the Cache
Stake. From 1879 to 1884, Preston served as president of the Cache Stake. Preston also served as a director of the Logan Cooperative Mercantile Institution, and he also served on the board of trustees of
Brigham Young College and as chairman of the executive committee of that college. From 1870 until 1882, Preston served as mayor of Logan. Preston was a member of the
Utah State Constitutional Convention in 1895, which led to Utah gaining statehood in 1896. Preston was called to be the
Presiding Bishop of the LDS Church by LDS Church
president John Taylor on April 6, 1884. Preston served until ill health forced him to resign his position on December 4, 1907. He died of
pneumonia in
Salt Lake City, Utah, and was buried at
Logan City Cemetery. The towns of
Preston, Nevada and
Preston, Idaho, in northern
Cache Valley, are named after him. ==See also==