Preston Family

The Preston Family Papers document three generations of a family who lived in Baltimore and Baltimore County from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. The Preston and McNeal families enjoyed the privileges of the upper middle class: education at private schools, travel to Europe, and the social connections of prominent citizens of the city. For both families, the Catholic faith was an important part of their daily lives.

William P. Preston (1811-1880) was born in Virginia. In his late teens he lived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and by 1839 was an attorney in Baltimore. On August 12, 1846, at St. John's Catholic Church in Philadelphia, he married Margaret "Madge" Wickham Smith (1815-1895), daughter of Andrew Smith and Anne Wickham of Frederick County, Maryland. In her youth, Madge attended St. Joseph's Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and spent time with her older sister, Louisa, who lived in Mountain View, Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg. Once married, Madge spent much of her time managing the farm at Pleasant Plains and their residence in Baltimore, raising her daughter, and writing about her daily life.

...