Dr. Robert John Preston (1841-1906) was born in Washington County, Va., to John Fairman Preston (1811-1875), and Nancy Jane (Rhea) Preston (1813-1876). He attended Emory & Henry College, but his education was disrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War. Preston served in the 37th Virginia Infantry and the 21st Virginia Cavalry. After the war he attended medical school at the University of Virginia. In 1887, he became the superintendent of Southwest Virginia Hospital in Marion, Va. Preston married Martha E. Sheffey (1849-1898), and they had two children: Eleanor Fairman (Preston) Watkins (b. 1871), and Dr. Robert Sheffey Preston (1885-1953). R.S. Preston attended Hampden-Sydney College, Princeton University, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After receiving his medical degree in 1908, he interned at Memorial Hospital in Richmond, Va., from 1908-1909 and at Bellevue Hospital in New York City from 1909-1911. In 1911 he began his medical practice in Richmond, Va. During World War I Preston was drafted and served as a lieutenant with the U.S. Army Medical Corp in France. After the war, Preston returned to Richmond and continued his medical practice and also taught at the Medical College of Virginia. Preston was married to Alice Burwell Reed (1895-1979) and they had three children.
From the description of Papers, 1867-1953, of Dr. Robert Sheffey Preston. (Virginia Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 496285974
