Isaac Preston, born in 1823 in what is now Johnson County, Kentucky, was a pioneer of Smith Township and a farmer and stock-raiser. His parents, Isaac and Sarah (Downing) Preston, natives of Virginia, moved to Kentucky early in the 19th century and settled in Dade County, Missouri, in 1840. Isaac Sr. died in 1848, and Sarah in 1856. Isaac Jr., after working and saving money, spent five years supplying troops at Fort Scott before marrying Susan Fryer in 1851. The couple had five children. Isaac served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and was a Cumberland Presbyterian and Democrat.
Isaac Preston, a pioneer of Smith Township, was born in what is now Johnson County, Ky., in 1823. His parents were Isaac and Sarah (Downing) Preston, natives of Virginia, who went to Kentucky early in the present century, and in 1837 came to Missouri, settling in Dade County in 1840 on a small improvement on the west fork of the Limestone, where they spent the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1848, and the mother in 1856. Mr. Preston was a soldier under Gen. Harrison in the War of 1812 and was a well-to-do farmer and stock-raiser. The subject of this sketch, a farmer and stock-raiser, one of ten children, had a very limited education, and remained at home until twenty-three years of age; he worked as an employee till he had a capital of $300 or $400, when he went to Fort Scott, then a Government post, where he engaged for five years in furnishing supplies to the troops, from which he made considerable money. He returned to Dade County, and in 1851 married Susan, daughter of William and Susan Fryer, who came to Dade County from North Carolina about 1841, where they both died. He has a family of two sons and three daughters living. With the exception of about four years during the war, he has lived on his present farm of 360 acres since his marriage. From 1862 till the close of the war he served in the Confederate Army, first in a Texas regiment of cavalry, and afterward with Gen. Joseph Shelby in a Missouri regiment. He is a Democrat, and he and his wife are Cumberland Presbyterians. The children are: Christopher C., William, Nancy V., wife of John Hoshaw, of Lawrence County; Louie B., wife of William R. Kates; and Sallie, wife of Oliver Murry.