Introducing James Preston

Thought I would kick off the journey into the past with one of my oldest known, and most remarkable relatives. Introducing... Captain James Preston (1720-1807) from Holmfirth, Yorkshire.

Possibly a portrait of Lieutenant James Preston RN (1720-1807). 
It was reproduced as such in 'A Family of Woolgatherers' by Frances Preston (published 1978), but as this would mean the image predates photography, family genealogists believe it may in fact be a photo of his son James Preston Jnr.

This man is a bit of a mystery. No family records and only an estimated birthdate have been recorded. I am chasing a strong lead, but more on that when I can confirm I have the right family. 

James' four grandsons settled in New Zealand after flooding all but destroyed the family's wool dyeing business. There are now seven NZ generations of Prestons, and counting. James begat James, who begat Robert, who begat Robert, who begat Leonard (my grandfather). 

The Prestons love a good yarn (excuse the pun) and James Preston's tale is no exception. My aunt, Margaret Deuchrass of Mosgiel (Leonard Preston's daughter) found out more about his military career from another family researcher, Geoff Dunckley (son-in-law of Frances Preston) who travelled to England a few decades ago in search of James' past. He found James’ story was well documented in Navy records and in his personal ship diaries.

Evidently, James Preston took part in the fight for Canadian territory in the Seven Years War in Quebec and Montreal. These battles brought about the surrender of the French and were key events in this era of British colonial expansion. What is more, James would have fought alongside the young and ambitious Captain James Cook, who was eight years younger than our bloke.

James Preston was born about 1720 in Yorkshire. He served in the merchant navy, probably from a young age. Boys as young as 9 or 10 were often employed by ship owners as deckhands or 'powder monkeys' as they were useful for climbing up the rigging, stoking cannons and negotiating the tight spaces below deck. 

James' early life actually follows a similar path to the young James Cook. Cook was also born in Yorkshire. He was apprenticed to a ship owner at a young age, before becoming a Master and then volunteering to join the Royal Navy in 1755, at 26 years of age.

Preston’s career was not quite so stellar. He did not receive the invitation to volunteer for the Navy until 1758, despite many attempts and endorsements from several ship captains he had worked under. At 29 years old he did, however, manage to woo the heiress of Wooldale Hall, Mary Salkeld, in Holmfirth. Follow the link to more photos of Wooldale village here.

Wooldale Hall, Holmfirth, Yorkshire.
Built by Mary Salkeld's Quaker grandfather Elihu Jackson.

I expect she spent a lot of time waiting for him to return from his voyages at sea. Records showed that he tried many times to get into the Royal Navy. He worked as an ordinary seaman on ships the HMS Royal Ann, HMS Antelope, and then as midshipman on the Swan, Colchester and Antelope ships. Finallly, on August 9, 1758 (aged 38) he was allowed to sit the entrance examinations and on October 25, 1758 he became a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.

His appointment was just in time to join the campaign under General Wolfe to fight the French for Canadian territory in the Siege of Quebec, the battle which won the British the war. Lieutenant Preston sailed on the Trident, one of the Blue Squadron under Rear Admiral Chas Holmes, sailing from Spithead on February 14, 1759. After an eventful voyage, with delays due to storms and ice, the fleet attacked Quebec on July 31, 1759. 

James Preston was in charge of four flat-bottomed boats for troop transport and two similar with cannon mounted as floating batteries. The plan failed. An undetected river bank grounded the ships. The setback put the plan out of sync' and those first to land didn’t wait for reinforcements, rushing the enemy with great loss of men and officers. The whole force then withdrew and the boats that were stuck fast were stripped and burnt. Quebec town was, for the most part, destroyed.

General Wolfe's final attack was made west of Quebec. They staged a decoy attack downstream on the night of September 12, 1859. The action was successful and Quebec was captured – but both General Wolfe and General Montcalm, the French Commander were killed along with 1200 French and 58 British soldiers. The battle was depicted heroicly in Benjamin West’s painting Death of General Wolfe (1770).

Captain Cook wrote about this battle in his ship diary:  

Moderate and cloudy weather at 6pm. Unmoored and hoved into half a cable on the best bower anchor. At midnight all the rowboats in the fleet made a feint to land at Beauport in order to draw the enemy's attention  that way to favour the landing of troops above the town. .. At ten o'clock, [the next morning] the English army, commanded by General Wolfe attacked the French under the command of General Montcalm in the field of Abraham behind Quebec and totally defeated them. (Hough, p22)

Preston was in charge of flat-bottomed boats landing the soldiers about one mile upstream. He successfully landed the first troops who had to scramble up the cliff hanging on to bushes and stumps. The boats  went back and forth across the river to ferry more soldiers over – in all 3,600 troops were landed. Once the troops were ashore James was in command of landing the cannons and the sailors had to man handle this armament up to the level ground.

In 1760 the Trident was positioned on the St Lawrence river, and Preston was this time in charge of taking troops ashore in the assault on Montreal, which capitulated on September 8, 1760. After the French surrendered, he escorted the transports evacuating the French troops from Montreal and took them east to Point Champlain. He was then ordered to go and rescue the French Governor of Canada, Marquis de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, who was forced to surrender after his ship ran aground in mid-river above Montreal. Evidently Preston managed to get the ship off and delivered the Governor to Commodore Swanton.

A testimonial from Lieutenant General Murray (who commanded the left wing of the battle line in Quebec) certified Preston’s distinguished service in the Navy during these campaigns. 

Preston was promoted on January 10, 1761, appointed 2nd lieutenant of the Trident and on July 10 1776, to 2nd lieutenant of the Hector. He was 46 years old. It appears, from our researcher's notes, that he only rose to the rank of Lieutenant (not Captain as he has been known to the family) but he was conferred the title of Commander on retirement. 

In 1780, at 60 years of age, he was still eager to impress his peers. He put forward a suggestion to the Admiralty plans to use warships as fireships. Their lordships did not consider this either proper or usable. In 1781 he was once again suggesting improvements for a new style of gun carriage, but after exhaustive tests by the Naval Board of Ordinance this was rejected.

In 1796 James wrote from Wooldale to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, petitioning for retirement and a pension. He stated he was suffering from a bilious disorder, fever, diabetes, and dimness of eyesight such that he could only distinguish one man from another by voice. He was granted retirement and was granted the rank of Commander on August 1, 1801. His pension was six shillings a day for his natural life. (The Naval Board allowed only thirty officers at a time to draw a Naval pension, so James had had to wait till one died.) 

His wife Mary died on July 5 1792, aged 71. James had inherited her share of her wealthy grandfather’s estate, including Wooldale Hall. He and Mary had had no children, but quite remarkably he became a father at 73 and 74 years of age, producing two sons, George Augustus and James, with his housekeeper, Ann Robinson.

It's likely this relationship was more practical than romantic - to produce some heirs to the Wooldale Estate. They were never married. Ann would have been much younger, so I bet they all sent Holmfirth townsfolk's tongues wagging.

Frances Preston wrote: 

The old Captain was a legendary figure, remembered locally as walking in the village wearing his naval cloak, and accompanied by his two small sons clad in miniature cloaks of the same pattern. (Preston, p17)

James had a will drawn up on September 4 1805, and on October 8, 1805 the two sons of James Preston were registered in the Register of Holmfirth Chapel (with Ann as their mother). Sadly, not much is known about what happened to Ann. (She was not left anything in the will.)

James died on March 2 1807, aged 86 years and is buried in Holmfirth Chapel. His telescope, his sword, and his ship diaries have, I think, been passed down to descendants of his grandson Joseph Preston. I hope to track them down and pay them a visit.

So there you have it. Quite a determined character, by all accounts, and probably not without his faults. The fact he sired two sons in his seventies is, no doubt, much appreciated by his descendants, myself included!

Pam Templeton

Sources: 

Margaret Deuchrass and Geoff Dunckley, family researchers.

Richard Hough, Captain Cook: A Biography, 1994

Frances Preston, A Family of Woolgatherers, 1978
Jim McQuillan, 2012

Wikipedia and other sources