Last updated: October 3, 2023
Person
Othniel Preston II
Quick Facts
Significance:
The story of Othniel Preston and his family illustrates the complexities of the fighting during the American Revolution. Entire families ended up fighting and dying on opposite sides of the conflict.
Place of Birth:
Killingly, CT
Date of Birth:
February 1757
Place of Death:
Penfield, NY
Date of Death:
1840
Place of Burial:
Penfield, NY
Cemetery Name:
Oakwood Cemetery
Othniel Preston II was born in February of 1757 in Killingly, CT to father Othniel Preston I and mother, Anna (Love). He was one of at least six children; with two sisters and four total brothers. In the 1760s the family moved to White Creek, Washington, NY where they worked as loggers and farmers. Othniel Preston II served over 7 years in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He enlisted in Nine Partners, NY on March 12, 1776, for the duration of the war, into the New York Continental Line.
The summer of 1777 would prove to be fateful for Preston’s family. Their newest homestead was only two miles from where the British were encamped before the Battle of Bennington in early August of that year. For one reason or another the Othniel Preston I joined in with the Queens Loyal Volunteers and fought in the battle on August 16, 1777, on the British side. He was wounded and captured. After the battle Othniel the elder's wife Anna, soon secured his release, but he died at home in White Creek on September 17, just a month after the battle. During this same time frame, Othniel II was stationed at the American Fort Schuyler, along the Oneida Carry, and was under siege by a force of British-allied forces, hoping to take the fort, make their way to the Hudson, and join the same forces that his father fought with, in the hopes of taking America back for the British Empire.Othniel II also participated in the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign against the Haudenosaunee in 1779. After the consolidation of the 3rd and 1st NY Regiments, he made his way to Virginia with the rest of the Continental Army and participated in the final major battle of the war, Yorktown (in which the British General Cornwallis surrendered his army to the Continentals). He was discharged from service on January 8, 1783.
After the war, Othniel married Roxana. Starting in 1788, the couple had at least nice children: Daniel, Othniel III, James, Elijah, Lucinda, Roxanna, Elizabeth, William, and Charles. The family lived for a time at the Preston family homestead in White Creek, NY where in 1800, he is listed as head of household. He later lived in Ft. Ann, NY. By the 1830s he was living in Penfield, Monroe Co. NY. Penfield NY. In both 1818 and 1820, he applied for a soldier’s pension. At that point in his life, the entirety of his earthly goods totaled $61.65. He was granted a pension at a rate of $8 per month until his passing in 1840 in Penfield, NY. He is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery.