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Major Edward V. Preston papers

 Collection
Identifier: RG069_064

Scope and Content

The collection is arranged in one series related to Major Preston's time as a military paymaster.

Series 1: Paymaster Records, 1855-1877, undated, consists primarily of muster rolls, officer pay vouchers, discharge papers, hospital notices, returns, receipts, requisitions, books, and personal papers. This series is further arranged into Regiments, Administrative Records, and Books. Regiments primarily include muster rolls for state and federal regiments, and these are arranged in alphabetical order by state/federal level. Administrative Records consist of records that are unconnected to specific regiments, and these are arranged in alphabetical order by type of record, then in chronological order. Books contain various books, paybooks, and manuals used by Major Preston in the course of his work, and similar sized books are stored together in boxes.

Dates

  • 1855-1877
  • Majority of material found within 1861-1865

Language of Materials

The records are in English.

Biographical Note

Edward V. Preston was born in Willington, Connecticut on June 1, 1837. The start of his military career was as a First Lieutenant and Regimental Quartermaster for the 5th Connecticut Regiment when he enlisted in July of 1861. In 1863, Preston was promoted to Major and assumed the role of Paymaster. After he was discharged in 1865, he began work at Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut and stayed there for fifty-six years. Major Preston's appointments at Travelers were Assistant General Agent in 1866 and General Agent in 1868. The title of General Agent was later changed to General Manager of Agencies in 1901. Outside of his occupation, Major Preston was heavily involved in clubs and organizations. He was an officer in the Grand Army of the Republic and the Travelers Club and held the title of President with the Army and Navy Club at Eastern Point. Major Preston passed away due to pneumonia on July 10, 1921. He was held in such high regard by Travelers that on the day after Major Preston's passing, Travelers offices across the country were to close at noon in remembrance. He was survived by his wife Clara Litchfield Preston and daughter Evelyn Wallace Preston.

Extent

13.25 cubic feet

Abstract

The collection contains documents kept by Major Edward V. Preston, who was a quartermaster and then a paymaster in the United States Army during the Civil War. Included in the papers are muster rolls, officer pay vouchers, discharge papers, hospital notices, returns, receipts, requisitions, books, and personal papers.

Arrangement

Series 1. Paymaster Records, 1855-1877, undated

Regiments, 1862-1865

Arranged alphabetically by state/federal level.

Administrative Records, 1861-1877, undated

Arranged alphabetically by type of record, then chronologically.

Books, 1855-1868

Similar sized books are stored together in boxes.

Provenance

The Major Edward V. Preston papers were donated by Major Preston to the State Library on March 27, 1909.

Related Material

Processing Information

Wayne Buckmir, a student intern from the graduate program of Information and Library Science at Clarion University, processed the collection in October-December, 2018 and as a volunteer in February-May, 2019. Sarah Morin processed the collection in June, 2019.

Title
RG 069:064, Major Edward V. Preston Papers, 1855-1877, bulk 1861-1865
Subtitle
Inventory
Author
Finding aid prepared by Wayne Buckmir and Sarah Morin.
Date
2019
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Connecticut State Library Repository

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