Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1866-11-20
From the Lewisbarg Times of Nov 10th.
Mrs. j. G. Preston's Death.ss

Mrs. j. G. Preston's Deaths
In our last issue we gave brief and some
what inaccurate statement Of the circumstances
attendant upon the death of this estimable lady.
Believing that more detailed and authentic
narration will be acceptable to our readers, we
give the following as reliable:
Mrs Preston's family consists Of a. daughter
and two sons. At the time OF the accident,
Miss Davidella Preston was on a visit to friend.
Mrs. W. B. Reid, relative, and Miss M.
Creigh, niece of Mrs. P, spent the night of
the 24th with her. The ladies sat up till avery
late hour, and Mrs p remained awake, for
sometime, after retiring Nevertheless, she
arose very early the next morning, and entered,
actively, upon the discharge of her household
duties After breakfast, Mr.. W. c.. Preston,
who has charge of the Lewisburg Academy,
home, and Mr. John Preston brought Mrs. Reid
to Lewisburg. Mrs. Preston was thus left en-
tirely alone. Mr.. John Preston, however, on
returning from Lewisburg, and after putting
away his carriage and horses, walked into the
house, saw and conversed with his mother, and
then went off to his employment, on the farm.
She was never, again, seen alive, by any one,
and the circumstances Immediately connected
with her distressing death, can only be inferred,
from the condition in which she and the house
were found, about an hour after Mr.. Jno. Pres
ton went out. Mr.. Toothman was engaged in
ploughing on the farm, when observing smoke
at a part of the building where there was usual
ly no fire, he called Mr.. Preston's attention to
the fact and both of them Immediately hurried
to the house. Mrs. DR.. Creigh had just arrived
before them. For sometime they could see no.
thing Of Mrs. Preston. A good fire was found
burning in the kitchen stove, a vessel Of vege-
tables boiling on the stove and, very near by, a
chair and basket of apples. The bed and
bedding of the kitchen stairs was on fire. The
kitchen is connected with the back of the dwell
ling hg porch, from which porch you pass into
the back Of the house through an entry, from
which back stairway ascends to Mrs. Preston s
chamber and other family rooms, in the second
story On this stairway her flannel skirt was
found as if taken off and thrown aside Upon
ROOM the beds in each were found to be on fire,
and the apartments filled with dense smoke,
rendered oppressive by the burning feathers,
&C. Until window was burst open, and an
outlet made for the smoke, it was so dark as to
render every thing in the apartments indistinct
Up to this time no discovery of the body had
been made, although it had been passed and re-
passed At length Mr. John Preston examin-
ed, more particularly, smoking heap lying on
the floor near the head Ofthe stairway, by which
they had assembled, and discovered the charred
and lifeless remains of his beloved mother.
Her clothing had been burned from her body,
and she had enveloped herself in blanket
From the foregoing facts we infer that Mrs
P. was engaged in preparing dinner, and had
taken seat near the stove for the purpose of
pealing some apples that while thus engaged,
and exhausted by seepless night and the .ac-
tive duties of the morning, she may have fallen
into doze, during which time her garments
took fire. Aroused by the flames, she ran up
the kitchen stairs and endeavored to extinguish
the fire by covering herself up in bed The bed
taking fire she ran down stairs, through the
kitchen, and to her own chamber, by the back
stairs. On her way she divested herself of her
flannel skirt, which seemed to have been taken
off in the usual manner, and had scarcely been
burned at all. Every other garment was con-
sumed, leaving scarcely shred of any one Of
them. The bed in her chamber taking fire, she
then passed to the next chamber, where SINH
lar result followed her efforts to extinguish the
flames. She then seemed to have enveloped
herself in blanket and, when making an effort
to return down stairs fell at the top of the land
ing. As she fell her arm and hand left their
traces upon the wall by the side of which she
fell, and one of her burned fingers adhered to it.