The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1870-05-27
THE PRESTONS AND HAMPTONS
Interesting Family "reminiscences.
| Correspondence Of Cincinnati Commsr
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l. 'fo''"eS " NtteeH"ott So"tmSf
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COLUMBIA, s. c., April "a.
"W hat fine largo house is thai
standing over there, surrounded or
three sides by high brick wall, and
In front by IN ornamental iron tence
with marble pillars at corner ?" ]
cnquircd Of citizen.
ooh, that's old General Preston's g.
and is said to be the finest laid off
grounds in the South. There's Il
whole square or four acres of it, and
all inside is every kind Of shrubbery
that you could think of with gravel
and shell walks running all among
it."
sDoes Preston live there himself?"
eyes considerably but / believe he
spends most Of his time in Europe
Has got considerable money invest
cd there in one way and another. lie
prophesied that the war would come
up long time before it did, and so to
be on the safo side, he sold most Of
his niggcrs, and invested his money
in Europe
"What relation is he to the Hamp-
tons %
"Why, you see, he married daugh-
ter of old Colonel Wade Hampton,
who was the father of tho present
Wade Hampton, and his fathcr-in- La W
being very rich, gave him this fine
property that we've been speaking
''Thc old original Preston of all of
them came here years and years ago.
lIo was from Virginia, and was on
his way to Florida to get cured of the
consumption. He was young man
then about twenty years old, and ira
yelling along towards Florida, he pass
ed through here and concluded to
stop, as he liked the climate. He
went to school here while, married
and settled down. About that time
old General Wade Hampton, who
had been Colonel in the Revolution
ary War, settled here, raised large
family, and got rich. Preston also
got rich, and tho families afterwards
became connected by marriage.
They. owned y great many plantations
and kept getting richer and richer un-
til the war camo. OF course they all
went with the South, and many. of
them lost nearly all of their property.
General Wade Hampton, OWNED q We
ry costly residence just out of the
town, which the Yankees burned up.
Ornamenting the grounds around his
house alone cost him sixty thousand
dollars. Now all bis fine shrubbery
are turned out and the ruins look bad
enough. On top of the war camo a
lot of security debts and the General
had to take the benefit of bankrupt
law. They say he is now getting
started again in Mississ ppi, and will
come out right side up.
"Fhe Hamptons and Prestons are
great workers. You may make them
poor but they wont stay so. Wade
has one brother in Mississippi. I be-
lieve, who is very rich. Besides be-
ing rich, they are all popular men,
and if it had not been for the war no
telling what the. two families would
have come to. They would have own
cd the State after awhile. But they
were very much set back during the
war, and some of them were killed.
Thomas Hampton, son of present
Wade, was killed in Virginia when he
was only twenty-one years old. His
remains were brought home, and pass
ed right along the street, followed by
over q hundred of his negroes, most
of them crying, for they loved their
young master, This was in the fall
of 1854. The following February
here came Sherman with fire and
sword, and destroyed a great deal of
property belonging to the. two fami-
lies, SO that they. were crushed by all
kinds of misfortunes. 1t was all that
could be done to keep the army from
burning that fne house we were
speakingoG,. But they left; it, and
. that is about all they did leave" !.
There. is several grave yards in and
about Coiumbia, belonging to differ.
ent ehnfc5es, and in ofS Of them are
the graves Of the Hampton and Pres.
TN families, ali In one corner, and
:partially to themselves. q Finely
'wreughs marble slabs are! over them
all, ppop which. are engraved the
names and date Of Deaths The insa:
Etiate reaper has: been at.work among
these great families, for side by eide
Reposs tho, ashes Of some, tWety-fiYs
.ot4hsfty .of them. : ''::2::ss: '".7'3I E
They are lighting ,atoek, fer ono ol
ths Oldest tomhstones bsars this 10;
;sesraa Wads Hampson. c.l6nssll Il
IA tie Rss0lntfonary War: and Mai1r
GsRerd Id the War Of 1872. died in
coluahis RshruAEy&4, 1895, aged %
1spthss sss j,ssspas srsesi..sss, sd