The son of John and Mary (Haven) Preston, Nathaniel Ogden Preston (1804-1866) was born in Rupert, Vermont, on December 22, 1804.

Following his graduation from Middlebury in 1831, Preston became Principal of the Royalton Academy from 1831-1832. He studied theology with Episcopal Bishop John Henry Hopkins of Vermont, who ordained Preston a deacon (1834), then a priest (1835) of the Episcopal Church. He served as Rector in Bennington, Vermont,  and Hoosick Falls, New York (1834-1844), at the Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans, Louisiana (1844-56), at Church of the Nativity, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1856-1858), at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan, Kansas (1858-1862), and Rector at Grace Church and Principal of the Female Seminary, Topeka, Kansas. From 1864-1866, Preston was Professor of English Literature at the State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas.

Nathaniel Preston married Charlotte Whedon, on February 10, 1835. He died in Manhattan, Kansas, on February 14, 1866.

Image: Letter from Nathaniel O. Preston, Middlebury, Vermont, to Mrs. Polly Fisher, Rupert, Vermont, October 29, 1829