Ord Preston - Major, United States Army

The son of Albert William Preston and Mary Elizabeth Ord Preston and the grandson of General Edward Ortho Cresap Ord, he was born at Hellena, California, August 15, 1874.

He served as a Captain in the Army Air Service and a Major in the Air Reserve.

He died at San Diego, California, on February 4, 1949 and was buried among other family members, including his wife, Carolyn Merritt Murray Preston, (who he marred on 12 December 1912) in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery. Their son, Arthur Murray Preston, Commander, United States Navy, is buried adjacent to them. He was a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

MRS. ORD PRESTON
Wife of Washington Bank Head Was Member of Army Family

WASHINGTON, May 1, 1941- Mrs. Carolyn Murray Preston, member of a widely known Army family and wife of Ord Preston, President of Union Trust Company of Washington, died yesterday at her home here, after an illness of several months. She was 52 years old on Tuesday.

Mrs. Preston was born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the daughter of the late Major General Arthur Murray, Chief of Coast Artillery. She was a sister of Brigadier General Maxwell Murray, former commander of the Washington Provisional Brigade, now on duty with the Hawaiian Department, and of Mrs. Henry Conger Pratt, wife of the Major General Commanding the Second Army Corps.

Her maternal grandfather was Major General Renée Russy, a construction engineer in the Civil War period and one-time commandant of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Besides her husband, to whom she was married in San Francisco in 1912, her brother and sister, Mrs. Preston leaves two sons, Lieutenant Ord Preston, Jr., United States Marine Corps Reserve and Ensign Murray Preston, United States Naval Reserve, both now on active duty, and two daughters, Mrs. William L. Ritchie, wife of Major Ritchie of the Staff of General Headquarters Air Force, Bolling Field, and Mrs. Linton R. Massey of Charlottesville, Virginia.

WASHINGTON, February 4, 1949 – Ord Preston, former President and Chairman of the Board of the Union Trust Company here, died today at his home in La Jolla, California, according to word received here by members of the family. He was 74 yearsold.

Mr. Preston was botn at St. Helena, California, and received his educationin the East. He was graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and Yale. A former member of the New York Stock Exchange, he came to Washington in 1910 and accepted a post with the Washington Gas Light Company, subsequently becoming a director. He was elected President in 1923. His association with the Union Trust Company began in 1912. He was elected President in 1932, serving until his retirement in 1946.

During the first World War, Mr. Preston was a Major in the United States Army.

Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Helen Preston; two daughters, Mrs. Eleanor Ritchie of this city and Mrs. Mary Massey of Keswick, Virginia, and two sons, A. Murray Preston, an attorney in Washington, and Ord Preston, Jr. of La Jolla.

PRESTON, CAROLYN MERRITT MURRAY W/O ORD

DATE OF DEATH: 04/30/1941
DATE OF INTERMENT: 05/02/1941
BURIED AT: SECTION SOUTH SITE 1846-B

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
WIFE OF ORD PRESTON – CAPT AIR SERV US ARMY

PRESTON, ORD
MAJOR AIR SVC USA

VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown
DATE OF DEATH: 02/04/1949
DATE OF INTERMENT: 02/08/1949
BURIED AT: SECTION 3 SITE 1846 EH

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard

Ord Preston – Major, United States Army

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