EDWARD M. and OPAL ARNOLD PRESTON
The following bio was
taken from page 350 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and
edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.
Transcribed by Claudia
Schuster
Submitted by Gloria
Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator
Edward Massenburg Preston was born in Paris, Texas
in 1889 and was known as “Ned” Preston.
He began to visit Rusk County relatives about the turn of the century
from his native Paris home.
Ned’s father, Lee M. Preston, was the owner
of Timpkin Wheel and Bearing Company (later to become Timpkin Bearing Company).
His mother was Mamie Massenburg, whose parents owned a large department
store in Paris. His grandfather Preston was a Baptist missionary in the
Oklahoma Territory. Several
generations earlier, a grandfather, Colonel William Preston, was a good friend
of George Washington and participated in the Allegheny Indian wars.
The family home, “Smithfield”, named for Mrs. Sarah Smith Preston,
still stands as an historic home on the campus of Virginia Tech.
Ned’s family moved to New York with the
Timpkin Bearing Company. As a
youth, Ned made many trips between Texas and New York, both by railroad and ship
out of Galveston. Upon completion
of high school in New York, Ned entered Texas A & M but had to leave after
one year because of the deaths of both parents in New York. They were buried in their native Paris, Texas.
Ned then went to work for the Santa Fe Railroad in Amarillo but still
visited Henderson.
In 1910, Ned married Opal Arnold at her
family home on North Mill Street. The
H & O Railroad stopped in front of the home for them to board for their trip
to Paris. (See history of W.D.
Arnold family.) Ned and Opal
resided in Amarillo for about three years and then returned to Henderson to
establish the Preston Insurance Agency in 1913.
The agency is still in the family, being run by a grandson, Charles W.
“Bill” Preston.
Ned and Opal had three children: Ruth, born
in 1913; Billy, born in 1917 (See
family history of William A. Preston.); and Eugenia, born in 1919. The family built a home in 1923 at 409 North High.
Ned and Opal were active in community affairs and members of the
Presbyterian Church. He was secretary of the Henderson School Board for a number
of years, was one of the organizers of the Chamber of Commerce and its first
secretary, was a past president of the Lions Club, and served on the Draft Board
during World War II. He was the
original organizer of the Henderson Building and Loan Association and the
president of its successor, Henderson Federal Savings and Loan Association.
Ned Preston died in 1961 and Opal, in 1976. Both
are buried in the center circle at Lakewood Park Cemetery.
The family home was sold in 1977.
Ruth Preston married J.L. Schley in 1934 and
they had a son, J.L. Schley, Jr. (Mike), who is a doctor in San Diego.
J.L. Schley was killed in an accident in 1939.
Ruth married John A. Evans of Port Arthur in 1942 and they had one son,
John A. (Andy) Evans, Jr. John
died in 1968 at the age of sixty-one, and the son “Andy” was killed in a
truck accident in 1978 at age thirty-five.
Ruth now resides in San Diego near Mike, his wife Doris, and their
children, Loren and Theresa.
Eugenia Preston married M.J. Pipsaire, Jr. in
1937. They first lived in El
Dorado, Arkansas and later in Opelousas, Louisiana and Houston.
After M.J. returned from World War II, the Pipsaires moved to Phoenix,
Arizona, but returned to Henderson in 1949.
Both worked for Henderson Savings and Loan Association, he as
vice-president and she as assistant secretary and head teller.
They both retired at the end of 1979.
Eugenia and M.J. had one daughter, Jean, who
married Walter T. Henderson of Dallas. Jean
and Walt, both graduates of S.M.U. live near the campus in Dallas.
They have two children, Jennifer and Scott.
Submitted by Nancy Preston