Preston “Press” Craft

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Preston “Press” Craft

Birth
Guage, Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA
Death
29 Sep 1897 (aged 61)
Guage, Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA
Burial
Lunah, Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA Add to Map
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James Elliot Craft
Author of " Wheels On The Mountians, wrote this about Press Craft. "My Great -Grandfather Preston Craft was a School Teacher, Civil Engineer, Surveyor ( as was his older brother William Craft, Surveyor of Magoffin Co. who taught his younger brother.)" .
Preston was said to have surveyed over half of Breathitt Co. He was employed by lumber companies. The legal descriptions of land boundaries in eastern Kentucky in those days, based on original land grants and patents, were frequently inaccurate. When the lumber companies employed Preston Craft to run the boundaries on their holdings, he often found substantial discrepancies in the meets and bounds.
Because of these errors, he was able to acquire title to large tracts for himself by filing $1 quitclaim deeds.
Preston and his older sister Eliza's husband, Thomas Mann owned all of the land Big Caney a nine mile branch of Quicksand Creek that was a 5,000 acres tract . Press himself owned all the land along Holly Creek about 4,000 acres. Preston had other holdings on South Fork, Buckhorn and Little Caney.
Preston also made Liquor and Apple Brandy for the government it was legal. He did his distilling on South Fork of Quicksand near Ben Smith Branch. He shipped it by water down Quicksand to Kentucky River to Frankfort the capitol.
Cemetery is located on Hwy 542, 1.1 mile from Hwy 30, high up on the mountain in fence above Clemons Cemetery with 20 to 30 others.
James Elliot Craft
Author of " Wheels On The Mountians, wrote this about Press Craft. "My Great -Grandfather Preston Craft was a School Teacher, Civil Engineer, Surveyor ( as was his older brother William Craft, Surveyor of Magoffin Co. who taught his younger brother.)" .
Preston was said to have surveyed over half of Breathitt Co. He was employed by lumber companies. The legal descriptions of land boundaries in eastern Kentucky in those days, based on original land grants and patents, were frequently inaccurate. When the lumber companies employed Preston Craft to run the boundaries on their holdings, he often found substantial discrepancies in the meets and bounds.
Because of these errors, he was able to acquire title to large tracts for himself by filing $1 quitclaim deeds.
Preston and his older sister Eliza's husband, Thomas Mann owned all of the land Big Caney a nine mile branch of Quicksand Creek that was a 5,000 acres tract . Press himself owned all the land along Holly Creek about 4,000 acres. Preston had other holdings on South Fork, Buckhorn and Little Caney.
Preston also made Liquor and Apple Brandy for the government it was legal. He did his distilling on South Fork of Quicksand near Ben Smith Branch. He shipped it by water down Quicksand to Kentucky River to Frankfort the capitol.
Cemetery is located on Hwy 542, 1.1 mile from Hwy 30, high up on the mountain in fence above Clemons Cemetery with 20 to 30 others.

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