Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Preston, Ben Lee 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com May 13, 2006, 7:47 pm

Author: History of Grundy County, 1914

PRESTON, Ben Lee.—No more striking example of what a man can accomplish 
through the force of his own ability and perseverance, through the sheer 
strength of his determination to succeed, can be found in Grundy County than 
that furnished by the career of Ben Lee Preston, of Coal City, Ill., who, in a 
few short years, has raised himself to a place among the substantial men of 
his section, as the proprietor of “The Five and Ten Cent Store,” located in 
that city. He was born on a farm in Mazon Township, April 14, 1870, a son of 
Albert and Eliza (Hart) Preston, natives of Ohio. His father was engaged in 
the grain business in Streator, Ill., where he died about twenty-six years 
ago, since which time Mrs. Preston has lived with her only child, Ben Lee.

Ben Lee Preston attended the public schools of Streator, Diamond and Morris, 
Ill., and subsequently worked as a clerk for a coal company at Diamond, 
eventually attaining to the position of manager of the concern. This position 
he held for four years, until 1906, when he launched out into business for 
himself, and is now one of the prominent merchants of Coal City. In religious 
faith, Mr. Preston is a Methodist. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of 
America and the Foresters. In politics, he is a Republican. Mr. Preston has a 
host of friends, and his business associates esteem him highly because of his 
honorable dealings and strict adherence to the letter of any agreement into 
which he may enter.

page 887

Additional Comments:
Source:  History of Grundy County, Illinois, Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co. 
Publishers; 1914

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