PRESTON, THOMAS SCOTT ( 1824-91). An American Roman Catholic clergyman. He was horn at New Hartford, Conn., of Protestant par ents. Though the son's early influences were ad verse to ritualism, when he graduated from Trin ity College, Hartford, in 1843 with the determina tion of entering the ministry, he took the vow of celibacy. After completing his course at the General Theological Seminary in New York, he became attached to Trinity Church, later to the Church of the Annunciation in New York, the Holy Innocents, West Point, and Saint Luke's, New York. He was among the first in America to respond to the influences of the Tractarian movement, and accepting, the Roman Catholic faith, after a brief course of study at Saint John's College, Fordham, he was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood at Albany in 1850. He was first assigned as curate to the old Cathe dral in _Mulberry Street. New York, then trans ferred to the Church of the Immaculate Concep tion at Yonkers. Returning to the cathedral in
1853, he became secretary to Archbishop Hughes, and. in j855 assumed the direction of the chan cery, which he continued to administer until his death. In 1861 he was appointed rector of Saint Ann's to succeed Dr. John M. Forbes (q.v.). In 1874 he became vicar-general of the archdiocese: two years later the Pope conferred the title of Monsignor, and in 1888 he was named a Pro thonotary Apostolic. He was a strict discipli narian and warm supporter of parochial schools. In this he was opposed by a faction whose promi nent inewthers were Dr. Edward McGlynn and Father Ducey (qq.v.), the latter at one time his assistant at Saint Ann's. lie published a num ber of books on devotional and controversial sub jects, among which Protestantism and the Bible ( 1SSO) and Protestantism and the Church (1882) have been extensively used.