In turn-of-the-century Olympia, Preston Marion Troy was a lawyer and leading citizen. Although prominent during his lifetime, he has largely been forgotten nearly a century after his death.
Preston Troy: Early Life
Preston Marion Troy was born January 22, 1867 to Smith and Laura Bass Weir Troy in Dungeness, Washington. Smith had operated a coal business in Mississippi before trying his luck at the gold rushes in California, Rogue River and Cariboo. He eventually settled down to farm in Dungeness, near Sequim, and became active in local politics. Smith served as Clallam County auditor and a dozen years as County superintendent of schools, as well as in state legislature.
Smith passed on his community involvement to his children. Both his daughters, Sarah Callow and Laura Stone, were school principals in Dungeness and Phoenix, Arizona, respectively. David was elected to state legislature. John became a reporter in Port Townsend before moving to Alaska. There he edited a newspaper, served as customs collector and was eventually appointed territorial governor from 1933 to 1939. Mount Troy near Juneau is named in his honor.
Preston kept this spirit of community service in his own life. He worked as a logger as a teen while attending public school. After turning 18 he worked on an uncle’s farm. In 1888 he moved to Olympia to attend the Olympia Collegiate Institute, graduating in 1890. He then went to work for his uncle, Secretary of State Allen Weir.
Preston Troy: Olympia Lawyer
Preston decided to attend law school at the University of Michigan, earning a degree in 1893. He returned to Olympia where he opened a successful legal practice, specializing in corporate law. He worked with several business partners throughout his career, forming Troy and Falknor with A.J. Falknor, which lasted until Falknor moved to Seattle in 1908. Preston then founded Troy and Sturdevant with his father-in-law Robert Sturdevant. After Robert died in 1922, Preston formed Troy and Yantis with George F. Yantis. This last arrangement ended with Preston’s death.
Preston Troy’s Government Work
Besides private practice, Preston served as Olympia City Attorney from 1896 to 1899 and 1902 to 1906. He was also appointed Thurston County prosecuting attorney from 1904 to 1908. At the state level, Preston served seven years as chair of the State Board of Bar Examiners. He was elected president of the Washington State Bar Association in 1923.
Although he was never in elected office – he lost an election for superior court judge in 1904 – Preston remained an active Democrat. A member of the executive committee of the Washington State Democratic central committee, he attended the 1912 and 1924 U.S. presidential conventions, which respectively nominated Woodrow Wilson and John Davis for president. Wilson won, but Davis lost.
Preston Troy: Olympia Business
Besides government and his law practice, Preston was very involved in local business. He served three terms as president of the Chamber of Commerce and was also a longtime trustee of the organization. As president, he spoke at the opening of the Yelm irrigation ditch in 1916. Preston helped found the Olympia Building and Loan Association, now Olympia Federal Savings, serving as president and attorney. In 1913 he was elected vice-president of the Olympia National Bank. In 1914 Preston was made CEO after the death of president Leopold Schmidt, founder of the Olympia Brewing Company.
Troy’s Community Involvement
Preston was also an active member of local clubs and fraternal societies. He was a Mason, a past master of the Olympia Lodge, as well as member of the 32nd Degree Scottish Rite, Shriners and Eastern Star. Among his other club memberships were: Elks, Woodmen of the World, Native Sons of Washington, University Club of Tacoma, Olympia Golf and Country Club, and Commercial Club of Tacoma.
Furthermore, Preston was a trustee of the Thurston County Pioneer and Historic Association and served as president of the YMCA and as a 4-H Club advisor. He was also a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias. In addition, Preston was a charter member of the Olympia Kiwanis and served as its president. Fond of his old school, he was Pacific Coast Director of the University of Michigan Alumnae Association and an honorary member of Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity.
The Troy Family
Preston married Eva Sturdevant (1872-1948) on October 28, 1896 in Dayton, Washington. They had four children: Robert (1897-1908), Marion (Lemon) (1899-1986), Harold (1900-1954), and Smith (1906-1984). Smith Troy became a lawyer and served as Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney and was Washington State Attorney General for fourteen years.
Preston’s wife Eva was active in local women’s clubs, including the Civic Improvement Club. She wrote a paper, “Beatifying Waste Spaces,” which was published by the Morning Olympian. In it she offered ideas for cleaning up the town, including planting California poppies on the site of the burned Hotel Olympia. She also had nine recipes published in the “Capital City Cook Book”: black chocolate cake, apple filling, Mrs. G.’s fruit salad, baked salmon trout, fried smelt, spring chicken baked in cream, marshmallow sandwiches, baked eggs, and cream fried potatoes.
Preston M. Troy’s Legacy
Troy passed away at St. Peter’s Hospital on May 21, 1929. Many businesses and the Superior Court closed for his funeral at United Churches – where he had served as president of the board of directors for twenty years – and a Masonic gravesite service. Mayor George Mills made an official proclamation that summed up the legacy that Preston had left behind, declaring that: “Olympia has lost a valued and esteemed citizen….His going has left an empty chair at the council circles of the community; no longer will his keen mind advise, direct and encourage those of us who in the past have turned to him for counsel.”
