Benjamin was born in 1830 one of eight children living in a cottage on Mountsorrel Green. His parents were Charles and Mary Preston and Charles was employed as a farmhand.
In 1860 Benjamin Preston was working as a Station Clerk at Castle Bromwich Station located on the Midland Railway line to Birmingham. By 1861 Benjamin had married a Birmingham girl and moved back to Leicestershire, taking up a post as Station Master at Sileby, also on the Midland Railway.
As listed in the 1871 Census, Benjamin, his wife Eliza and their three children are living in King Street, Sileby and Benjamin is still employed as Station Master at the local station.
By 1881, Benjamin has moved to Mountsorrel and is running his own General Grocery Shop on Main Street. He and Eliza have extended their family and now have six children, the latter three being born in Mountsorrel.
One of their daughters Ellen married Charles Harrington and thus connected two of our interesting Mountsorrel families in and around 1900.
At the 1891 Census Benjamin is living in Main Street with Eliza, his wife and children, Eliza, Walter, Jessie and Ellen. All of the family living at the grocers shop.
In 1901, Benjamin has retired, sadly his wife Eliza has died in 1898 and the family have moved to 98 Union Lane (Springfield Villa), now Linkfield Road. The children, Harry, Walter, Jessie and Nellie are still at home.
At the 1911 Census, Benjamin is still alive but blind and living with his daughter Jessie, son in law Edward Reed and Grand Daughter Dorothy at Springfield Villa and died 11th April 1916 and is buried at Christ Church Graveyard, grave number 44.