[1] The eldest son born to the former Elizabeth Marshall (1756-1842; sister of future Chief Justice John Marshall), and her husband Raleigh Colston (1749-1823),[2] Edward Colston was born into the First Families of Virginia on his father's estate, "Honeywood," overlooking the Potomac River in what became Berkeley County, West Virginia, about a decade after his death.
Only Raleigh died in the war (one of the few casualties of the Battle of Mine Run in 1863); William followed his father's path into Berkeley County politics and the junior Edward became a lawyer politician in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Like Boyd, Colston served in the War of 1812, volunteering as a private in Charles Faulkner's artillery company (which helped defend Norfolk and Portsmouth against British land and naval forces).
[7][8] After his father's death in 1823, Berkeley County voters again elected Edward Colston as one of their representatives in the House of Delegates, so he served from 1823 to 1828, and then from 1833 to 1835.
Colston died on his estate "Honeywood," near modern Hedgesville, West Virginia, on April 23, 1852, and was interred in the family burying ground.