University of Virginia Library

NOTICES OF THE LEE FAMILY IN VIRGINIA.

In the county of Northumberland and parish of Great Wycomico,
and within sight of the Chesapeake Bay, there is an estate and
mansion called Ditchley,—an English name of note,—which has
probably from its first settlement, more than one hundred years
ago, been the favourite resort of the ministers of the Episcopal
Church. Its present owner is Mr. Flexmer Ball. His father, Mr.
Joseph Ball, was one of the truest members of our Church. Of his
ancestry we have just written in our last article. Many and pleasant
have been the hours which, in company with some of the

brethren, I have spent at Ditchley within the last thirty years
Ditchley is one of the old residences of the Lees. The mansion
called Cobbs, where Colonel Richard Lee, the first of the family,
lived for some time, was near to Ditchley, and has only very recently
been removed to make place for another, although it must
have been built two hundred years ago or more. The first settler,
of whom more will hereafter be said, had many sons, of whom the
seventh, Hancock Lee, built and lived at Ditchley. He was twice
married,—first to a Miss Kendall, then to a Miss Allerton, by each
of whom he had children, whose descendants are among us to this
day. He died in 1729, as his tombstone in the family burying-ground
at Ditchley shows to this day. Both of his wives are buried
at the same place. That he was a patron of the church is shown
by the fact that he presented a Communion-cup to the parish in
1711. In honour either of himself or father, or the whole family,
the parish was then called Lee parish, as may be seen by the inscription
on the cup. It was afterward called Wycomico. After
the downfall of the parish, Mr. Joseph Ball placed this and other
pieces into my hands for preservation, in hope that the day might
come when the old Lee and more modern Wycomico parish might
call for it again. It is now used in the church at Millwood, Clarke
county, and the source whence it came and the pledge given are
recorded in the vestry-book of the same, as has already been said.

The following account of the Lee family is copied from a manuscript
in the handwriting of William Lee, dated London, September,
177-, the last figure not known, but just before the war, as is evident
from the document itself. Its author was one of the six sons
of Thomas Lee, so many of whom were active in the Revolution.
It is somewhat doubtful whether in the early part of it Mr. Arthur
Lee and William Lee, in London, were not as effective as Richard
Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee in America. Mr. William
Lee, author of the following sketch, was sheriff and alderman in the
city of London, and subsequently commercial agent for Congress
in Europe and their Commissioner at the Courts of Berlin and
Vienna. He married a Miss Ludwell and left three children,—
William Ludwell, of Greenspring, who is buried in the old churchyard
at Jamestown, Portia, who married Mr. William Hodgson,
and Cornelia, who married Mr. John Hopkins. The high character
of Mr. Lee stamps a value on the following statement:—

Here ends the manuscript of Mr. William Lee, of London; but
we are enabled by another document to proceed further, though
not justified by the bounds prescribed to our notices to pursue it in
its details. Of the six sons of Thomas Lee, of Stratford, something
must be said, or we should be justly condemned.

Philip Ludwell, the eldest, succeeded his father at Stratford, in
Westmoreland. He married a Miss Steptoe, and left two daughters.
Matilda, the eldest, married General Henry Lee, of the Revolution;
and Flora married Mr. Ludwell Lee, of Loudoun. Thomas
Ludwell settled in Stafford, and married a Miss Aylett. Richard
Henry was educated in England, and returned in the nineteenth year
of his age, and married first a Miss Aylett, and next a Mrs.
Pinkard, who was a Miss Gaskins or Gascoigne. He took an
active part in the Revolution. His life has been written by
his grandson, Richard Henry Lee. Francis Lightfoot Lee also
participated largely in the events of the Revolution, and was
regarded as one of the ablest orators and statesmen of that period.
He married a Miss Rebecca Tayloe, daughter of Colonel John Tayloe,
of Richmond county. Of the fifth son, William, the sheriff and
alderman of London, we have already given some account. Arthur,

the sixth and youngest, as a scholar, a writer, a philosopher, a politician
and diplomatist, was surpassed by none and equalled by few
of his contemporaries. He studied physic in Edinburgh, where he
took his degrees; but, disliking the profession, he studied law, and
distinguished himself as a lawyer in England. The services rendered
by him to his country as her minister at foreign courts were
most valuable.

In the English document immediately preceding, nothing is said
of one branch of the family,—viz.: Henry Lee, one of the brothers
of Thomas Lee, of Stratford, and grandson of the first Lee.
He married a Bland, and had several children. His son Richard
was Squire Lee, of Lee Hall. His only daughter married a Fitzhugh.
Henry, the third son, married a Miss Grymes, and left five
sons and three daughters,—viz.: Henry, who was Colonel in the
Revolution, Charles, Richard Bland, Theodoric, and Edmund; also,
Mary, Lucy, and Anne. A numerous posterity has descended from
these, among whom are some bright ornaments of the Church, the
State, and the army. Mention is made in our English document
of one of the family at an early period moving to Maryland and
having numerous and influential descendants in that Province. I
have reason to believe, from recent examinations into the records
of different courts in the Northern Neck, that some of that branch
returned to Virginia, and were for a long series of years clerks in
the county of Essex. The following extract from a communication
sent me by a competent person establishes the fact. "John Lee,
clerk of Essex county, who succeeded Captain William Beverley,
came from Maryland. His nephew, John Lee, who was a member
of the House of Burgesses, succeeded him. At his death, his son
Hancock Lee succeeded to the office. At the death of Hancock
Lee, his son John Lee succeeded to it." Thus four of the name
held the office of clerk in Essex in succession.

The family of Lees, in all its branches, so far as I know and
believe, have always been Episcopal. I know of scarce an exception.
I have been intimately acquainted with some most excellent
specimens of true piety among them,—too many to be specified and
dwelt upon. If tradition and history and published documents are
to be relied on, the patriotic, laborious, self-sacrificing, and eloquent
Richard Henry Lee, of the Revolution, must have deeply sympathized
with Washington, and Peyton Randolph, and Pendleton, and
Nicholas, and Henry, in their religious character and sentiments.

In looking over the two volumes containing the life and correspondence
of Richard Henry Lee, of Chantilly, in Westmoreland,

the reader cannot fail to ask himself the question, "Was there a
man in the Union who did more in his own county and State and
country, by action at home and correspondence abroad, to prepare
the people of the United States for opposition to English usurpation,
and the assertion of American independence? Was there a
man in America who toiled and endured more than he, both in body
and mind, in the American cause? Was there a man in the Legislature
of Virginia, and in the Congress of the Union, who had the pen
of a ready writer so continually in his hand, and to which so many
public papers may be justly ascribed, and by whom so much hard
work in committee-rooms was performed?" To him most justly was
assigned the honourable but perilous duty of first moving in our
American Congress "that these United Colonies are, and of right
ought to be, free and independent States." Nor is it at all wonderful
that one who was conversant with the plans and intentions
of the English ministry should have declared that, in the event
of the reduction of the Colonies, the delivery of General Washington
and Richard Henry Lee would be demanded, in order to
their execution as rebels. Although the great principles of morality
and religion rest on infinitely higher ground than the opinion of
the greatest and best of men, yet it is most gratifying to find them
sustained in the writings and actions of such a man as Richard
Henry Lee. Mr. Lee advocated private education as being better
calculated for impressing the minds of the young "with a love of
religion and virtue." His biographer says that he had early studied
the evidences of the Christian religion, and had through life
avowed his belief in its divine origin. He was a member of the
Episcopal Church in full communion, and took a deep interest in
its welfare. He proved the sincerity of what has been quoted from
him, in favour of private education, by having a minister or candidate
for the ministry in his family as private tutor. Mr. Balmaine
was sent over to him by his brother Arthur, from London,
as both a staunch friend of America and a pious man. I have
often heard Mr. Balmaine speak in the highest terms of Mr. Lee
as a Christian and a patriotic statesman. His attachment to the
Church of his fathers was evinced by the interest he took in seeking
to obtain consecration for our Bishops, immediately after the
war, and when he was President of Congress. Twice were thanks
returned to him by our General Convention for his services. Mr.
Lee was a decided advocate of the appointment of public acts of
supplication and thanksgiving to Almighty God in times of adversity
and prosperity. When all was dark and lowering in our
political horizon, and when it was proposed that, as one means of
propitiating the favour of God, it should be recommended to the
different States to take the most effectual means for the encouraging
of religion and good morals, and for suppressing "theatrical
entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, and such other diversions as
are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of
manners," while some voted against the measure, Mr. Lee was
found in company with the most pious men of the land in favour
of it, and it was carried by a large majority. Again, when by the
capture of Burgoyne's army the hearts of Americans were cheered,
we find Mr. Lee one of a committee drafting a preamble and resolution,
which is believed to be from his own pen, in the following pious
strain:—"Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to
adore the superintending providence of Almighty God, to acknowledge
with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received, and
to implore such further blessings as they stand in need of; and it
having pleased him, in his abundant mercy, not only to continue to
us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also to
smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war for
the independence and establishment of our unalienable rights and
liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased in so great a
measure to prosper the means used for the support of our arms,
and crown them with the most signal success: it is therefore recommended
to the Legislature and executive powers of these States,
to set apart Thursday, the eighteenth of December next, for solemn
thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the
people may express the feelings of their hearts, and consecrate
themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor; and, together
with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join
the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they have
forfeited every favour, and their earnest and humble supplication
that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully
to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may
please God," &c.

Mr. Lee, though entirely opposed to any Church establishment,
was, together with Henry, an advocate for a proposition to make
every man contribute to the support of the Christian religion, as
the only sure basis of private and public morality. In this, however,
they failed. When the question about paying debts in depreciated
currency came on, Mr. Lee evinced his high and honourable
sense of morality in the earnest and eloquent opposition made to
it. He declared that nothing so deeply distressed him as a proposition
which he regarded as a violation of honesty and good faith

among men, and said that it "would have been better to have remained
the honest slaves of Britain, than dishonest freemen."[20]

Of the descendants of so great and good a man, I cannot refrain
from adding something. His oldest son was Thomas Lee, whose
daughter Eleanor married Girard Alexander. His second son was
Mr. Ludwell Lee, of Loudoun county, who was a worthy member
of our Church, and left children and grandchildren who have followed
his example. His daughter Mary married Colonel William
Augustin Washington, but died childless. His daughter Hannah
married Mr. Corbin Washington, many of whose descendants have
been or are zealous members of the Church. His daughter Harriet
married twice,—first Mr. George Turberville, and then the Rev. Mr.
Maffit, of the Presbyterian Church. Many of their descendants,
whether of the Episcopal or Presbyterian Church, are characterized
by exemplary piety. Sally married Edmund I. Lee, of Alexandria,
and has left a numerous posterity of children and grandchildren
and great-grandchildren, who belong to and love the Church of
their ancestors. The Rev. William F. Lee was one of her sons.

Anne, the other daughter of R. H. Lee, married Charles Lee.
Her daughter Ann married General Walter Jones, and was the
mother of a numerous family of children, who love the religion and
Church of their ancestors. Her daughter Catherine is one of our
missionaries in China.