Thomas Ludwell Lee
Encyclopedia
Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights is a document drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to rebel against "inadequate" government...
. He was the older brother of Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and his famous resolution of June 1776 led to the United States...
, Francis Lightfoot Lee
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Francis Lightfoot Lee was a member of the House of Burgesses in the Colony of Virginia. As an active protester of issues such as the Stamp Act, Lee helped move the colony in the direction of independence from Britain. Lee was a delegate to the Virginia Conventions and the Continental Congress...
, William Lee
William Lee (diplomat)
William Lee was an American diplomat during the Revolutionary War.-Background:He was born at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Hon. Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell...
, and Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee (diplomat)
Dr. Arthur Lee was an American diplomat during the American Revolutionary War. He was the son of Hon. Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell...
. He was a member of the House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
from 1758-1765, but refused to enter into national politics. John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, quoting George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
once said he was "the delight of the eyes of every Virginian, but would not engage in public life".. On October 14, 1776 he was appointed to a committee headed by Thomas Jefferson and including George Wythe, Edmund Pendleton and George Mason to revise, amend or repeal any Virginia law subject to the approval of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Early life
Lee was born at Stratford Hall PlantationStratford Hall Plantation
Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, was the home of four generations of the Lee family of Virginia, including two signers of the Declaration of Independence, and it was the birthplace of Robert Edward Lee , who became the Confederate General-in-chief during the American...
in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,718 people, 6,846 households, and 4,689 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,286 housing units at an average density of...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to Thomas Lee
Thomas Lee (Virginia colonist)
Thomas Lee was a leading political figure of colonial Virginia. He was a member of the Lee family, a political dynasty which included many figures from the pre-American Revolutionary War era until the late 20th century. Lee became involved in politics in 1710 and he became the resident manager of...
and his wife Hannah Harrison Ludwell. He was the couple's third son and the second one to survive into adulthood. Much about Lee's early life is unknown although it is assumed that he studied in England along with this brothers. Thomas resided at "Belleview" in Stafford Co., Virginia. This home was the site of the first annual meeting of the Mississippi Company
Mississippi Land Company
The Mississippi Land Company was a land company formed in 1763 following the British victory in the French and Indian War in North America...
, at which George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
(1732-1799) and his brother John Augustine Washington
John Augustine Washington
John Augustine Washington was a member of the fifth Virginia Convention and a founding member of the Mississippi Land Company. During the American Revolution he was a member of Westmoreland County's...
attended in September 1763.
Marriage
Thomas married Mary Aylett. Mary was the daughter of William Aylett and Elizabeth Eskridge (1719). Elizabeth married secondly, Dr. James Steptoe, Col. (1709-1757).Children
1. Thomas Ludwell Lee, Jr. (ca. 1752-1807), who married Frances "Fanny" Carter (ca. 1755), daughter of Robert Wormley Carter (ca. 1735-1797) of Sabine Hall and Winifred Tavener Beale (ca. 1740).2. William Aylett Lee (ca. 1754), who died young).
3. George Lee, Sr. (ca. 1756-1802), who married Evelyn Byrd Beverley (1782). Evelyn married secondly, Dr. Patrick Hume Douglas. Evelyn was the daughter of Robert Beverley (1740-1800) and Maria Carter (1745-1817).
4. Anne Fenton Lee (ca. 1758), who married Daniel Carroll Brent (1759-1814), son of William Brent III (1733-1782) and Eleanor Carroll.
5. Lucinda Lee (ca. 1760), who married John Dalrymple Orr (1761), son of John Orr (1726) and Susan Monroe Grayson (1743).
6. Rebecca Lee (ca. 1763).
Ancestry
Thomas was the son of Col. Thomas LeeThomas Lee (Virginia colonist)
Thomas Lee was a leading political figure of colonial Virginia. He was a member of the Lee family, a political dynasty which included many figures from the pre-American Revolutionary War era until the late 20th century. Lee became involved in politics in 1710 and he became the resident manager of...
, Hon. (1690-1750) of Stratford Hall, Westmoreland Co., Virginia. Thomas married Hannah Harrison Ludwell (1701-1750).
Hannah was the daughter of Col. Philip Ludwell II (1672-1726) of "Greenspring", and Hannah Harrison (1679-1731).
Thomas was the son of Col. Richard Lee II
Richard Lee II
Col. Richard Henry Lee II, Esq. was a Colonel, planter, member of the Upper House and the King's Council.Richard Henry II, was termed "Richard the Scholar". Richard was the son of Col. Richard Lee I, Esq., "the Immigrant" and Anne Constable Col. Richard Henry Lee II, Esq. (1647-1715) was a...
, Esq., “the scholar” (1647-1715) and Laetitia Corbin (ca. 1657-1706).
Laetitia was the daughter of Richard's neighbor and, Councillor, Hon. Henry Corbin, Sr. (1629-1676) and Alice (Eltonhead) Burnham (ca. 1627-1684).
Richard II, was the son of Col. Richard Lee I
Richard Lee I
Col. Richard Lee I, “the Immigrant” arrived in Jamestown in 1639 at the age of 22 with very little to his name other than the patronage of an influential man, Sir Francis Wyatt, the 1st Governor of Virginia. Once there he became Attorney General of the Colony of Virginia, Colonial Secretary of...
, Esq., "the immigrant" (1618-1664) and Anne Constable (ca. 1621-1666).
Anne was the daughter of Thomas Constable and a ward of Sir John Thoroughgood.