William Lee was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomat during the Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

Background

He was born at Stratford Hall Plantation

Stratford 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, Virginia

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...

 to Hon. 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...

 (1690–1750) and Hannah Harrison Ludwell

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...

 (1701–1750). His brothers, all also active within the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

, were 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...

 (1740–1792), 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...

 (1734–1797) and 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...

 (1732–1794).

Mercantile and political career

Lee moved to London as a mercantile agent for Virginia in the tobacco trade and there married his heiress cousin Hannah Philippa Ludwell on March 7, 1769. After joining the Haberdashers Company he was appointed Sheriff of London for 1774 when Sheriff Plomer resigned. The other sheriff for that year, Stephen Sayes, was also American born. The position gave them the opportunity to press in high places the American case for less taxation and more representation. After his year as sheriff he was elected an Alderman and continued his campaign for American rights.

He served as an agent of the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 and was posted to Berlin and Vienna but forced by the political situation to take up residence in Frankfurt. He attempted, but failed, to obtain support from Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 or Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

. An unofficial U.S.-Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 treaty that he helped draft became the cause of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War

Fourth Anglo-Dutch War

The Fourth Anglo–Dutch War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, tangentially related to the American Revolutionary War, broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies in that...

. Towards the end of the war he moved to Brussels, and then, leaving his wife and children there, returned to Virginia. His wife died suddenly in Ostend the following year on her way home with the children. Although ill and going blind, Lee in 1790 accepted the post of James City County sheriff in Virginia, serving two years.

He died in 1795 and was buried in Jamestown, Virginia.

Personal life

William married Hannah Phillipa Ludwell (1739–1784) on March 7, 1769. Hannah was the daughter of Col. Philip Ludwell III (1716–1767) and Frances Grymes (1717). Frances was the older sister of Lucy Grymes the "Lowland Beauty" (1734–1792), who married Maj. Gen. Henry Lee II

Henry Lee II

Henry Lee II of “Leesylvania”, Prince William County, Virginia was the father of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III and grandfather of Robert E. Lee....

 (1730–1787). Hannah died August 18, 1784 in Ostend, Belgium and was buried in London, England.

Frances was the daughter of Hon. Charles Grymes (1693–1743) and Frances Jennings. Charles resided at "Morattico" in Richmond Co., Virginia.

Philip III was the son of Philip Ludwell, Jr. (1672–1726) and Hannah Harrison (1679–1731). Philip resided at "Greenspring", Virginia.

Children

1. William Ludwell Lee (1775–1803), who never married.
2. Brutus Lee (1778–1779), who died young.
3. Portia Lee (1777–1840), who married William Hodgson (1765–1820).
4. Cornelia Lee (1780–1818), who married John Hopkins (ca. 1778).

Ancestry

William was the son of Col. 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...

, Hon. (1690–1750) of "Stratford Hall

Stratford 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...

", Westmoreland Co., Virginia. Thomas married Hannah Harrison Ludwell

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...

 (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.

External links

• William Lee : Militia Diplomat