Colonel Thomas Lee ( – November 14, 1750) was a planter and politician in colonial Virginia, and a member of the Lee family, a political dynasty. Lee became involved in politics in 1710, serving in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, and also held important positions as Naval Officer for the Northern Potomac Region and agent for the Northern Neck Proprietary. After his father died, Lee inherited thousands of acres of land as well as enslaved people in then-vast Northumberland and Stafford Counties in Virginia as well as across the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland. These properties were developed as tobacco plantations. Northumberland County was later subdivided, so some of Lee's properties were in present-day Fairfax, Fauquier, Prince William, and Loudoun counties and counties in the present-day Northern Neck of Virginia.
When Lee married Hannah Harrison Ludwell in 1722, he benefited from the connections of the already established Harrison family of Virginia. A year later, he would become a member of the House of Burgesses. Arson destroyed Lee's home, he used money from Caroline of Ansbach and Britain to build Stratford Hall overlooking the Potomac River. Four years later, in 1733, he was appointed to the Governor's Council, the upper house of the General Assembly. In 1747, he founded the Ohio Company of Virginia with fellow Virginian colonists who wished to expand Virginia's territory into the Ohio River Valley. For less than a year, in 1749 until his death in 1750, Lee served as the de facto royal governor of Virginia in place of the absent William Gooch.
Early life and education Thomas Lee was born around 1690 at Mount Pleasant, on the Machodoc River in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents were Colonel Richard Lee, "the scholar", and Laetitia Corbin, daughter of Henry Corbin. His ancestors had immigrated from Coton, Shropshire, to Virginia in 1642.Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History (1912) p.28 As the fourth son of the couple, Lee would not receive as large an inheritance as his older brothers.
Lee attended college at the College of William & Mary around 1700.A Catalogue of the College of William and Mary in Virginia From its Foundation to the Present Time (Williamsburg, 1859) Lee's education was referred to as a "common Virginia education".Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History (1912) p.47 He soon became interested in the working of the tobacco industry. He left home to work with his uncle Thomas Corbin in the tobacco business.
Planter and naval officer
Lee's political career began in 1710 when he was appointed Naval Officer of the Northern Potomac River region. His father previously held the position, and resigned in favor of this son. The lucrative position involved collecting taxes for tobacco exported to England. In 1711, two of Lee's uncles, Thomas Corbin and Edmund Jenings, helped Lee become the Virginia agent for the Northern Neck Proprietary. This property consisted of all the land between the Potomac and Rappahnnock rivers, with Lee responsible for collecting the quit-rent.
Fellow planter Robert "King" Carter had previously held the position as Virginia-based agent, as had Jenings, and Carter regained it from this man in 1720 or 1722. While Jenings was in England, the agency's offices were located at Machodoc and under Lee's supervision.Fairfax Harrison, Virginia Land Grants: A Study of Conveyancing in Relation to Colonial Politics (1925; reprinted, New York, 1979), pp.98-100. This lucrative position and multiple accusations of mismanagement led to decades of animosity between the Lee and Carter families.Calhoun. Thomas Lee of Stratford, 1690-1750: Founder of a Virginia Dynasty (1991)Dowdey, Clifford. The Virginia Dynasties: The Emergence of 'King' Carter and the Golden Age (1969) p.354
In 1714, upon his father's death, Lee inherited lands in Northumberland County near Dividing Creek, as well as land in Maryland adjoining land inherited by Maryland-based his brother Philip from their childless uncle Captain John Lee. He leased the "Machodoc" estate from his elder brother Richard Lee III who was then living in London and experiencing severe financial problems. That same year Thomas visited England and remained for about a year attempting to resolve those finances.
Lee and his brother Henry negotiated a lease for 99 years on the Machodoc plantation from Richard's widow after his death. While in England, Lee also bought Clifts Plantation, on the Potomac River in Westmoreland County.Martin, Behind the Scenes in Washington: Being a Complete and Graphic Account of the Credit Mobilier Investigation (1873) p. 34
Political career In 1720 Thomas Lee attempted to begin a political career as one of the two Burgesses representing Westmoreland County. While voters clearly elected George Eskridge, the contest between Thomas Lee and fellow planter Daniel McCarty proved close. Although Lee was initially announced as the winner, McCarty successfully contested the results. McCarty was also elected as the burgess to accompany George Eskridge in 1723 but died before the 1726 session, so Lee succeeded him.Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond, Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 71n.12, 73 Lee did win election in 1728 but relinquished the seat upon appointment to the legislature's upper house, the Governor's Council, in 1733, and McCarty's son, Daniel McCarty Jr. succeeded him.Leonard p. 75 n. 27
Lee also served as a vestryman for Cople Parish and Justice of the Peace in Westmoreland County.Calhoun, Jeanne A., "Thomas Lee 1690-1750: A Preliminary Report," (prepared for the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, 1988), pp. 10-14. In 1723, Lee became a member of the House of Burgesses. He held this office until he was appointed to the Governor's Council in the Virginia General Assembly in 1733. This position was a lifetime appointment. The council was made up of twelve appointed by the Governor of Virginia and was the upper half of the Virginia General Assembly. The lower half comprised the House of Burgesses. This position also gave Lee the rank of Colonel, a military rank that was second only to the governor. Council members were advisers to the governor and judges in the colony's General Court. Their work led them to spend about a third of the year in the capital Williamsburg.
When Governor William Gooch was recalled to England in 1749, Lee was the longest serving member and thus President of the King's Council of Virginia and Commander-in-Chief of the colony. Nominated for appointment as Governor of Virginia by King George II, he died before it took place.Hall, Executive Journals, V, pp.299-300. 53.Lee, Lee of Virginia pp. 121-123.Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History (1912) p.48
Marriage and family
Lee thought that marriage was not only important between two individuals but for their families. A nephew of his later said, "Our Late Hon[ora]ble & worthy Unkle Presid[ent] Lee said that the first fall & ruin of families and estates were mostly Occasioned by Imprudent Matches to Imbeggar families and estates & to beget a race of beggars."Henry Lee to Richard Lee, 22 Feb. 1758, Box 1, Custis-Lee Papers, Library of Congress He was engaged to Jenny Wilson in 1716. That year he returned to England to formalize the lease to the plantation before he married. Before his return, Jenny Wilson had found another husband, James Roscoe. Lee learned this from William Byrd.
In May 1722, Thomas Lee married Hannah Harrison Ludwell (December 5, 1701 – January 25, 1750), a member of the prominent Harrison family of Virginia, at Green Spring Plantation, James City County, Virginia. The marriage lasted his life and brought him increased wealth and status. Hannah was the daughter of Philip Ludwell II of Green Spring, and Hannah Harrison. The couple had eleven children; eight survived to adulthood: Richard Lee (b. 1723) Philip Ludwell Lee (February 24, 1726 – February 21, 1775) John Lee (b. 1728 d. 1782) Hannah Ludwell Lee Corbin (February 1729 – 1782) Thomas Ludwell Lee (December 13, 1730 – April 13, 1778); a member of the Virginia Delegates and editor of the Virginia Declaration of Rights.Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History (1912) p.73 Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732 – January 19, 1794); signer of the United States Declaration of IndependenceAlexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History (1912) p. 86 & p. 103 Francis Lightfoot Lee (October 14, 1734 – January 11, 1797); signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Married Rebecca Tayloe, daughter of John Tayloe II of Mount Airy. Tayloe built Menokin for his daughter and her new husband. Alice Lee (June 4, 1736 – March 25, 1817) William Lee (August 31, 1737 – June 27, 1795) James Lee (b. and d. 1739) Arthur Lee (December 21, 1740 – December 12, 1792)
1728 was a tragic year for Lee and his family. On January 29, thieves broke into the house, stealing the Lee family plate, jewelry, and other articles of value, and upon leaving, set fire to the plantation house at Machodoc. The fire destroyed the entire plantation, including Thomas' office, the barns, and the outhouses. Almost all of the Lees' possessions were destroyed, as well as up to 10,000 pounds in cash (equal to £ today).Maryland Gazette, 25 March - 1 April 1729 The house quickly burned, and Hannah Lee, pregnant with her fourth child, had to be thrown from her chamber window on the second floor. This resulted in Hannah's miscarriage of a son (they named him John). Also injured in the fire was a young enslaved girl who died of her wounds.The Lees of Virginia p.41 Virginia Governor William Gooch blamed transported convicts for the crime. It is said that Col. Lee's loss was not less than 50,000 pounds (equal to £ today). British officials later gave Lee 300 pounds (equal to £ today) as compensation, and Queen Caroline also gave him money from her private purse to help finance the rebuilding.Hamilton and Hamilton, The Life of Robert E. Lee for Boys and Girls (1917), p.3Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History (1912) pp.48,59 The convicts and an accomplice were later found guilty. Their punishment is unknown because the trial records were destroyed. When construction began on the new Lee mansion, the family stayed with Thomas's brother Henry at Lee Hall. Lee sold the "Machodoc" estate to Richard Lee III's son, George Lee, who built "Mount Pleasant".
Lee's political career required trips to Williamsburg, causing him to be away from his family for extended periods. Lee managed to make the 80-mile (130-km) journey to his family and to be with his wife at the births of each of their children.Carl Bridenbaugh, Seat of Empire: The Political Role of Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg (Williamsburg, 1950), p. 18; Westmoreland County Court Orders, 1731-1739, Part 1, p.46A, Westmoreland County Courthouse. Several of the sons became high-ranking political figures and were active in the American Revolutionary War and post-war politics. Richard Henry was a senator from Virginia to the United States Senate, and Francis Lightfoot was in the Virginia Senate. Lee's youngest sons William Lee and Arthur Lee served as diplomats to various European nations.Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History (1912) p.110 William, along with Jan de Neufville, drafted an unofficial treaty between the United States and the Dutch Republic which Great Britain used as a casus belli for the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.
Ohio Company