Henry Lee II
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Henry Lee II | |
|---|---|
 Possible portrait of Col. Lee | |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from Fairfax and Prince William Counties | |
| Colonel | |
| In office October 7, 1776 – 1787 | |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | John Pope |
| Member of the House of Burgesses from Prince William County | |
| In office 1758–1775 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Peyton |
| Succeeded by | position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1730 |
| Died | 1787 (aged 56–57) |
| Resting place | Leesylvania |
| Spouse | Lucy Grymes |
| Children | 8 (including Henry Lee III, Charles Lee, Richard Bland Lee I, and Edmund Jennings Lee I) |
| Parent(s) | Henry Lee I Mary Bland |
| Occupation | Planter, Soldier, Politician |
Col. Henry Lee II (1730–1787) was an American planter, military officer and politician from Westmoreland and later of Prince William County. Although he served in the Virginia General Assembly for three decades (part-time before and after the American Revolutionary War), and also held local military and political offices, Lee may today be best known for Leesylvania plantation (now a Virginia State Park and on the National Register of Historic Places), having been overshadowed by his cousin Richard Henry Lee and his sons, especially his lawyer sons Charles, Edmund Jennings Lee I and Richard Bland Lee I and his somewhat scandal-plagued firstborn son Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III (father of Robert E. Lee).[1][2]
Lee was born in 1729 at Lee Hall in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the third son of Capt. Henry Lee I (1691–1747), of the Lee Family of Virginia, and his wife, Mary Bland (1704–1764).[3] His mother was the daughter of Hon. Richard Bland, Sr. (1665–1720) and his second wife, Elizabeth Randolph (1685–1719).[4] Thus, both parents descended from the First Families of Virginia who operated plantations using enslaved labor, as well as held important political and governmental offices. Lee received a private education appropriate to his class. As the third son (with elder brothers John (b. 1724) and Richard (b. 1729) and a sister Letitia (b. 1730)), Lee was not expected to inherit the main plantation, but studied law and was admitted to the local bar in Westmoreland County, where he practiced law for three years.[5]
Career
In 1754, a year after his advantageous marriage described below, Lee moved to Prince Willliam County, developing a 2000 acre plantation on the Potomac River at Freestone Point between Neabsco Creek and Powell Creek near the town of Dumfries, which is now a state park but still known as "Leesylvania".[6] That land much earlier been inherited by Laetitia Corbin, who had married Richard Lee II long before Virginia legislators had created Prince William County, and was known for magnificent views of the Potomac River.[7] Henry Lee later inherited nearly 3500 acres in Fairfax County from his parents, as well as twenty enslaved people and considerable livestock.[8] In 1787, the year of his death (and also the year of a Virginia tax census in Prince William County), Lee owned 29 enslaved teenagers under 16 years old, 26 enslaved adults, as well as 16 horses and 72 cattle and a 4-wheeled carriage.[9]
Meanwhile, Henry Lee II used his legal training as a justice of the peace for Prince William county, and later led the county's justices who jointly administered the county in that era.[10] Lee also led the county militia as County Lieutenant for Prince William, including during the Revolution, although that position in that era customarily involved gathering men and supplies, not leading troops outside the county.[11]
In 1756, Lee thought he won election to the Virginia House of Burgesses, but a court declared the results invalid and Henry Peyton, likewise of the First Families of Virginia won the new election and was thus seated alongside John Bell for what proved to be a two-year long session.[12] Lee clearly won a seat in 1758 (which proved to be a four year long session), and began serving alongside John Baylis.[13] That year, five Lees (brothers and cousins, led by Richard Henry Lee of Westmoreland County) won election as burgesses from various counties in the Northern Neck of Virginia.[14] Lee would continue to win re-elections and served alongside Foushee Tebbs until that man accepted a position as tobacco inspector and was succeeded by Thomas Blackburn until Governor Dumnore prorogued (suspended the assembly in 1775).[15] Prince William County voters then elected Lee and Blackburn their representatives to the first four Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, and elected Lee and Cuthbert Bullitt as their representatives to the last revolutionary convention in 1776.[16] After independence, Lee won election to the Virginia Senate, representing a district consisting pf Fairfax and Prince William Counties, and continued to serve until his death, when John Pope won election to the vacant seat.[17]