Lee Family

Biographical Note

George Washington Parke Custis

• 1781, Apr. 30: Born, Mount Airy, Md.
• 1799: Aide-de-camp to General Charles C. Pinckney, U.S. Army
• 1804: Married Mary Lee Fitzhugh
• 1812: Volunteer in defense of Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812
• 1824: Began publishing "Conversations with Lafayette" in the Alexandria Gazette during the Marquis de Lafayette's visit to the United States
• 1826: Began publishing "Recollections of Washington" in the United States Gazette
• 1827: Produced first play, The Indian Prophecy, performed at the Chestnut Street Theater, Philadelphia, Pa.
• 1830: Produced Pocahontas, or the Settlers of Virginia, performed at the Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia, Pa.
• 1833: Produced North Point, or Baltimore Defended, performed in Baltimore, Md.
• 1834: Produced The Eighth of January, performed at the Park Theater in New York, N.Y.
• 1857, Oct. 10: Died, Arlington House, Fairfax County, Va.

Arthur Lee

• 1740, Dec. 20: Born, Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Va.
• 1764: M.D., University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
• 1766: Elected fellow, Royal Society Returned to America Practiced medicine, Williamsburg, Va.
• 1768: Settled in London, England Published "Moniter" letters. Virginia Gazette, William Rind, ed., 25 Feb.-28 Apr.
• 1769 - 1774 : Published "Junius Americanus" letters. London Evening Post, R. Nutt, ed., and London Gazetteer, Charles Say, ed., 17 July 1769-6 Jan. 1772, and London Public Advertiser, H. S. Woodfall, ed., June 1772-Mar. 1774
• 1770: Assistant to Benjamin Franklin, agent for Massachusetts in England and France
• 1770 - 1774 : Studied law, Lincoln's Inn and Middle Temple, London, England
• 1774: Published An Appeal to the Justice and Interests of the People of Great Britain in the Present Dispute with America. London, England: John Almon
• 1775: Admitted to bar, London, England Agent for Massachusetts in England and France Confidential correspondent, Continental Congress Committee of Secret Correspondence, London, England Pubished A Second Appeal to the Justice and Interests of the People on the Measures Respecting America by the Author of the First. London, England: n.p.
• 1776: Appointed, with Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, to negotiate a treaty with France
• 1777: Appointed commissioner to Spain, succeeding Benjamin Franklin
• 1780: Returned to America
• 1781 - 1782 : Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1782 - 1785 : Member, Continental Congress
• 1784 - 1789 : Commissioner, U.S. Treasury
• 1785 - 1786 : Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1792, Dec. 12: Died, Landsdowne, Middlesex County, Va.

Charles Lee

• 1758, July: Born, Fauquier County, Va.
• 1775: A.B., College of New Jersey, Princeton, N.J.
• 1777 - 1789 : Naval officer of South Potoma
• 1789: Married Anne Lee
• 1789 - 1793 : Collector, Port of Alexandria, Va.
• 1793 - 1795 : Member, Virginia General Assembly
• 1794: Admitted to Pennsylvania bar
• 1795 - 1801 : U.S. attorney general
• 1801: Judge, circuit court
• 1802: Returned to private law practice
• 1815, June 24: Died, Fauquier County, Va.

Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee

• 1756, Jan. 29: Born, Leesylvania, Prince William County, Va.
• 1773: Graduated, College of New Jersey, Princeton, N.J.
• 1776: Captain, Theodorick Bland's regiment, Virginia Cavalry
• 1778: Major, Continental Army
• 1779: Captured 160 British soldiers, Paulus Hook, N.Y.
• 1780: Promoted to lieutenant colonel
• 1781: Present at Siege of Yorktown and surrender of General Charles Cornwallis
• 1782: Married Matilda Lee
• 1785: Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1785 - 1788 : Member, Continental Congress
• 1789 - 1791 : Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1792 - 1795 : Governor of Virginia
• 1793: Married Anne Hill Carter
• 1794: Commanded troops that put down the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania
• 1798: Commissioned major general
• 1799 - 1801 : Member, U.S. House of Representatives
• 1800: Discharged, U.S. Army
• 1808: Imprisoned for debt
• 1812: Published Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States. Philadelphia, Pa.: Bradford & Inskeep
• 1814: Went to the West Indies
• 1818, Mar. 25: Died, Cumberland Island, Ga.

Richard Bland Lee

• 1761, Jan. 20: Born, Leesylvania, Prince William County, Va.
• 1784 - 1788 : Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1789 - 1795 : Member, U.S. House of Representatives
• 1794: Married Elizabeth Collins
• 1796: 1799 - 1806 : Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1815: Moved to Washington, D.C.
• 1816: Appointed commissioner of claims for property destroyed during War of 1812
• 1819 - 1827 : Judge, Orphans' Court, Washington, D.C.
• 1827, Mar. 12: Died, Washington, D.C.

Richard Henry Lee

• 1732, Jan. 20: Born, Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Va.
• 1743 - 1752 : Attended Wakefield Academy, Yorkshire, England
• 1752: Returned to Virginia
• 1757: Married Anne Aylett (died 1768)
• 1758 - 1776 : Member, Virginia House of Burgesses
• 1763: Instrumental in founding the Mississippi Company
• 1766: Signed Westmoreland Resolutions against the Stamp Act
• 1769: Married Anne Gaskins Pinckard
• 1774 - 1779 : Member, Continental Congress Served on Secret Committee of Commerce
• 1776: Introduced resolution in Continental Congress for American independence from Great Britain
• 1780 - 1784 : Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1784 - 1787 : Member and president, Continental Congress
• 1789 - 1792 : Member, U.S. Senate
• 1794, June 19: Died, Chantilly, Westmoreland County, Va.

Robert Edward Lee

• 1807, Jan. 19: Born, Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Va.
• 1829: Graduated, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
• 1831: Married Mary Randolph Custis
• 1837 - 1841 : Superintending engineer, St. Louis, Mo.
• 1846 - 1848 : Served in Mexican War under General Winfield Scott
• 1852 - 1855 : Superintendent, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
• 1859: Commanded forces that put down John Brown's raid, Harpers Ferry, Va.
• 1861: Resigned from the U.S. Army
• 1862: Appointed commander, Army of Northern Virginia
• 1865: General-in-chief, Confederate armies Surrendered, Appomattox Court House, Va.
• 1866 - 1870 : President, Washington College, Lexington, Va.
• 1870, Oct. 12: Died, Lexington, Va.

William Lee

• 1739, Aug. 31: Born, Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Va.
• 1761 - 1763 : Studied in England
• 1763: Secretary, Mississippi Company
• 1763 - 1766 : Resided in Barbados, West Indies
• 1766: Signed Westmoreland Resolutions against the Stamp Act
• 1768: Merchant and financier, London, England
• 1769: Married Hannah Philippa Ludwell (died 1784)
• 1769 - 1770 : With firm of DeBerdt & Sayre, then self-employed
• 1773: Elected sheriff, London, England
• 1775: Elected alderman, Aldgate ward, London, England
• 1777: Appointed American commercial agent, France
• 1778: U.S. commissioner to Berlin, Germany, and Vienna, Austria Negotiated an unauthorized treaty with Holland
• 1779: Recalled by Congress Settled in Brussels, Belgium
• 1780: Resigned as alderman, London, England
• 1783: Returned to Virginia
• 1795, June 27: Died, Greenspring, James City County, Va.

William Henry Fitzhugh Lee

• 1837, May 31: Born, Arlington House, Washington, D.C. (now Arlington County, Va.)
• 1857: Graduated, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Entered U.S. Army
• 1859: Married Charlotte Wickham
• 1861: Appointed major of cavalry, Confederate States Army
• 1862: Promoted to brigadier general, Confederate States Army Served in Fredericksburg and Gettysburg campaigns
• 1863: Captured and imprisoned by Union Army
• 1864: Released from Union prison
• 1865: Second in command of Confederate cavalry, Appomattox, Va.
• 1867: Married Mary Tabb Bolling
• 1875 - 1879 : Member, Virginia state senate
• 1887 - 1891 : Member, U.S. House of Representatives
• 1891, Oct. 15: Died, Ravensworth, Alexandria County, Va.

From the guide to the Custis-Lee Family Papers, 1700-circa 1928, (bulk 1770-1870), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)