George Cabot Lee Jr. (February 2, 1871 – October 28, 1950) was an American banker from Boston. He was the brother of Alice Hathaway Lee, the first wife of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Early life

Lee was born on February 2, 1871, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a son of the Boston banker George Cabot Lee (1830–1910) and Caroline Watts ( Haskell) Lee (1835–1914). Among his sisters were Rose Lee (wife of Reginald Gray), Alice Hathaway Lee (first wife of

), and Harriet Paine Lee (wife of Charles Mifflin Hammond, who managed

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

's campaign in California). His paternal grandparents were

John Clarke Lee John Clarke Lee (April 9, 1804 – November 19, 1877) was an American lawyer, merchant, banker and politician who co-founded the prominent stock brokerage firm of Lee, Higginson & Co. Early life Lee was born on April 9, 1804 at Tremont Place in ...

, a member of the Cabot family, and Harriet Paine ( Rose) Lee. Through his sister Alice, he was uncle to

Alice Roosevelt Longworth Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth (February 12, 1884 – February 20, 1980) was an American writer and socialite. She was the eldest child of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and his only child with his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Lo ...

. His maternal grandparents were Elisha Haskell and Alice Russell ( Hathaway) Haskell. Lee graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1894 and served as treasurer of his class for thirty-one years.

Career

On September 1, 1900, Lee joined the firm of Lee, Higginson & Co., which had been founded by his grandfather in 1848, and was admitted as a junior partner. He later served as president of the

Lee, Higginson Safe Deposit Company Lee, Higginson & Co. was a Boston-based investment bank established in 1848 that was the home of many members of the Boston Brahmin establishment. The bank collapsed in the Swedish match scandal in 1932 while under the leadership of Jerome Davis ...

. When the company decided to go out of business, he settled the firm's affairs. Lee served as a director of the Revere Sugar Refinery, the Massachusetts Fire and Marine Insurance Company, the United Fruit Company, the U.S. Smelting and Refining Company, and the

Ponce and Guayama Railroad References * * Aponte, Roger (1984). ''Apuntes sobre el último ferrocarril de Puerto Rico, Ponce & Guayama Railroad.'' Ponce: Editorial Kider Printing. (in Spanish) * Pumarada, Luis (1980). ''Trasfondo histórico del ferrocarril en Puerto Ric ...

in addition to serving as a trustee of the Central Aguirre Sugar Company, which operated the Central Aguirre refinery

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the c ...

Philanthropic works

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Lee raised funds for the Allies and for the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, the Knights of Columbus among other philanthropic endeavors. Serbia awarded him the Order of St. Sava. He also served as treasurer of the Boston Floating Hospital, was a trustee of the

YMCA Boston YMCA Boston (also known as "YMCA of Greater Boston") was founded in 1851 in Boston, Massachusetts, as the first American chapter of YMCA. History The YMCA of Greater Boston, founded in 1851, was the first YMCA in the United States. The organ ...

, was a director of the Free Hospital for Women and was a fundraiser for the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Personal life

On November 17, 1898, Lee was married to Madeline Jackson (1878–1920), a daughter of James Jackson and Rebecca Nelson ( Borland) Jackson. Together, they were the parents of three sons: * George Cabot Lee III (1899–1970), who married Kathleen Bowring Stoddart, a daughter of Lawrence Bowring Stoddart of Ewell Court,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, in 1928. * James Jackson Lee (1900–1972), who married Emily Schniewind, daughter of Henry Schniewind Jr., in 1926. * Nelson Borland Lee (1906–1967), who married Mary Flagg. After the death of his first wife, Lee remarried to Gertrude Wylde ( Cramer) Bartlett (1878–1971), the former wife of Edwin Bartlett, in Paris in July 1926. Lee died on October 28, 1950, at his home in

Westwood, Massachusetts Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,266 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West De ...

. He was buried in

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, George Cabot 1871 births 1950 deaths Cabot family Harvard University alumni American bankers Recipients of the Order of St. Sava