Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee (December 5, 1701 – January 25, 1750) was an American colonial heiress and the wife of Colonel Thomas Lee. A granddaughter of

Philip Ludwell Philip Cottington Ludwell (1638 – 1723) was an English-born planter and colonial official who sat on the Virginia Governor's Council and briefly served as speaker of the House of Burgesses. Ludwell, in addition to operating plantations in Vi ...

and

Benjamin Harrison II The Harrison family of Virginia is an American family with a history in politics, public service, and religious ministry, beginning in the Colony of Virginia during the 1600’s. Their descendants include a Founding Father of the United States, ...

, she was a prominent figure within the

American gentry The American gentry were rich landowning members of the American upper class in the colonial South. The Colonial American use of ''gentry'' was not common. Historians use it to refer to rich landowners in the South before 1776. Typically la ...

. She grew up at Green Spring Plantation, her family's estate in

James City County James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located ...

, and lived a privileged life typical of members of the Virginia

planter class The planter class, known alternatively in the United States as the Southern aristocracy, was a racial and socioeconomic caste of pan-American society that dominated 17th and 18th century agricultural markets. The Atlantic slave trade permitted ...

. Upon her marriage, she became a member of the Lee family, bringing a large dowry and social prestige to the family. With her dowry, she and her husband built Stratford Hall, the

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...

of the Lees.

Early life and family

Lee was born Hannah Harrison Ludwell on December 5, 1701 at Green Spring Plantation to Hannah Harrison Ludwell and Philip Cottington Ludwell II. She was their second daughter. Her father served as a member of the

Virginia Governor's Council The Governor's Council (also known as the "Council of State" or simply "the Council") was the upper house of the colonial legislature (the House of Burgesses was the other house) in the Colony of Virginia from 1607 until the American Revolution i ...

and was an auditor of the king's revenue. Her paternal grandfather,

, was the first Governor of the Province of Carolina and served as Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Through her mother, Ludwell was a descendant of the

Harrison family of Virginia The Harrison family of Virginia is an American family with a history in politics, public service, and religious ministry, beginning in the Colony of Virginia during the 1600’s. Their descendants include a Founding Father of the United States, ...

. Her maternal grandfather,

, served as a sheriff, a member of the

Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

, and as a member of the Governor's Council. She was a niece of

Benjamin Harrison III Benjamin Harrison III (1673 – April 10, 1710) was an American politician in the Colony of Virginia. He was an early member of the Harrison family of Virginia, serving as the colony's attorney general, treasurer, and Speaker of the House ...

. Lee's brother,

Philip Ludwell III Philip Cottington Ludwell III (December 28, 1716 – February 28, 1767) was a Virginia planter, soldier and politician who twice represented Jamestown in the House of Burgesses, but in 1760 left his plantations in the care of overseers and perma ...

, was the earliest-known Eastern Orthodox Christian in North America after his conversion to Russian Orthodoxy in 1738.

Marriage and children

In May 1722 she married Thomas Lee at her family's plantation. She brought a large dowry, as well as social and political prestige, to the marriage, therefore increasing her husband's wealth and status in the colony. She and her husband had eleven children: * Richard Lee (b. 1723) * Philip Ludwell Lee (February 24, 1726 – February 21, 1775) * John Lee (b. 1728 d. 1782) * Hannah Ludwell Lee (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 The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to reform or abolish "inadequate" government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaratio ...

. *

Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence f ...

(January 20, 1732 – January 19, 1794); signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

Alexander, ''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

. Married Rebecca Tayloe, daughter of

John Tayloe II Colonel John Tayloe II (28 May 172118 April 1779) was a planter and politician, among the richest planters in colonial Virginia. He served in public office including the Virginia Governor's Council, also known as the Virginia Council of State. ...

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) The family lived on a plantation in Machodoc until it was destroyed by a fire in 1728. Lee, who was pregnant with her fourth child, was thrown from her room on the second floor in order to escape the flames, resulting in the miscarriage of a son. The family reportedly lost no less than 50,000 pounds due to the fire. The British government later gave her husband 300 pounds as compensation, and Queen Caroline gave them money to finance rebuilding the plantation. While their home was being rebuilt, the family stayed at Lee Hall Mansion, the home of Lee's brother-in-law. The family later lived at Stratford Hall in

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a county located in the Northern Neck of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross. History As originally established by the Virginia colony's ...

. Lee's husband built Stratford with money from her dowry. She played a significant role in the design and construction of the house. Lee's husband served as a

vestryman A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body.Anstice, Henry (1914). ''What Every Warden and Vestryman Should Know.'' Church literature press He is not a member of the clergy.Potter, Henry Codman (1890). ''The Offices of Wa ...

, a justice of the peace, as a member of the House of Burgesses, and as a member of the Governor's Council. He served as ''de facto'' governor of the colony in 1749, when he was named President of the King's Council of Virginia after Governor William Gooch was recalled to England. He was nominated for an appointment as governor by

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

, but died before the appointment took place.

Death and burial

She died on January 25, 1750 at Stratford Hall. She was buried in the Burnt House Fields Cemetery at Mount Pleasant in January 1751. Her grave was later moved to Stratford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwell Lee, Hannah Harrison 1701 births 1750 deaths Colonial American women Hannah Hannah Hannah People from James City County, Virginia Spouses of British politicians Virginia colonial people