Philip Ludwell Lee (February 24, 1727 – February 21, 1775)
(sometimes nicknamed "Colonel Phil") was a Virginia planter and politician who briefly represented
Westmoreland County on Virginia's Northern Neck in the
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 ...
in 1756 before serving on 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 ...
(1757-1774).
Early and family life
Lee was born in late 1727 or early 1728 at one of the Lee family plantations, either "Mount Pleasant" in
Westmoreland County (destroyed by arson in 1729) or "Paradise" in
Gloucester County. Both his parents,
Thomas Lee and
Hannah Harrison Ludwell
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 and Benjamin Harrison II, she was a prominent figure within the American ge ...
were of the
First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg ...
, with considerable wealth as well as political power.
His elder brother died shortly after being christened "Richard Lee" in February 1727. The family would also include
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 from ...
,
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Francis Lightfoot Lee (October 14, 1734 – January 11, 1797) was a Founding Father of the United States and a member of the House of Burgesses in the Colony of Virginia. As an active protester regarding issues such as the Stamp Act of 1765, L ...
,
Arthur Lee,
William Lee and
Hannah Lee Corbin. Shortly after his father's death in 1750, this Philip Lee returned from England, where he had graduated from Eton and was studying law. He then assumed responsibility for his orphaned younger siblings.
In 1763 he married his heiress ward, Elizabeth, daughter of James Steptoe of Westmoreland County, who survived him and remarried to Philip Richard Fendall,
but their son died as an infant.
Matilda would marry her cousin Lighthorse Henry Lee (whose financial profligacy caused difficulties for later generations) and Flora married her cousin
Ludwell Lee
Ludwell Lee (October 13, 1760March 23, 1836) was a prominent Virginia lawyer and planter who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly representing Prince William and Fairfax Counties and rose to become the Speaker of the Virginia ...
.
Career
Although nicknamed "Colonel Phil" for his rank in the local militia, Lee's primary business was operating Stratford Hall and associated plantations he inherited mostly pursuant to
primogeniture
Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
(including more than 12,000 acres in what had been
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
and
Stafford
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
Counties in Virginia). He participated in the creation of Loudoun County in 1757 from Fairfax County,
which had been formed from Prince William County in 1742, which had been formed from Stafford county in 1731). Lee also owned acreage on Maryland's Eastern Shore and two islands. His property in
Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 census, the population was 32,531. Its county seat is Cambridge. The county was formed in 1669 and named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts (t ...
, on the northwest fork of the
Nanticoke River
The Nanticoke River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between Dorchester County, Maryland and Wicomico County ...
had been part of land owned by Capt.
John Lee John Lee may refer to:
Academia
* John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society
* John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal
* John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English
...
, who died without children, so it was inherited by his brother
Richard Lee of "Mount Pleasant" (this man's grandfather). He in turned willed it to his younger sons
Philip Corbin Lee and
Thomas Lee (this man's father, who called his 1300 acre plantation "Rehoboth" and established an
entail
In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...
so it would be inherited by his eldest son, i.e. this man).
Lee also owned many slaves (including over 100 at the 2800 acre Stratford plantation alone). He increased his landholdings in 1763 by marrying his heiress ward, but they had no children that survived their parents.
Westmoreland County voters elected Philip Lee as one of their representatives in the
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 ...
, but he only served part of his term, being succeeded by his younger brother
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 from ...
. He resigned his position in the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly upon being nominated to the upper house of the Virginia Geeral Assembly
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
, and that appointment was ratified by the Board of Trade in London, so his service in the upper house began in 1757 and continued until his death.
Col. Phil became unpopular with his younger siblings because of the slow pace at which he settled their father's estate (that is awarded them their inheritances). Although he attributed the delays to needing to settle debts incurred by their father, they resented his lavish entertainments at Stratford Hall.
Death and legacy
Col. Philip L. Lee died at Stratford Hall in 1775, as relations between England and her Virginia colony became strained. Two of his brothers, Richard Henry Lee and Thomas Lightfoot Lee would become signatories of the
U.S. 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 (l ...
.
In modern times, the Rehoboth property became known as "Lee Mansion."
Dorchester County records concerning Philip Ludwell Lee's share of Rehoboth are unclear, because many records of its subdivision were lost over time, especially when arsonists burned down his father's house. His cousin Philip Corbin Lee's share had been inherited by his son Francis Lee who served in the Maryland General Assembly in 1745, but moved slightly north into
Cecil County
Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was ...
the following year. In 1787 his sister Letitia Corbin Lee of
Harford County
Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...
sold 200 acres called "Rehoboth" to John Smoot. Major Frank Turpin, a Revolutionary War veteran owned it for many years, and became known for his lavish hospitality.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Richard Henry
1727 births
1775 deaths
American people of English descent
American slave owners
18th-century American politicians
House of Burgesses members
Lee family of Virginia
People from Westmoreland County, Virginia
Virginia colonial people