Mary Digges Lee (1745 – January 25, 1805) was the "First Lady of Maryland" during portions of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, while her husband,

Thomas Sim Lee Thomas Sim Lee (October 29, 1745 – November 9, 1819) was an American planter and statesman of Frederick County, Maryland. Although not a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation or the U.S. Constitution, h ...

, was the state's governor. Lee was later inducted into the

Maryland Women's Hall of Fame The Maryland Women's Hall of Fame (MWHF) recognizes significant achievements and statewide contributions made by women who are Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virgin ...

Biography

Lee's ancestry included prominent politicians such as

Dudley Digges Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia ...

, who lived in Britain, and

Edward Digges Edward Digges (14 February 1620 – 15 March 1674/75) was an English barrister and colonist who served as List of colonial governors of Virginia, Colonial Governor of Virginia from March 1655 to December 1656. He was the son of the English polit ...

, who immigrated to the United States and was politically involved there. Edward had settled in

York County, Virginia York County (formerly Charles River County) is a county in the eastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the Tidewater. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,045. The county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown. L ...

in the second half of the 17th century; the family moved to Maryland in the 18th. Mary Digges was born in 1745 at her family's home of Mellwood Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, to Ignatius Digges and Elizabeth Parnham Craycroft Digges. Elizabeth died early in Lee's life, and Ignatius Digges remarried to Mary Carroll. Mary married

, after overcoming her father's opposition to their marriage because of Thomas's different religion, on October 27, 1771. Ignatius, a practicing Roman Catholic, was reluctant to let his daughter marry Lee, an Anglican. His eventual acquiescence was contingent on their children being raised in the Catholic Church. Thomas Lee later converted to Catholicism, though the date is unclear. The new couple moved to Thomas Lee's estate, Needwood. They had eight children together. The couple founded St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Petersville, Maryland. During the

, the couple were prominent supporters of the revolutionaries. Thomas Sim Lee was elected the Second Governor of Maryland in 1779, a position he held until 1794. In response to a written request for aid from

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

to her husband, Mary Lee entered the public sphere. She encouraged women in the state to donate goods and time, including 260 shirts in response to a request from the Maryland Regiment Extraordinary. George Washington thanked her in a letter for the "patriotic exertions of the ladies of Maryland in favor of the army." Lee may also have been involved in the publication of an anonymous letter in the ''

Maryland Gazette ''The Gazette'', founded in 1727 as ''The Maryland Gazette'', is one of the oldest newspapers in America. Its modern-day descendant, ''The Capital,'' was acquired by The Baltimore Sun Media Group in 2014. Previously, it was owned by the Capita ...

'' that encouraged women to aid the Continental Army. Lee died on January 25, 1805. She was inducted into the

in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Mary Digges 1745 births 1805 deaths