Lee Family Digital Archive

[Draggingtree]

Lee Family Member FAQs

 

Richard Lee, the Immigrant Who was RL?

 

Richard Lee was the ancestor of the Lee Family of Virginia, many of whom played prominent roles in the political and military affairs of the colony and state. Known as Richard Lee the Immigrant, his ancestry is not known with certainty. Since he became one of Virginia's most prominent tobacco growers and traders he probably was a younger son of a substantial family involved in the mercantile and commercial affairs of England. Coming to the New World, he could exploit his connections and capital in ways that would have been impossible back in England.

When was RL Born?

Richard Lee was born about 1613.

Where was RL Born?

Richard Lee was born in England, but no on knows for sure exactly where. Some think his ancestors came from Shropshire while others think Worcester. (Indeed, a close friend of Richard Lee said Lee's family lived in Shropshire, as did a descendent in the eighteenth century.) Attempts to tie his ancestry to one of the dozen or so Lee familes in England (spelled variously as Lee, Lea, Leight, or Lega) that appeared around the time of the Plantagenets have been unsuccessful.

When did RL come to Virginia?

Richard Lee apparently came to the Jamestown colony in late 1639 or early 1640. Tradition says he accompanied Sir Francis Wyatt (c. 1575–1644) who in 1639 was returning to the colony to serve a second term as governor.

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