^:- ' 4 O. > O^^^'^si^ * <0 n'. '^^Sh^XA* Ao •0-7' ^-o. * o « o ' <^ ■.^^•.:^-.5';oO^ V^-/ V^*;°' V-^\.^' • '" "• °^'"^••-"\ /..i.;«k'\ c°^'^^■\ ^'^''^ o > 4 o ^> ^0^ . : ^ov* ;| A <-. 'o..- ,G^ o -V.- . -^^ . . . . ^ <^ qV o « . , -^o c'^^n '^ \<> /h- *'4 .v^. Colonel Jeremiah Lee, Patriot By Thomas Amory Lee, A.M., LL.B. DeprinUd from the Essex Institute Historical Collections Vol. 52, with Additions. Salem, Mass. The Essex Institute 1916 COL. JEREMIAH LEE From the portrait by Copley now owned by Thonnas Amory Lee. Colonel Jeremiah Lee, Patriot By Thomas Amory Lee, A.M., LL. B. 'I Deprinted from the Essex Institute Historical Collections Vol. 52, with Additions. Salkm, Mass. The Essex Institute 1916 <. out m 1 WU THE ANCESTRY OF COL. JEREMIAH LEE. Col. Jeremiah Lee, " the illustrious patriot of the Rev- olution," was descended from Henry and Mary Lee, who settled in Manchester, Mass., in 1650. The ancestry of Henry Lee is unknown, but it is said that he came from Cheshire, England, and that he brought with him the coat of arms of the ancient family of Lee, of Lea or Dern Hall, Cheshire, of which Gen. Charles Lee, of the American Revolution, Sir Harry Lee, Knight of the Gar- ter, and the various Earls of Litchfield (Quarrendon Lees) were members. The family tradition that Henry Lee was a cadet of the Lees of Lee Hall established itself very early in Massachusetts, and is substantiated by a number of circumstances, among them being the fact that various members of the family now own old coats of arms of that family, and also a parchment pedigree trac- ingr the descent of the first Earl of Litchfield from Sir Walter Lee, of Lee Hall (temp. Edward HI). If this be true, his line of descent from that family is not known, though it has been suggested that he might be the Henry Lee who was the third son of George Lee, of Highgate, Middlesex, who died in June, 1637, and was younger brother to Sir Henry Lee, the first Baronet, of Ditchley, Oxon, both being sons of Sir Robert Lee, Knight, of Hul- cote, Bucks. It has also been suggested that Henry Lee may have been the Dr. Henry Lee, who was a brother of Col. Richard Lee, of York County, Va., the ancestor of the Lees of Virginia. Henry Lee died in Manchester, Mass., in 1675, after having served as town selectman, and after having been elected by the County Court as constable. He was sur- vived by his wife, Mary, sons John, 1661-1744, a Justice of the Peace and prominent citizen, Samuel, of whom later, and Thomas, who took part in the Canadian Expe- dition of 1690, Capt. William Raymond's Company, and never returned, and daughters Hanna and Sarah. Deacon (1) 2 THE ANCESTRY OP COL. JEREMIAH LEE. Samuel Lee, 1667-1754, was a well known merchant of his time, owned slaves in 1690, owned the largest vessels of his town, among them the " Swallow " in 1692, was town clerk, 1725-38, selectman about fifteen years, one of the two first deacons of the first church of Manchester, 1716-1754, was a Justice of the Peace, and was called Samuel Lee, Esq., in the records. He married Rebecca Masters, daughter of Nathaniel and Ruth (Pickworth) Masters, and granddaughter of the ** Worshipful Mr. John Masters " of Cambridge, 1639. Deacon Samuel Lee had nine children, including Lieut. Nathaniel Lee, an officer of the militia, and Justice Samuel Lee, who was the father of Col. Jeremiah Lee. Justice Samuel Lee, 1693-1753, was a celebrated archi- tect and builder, and one of the most prominent mer- chants of the Province of Massachusetts. He removed to Marblehead, Mass., about 1740, and in 1745 he is spoken of as "Justice Samuel Lee, Esq.", a "very wealthy merchant and owner of many warehouses ". He held various town oflSces, such as town treasurer, town clerk and selectman, was a Justice of the Peace for many years, and in 1732 was appointed commissioner to make a report to the General Court in regard to the well known Dog Town or Gloucester dispute. He owned six houses in Manchester and Marblehead, many slaves and many ships, silver, at least two portraits, and a really good library for the time. He made a number of journeys abroad, and on one of them brought back the parchment pedigree previ- ously referred to. He was one of the richest merchants of his day in the Province, and seems to have exerted a decided influence on the community around him. He married, first, 1712, Mary Tarring, daughter of General John and Abigail (Abbott) Tarring; second, Hannah (Negus) Swett, widow of Dr. Joseph Swett, Jr., of Mar- blehead. His will is a remarkable document. He directs that, after an inventory to be taken by five men, all his ships and shop goods shall be sold, that the partnership between " my son, Jeremiah Lee, and myself " is to be dissolved, and " my business debts in foreign lands to be paid with the utmost care before the division of my es- tate ". He then leaves a legacy of XlOO for a free school THE ANCESTRY OF COL. JEREMIAH LEE. 3 in Manchester, directs that no mourning is to be paid for or escutcheons put on liis cofifin, and divides his estate, valued at £11,333, among his children. Justice Lee had thirteen children, including Capt. Samuel Lee, 1714-1779, Justice of the Peace and promi- nent merchant, whose issue is now extinct in the male line; Col. John Lee, of whom later; Col. Jeremiah Lee, the subject of this sketch ; David Lee, who was a student at Harvard from 1744 to 1747, in the class of 1748, and died before his graduation. He ran off without leave of the faculty to go to the siege of Louisburg, in 1745, and was fined and deojraded by the faculty ; and Abigail, who married Col. John Gallison, Esq., 1731-1786, a very prominent merchant and citizen of Marblehead, being a selectman, 1762, Justice of the Peace, 1766, Representa- tive to the General Court, 1769, 1774 and 1775, and Colonel of the 5th Essex Regiment in 1772. The late Henry Hammond Gallison, artist, of Boston, was a de- scendant. By his second wife, Col. John Gallison was the grandfather of John Gallison, Harvard College, 1807, a noted lawyer ; and of Charlotte, who married, 1794, Silvanus Gray, Esq., of Boston, nephew of the Hon. William Gray, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. (See The Gallison Family of Marblehead, by Thomas Amory Lee.) Col. John Lee, 1716-1789, elder brother of Col. Jere- miah Lee, was a very prominent merchant, owned many ships, five or six houses, a number of slaves, much silver, etc. He frequently held the town offices of clerk, select- man and moderatoi', " for many years was a representa- tive to the Legislature, and one of the Municipal Magis- trates of the county," and a Justice of the Peace for many years. He was chairman of the local committee of Inspection, 1774, of the committee to raise money to support the Minute Men, 1775, of the local committee of correspondence, 1775, of the delegates to the Essex County Convention, 1774 and 1776, was appointed in 1775 by the Provincial Congress to swear the soldiers in the county of Essex, was elected Colonel of the 6th Essex Regiment, January 27, 1775, marched to Salem to defend munitions of war from Col. Leslie, and also to the relief 4 THE ANCESTRY OF COL. JEREMIAH LEE. of Beverly when the British sloop of war " Falcon " fired upon that town. He was a zealous patriot and took an active part in the perilous efforts which were made by citizens of Massachusetts to obtain a redress of wrongs they had endured as colonists of Great Britain. Col. Lee married, 1737, Joanna Raymond, 1715-1811, daughter of Captain Ebenezer and Joanna (Herrick) Raymond, grand- daughter of Captain William Raymond, the Indian fighter, and of Captain Herrick, of Beverly. Col. Lee was the father of twelve children, including Captain John Lee, 1738-1812, who was a daring sailor of the Revolution, and was finally smuggled out of prison in England by Major General Lord Burgoyne, who had been befriended by Captain Lee's brother, Col. William Raymond Lee, when the latter was in command of the captured Bur- goyne and his army; Joanna, who married, 1756, Captain Benjamin Kimball, Harvard, 1753, an officer of the Revo- lution ; Mary, who married, first, Major Joshua Orne, Jr., Esq., 1747-1785, Harvard College, 1764, Justice of the Peace, deputy to the General Court, member of the Pro- vincial Congress, 1775, chairman of the Committee of Correspondence, 1775 and 1776, a very prominent mer- chant and leading patriot of the Revolution, and married, second, Major Orne's half brother, Hon. Major General Azor Orne, Esq., of Marblehead, 1731-96, Justice of the Peace, Special Judge of Common Pleas, Deputy to the General Court, Councilor, and delegate to the Essex County Congress and the Massachusetts Provincial Con- gress, elected delegate to the old Continental Congress of 1774, member of the famous Committee of Safety and Supplies, Colonel of the Marblehead Regiment before the Revolution, and elected Second Major General of the Massachusetts Militia by the General Court of 1775 ; he was one of the most prominent patriots of the Revolu- tion (See the Orne Family of Marblehead, by Thomas Amory Lee) ; Annis, who married Major John Pulling, Jr., of the Revolution, who hung the lanterns in Christ Church belfry for Col. Paul Revere's famous ride. Their granddaughter, Annis, married Rev. William Henry Fur- ness, D. D., LL. D., father of Horace Howard Furness, Ph. D., L.H.D., LL. D., Litt, D., the great Shakespearian THE ANCESTRY OF COL. JEJREMIAH LEE. 5 scholar ; Col. William Raymond Lee, of whom later ; Betsy, who married the Rev. Daniel Johnston, Harvard College, 1767, one of the fighting chaplains of the Conti- nental Army ; Nabby, who married Captain Stephen Sew- all, merchant of Marblehead and Boston, and close rela- tive of Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, LL, D., and of the Hon. Jonathan Mitchell Sewall ; Martha, who may have been engaged to Major General William Alexander, Lord Sterling, of the Continental Army, and who married, first, 1776, Captain Jeremiah Hibbert, of Marblehead, a noted sailor of the Revolution, and married, second. Major General John Fiske of Salem, a faaious sailor of the Revolution, rich merchant, Major General of Militia, and member of the Committee of Safety (The late Frederick Ward Putnam, A. M., Sc. D., the distinguished scientist, was a descendant) ; Fanny, who married, first, Captain John Glover, Jr., of the Revolution, eldest son of Brig. Genl. John Glover, of the Continental Army, and who married, second, Elkanah Watson, Esq., of Freetown ; Lncy, who married Col. Marston Watson, Esq., grandson of the " Honorable Col. Judge Benj. Mars- ton, Esq.", an officer of the Revolution, a great merchant of Boston, and one of the first members of the Massachu- setts Historical Society, father of the Rev. John Lee Watson, S.T.D., D. D. Col. William Raymond Lee, 1745-1824, nephew of Col. Jeremiah Lee, was a well known merchant of Marblehead before the Revolution, in business with his uncle Jere- miah Lee, and later as the head of the firm of Will. R. Lee & Co., which did an immense business for that day. He formed an artillery company in 1775, was senior Cap- tain of Glover's famous marine regiment, later Major, then Brigade Major, September 4, 1776, and was com- missioned Colonel of Lee's Additional Regiment, January 1, 1777. He was personally in charge of the crossing of the Delaware, was chief in command of Lord Burgoyne and prisoners of his army, invented a new kind of cart- ridge box, and was recommended by the Continental Con- gress to General Washington, September 26, 1776, for the office of Adjutant General of the Continental Army. Col. Lee, however, declined the office. General Wash- 6 THE ANCESTRY OF COL. JEREMIAH LEE. ington gave to Col. Lee a likeness of Mount Vernon, painted in gold leaf upon a plate of glass, which still re- mains in the family. Col. Lee was one of the benefactors of the Marblehead Academy, represented Marblehead in the General Court, was collector of the Port of Salem from 1802 to 1824, and was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. His mansion in Marblehead is one of the most beautiful colonial mansions of Massa- chusetts. General H. A. S. Dearborn wrote a life of Col. William Raymond Lee, still in manuscript. See also Col. William Raymond Lee of the Revolution, by Thomas Amory Lee, A. M., LL. B. He married Mary Lemmon, daughter of Dr. Joseph and Hannah (Swett) Lemmon, Harvard College, 1735. Among their children were Captain Joseph Lemmon Lee, Hannah Swett, who married Major General H. A. S. Dearborn, member of Congress, and perhaps the leading man of his day in Boston, son of Major General Henry Dearborn of the Revolution, and commander in chief of the U. S. Army in the war of 1812 ; his descendants own Stuart portraits of Gen. and Mrs. Dearborn ; and Lieutenant William Raymond Lee, Jr., who married his cousin, Hannah Tracy, granddaughter of Col. Jeremiah Lee, and were the parents of Gen. William Lee, A. M., A. A. S., of whom later. For further information as to the family, see "The Lee Family of Marblehead," by Thomas Amory Lee, in vol. 52 of the Essex Institute Historical Collections. COL. JEREMIAH LEE From a miniature by Copley now in the possession of Bishop Kinsman. COLONEL JEREMIAH LEE Col. JEREiNnAH Lee, son of Justice Samuel and Mary (Tarring) Lee, " the illustrious patriot of the Revolution,"* was born April 16, 1721, in Manchester, and died May 10, 1775, " at his country seat in New- bury." Although younger than either of his two broth- ers, he became the most prominent of the three. On June 25, 1745, he married Martha Swett, born June 12, 1726, and died Nov. 14, 1791, at Newbury, daughter of Joseph and Martha A. (Stacey) Swett. Her father, some- times known as Dr. Joseph Swett, was the founder of the commercial prosperity of Marblehead, being the first of her merchants to engage in foreign commerce. He was Justice of the Peace, Jan. 12, 1744-5. A few months after Col. Jeremiah Lee married Martha Swett, his father married Hannah Swett, the widow of Mistress Martha's father. Moreover, Martha's sister Hannah mar- ried Dr. Joseph Lemmon, and their daughter Mary be- came the wife of Col. Jeremiah Lee's favorite nephew, Col. William Raymond Lee. A fourth daughter of Joseph Swett, Ruth, married " King " Robert Hooper, perhaps the richest merchant of his time in New England and a picturesque figure. He was called *' King " not only on account of the power which he wielded as a great mer- chant who lived in splendid style, but also on account of his absolute honesty, fairness, and even liberality to the poor fishermen with whom he dealt. He lost the confi- dence of his townsmen, however, when called upon to choose between King and country. Still another sister married Hon. Col. Benjamin Marston, of Marblehead and •Greenleaf Genealogy, by James E. Greenleaf, p. 28. 8 COL. JEREMIAH LEE OP MARBLEHEAD. Salem, an eminent merchant, who was driven out of the country as a Tory. There is an old tradition that the daughters of Joseph Swett were great beauties, some- what like the " Seven Stars of the Chandler family." Certainly Copley's portrait of Mistress Martha Lee shows that she was a beautiful woman. " King " Hooper, Colonel Lee, and Colonel Benjamin Marston at one time were partners in trade. Jeremiah Lee, though born in Manchester, went to Marblehead with his father before 1745. When he be- came of age he went into partnership with his father, in whose counting-room he acquired the commercial knowl- edge which made him in later years one of the great merchants of his time. His business with his father proved very profitable, and upon the latter's death, in 1753, he continued in business as a great importing and exporting merchant, whose name was known in all the commercial ports of Europe, and whose business at the period of the Revolution probably was more extensive than that of any other merchant in the then British col- onies. He early became one of the most influential men of Marblehead, and it must be remembered that Marble- head at that time was not a mere fishing village, but the great shipping centre of New England, second to Boston in population and first in point of shipping. There were then sixty merchants engaged in the foreign trade. Jeremiah Lee apparently took part in town affairs from an early time. About 1751 he was commissioned colonel of the Marblehead regiment, and in 1755 he was appoint- ed a member of a committee " to petition His Majesty to disallow the act of the General Court in 1754 imposing an excise duty on spirituous liquors, wines, lemons, or- anges, etc." The same year Col. Jacob Fowle, Col. Jeremiah Lee and Major Richard Reed were appointed a committee to build the powder house, a circular brick magazine on the old ferry road, now one of Marblehead's landmarks. He was Justice of the Peace, as were his two brothers, father and grandfather, being appointed Jan. 11, 1758, and Nov. 19, 1761. Col. Jeremiah Lee was moderator of the town meeting THE COL. JEREMIAH LEE MANSION, MARBLEHEAD Now owned by the Marblehead Historical Society. COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. 9 held on Sept. 18, 1765, to give instructions to their rep- resentatives concerning the " Stamp Act." He belonged to the well known '* Tuesday Evening Club " of Marble- head, of which Gen. Glover, Elbridge Gerry, Dr. Story (father of Justice Joseph Story), Col. Lee, and other well known citizens were members. The meetings were held in the Prentiss house on Mngford street, where the Committee of Safety later held its meetings. An inter- esting letter from Col. Lee of about this period (Dec. 4, 1767) to Capt. John Allen of Manchester, on placing him in command of the schooner " Derby," is worthy of note on account of the last few words : " Break no Acts of Trade, suffer no man to bring above six pounds of Tobacco."" Shortly after, Colonel Lee built his beauti- ful mansion, which yet stands on the north side of Wash- ington street. "At the time of its erection it was one of the finest and most expensively furnished homes in the colonies. It was designed by English architects, and cost more than XI 0,000. It was stated in the Boston papers of that time that this was * the most elegant and costly furnished home in the Bay State Colony.' The finish used in its construction was brought from England as ballast on the colonel's own ship,"f as was the furniture, some excellent pieces of which remain in the family. Rev. Manasseh Cutler at an early date described it as the most magnificent house in these colonies, though he found nothing else to admire in Marblehead. It is now owned by the Marblehead Historical Society, which has issued a little book extolling its beauties, the closing sen- tence of which is as follows : — " Jeremiah Lee builded better than he knew when he placed his home in the heart of the little town, and the reclaimed mansion stands to-day a monument not only of the early prosperity of the town, but a reminder to young and old of Lee and others of his day, who gave of their best to their town and their country. As it was ' the pride and wonder of their day,' it is still the joy and admiration of our own."$ *Lamson's History of Manchester, p. 120. tComer's Landmarks in the Old Bay State, p. 205. |The Lee Mansion, by Miss Hannah Tutt, p. 16. 10 COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. Four Presidents of the United States, including Wash- ington, and also the Marquis de Lafayette, have been among its many guests. At a town meeting held May 10, 1770, Jeremiah Lee and six other citizens were appointed a " Committee of Inspection," and a few days later the following notice appeared : " The Committee of the Trade, in this Town, have minutely examined all the Parcels of unexcepted goods that were stored in the Town, and have the Pleas- ure to inform the Publick that they do not find one single Breach made on them for Sale. Jeremiah Lee, Chairman of the Committee."* The various measures of this committee evidently made enemies, as the entire first page of the next issue of the Essex Grazette for May 15-22, is occupied by a letter be- ginning " To the Publick. The committee of merchants and traders in Marblehead were called upon by sundry persons, in the last week's Gazette, who seem to be very angry that the said committee made known to the public that they refused to come into the agreement of merchants and traders in this town." So many persons were drowned at sea in the year 1770 that a committee, of which Colonel Lee was chairman, was appointed to receive and distribute charitable dona- tions collected in the Province for the relief of the widows and orphans of those persons, belonging to Marblehead, who perished at sea since January, 1768. In 1774 Colonel Lee was elected to represent the town at the Continental Congress, but declined the honor, as the condition of his private affairs was such as to pre- vent acceptance. In September, 1774, Marblehead sent to the County Convention held at Ipswich the following delegates : Jeremiah Lee, Azor Orne, Elbridge Gerry, Joshua Orne, William Dolliber. Colonel Lee found there his brother, Col. John Lee, as chairman of the delegates from Manchester. The convention elected Col. Jeremiah Lee its chairman. Meantime the town had required all the officers of the Marblehead regiment to resign and had appointed new •Essex Gazette, May 8-15, 1770. COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. 11 oflficers. A letter of John Andrews, dated Oct. 1, 1774, gives a graphic picture of the times. " The County towns in general, have chose their own officers, and muster for exercise once a week at least — when the parson as well as the Squire stands in the Ranks with a firelock. — In particular at Marblehead, they turn out three or four times a week, when Col. Lee as well as the Clergymen there are not asham'd to appear in the Ranks, to be taught the manual exercise in particular."* It is evident from a letter of Colonel Lee directed to the famous Cap- tain Tucker, ordering him to take the brig "Young Phoenix " to South Carolina and the Isle of Wight, that he intended to go into active service. He directs Captain Tucker to return and seek some safe port at home if there is war with England, for, wrote the patriotic mer- chant, " then I shall be in the Provincial army, as I am determined not to survive my country's liberty and privi- leges. "f In the meantime a proclamation had been issued ex- cusing the members from attending the General Court at Salem, as it was deemed inexpedient to hold it then, on account of the patriotic instructions of the county con- ventions to hold a Provincial Congress. Nevertheless, 90 of the delegates chosen met at Salem on Oct. 5, 1774. Neither the Governor nor the Council appeared to admin- ister the usual oaths, and the following day a convention was organized and Hon. John Hancock was chosen chairman and Benjamin Lincoln, Esq., clerk, and it was voted that members resolve themselves into a Provincial Congress, which convened Friday, Oct. 7th. The dele- gates from Marblehead were Jeremiah Lee, Esq., Azor Orne, Esq., and Mr. Elbridge Gerry. The Congress elected John Hancock, Esq., chairman, and adjourned to Concord, where one of the early matters of business was the election of a " Committee on the State of the Prov- ince," of which Colonel Lee was a member. On the next day after election the committee reported an address to be sent to Governor Gage, remonstrating against those British measures which he had adopted in conformity to •Mass. Hist. Society Proceedings, 1st series, v. 8, p. 372. tSheppard's Life of Samuel Tucker, p. 27. 12 COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. the several acts of Parliament as calculated to involve the Province in the horrors of civil war. A committee of twenty-one, of which Colonel Lee was chairman, was appointed to wait upon Governor Gage with the report. Once more Andrews* tells what took place. " A Committee from the provincial Congress waited upon the Governor this afternoon with an address or re- monstrance. He treated them very politely, but would not allow it to be read to him. He told them he must consider whether he could admit of an address from a provincial Congress. Col. Lee of Marblehead, their chair- man, told him, that admit or not admit, times were such now that something must be done, and that it was highly necessary that they should be heard and regarded. Upon which his Excellency told him he would take it as a favor if he would leave it for his perusal, and he would en- deavour to give them all the satisfaction in his power, consistent with his duty to his Majesty." The Congress adjourned to Cambridge, where on Oct. 17th Mr. Hancock read the answer of Governor Gage, addressed to Col. Lee and others, warning " you of the rock you are upon, and to request you to desist from such illegal and unconstitutional proceedings."! Colonel Lee also served on other important committees, including the famous " Committee of Safety and Supplies." On Dec. 28th a town meeting was held in Marblehead to consider the conduct of the loyalists who had signed the complimentary address to Governor Hutchinson, among whom were Joseph Lee, Esq., son of Colonel Lee, and John Lee, son of Capt. Seaward Lee, and a cousin of Colonel Lee. Colonel Lee was appointed chairman of the committee to prepare resolutions, which were promptly adopted by the town and which denounced the late governor as " an unparalleled hypocrite," the address as an " indecent, absurd and ridiculous instrument," the ad- dressers as *' enemies to their country," and their conduct as "ungenerous, unjustifiable and opprobrious." It was also voted to " break off all connection in com- merce and in every other way with the persons mentioned *Mass. Hist, Soc. Proceedings, 1st ser., v, 8, p. 375. t Journals of the Provincial Congress of Mass., p. 21. COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. 13 until they manifest tokens of good disposition to join their country in its just cause," and to publish their names in the Essex Gazette, '* that a proper resentment from the Province may likewise fall upon them."* It is interesting to note that Joseph Lee, Esq., became captain in Glover's regiment and that John Lee saw much service as a privateersman. The second Provincial Congress convened at Cambridge, Feb. 1, 1775. Colonel Lee was a delegate, and was again appointed a member of the " Committee on the State of the Province " and the " Committee of Safety and Supplies." On May 15th the Congressre solved, "That five o'clock this afternoon be assigned for the choice of a person to serve on the Committee of Supplies, in the room of Col. Lee, deceased." This is the last time that Colonel Lee is mentioned in the records of the Provincial Congresses. In the meantime the records of the " Committee of Sup- plies " show that he was an active member of that famous committee. On the 27th [of October, 1774], David Cheever of Charlestown, Moses Gill of Princeton, Col. Jeremiah Lee of Marblehead, Capt. Greenleaf of Newburyport, and Benjamin Lincoln of Hingham were elected commissaries, and constituted the important permanent " Committee of Public Supplies," which was established in conformity to a resolution that day reported and adopted, whose duty it was to make provision for the reception and support of the militia when called into service, and to procure cannon and cartridges, small arms, ammunition, and other ordnance stores. This committee was one of the first consequence at the period and purpose for which it was organized, it being in fact a board of ordnance, and it at the same time discharged the duties of a quartermaster and commissary general. That committee and the one charged with the public safety constituted the chief exec- utive authority of the Province during the most critical and momentous epoch of the Revolution, for they often met and co-operated together in devising ways and means for placing the country in a state of defence,"! *Road's Marblehead, pp. 120, 121. 1-Dearborn's Life of Col. Wm. R. Lee (MS.), p. 30. 14 COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. On April 17, 1774, both committees met at Mr. Tay- lor's house in Concord. The committees were chiefly concerned with artillery officers at this meeting, and it was " Voted that the two committees adjourn to Mr. Wetherby's at Menotomy at ten o'clock of the following day."* A great deal of business was transacted on April 18th, and among other things a letter was sent to Capt. Timothy Bigelow requesting him to meet the committee on April 19th at Wetherby's "Black Horse Tavern." But that meeting never took place. After the session of the 18th was finished several gentlemen of the committee, including Col. Hancock and Mr. Adams, went to Lexing- ton to spend the night, but Col. Lee, Col. Orne and Mr. Gerry remained at the tavern. As several parties of British troops passed the tavern, Gerry thoughtfully sent a message to Hancock and Adams. Hancock replied that the troops had gone to Concord and that he should return to the meeting on the next morning.f The three mem- bers from Marblehead had retired to rest without any apprehension of being exposed to seizure by an armed force, when they were suddenly aroused towards morning by Revere,:): and shortly thereafter, standing at the win- dows in their night dresses, they saw the head of the column of regulars go by. When the centre of the col- umn was opposite the tavern, they saw an officer and file of men defile to surround the house and search it. It was not until this moment that they deemed themselves in any danger. " Gerry, in a flurry of excitement, would have thrown the door open in their faces in his effort to escape, had not the landlord hurried all three to the back." Back of the tavern was a corn field. " Once out- side Gerry tripped in the stubble and called to Orne, ♦ Stop, wait! I can't get up, I'm hurt I " This fall sug- gested to the others that perhaps they had best all lie low, and so they did till the danger from the British was over."§ Even the beds were searched, but no one was found. A small gold watch was left under Col. Orne's ♦Journals of the Provincial Congress of Mass., p. 515. tDearborn's Life of Col. Wm. R. Lee (MS.), p. 33. tChase's Beginnings of the Revolution, vol. II, pp. 356, 857. §Chase's Beginnings of the Revolution, v. II, pp. 356, 357. OOL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. 15 pillow, though Gerry's silver watch and French great coat disappeared. As is well known, no member of the committee was fonnd, and the famous battle of Lexing- ton was fought with the same troops on the 19th. *' Having been thus exposed in an almost naked condi- tion for several hours during a very cold night in the open field, Colonel Lee was soon after attacked by a severe fever, and died early in the following May, universally lamented ; for, from his exalted rank in society and the abundant means at his command to aid in the glorious cause into which he had so zealously entered, there were but very few among the worthy patriots who had deter- mined on taking up arms in defence of their rights that were as able and willing to do so much, at a time when so much was required to be done, both in personal exer- tions and pecuniary assistance. He was one of the earli- est and most momentous champions of American liberty. " He was an intelligent and accomplished gentleman of the old school, and as much admired for the urbanity of his manners as loved and respected for his generous dis- position and dignified deportment in his private inter- course with his fellow citizens and in the responsible public stations which he held. The friend of the poor, the patron of the industrious, and a zealous, able and active advocate of liberty and the independence of his country, his eminent services will be gratefully remem- bered and his character and name revered by the town and state whose best interests he had so long at heart."* The current newspapers, even so far away as South Carolina, noticed his death as follows : — " On Wednesday Morning, the 10th Instant, died at Newtown, Newbury, Jeremiah Lee, Esq., of Marblehead, a member of the Honourable Committee of Safety, one of the most eminent merchants on this Continent, and a distinguished, resolute Asserter and Defender of the Liberties of his oppressed and much injured Country. We hear he has left the Province a Legacy f of X 2,000 sterling," J •Dearborn's Life of Col. Wm. R. Lee (MS.), p. 34. tColonel Lee died intestate. tEssex Gazette, May 12-18, 1775, 16 COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. In 1769, the artist, John Singleton Copley, " painted those two most beautiful pictures of Colonel and Mrs. Lee, which are signed with a monogram and dated. In his later years Mr. Copley frequently spoke of these pic- tures, declaring that, for the manner in which they were painted, he could not surpass them. They are in the possession of a [great] grandson. General William Ray- mond Lee."* *' The painter has introduced the colonel in a brown velvet coat laced with gold and full-bottomed wig. He was short in stature and rather portly, with an open face, thin nostril, and fine intelligent eye. The head is slightly thrown back, a device of the artist to add height to the figure. Madam Lee is iu a satin overdress, with a pelisse of ermine negligently cast about her bare shoulders. She looks a stately dame, with her black eyes and self-possessed air, and as if she might have kept the colonel's house, slaves included, in perfect order."f After Madam Lee's death these portraits passed to Mrs. Mary (Lee) Tracy, then to her sons, Lieut. Jeremiah Lee Tracy and Patrick Tracy, then to their sisters, who willed them to Gen. Wm. Raymond Lee, who in turn willed them to his son Robert Ives Lee. They now belong to the latter's son, Thomas Amory Lee, and have been loaned by him to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where they now hang in their original frames, carved by Paul Revere. His great-great-grand-danghter Mrs. O. H. Ernst of Washington, owns full length copies of the Copley's, made by Harding. It is said that Copley also painted several miniatures of the family at the same time as the portraits. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Kinsman, Bishop of Delaware, owns one of these Copley miniatures of his great-great-great- grandfather, Colonel Lee. It is also said that the late Bishop Satterlee of Washington owned a duplicate, but that has been said to represent Sir John McDonald (of Canada). Nothing is known of the other miniatures, un- less the miniature of Colonel Lee's daughter, Mary Lee Tracy, now owned by his great-great-granddaughter, *Mass. Hist. Society Proceedings, v. 12, p. 322. See also John S. Copley, by Martha B. Amory, pp. 76, 77, and Bayley's John Single- ton Copley, 1915, p. 163-5. tS. A. Drake's Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast, pp. 245-248. MRS. JEREMIAH LEE From the portrait by Copley now owned by Thonnas Amory Lee. COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. 17 Mrs. William Morton Grinnell of Washington, is one of them. In 1773 Colonel Lee owned or chartered, either alone or in partnership with his son Capt. Joseph Lee, or his nephew Col. Wm. R. Lee, the brig " Young Phoenix," 100 tons, of which his nephew, Capt. David Lee, was master, the ship " Vulture," 110 tons, schooner *' Der- by," 50 tons, schooner "Manchester," 50 tons, brig " Young Africa," 100 tons, schooner « Horton," 50 tons, schooner " Pellican," 40 tons, schooner " Hawke," 50 tons, and snow " Guardoqui," 100 tons. How many others he owned is not now known. He owned many slaves, fourteen it is said, much fine silver and elegant imported furniture, some of which is still possessed by members of the family. His estate was appraised at £45,148, Is., 2d., after expenses of administration were deducted. The will* of Madam Lee leaves her property to Mrs. Tracy, Mrs. Pike, the children of Capt. Joseph Lee, and Lucy Temple, a minor. A legacy is also left to widow Sarah Oliver, daughter of Hon. William Pynchon and widow of Rev. Thomas Fitch Oliver, eldest grandson of Lieut. Gov. Andrew Oliver, who had been rector at St. Michael's in Marblehead, and a legacy to Hon. Azor Orne for the poor women of Marblehead. Children, born in Marblehead : Maky, b. Aug. 31, 1747; d. Sept. 14, 1747. Joseph, b. Nov, 23, 1748; buried Aug. 31, 1785. Samuel, b. July 8, 1750; d. Aug. 7, 1750. Samuel, b. July 7, 1751; d. before 1792. Mary, b. Sept. 16, 1753; d. Oct. 31, 1819; " the greatest beauty of her day;" m. Feb. 28, 1775, Hon. Nathaniel Tracy, «' the dashing young merchant," b. Aug. 11, 1751, buried Sept. 21, 1796, son of Capt. Patrick Tracy, J. P. and Hannah Gookin. He graduated from Harvard in 1769; A. M. 1772; took a supplementary course at Yale, and received an honorary, A. M. at College of New Jersey (Princeton), 1773; travelled abroad, and went into partnership in Newburyport with his brother, Col. John Tracy, and his brother-in-law, Hon. Jonathan Jackson, " a most accom- plished gentleman, and sagacious and enterprising mer- *Essex Probate Files, No, 16,634. 18 COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. chant."* Nathaniel Tracy was perhaps the greatest merchant of the Revolution, with the exception of Rohert Morris, and at all events the greatest merchant of the Province at that time. " The meteoric brilliancy of this man's career is unmatched in the early history of the State." He fitted out the first privateer of the Revolution, and had 110 merchant vessels, valued at $2,733,300.00, and 24 cruising ships, which captured during the Revolution 120 vessels, which sold for $3,950,000.00. Be- sides this, he loaned the government 1167,000.00, which was never repaid. Among his possessions were that residence in Newburyport now occupied by the Public Library, the Spencer Pierce house at Newbury, large properties in Con- necticut, a farm in Medford, the beautiful Vassall estate in Cambridge, now known as the Longfellow home, where he gave a famous frog dinner to the officers of the French fleet, and with " other lands and houses in different places he was enabled to live in the grandest style and most luxu- rious manner. He had the finest horses and coaches and possessed a well selected library. He was the first treasu- rer of Dummer Academy, and continued to hold the office until 1784. He was large, robust, and comely, a finished gentleman of lively and sportive wit and humor."t He en- tertained many prominent guests, among them Brissot de Warville, who describes both his host and hostess on pp. 254 and 255 of his " Notes of Travel in the U. S.," 1788. The Marquis de Vaudreuil and Marquis de Chastellux, Monsieur de Montesquieu and Baron de Talleyrand, and Lieut. General Lynch visited Col. John Tracy in 1782, and Chastellux's description of the Tracy household is well known, t Nathaniel Tracy was a Representative in 1780-2, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, State Senator in 1783 and one of the charter members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was the friend of John Quincy Adams and of Thomas Jefferson, and went to Europe with the latter in 1784 on Tracy's ship " Ceres." Nathaniel Tracy's portrait was painted three times, once •Jones' Under Colonial Roofs, p. 77. The best accounts of Tracy are in Jones, pp. 77-80; Bullard's Historic Summer Haunts, pp. 239- 43; Currier's Old Newbury port, passim, and Greenleaf's Greenleaf Family, p. 28, and S. L. Knapp's American Biography. See also The Tracy Family of Newburyport by Thomas Amory Lee. t Jones' Under Colonial Roofs, p. 78. t Travels, vol. 2, p. 240. COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBDEHBAD. 19 by Stuart, owned by Gen. W. R. Lee, and given by him to the town of Newburyport (it now hangs in the Tracy man- sion—the Public Library), and once by Trumbull, owned by Gen. Lee's daughter, Mrs. Gen. O. H. Ernst of Washington. The third likeness is owned by the Newburyport Historical Society. Children : (1) Hannah, b. Jan. 25, 1776, d. Sept. 14, 1823, m. May 21, 1801, Lieut. William Raymond Lee, b. Aug. 19, 1774, d. 1864, her second cousin, son of Col. Wm. Raymond Lee {see Family No. 47); (2) Martha Lee, b. 1777, d. Nov. 10, 1778; (3) Patrick, b. Feb. 17, 1780; (4) Nathan- iel, b. June 27, 1781, d. 1788; (5) Jeremiah Lee, b. Dec. 21, 1782, d. Jan. 16, 1844, " a distinguished artillery officer of the War of 1812 "; (6) Mary, b. at Cambridge, in the Long- fellow house, Feb, 25, 1786, d. Dec. 23, 1809; (7) Louisa Lee, b. at Cambridge, April 25, 1787, d. 1869; (8), Nathaniel, b. Nov. 25, 1788, d. 1788; (9) Nathaniel, b. March 18, 1790, d. 1866 in Medford, a well known broker of Boston, who lived at 35 Essex street, Boston; he was an officer of the Stock Exchange for many years; (10) Martha Abby Lee, b. Sept. 27, 1791; (11) Helen, b. Jan. 22, 1796, d. 1865. Abigail, b. Jan. 10, 1758 ; d. Aug. 3, 1758. Maktha, b. Jan. 16, 1760; d. Jan. 16, 1833; m. March 8, 1785, William Pike of Newburyport; d. before 1833. Children : (1) Elizabeth Warner, b. Feb. 8, 1794 ; (2) Mary Ann, b. Dec. 20, 1786; (3) William Augustus, b. April 6, 1790, d. in Porto Rico, June 4, 1814. Abigail, b. April 20, 1762; d. before 1792, apparently about 1785. She was a girl of great beauty and a skilled musi- cian. She was a guest of her sister Mary's brother-in-law, Gen. John Tracy, in Nov., 1782, when the Marquis de Vau- dreuil, M. de Montesquieu, Baron de Talleyrand, Lt. Gen. Lynch and Marquis de Chastellux visited Gen. Tracy at Newburyport, and is referred to by Chastellux: "Miss Lee sang and prevailed on Messieurs de Vaudreuil and Baron de Talleyrand to sing also."* She is said to have been engaged to John Temple, of the well known English family of that name, an officer of the English army, who was suddenly recalled to England before the marriage could be celebrated and was drowned on his passage. It is said that Sir John Temple, the American (8th) Baronet, was financial secretary of Col. Jeremiah Lee before he suc- ceeded to the baronetcy. •Travels in North America, vol. II, p. 240. 20 COL. JEREMIAH LEE OF MARBLEHEAD. Jebkmiah, b. Nov. 20, 1763; vaccinated and living in 1775; ward of Nathaniel Tracy, Esq., after the death of his father; d. before 1792. Lucy Temple, the only child of Abigail Lee and John Temple, was born probably in Newburyport,* Feb. 3, 1785 ; died in Athens, Ohio, March 28, 1818. She married in Newburyport, May 31, 1805, Joseph Dana, A. M., son of the famous Rev. Dr. Joseph Dana, D. D., of Ipswich, and brother of Daniel Dana, D. D., President of Dartmouth. He was a graduate of Dartmouth, and there received the degree of A. M. He became a lawyer, and removed to Athens, Ohio, about 1816, where he soon became Professor of Languages in Athens College, or the University of Ohio. As Lucy Temple's mother died shortly after her birth, she was brought up in the family of her aunt, Mrs. Nathaniel Tracy, who raised her as her own daughter. She was a woman of great beauty, as her silhouette, owned by her granddaughter, shows ; of exceptional education and culture, and of beautiful character. She is remembered by her descendants with much pride. Her children were ; (1) Mary Tracy Dana, b. Nov. 13, 1808, d. Nov. 11, 1827 ; (2) Lucy Temple Dana, b, March 3, 1813, d. June 23, 1861, m. Dec. 25, 1838, Rev. Joseph Marvin, A. B., 1807-1901, son of Capt. Joseph Marvin ; he was a Professor in Ohio University and a minister of the gospel for 61 years; (3) Louisa Tracy Dana, 1815-1890(?) ; m. 1847, Spencer Harding, brother of the artist, Chester Harding. The two latter children had issue. DESCENDANTS OF COL. JEREMIAH LEE. Capt. Joseph Lee, Esq., of MarbleheacI, son of Col. Jeremiah Lee, was born November 23, 1748, and buried August 31, 1785. He was graduated from Harvard in 1769. He was at first an addresser of Gov. Hutchinson, but later served in the Revolutionary Army as a captain of the 6th Company of Glover's famous regiment. He was a merchant of Marblehead, and his mansion still re- mains in that town, on Lee street, near the water front. He married in 1771, at Barnstable, Mass., Hannah Hinck- ley, the daughter of the patriot Col. Hinckley, and a de- scendant of a brother of the distinguished Governor Thomas Hinckley. Among their children were: (1) Abigail Hinckley, who married, 1806, Silvanus Gray, Esq., merchant of Boston, and nephew of the Hon. Wil- liam Gray, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, their children being (a) Jeremiah Lee, (b) William, (c) Eliz- abeth Chipman, (d) Ann Hinckley ; (2) Jeremiah Lee, who w^as a prominent merchant of Boston, and died there without issue, February 7, 1852, 75 years old, he was educated at Phillips' Andover Academy ; (3) Martha, who was living unmarried in Boston in 1852; (4) Jos- eph, living 1792. Hannah Tracy, daughter of Hon. Nathaniel Tracy, A.M., A. A. S., and Mary (Lee) Tracy, and granddaughter of Col. Jeremiah Lee, married her cousin, Lieut. William Raymond Lee, Jr., 1774-1866, an officer of the War of 1812, son of Col. William Raymond Lee of the Revolu- tion, who was a nephew of Col, Jeremiah Lee. She was a beautiful woman, as her portrait shows. (See the Tracy Family of Newburyport, by Thomas Amory Lee.) Their son. Gen. William Raymond Lee, was born in Salem, Aug. 15, 1807, and died in Boston, December 26, 1891. He was educated at the American Literary, Scien- tific and Military Academy and at West Point, in the class of 1829. He was the first superintendent of the Boston (21) 22 DESCENDANTS OP COL. JEREMIAH LEE. & Providence Railroad, was superintendent and president of the Vermont Central and the New York, Ogdensburg and Champlain Railroad, and consulting engineer of the same railroad, was chairman of the Board of Directors, and was unanimously elected president of the Rutland & Burlington Railroad. He was Colonel of the Harvard Regiment, 20th Massachusetts Vol.,during the Civil War, was Brev. Brig. Gen. U. S. V., and Brig. Gen. of the Massachusetts troops. He was given the honorary degree of M. A. by Harvard in 1851, and was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. (See Brevet- Brigadier General William Raymond Lee, U. S. V., A.M., A. A. S., by Thomas Araory Lee, A. M., LL. B.) He mar- ried, 1842, Helen Maria Amory, daughter of Thomas Amory, Esq., granddaughter of Dr. William Bowen, A. M., of Providence, and a descendant of the Hon. Jonathan Amory, who was treasurer of the Province of South Carolina, Speaker of the Assembly, etc., etc., 1693-97, and a descendant of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. General Lee had three children, (1) Eliz- abeth Amory, who married General O. H. Ernst, tl. S. A., and whose daughter, Elizabeth Lee Ernst, married Hon. William Morton Grinnell, nephew of Vice-President Levi P. Morton, who was assistant Secretary of State for the United States, and an officer of U. S. Vol. in the Spanish American War ; (2) Lieut. Arthur Tracy Lee, U. S. A., 1845-70, a graduate of the United States Military Acad- emy, 1865, and aide-de-camp to the President of the United States ; (3) Robert Ives Lee, 1846-1911, educated at St. Paul's School, a prominent horseman of the middle West. He was elected to the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, travelled at home and abroad, and mar- ried, March 31, 1880, Abbie Katherine Kimber, daughter of Henry and Jean (Henry) Kimber, of Kimberton, Pa., and descended from Col. Richard Kimber, an officer of Cromwell's army. (See sketch of R. I. Lee in W. E. Connelley's History of Kansas and •' Robert Ives Lee " by Thomas Amory Lee.) They had three children : (a) Helen Amory, married, 1912, William Henry Van Horn of Chicago, educated at Michigan University ; (b) Thomas Amory, A. B., A. M. and LL, B., travelled at home and DESCENDANTS OF COL. JEREMIAH LEE. 23 abroad, Second Lieutenant in the Missouri National Guard, an attorney of Topeka, Kansas, member of many histori- cal societies, and author of seven or eight historical, biographical and genealogical sketches ; (c) Anna Louise, of Philadelphia, Pa. Amongf Col, Jeremiah Lee's descendants in the female line were the Right Reverend Frederick Joseph Kinsman, A.M., D.D., S.T.D., etc., the present Bishop of Delaware, and Joseph Dana Marvin, 1827-1877, commander in the United States Navy, distinguished naval officer, who rivalled the late Admiral Mahan, for leadership of his class at Annapolis, and who would probably have come to high distinction if he had been spared. (]<{ °-'' .<'° ... -^-^ •" ,\* ..., -»x ""^ „*° ... V •■ .\* "-.,>*'Vjfe'-X,/' .* <.^" ♦^ ... -^-^ o V- o * „ ^. .^0' .<&' "^9"^^ v-^^ ,-A- 'o V _.^,^ ./\ %-vf^*' ^^''\ ^'^0/ J'\ ^^^Vv>v \ ^' 0' ^,/^— -.' /^ V • ^ .r <^ "' .. ^^ ,0' 'o -^^0^ '0- -"^ LiailARV BINDINa ST. AUGUSTINE > 'i'/:'>^"lJ.^^ • 4 p FLA.