LEE/LEA/LEIGH GENEALOGY
Compiled by Glenn Gohr
Although I'd like to think I might be related to the famous Lees of Lee Hall in Virginia and to Civil War General Robert E. Lee, at this time I have found no connection to the famous Lees of Virginia. One Hanks researcher, William E. Barton, in his book, The Lineage of Lincoln says that some of General Lee's family intermarried with the Hanks ancestors of President Abraham Lincoln, but this is not in my direct line of Hankses or Lees.
Currently, Robert E. Lee, Jr., and others are working on a DNA project to try to prove or disprove the relationship of many of the Lee families in early Virginia and Maryland.
Also, my brother-in-law, Jimmy Lee Bartell, is the son of Velma Ruth (LEE) Bartell, and grandson of John Stewart LEE and Eula LEE Anthony. This family is from Biloxi, Mississippi, and they are reported to be related to Robert E. Lee. I have also found some people who spell the name as LEA or LEIGH. Some of the Leas intermarried with Sartains in Virginia. Still no definite connection.
Here is my LEE lineage as far as can be proven:
- James LEE, b. ca. 1700 Prince George's Co., MD, d. Feb. 1764 Frederick Co., MD; md. ca. 1720 to Mary _____, b. ca. 1700 Prince George's Co., MD, d. aft. 1764 Frederick Co., MD
- Rebeckah LEE, b. ca. 1728 in Frederick Co., MD, d. ca. 1792 Spartanburg Co./Union Co., SC; md. ca. 1748 prob. in Frederick Co., MD to William LITTLEFIELD, Sr., b. bef. 1725 prob. in Salisbury, England, d. ca. 1780 in Spartanburg Co./Union Co., SC
- William LITTLEFIELD, Jr., b. 16 May 1756 Frederick Co., MD, d. 15 Oct. 1836 Dekalb Co., AL; md. 2nd, ca. 1823 Spartanburg, SC to Sarah TURNER, b. 1789 Spartanburg, Spartanburg Co., SC, d. 1832 McLemoresville, Carroll Co., TN (she is buried in Leach Cemetery, Carroll Co., TN)
- Luther Rice LITTLEFIELD, b. 25 Dec. 1826 Spartanburg, Spartanburg Co., SC, d. 25 Mar. 1903 Adamsville, McNairy Co., TN; md. 28 Dec. 1848 Jonesborough, Tippah Co., MS to Nancy Artemisia WOOLVERTON, b. 28 Aug. 1829 Maury Co., TN, d. 24 Jan. 1926 Adamsville, McNairy Co., TN (both buried in the Adamsville Cemetery)
- Sarah Agatha LITTLEFIELD, b. 28 Oct. 1849 Jonesborough, Tippah Co., MS, d. 7 Feb. 1940 Leapwood, McNairy Co., TN; md. 18 Oct. 1868 McNairy Co., TN to William Ashley HARRIS, b. 19 May 1849 Hardin Co., TN, d. 12 Mar. 1916 McNairy Co., TN (both buried in the Mars Hill Cemetery, McNairy Co., TN)
- James David HARRIS, b. 9 Jan. 1871 McNairy Co., TN, d. 22 Sept. 1938 Marlow, Stephens Co., OK (buried in the Marlow Cemetery); md. 28 Oct. 1894 McNairy Co., TN to Docia Bell PYRON, b. 5 Oct. 1872 McNairy Co., TN, d. 1 Sept. 1944 Lyford, Willacy Co., TX (buried at Combes, TX)
- William Earl HARRIS, b. 8 Aug. 1895 McNairy Co., TN, d. 5 Jan. 1967 Cortez, Montezuma Co., CO; md. 12 Dec. 1915 Parker Co., TX to Orpha Antonia Hazel GARVIN, b. 11 Nov. 1895 Jack Co., TX, d. 21 Dec. 1979 Cortez, Montezuma Co., CO (both buried in the Dove Creek Cemetery, Dove Creek, CO) *These are my grandparents.
LEAVES OF CHESTNUT RIDGE
I want to introduce you to a new book which is just off the press (July 2003). It is a historical novel based on the lives of the James Lee family and also the family of William Littlefield of Maryland who married James' daughter, Rebeckah. It is based on facts which have been gleaned in courthouses and through family tradition, etc. The author is Ann Littlefield Coleman, daughter of Elmo Littlefield, granddaughter of John Monroe Littlefield. She is a descendant of William Littlefield of Maryland and has become well acquainted with this family. This book would be of interest to anyone researching Littlefield history or those interested in historical novels of the period. I highly recommend this book.
About the novel (from Ann Coleman):
"In April of 1978 my sister and I took our father back to his boyhood home in Adamsville, Tennessee. I watched as he stopped, old and feeble, leaning on his cane at the porch of his grandparents' old run-down house. He had been away for seventy-two years, and I wondered about the emotions and memories this trip evoked. It was as if he expected his grandmother Artemesia to come out the door and shake her finger at him for staying away too long. At that moment I knew I would someday write the story of my father's heritage. Little did I know it would take me back to the 1700's in Frederick Co. Maryland for this first book. Sadly, Daddy could not wait around long enough to read it.
"Leaves of Chestnut Ridge begins with the burial of the old patriarch, James Lee in Frederick Co. Maryland (the land was later divided to become Montgomery Co.) and carries through to all of his children. The Littlefield connection comes through Rebeckah Lee who married William Littlefield. William, of course, was the first Littlefield from the Maryland branch to come to the shores of America. The story of our ancestors is entertwined around the true historical events from the history books and the courthouse documents. It includes the reliving of the French and Indian War through those that fought it, as well with the Mason Dixon line disagreements and the Stamp Act rebellion. See the old Fredericktown through the eyes of Rachel Lee as she goes to file her father's will on Feb. 14, 1764. Know the real people listed on his will--Thomas Butler, the Madden boys, William Betterton, and those calling in the debts. Visit the family farms, know the neighbors and those leading the country just prior to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. As best I could, after thirteen years of research, I have set out to introduce you to their lives and their names."
To the kind souls that requested a notice about the novel's publishing:
Leaves of Chestnut Ridge is finally available for sale from 1stbooks.com.
Leaves of Chestnut Ridge ISBN numbers are:
(Dust Jacket Hardcover) $29.50 + shipping ISBN 1-4107-5176-7
(Paperback) $15.50 + shipping ISBN 1-4107-5177-5
(E-Book) $5.95 ISBN 1-4107-5178-3
You may order it in any of three ways:
Internet www.1stbooks.com Type in www.1stbooks.com then type in Leaves of Chestnut Ridge for the title.
Then click on find books button. Scroll down to view book and click on the blue printed lines for more details about the author, a synopsis of the book, or a free preview. You may order the book online with a credit card.
To contact the Book Order Department, please call 1-888-280-7715 Monday through Friday 9 AM-9 PM CST or email [email protected]
It is also available to order from Amazon.com or Barnes and Nobles Bookstore and Borders. But be warned the price through 1stbooks is cheaper by about $10.00 than ordering through the other sources. Thanks for your interest.
Ann Littlefield Coleman
[email protected]
LEE E-MAIL LIST
If you have queries concerning the LEE surname, you may post these at the Lee Family Genealogy List which is a part of the Rootsweb e-mail discussion lists. It offers free queries and discussion on the Lee surname and variant spellings.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected]
Leave subject line blank (This will be ignored).
In the body of the message type: subscribe
Then a welcome message will be sent telling how to post messages. Once you are subscribed, you may send a query to everyone on the list by sending e-mail to: [email protected]
Archived postings to the Lee e-mail list can be found on the WEB at:
https://mailinglists.rootsweb.com/listindexes/
When prompted, type in LEE for the name of the list. A second screen will appear where you can choose a year and type in a search word(s). If you type in LEE you would probably get all the previous postings to the list. You can also type in a person's name instead or a locality to narrow your search. If you wish to do a search by date, try entering it in quotation marks with the day and then the month as "01 Mar" using single digit dates preceded by a zero and only the first three letters of the month.
ROOTSWEB LEE MESSAGE BOARDS
There are several Message Boards on Rootsweb which are set up for the LEE surname. These boards are for posting information in the following categories: BIBLE, BIOGRAPHY, BIRTH, CEMETERY, CENSUS, DEATH, DEED, IMMIGRATION, LOOKUP, MARRIAGE, MILITARY, OBITUARY, PENSION, QUERIES, and WILLS. The search perameters and drop down screen on the main page allow you to do a key word search or to view all postings according to one of the above categories. Click on the icon below to access the Lee Message Boards.
Post a query (or information from any one of the above categories) on any LEE name or related family. Please give dates, and locations they lived. Try to give as much information as possible.
An online genealogy forum for posting queries has also been set up specifically for the LEE family on GenForum. It can be found at the following address:
http://genforum.familytreemaker.com/lee
***Note***During the Fall of 1998, GenForum combined with Family Tree Maker, which means that all queries and information posted to that site becomes the property of Family Tree Maker. This is still a good site to look up information and get contact names for the LEE lines you are searching, but be advised that if you now post a new query or a response to something on that site, chances are that sometime in the future Family Tree Maker will include that information on a CD-ROM which they will sell for profit to anyone who is interested. I do not like the idea of someone else using my hard researched information and ideas and selling them for a profit without my knowledge. This same practice is evident on all of the Family Tree Maker pages which are found on the internet, if you will read the disclaimer notices on those pages. I recommend the Family Tree Maker pages as good look up pages, but I don't recommend posting information there. Similar things can be said for Ancestry.com and MyFamily.com which are connected to each other and seek to make a profit from genealogical materials on the internet.
Some LEE web sites include:
Shirley Leblanc's Web Page.
Copyright (c) 1998-2003.
Last updated October 30, 2003.
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