| Birth: | Oct. 14, 1734 | | Death: | Jan. 11, 1797 | 
Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Virginia; and one of the only pair of brothers (see also Richard Henry Lee) to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was also the brother of General "Lighthorse Harry" Lee of Revolutionary War fame, and the uncle of Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses (the colony's legislature) in 1858, taking his seat there with his brother, Richard Henry Lee, who had also been elected. He joined another brother and two cousins that year in the House of Burgesses. In 1769, he married his cousin, Rebecca Tayloe, and although they would have no children of their own, they would raise two nieces. Although quiet and reserved, Francis was active in the Virginia House of Burgesses, and led much of the protests against the hated Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts, which were unpopular in much of the colonies. In 1775, he was elected as a member of the Second Continental Congress, along with his brother, Richard Henry Lee, and supported the cause for independence. As a member of the Board of War, he played a vital role in obtaining supplies for the American Army, and during the Revolutionary War, he served as a Congressman, actively supporting the independence cause. The two brothers resigned from the Continental Congress on the same day, May 15, 1779, and while Richard Henry Lee would later return to Congress, Francis returned briefly back to the Virginia legislature, and then retired to his plantation in Virginia, to tend to its concerns. After the Revolutionary War, Francis Lightfoot Lee supported the adoption of the Constitution, and encouraged Virginians to vote for it. He died at his plantation in 1797 at the age of 62. The town of Leesburg, Virginia, was named in honor of the Lee family and for all they had done to support Virginia. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
Family links:
Parents:
Thomas Lee (1690 - 1750)
Hannah Ludwell Lee (1701 - 1750)
Spouses:
Rebecca Tayloe (1752 - 1797)
Rebecca Plater Tayloe Lee (1751 - 1797)*
*Calculated relationship
Search Amazon for Francis Lee | | | Burial:
Mount Airy, Tayloe Family Estate
Warsaw
Richmond County
Virginia, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Apr 28, 1998
Find A Grave Memorial# 2809 |
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