Woodley
June 12th /71
C F Lee Jr Esqr
My dear Sir
After a much longer delay than I intended I proceed to answer at best I can your several enquiries on your favour of 24th ulto. I wrote immediately upon viewing your letter to my old Aunt for the Register or a correct copy & have not as yet heard a word from her. From which I infer it is either lost or she has no one living with her to write for her. I shall write again & as soon as I can procure the Register or a copy will send it to you. In giving you the names of the children I have followed the order of their birth as I have always understood it. I do not recollect whether the Register contains all the names of the children of the eldest Hancock or only of one from Trenton branch. I do not remember the names of all the daughters of my great Uncle John Lee, there were 5 daughters. The eldest Elizabeth married a Doctr Wilkinson of Frankfort, Ky & died without children. The second married a Mr Price of Woodford County the neighbor & intimate friend of Mr Clay. The third whose name I think was Anne married Mr Crittenden. The fourth married Genl Call of Kentucky & the fifth whose name was Matilda married a Mr. Wallace of Woodford & had several children. Neither Mrs Price or Mrs Call had children. He had 3 sons. The eldest was Willis Lee for many years Clerk of the Federal Court it Frankfort, Ky & was greatly esteemed for his attainments & abilities as a lawyer. The second son was named John Hancock, a man of high standing & great popularity in his county, but could never be interested to enter public life tho often solicited to do so. The youngest was called Lewis & was considered exceedingly promising, but died young.1 My mother was not the sister of My Uncle Hancocks wife & only distantly related. My Uncle Thomas married a Miss Bell of Louis Ville, a sister of Misrs Samuel Bell & Bro, wealthy merchants of that City. I think they were of an Irish family. I do not remember the name of the lady my great Uncle Henry married. He had only 2 daughters, one of whom married a Mr. Davis & the other married her cousin John. Neither had children. His sons were Hancock, Willis & John all of whom I think are dead & never married. My Uncle Thomas moved to Missouri & died several years before the war & left 2 daughters. The eldest Matilda married a Mr. Gaskins of this State. The other Jane I think is still single & two sons both of whom I think were killed during the war.
I am not able to give you any information of the 2 sons of the first Richard, William and Charles, but would advise you to write to Misses Charlotte & Maggie Lee, two may while quite young ladies of Richmond, whose father Hancock Lee was an officer in the Farmers Bank of Va prior to the War & a most estimable man whose acquaintance I made several years ago & who informed me that he was a relative; & probably descent from one of these sons.
Allow me to repeat that whatever aid I can render you will be most cheerfuly rendered
With great respect
I am very truly
yrs,
Jno H Lee
Source: The Archives of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation, Papers of the Lee Family, Box 6, M2009.398
Uploaded by Caitlin Connelly, 2016 June 9
1. In Lee of Virginia, Edmund J. Lee lists Major John Lee’s children as: John Hancock (m. Anne Lee; no issue), Lewis (married; no issue), Sarah (m. John Crittenden of Kentucky; 6 children), Matilda (m. Samuel Wallace; no issue), Elizabeth (m. Dr. Wilkinson of Frankfort, Kentucky; no issue), Lucinda (m. Dr. R.H. Call; 2 sons), and Anne (m. Mr. Price).
