Richard Bland Lee

Richard Bland Lee
Stevens Thomson Mason
Succeeded by	Josiah Clapham
Constituency	Loudoun County
Personal details
Born	(1761-01-20)January 20, 1761 " Planter, judge
Signature

Richard Bland Lee (January 20, 1761 – March 12, 1827) was an American planter, jurist, and politician from

Richard Bland Lee the third son of Henry Lee II and Lucy Grymes was born on January 20, 1761, at "Leesylvania", the estate built by his father on land overlooking the Potomac River in Prince William County in the Colony of Virginia. He was named after two distinguished relatives, his great-grandfather Richard Bland of "Jordan's Point", and his great-uncle, jurist and statesman Richard Bland, whom Thomas Jefferson called "the wisest man south of the James".^[1]

Possibly educated by tutors as a youth at "Chantilly", the home of his venerated cousin

It was also during his term that the election of Virginia's first two United States Senators took place. Lee was a strong supporter of James Madison's candidacy. Ultimately, however, Madison was rejected by the Henry-led House of Delegates on the assumption that he would not push for addition of a bill of rights, a contention that Lee worked hard to counteract. After that rejection. Lee continued to work on Madison's behalf in his congressional race by proposing publication of letters between Madison and others "as would counteract the report industriously circulated in the assembly and consequently in the state that you were opposed to every amendment to the new government, and in every mode...."^[4] Unwilling to risk publication of letters critical of others, Madison rejected the idea but would nevertheless defeat future President James Monroe in a hard-fought contest.

In both of the debates Lee recognized the power of Henry's oratory and lamented the weakness of opposition to him. A letter from Lee to Madison complained:

Our Assembly is weak. Mr. [Patrick] Henry is the only orator we have against us and the friends to the new government being all young and inexperienced, form a feeble bond against him.^[5]

While Henry was ultimately able to get the Virginia legislature to pass the measure urging Congress to call a new constitutional convention, Congress refused to do so but instead passed the first ten amendments to the constitution that make up the Bill of Rights.

US House of Representatives

I went up to the Election of a Representative to Congress for this district. [V]oted for Richd. Bland Lee Esqr.

— George Washington^[6]

In 1788, having served three years in the Virginia House of Delegates, Lee decided to stand for election to the new federal congress established under the recently-ratified constitution. Though political parties had yet to form, ideological schisms were already developing by time of the first federal election. In general, those who were the strongest supporters of the constitution in the form adopted by the Constitutional Convention, including its provision for a strong executive with power tilted toward the federal government were identified as Federalists, and those who were less supportive of a strong federal government, and believed that a bill of rights should have been included with the document prior to ratification were called Anti-Federalists. Lee was identified with the former camp. He had strongly supported ratification of the constitution,^[7] opposed efforts to force a second constitutional convention for the purpose of adding a bill of rights, and was a strong supporter of George Washington. His district which included his estate, Sully, then part of Loudoun County (now Fairfax County), and included Fairfax County, was the home of both Washington as well as the future Anti-Federalist leader George Mason.

Lee eventually became the consensus candidate of the Federalists by overcoming competition from likeminded men including his relative

Following that defeat, Richard was returned to the Virginia House of Delegates, first by Loudoun County voters in 1796 and finally by Fairfax County voters in 1799.[10]

Other government service

Following his removal from "

Societies

During the 1820s, Lee was a member of the prestigious society, Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, who counted among their members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical, and other professions.^[13]

Planter

Upon his death in 1787,

Marriage and children

Richard married Elizabeth Collins (c. 1768–1858) in 1794, at her parents' home in Germantown, PA. Elizabeth was the daughter of Philadelphia Quaker merchant Stephen Collins and Mary Parrish, and the sister of Zaccheus Collins, a prominent botanist. Her lifelong friend was Dolley Payne Todd Madison.

1. Mary Ann Lee^[14] born May 11, 1795, died June 21, 1796, of dysentery. Buried at Sully in unmarked grave.
2. Col. Richard Bland Lee II^[14] born July 20, 1797, died August 2, 1875. Married Julia Anna Marion Prosser (1806–1882), daughter of John Prosser and Mary "Polly" Poole. Both buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria, Va.
3. Ann Matilda Lee^[14] born July 13, 1799, died December 20, 1880. Married Dr. Baily Washington III (1787–1854).
4. Mary Collins Lee^[14] born May 6, 1801, died February 22, 1805. Buried at Sully in unmarked grave.
5. Laura Lee^[14] born May 10, 1803, died in infancy.
6. Cornelia Lee^[14] born March 20, 1804, died December 26, 1876. Married Dr. James W. F. Marcrae.
7. Hon. Zaccheus Collins Lee^[14] born December 5, 1805, died November 1859 in Baltimore, MD; Served as U.S. District Attorney from 1848 to 1855. Married Martha Jenkins.
8. Male Infant^[14] born April 15, 1807, died April 15, 1807.
9. Male Infant^[14] stillborn June 11, 1809.

Death

Richard died in

His home is now open to visitors as a county park.[15]

Ancestry

Richard Bland Lee was the son of Henry Lee II (1730–1787) of "Leesylvania" and, Lucy Grymes (1734–1792).^[16]

• Lucy Grymes Lee was the daughter of Hon. Charles Grymes (1693–1743) and Frances Jennings.^[16]

Henry Lee, II, was the third son of Capt. Henry Lee I (1691–1747) of "Lee Hall", Westmoreland County, and his wife, Mary Bland (1704–1764).^[16]

• Mary Bland Lee was the daughter of Hon.
  Elizabeth Randolph (1685–1719).^[16]

• Laetitia Corbin Lee was the daughter of Richard's neighbor and, Councillor, Hon.
  Henry Corbin, Sr. (1629–1676) and Alice (Eltonhead) Burnham (c. 1627–1684).^[16]

Richard Lee, II, was the son of Col. Richard Lee I, Esq., "the immigrant" (1618–1664) and Anne Constable (c. 1621–1666).^[16]

• Anne Constable Lee was the daughter of Thomas Constable and a ward of Sir John Thoroughgood.^[16]

References

External links

• Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
• Sully Historic Site in Fairfax County, Virginia
• What is this Sully I see Everywhere^{[permanent dead link]}