Difference between revisions of "Ludwell Lee"

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Ludwell Lee was born at "Chantilly" on October 13, 1760 as the second son of Richard Henry Lee and Anne Aylett. ^[2] Richard Henry Lee directed his sons' education away from careers as merchants because his own brother was already operating his own tobacco merchant house in London. He decided instead that his eldest son, Thomas (b. 1758), would be a minister, and that Ludwell would be a lawyer. ^[3] Ludwell initially studied in England and France, and dealt with hostility stemming from his father's involvement in the Declaration of the Independence. Ludwell's uncle, Dr. Arthur Lee, gave the following anecdote in one of his letters:

A son of Mr. Lee was, at the time of the Declaration of Independence, at school in St. Bees, in England...One day, as this youth was standing near one of the professors of the academy, who was conversing with a gentleman of the neighboring county, he heard the question asked, "What boy is this?" to which the professor answered, "He is a son of Richard Henry Lee, of America." The gentleman, upon hearing this, put his hand upon his head and said, "We shall yet see your father's head upon Tower Hill," to which the boy answered, "You may have it when you can get it." ^[4]

In 1777, Richard Henry Lee wrote his brother, Arthur, asking him to send Ludwell home. His reasons were that he wanted Ludwell to study law and improve his military skills with the hopes that "he [Ludwell] may be able to turn either to the Law or the sword here, as his genius or his interest and service of his country might point out." ^[5] In 1780, Richard Henry wrote his brother again, saying:

Our worthy & learned friend, Geo. Wythe esquire is now Professor of Law in Wm & Mary College--his lectures are greatly admired; and it deserves your attention whether your nephew Ludwell would not be greatly benefitted by attending his lectures whilst he is reading the laws of Virginia...his father thinks so...I think [Ludwell] may benefit himself by repairing to Williamsburg and finishing his law studies under Mr. Wythe, who is now most worthily employed in the character of Law professor at Willi[a]m & Mary College...[Wythe] discharges the duty of [his professorship] with wonderful ability both as to the theory and practise. The sooner therefore that Ludwell gets under his tuition the better! ^[6]

Shortly afterwards, Ludwell returned from Europe and began studying law under George Wythe at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. However, Ludwell left his legal studies to serve as aide-de-camp to General Lafayette on his 1781 campaign during the Revolutionary War. After the war, Ludwell returned to Williamsburg to complete his legal studies. ^[7] Later he married his first counsin, Flora Lee--Thomas Lee was their shared grandfather. On the Belmont lands gained through his marriage, Ludwell constructed an elegant house between the years 1799 and 1802. ^[8]

Following in the footsteps of his family, Ludwell became a member of the Virginia General Assembly. ^[9] However, his staunchly Federalist ideals did not mesh well with the Jeffersonian Republicans and he left office once they became the dominant political force in Virginia. Ludwell retired as a prosperous planter and host. When Lafayette returned to American for his triumphal tour in 1825, Ludwell lavishly entertained his old friend at Belmont. ^[10] The general even stood as godfather to Lee's elder baby daughter who died later in the evening. ^[11]

Ludwell passed away on March 23, 1836 at Belmont and was buried in Saint James Episcopal Cemetery is Leesburg, Virginia. ^[12] Mr. R. H. Henderson published a sketch of Ludwell Lee in the Leesburg paper upon Ludwell's death, saying, "Mr. Lee engaged in the profession of the law, but, blessed with an ample fortune, he withdrew from it at an early period, yet not until he had exhibited to his friends and his country those powers and attainments which would, under different circumstances, have rendered him one of its brightest ornaments." ^[13]

Further Reading

(1) Eugene Scheel, "A Toast to the Fourth, 18th-Century Style," The Washington Post, July 1, 2001, accessed September, 24, 2015.

See also

• Wythe the Teacher

References

1. ↑ J. Kent McGaughy, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia: A Portrait of an American Revolutionary (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004), 51, accessed September 24, 2015.
2. ↑ Edmund Jennings Lee, Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892: Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of the Descendants of Colonel Richard Lee (Heritage Books, 2008), 323, accessed September 16, 2015.
3. ↑ McGaughy, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, 59.
4. ↑ Lee, Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892, 323.
5. ↑ Ibid, 324.
6. ↑ Steve Sheppard, The History of Legal Education in the United States: Commentaries and Primary Sources, Volume 1 (The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2006), 153.
7. ↑ Ibid.
8. ↑ Ashburn Web, Belmont Plantation, accessed September 24, 2015.
9. ↑ Ibid.
10. ↑ National Register of Historica Places Nomincation Form, "Belmont," accessed September 28, 2015.
11. ↑ Miller, Lafayette: His Extraordinary Life and Legacy (iUniverse, 2015), accessed September 24, 2015.
12. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012, accessed September 24, 2015.
13. ↑ Lee, Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892, 324-325.