Biographical Sketch of Francis LEE (1910); Chester County, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Kathy DeFoster Hudson . Copyright. All Rights Reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ********************************************************* Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey Francis Bazley Lee, Editor Lewis Historical Publishing Company. New York: 1910, pp. 230-32. LEE – Francis Lee, the original emigrant and founder of the Port Elizabeth and Trenton, NJ branch of the family, was born in 1749. His birthplace was in the “county of the town of Carrickfergus,” an Antrim seaport ten miles from Belfast. Carrickfergus is memorable in history as an ancient capital of Ireland, and the landing place of William III, 1690. Owing to the destruction of family papers, there is no record of Francis Lee’s ancestors, although tradition says that they were non-conformists of Midland English stock. Nothing is known of Francis Lee until November 21, 1770, when he married Jane Alexander, a school girl of good family. With her, it is said, he eloped to America. It is supposed that Francis Lee landed in Philadelphia where he soon began to acquire property. In 1774 he paid a four pound tax in the Chestnut ward of Philadelphia, and is named among warrantees for thirty acres of land in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and two lots in Sunbury, the then recently settled capital of that county. During the Revolutionary War, Francis Lee prospered, and toward its close he dealt actively in real estate. In 1780 he purchased in Philadelphia the attainted Front street land of George Knapper, and in 1782 acquired large tracts in the Northern Liberties on the Wissahickon road and in Blockley township on the Haverford road. These and other transactions involved many thousands of pounds currency. From 1778 to 1787 he paid state and federal supply tax as a “non-resident” of Northumberland county. Francis Lee appears as an innkeeper as early as 1774. Sharf and Westcott are authority for the following statement: “A movement was begun which might have led to trouble if the city had not changed hands so soon.” (This refers to the British occupation). “It originated in a meeting at the Indian Queen (kept by Francis Lee) and the object was to insist on exemption from military duty for such as had furnished substitutes.” Previous to this, however, the journals of the Continental Congress show that Francis Lee had furnished the Whigs with expresses, meals for soldiers, a stage coach for the use of Generals Prescott and McDonald, and later had entertained John Paul Jones. In the Philadelphia directory for 1785 is to be found this reference: “Francis Lee, innkeeper and every day stage to and from New York, corner of 4th and Market Street.” The stage started every morning at 4 o’clock from the Indian Queen, which was kept by Lee until about this period. On March 8, 1783, Jacob Berry, a surveyor, conveyed to Francis Lee a tract of land in Haverford township, Chester county, Pennsylvania. In 1786 or 1787, Lee removed from Philadelphia, presumably to this purchase. Upon relinquishing the Indian Queen, he surrendered an inn property that was one of the finest in Philadelphia. Some idea of the house may be gathered from the journals and correspondence of Manasseh Cutter, agent of the Ohio Land Company, who in July visited Philadelphia during the session of the federal constitutional convention of 1787. Of the Indian queen, Cutter writes: “It is situated on 4th street between Market and Chestnut Street and is not far from the center of the city. It is kept in an elegant style and consists of a large pile of buildings with many spacious halls and numerous small apartments appropriate for lodging rooms. As soon as I had inquired of the bar keeper if I could be furnished with lodgings, a livery servant was ordered immediately to attend me, who received my baggage from the hostler and conducted me to the apartments assigned me by the bar keeper, which was a rather small but a very handsome chamber (No. 9), furnished with a rich field bed, bureau, table with drawers, a large looking glass, neat chairs and other furniture. Its front was east and being in the 3rd floor afforded a find prospect toward the river and the Jersey shore.” “The servant that attended me was a young, sprightly, well-built black fellow, neatly dressed in a blue coat, sleeves and a cape red, buff waist-coat and breeches, the bosom of his shirt ruffled and his hair powdered. After he had brought up my baggage and properly deposited it in the chamber, he brought two of the latest London magazines and laid on the table. I ordered him to call a barber, furnish me with a bowl of water for washing and to have tea on the table by the time I was dressed.” Among the famous visitors who were to be found during this period in the Indian Queen were General Washington, Cornplanter and other notable Tammany chiefs, members of congress and distinguished military characters of the revolution. It was to the Indian Queen that President Washington retired in 1797 after bidding farewell to public life. The hotel, as stated in Sharf and Westcott, was an ancient inn. Among its proprietors other than Lee, were John Francis, Samuel Richardet, Robert Smith, Margaret Thompson, James Coyle and Thomas Heiskell, who were in charge of the house from 1785 to 1825. A famous sign by Woodhouse was a characteristic of the place. The inn was removed to make way for business structures. Lee appears as a private in the revolutionary war, being upon the roll of Captain Tench Francis’ company, First Battalion Pennsylvania militia in August 1781. During the year 1781, Captain Francis’ company brought from Boston to Philadelphia the French gold designed for the use of the Whigs. Conveying the fourteen wagons and fifty-six oxen, Lee, on account of his ability in matters of transportation, was engaged in that service, according to statements often repeated by his son, Thomas Lee. The gold reached Philadelphia early in November 1781. Lee removed from Haverford township during the closing years of the century. On July 11, 1796, John Kennedy of East Whiteland, Chester county, Pennsylvania, conveyed a plantation to Lee. On the 20th of May 1800, Lee was appointed justice for Tredyffryn, Charlestown, East Whiteland and West Whiteland, Chester county, the commission being signed by Governor Thomas McKean. Until his death, which occurred fifteen years after his selection as justice, Francis Lee added to his landed interests and as a breeder of running horses became a prominent figure in Chester Valley. He was a member of the Great Valley Presbyterian Church, under the pastorate of the Rev. William Latta, who was his executor. Owing to the destruction of the church records previous to 1830, no record of Lee’s official connection with the congregation is extant. He died April 30, 1815 and is buried in the churchyard of the Great Valley Church. It is certain that Francis Lee was married three times and there may have been a fourth union. In the direct line of the New Jersey branch of the family, his first wife was Jane Alexander; the exact dates of her birth and death are unknown. Conjecturally, she was born about 1750 and died about 1785. The last child of this union was born in 1784. By this marriage, there were the following children: 1.) James Alexander Lee, b. 4 Sep 1771; baptized 22 Sep 1771; d. 18 July 1820. 2.) William Lee, b. 30 May 1773; d. 27 Sep 1773. 3.) Francis Lee, b. 26 Oct 1774; d. 1803 of yellow fever. 4.) William J. Lee, b. 27 Sep 1776; d. 7 Jan 1778. 5.) George Lee, b. 21 Sep 1778; d. 1798 of yellow fever. 6.) John Lee, b. 28 Nov 1779; d. 27 Feb 1780. 7.) Thomas Lee, b. 28 Nov 1780; d. 2 Nov 1856. 8.) Jane Lee, b. 30 Nov 1781; deceased. 9.) Margaret Lee, b. 10 Oct 1782; d. 17 May 1783. 10.) Hannah Lee, b. 10 Sep 1783; d. 28 Sep 1783. 11.)Eleanor Lee, b. 15 Sep 1784; d. 25 Mar 1820. Note: James and Thomas Lee left Pennsylvania for Cumberland county, New Jersey in 1796 and 1798, respectively, where they both become prominent businessmen and public servants. Thomas Lee served as New Jersey State representative, 1814-15. See that county for their biographies. Transcribed by Kathy DeFoster Hudson Kailua, HI 5 Aug 2007