Thomas Lee, of Charleston, South Carolina, was the son of Francis Lee and Mary Barnell of Bridgetown, Barbados. Francis and Mary were married on 12/23/1707 in Barbados. In the records he is termed "Gentleman" and "Esquire". He was an attorney-at-law. His children were:

1. - Thomas born 2/6/1710

2. - Francis born 11/8/1712

3. - Joseph born 1/6/1714

4. - William Henry born 10/29/1719

5. - Mary born 2/1720

Little is known of Thomas Lee, but there are records in Charleston giving the births of his children by his wife Mary Giles. He is described in Charleston records as an architect. He was reported as prosperous and owned a large brick house on Elliott Street. He had seven slaves, whose names I give because I like them, and to give them honor: Tomm, Hampshire, Rinah, Charity, Old Venus, Little Hampshire and Little Rinah.

Thomas Lee died 8/7/1769. His wife, Mary, died 5/26/1757. They are buried in St. Philip's Parish, Charleston. After his wife Mary died, Thomas married a second time to Jane Bee. There were no children from the second marriage.

The following poem is in the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It is a Revolutionary War rhyme sent to the headquaters of General Nathanael Greene and probably intended for "Light Horse Harry" Lee. It should be of interest to the descendants of Thomas LEE of Charleston, for Thomas Lee owneed a brick home on Eliott Street, and though Thomas died in 1769, this poem may have been written by one of his descendants or relatives.

The children of Thomas LEE and Mary Giles are:

1. - Francis

2. - Mary born 2/7/1738 in Charleson, SC. died 12/1814 @ 76 yrs. She married Joshua Lockwood II on 6/23/1757 in Charleston. He was born 11/5/1729, the son of Joshua and Sarah Lockwood of Worcester, England. Joshua was a noted watch and chronometer maker, and for many years he took care of the clock in St. Michael's Church in Charleston, winding it every twenty-four hours. Some of his clocks are still in existence. He lived at No. 1 Broad Street. In 1801 he was listed as living at No. 1 Smith Street. He died 11/5/1809 in Charleston at 80 years of age. He is buried in the Circular Congregational Churchyard.

3.- Susannah m. Christopher Easton

4.- Joseph m. Mary Hay Thorne

5.- Rebecca who died at five months of age

My line continues with Mary and Joshua Lockwood who children are:

1. - Joshua Lockwood Jr.

2. - Thomas m. Amarenthia Lowndes Perkins

3. - David

4. - Ephriam

5. - Mary who married Drake Villeponteaux

6. - Sarah who was born 7/31/1772 in Charleston. She married Peter Villeponteaux, 5/27/1790. He died 3/11/1799.

7. - Susannah

8. - Sophia

9. - Margaret m. Capt. Jacob Hyleman Alison (Allison). He was the son of Rev. Hugh Alison and Dorothea Smiser of James Island and the stepson of Lt. Stephen Lee.

My line continues with Sarah and Peter Villeponteaux whose children are:

1. - Sarah m. Dr. George Evans

2. - Mary who married Reverend William States Lee, the son of Stephen Lee and Dorotha Alison,(nee Smiser). Some tend to get lost here, as Mary Lee married her cousin, William States Lee.

I must briefly digress here to insert this line.

......Stephen Lee, Major, was as a lieutenant, made prisoner by the British during the Revolution, and was a prisoner of war on the British Schooner "Pack Horse" in Charleston Harbor. He was a watchmaker and believed by some historians to be the one who cared for St. Michael's clock during the absence of Joshua Lockwood. In 1790 he was listed in the Charleston Directory as doing business at 42 Broad Street and in 1803 and 1806 he was listed as Planter with a Broad Street address. Stephen Lee, Esquire died in 1807 at fifty-eight years of age.

He married Dorothea Alison (nee Smiser) 2/27/1784. She was the widow of Rev. Hugh Alison and the daughter of Paul Belthazer Smiser and Hannah Regina Hyleman. Paul Smiser was a Goose Creek, SC planter. The Rev. Alison was a native of Pensylvania. She died in 1824. The children of Stephen Lee and Dorothea Alison are: Joseph, Paul Smiser H., Caroline Dorothea, Anna Maria, Francis, Joseph and William States Lee, who as noted previously married Mary Villeponteaux.

My line continues with William States Lee and Mary Canty Villeponteaux. I insert her middle given name Canty here as there was a connection with the Canty family, which I have not yet been able to trace.

William States Lee and M.C.V.L. were married on 2/6/1816. He was born 7/22/1797 and died 7/28/1875. She was born 2/8/1797 and died 6/13/1833. Both are buried in the Edisto Island Presbyterian Churchyard, at Edisto Island, South Carolina.

Their children are as follows:

1. William Hollinshead

2. Dorothea

3. James M.

4. Joshua L.

5. Caroline Lockwood

6. Henrietta Mary V.

7. Sarah Georgiana

8. William States, Jr.

9. Joseph Dill

10. Elizabeth

The autobiography of Rev. William States Lee will not be included here due to its length, but may be found in the book "Lee of South Carolina". Here are a few excerpts from that book: "Dorothea, wife of Stephen Lee, was a native of South Carolina, but of German descent. Her father Paul Smiser, fled from the despotic rule of the Duchy of Hesse, and though arriving in this country poor, he accumulated considerable property...he met and married Regina Hyleman..my grandmother by her mother's side was from Heidelberg and had come to America for the purpose of visiting certain relatives who had settled in Pennsylvania...we sailed from Charleston, where I was taken to Princeton...and my career here was satisfactory...I began my public duties of the ministry as an ordained Presbyterian minister...it has been my privilege to preach the gospel in one of the oldest church edifices in the state, the Presbyterian Church on Edisto which was organized between 1690 and 1700... I married Mary Canty Villeponteaux, the youngest daughter of Peter Villeponteaux and his wife Sarah, (born Lockwood). The former was a grandson of Zachariah Villeponteaux a member of the first and earliest Huguenot families that emigrated from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He landed, I have been told in New York, and remained there for a short while practicing law, before removing to South Carolina, where he settled somewhere in the vicinity of Goose Creek...made bricks on his large plantation...(my note: all of the bricks in St. Michael's Church in Charleston, were made of his plantation, named Parnassus...in 1833 the Lord laid on me the greatest domestic affliction a man can endure...my dear wife Mary died after a lingering sickness...it is 1871, and I am approaching the completion of my 78th year... the congregation has grown from 25 members in 1821 to 662 members in 1871...I have married 78 couples.

My line continues with Joseph Dill Lee, son of William States Lee and Mary Canty Villeponteaux Lee:

Joseph Dill Lee was born 1/26/1831 on Edisto Island, South Carolina. He died 9/27/1856 and is buried in the Edisto Island Presbyterian Churchyard. He married Sarah Mitchell Johnson.

Surnames associated with family LEE: Alison, Alston,Aston, Barker, Beekman, Bonnell,Bonney,Broome, Brown,Cantey, Cantron, Church, Clark, Cochran, Cook, Cooper, Cordes, Curray, Deas, Dill, Easton, Evans, Fishburne, Gaillard, Gibbs, Hall, Harper, Harwell, Hartwell, Haskell, Hinson, Howard, Hutson, Hyleman, Johnson, Lafitte, Lide , Lockwood, Logan, Markley, Martin, Mason, McDonald, McPherson, Mikell, Miles, Molett (descendant of Gov. Fenner of Rhode Island), Morrer, Perkins, Porcher, Postell, Reynolds, Screven, Sims, Singleton, Skirving, Smiser, Taylor, Theus, Thorne, Turner, VanRhyn, Villeponteaux, Visser, Webb, White, You, Youngblood.

Genealogy Resources: Steps In Time
© 1997, Virginia Marin. All rights reserved.

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