1870. Jesse is 89 an invalid. He lives in Franklin Township, New Hanover County with Mary 77 also invalid and Jesse Jr 28 merchant. Jesse Jr has married Louisa Johnson, she lives there too. A neighbor is Milton age 46. Robert Johnson and wife Margaret are on the previous page. Andrew Lee age 60 is another neighbor

Until November, 2004, there would not have been a Lee chapter in this book at all as I knew so little about them. I knew only that Margaret E Lee was the daughter of Jesse Lee and wife Mariam (sometimes called Mary), maiden name unknown. What I knew came mostly from Census data.

I knew as a starting point from their marriage record that the wife of Robert Calvin Johnson was Margaret E Lee. She can be found in the 1870 Census with Robert where it says she is 36. Daughter Emma (Alice Johnson) is in that household, too, age 15 as are younger siblings Laura 13, Nathaniel 11, Margaret 8, Robert 3 and Mary 7 months. In 1880, Robert has died, Emma has married but we find Marget E Johnson 48 with Laura C 23, Nathan L 19, Marget 17, Robert H 13 and Mary E 9. In 1850, I found her living with her parents and that is how I came to know that her father was named Jesse.

Jesse Lee lives in New Hanover County in 1850. He is 66 and lives with wife Mariam 58, and children Darcas 28, Milton 24, Jacob 22, Mariam 17, Margaret 14 and Jesse W 8. We also find Jesse“s household in 1860, still in New Hanover. J Lee is 76, wife Marana is 65. The children are Darkiss 36, Milton 32, Jacob 30, Maria 25 and Jesse W 18. Only Margaret seems to have married and moved out. In 1870, Jesse is 89, said to be invalid, and lives with Mary 77, also invalid. Darcas, age 48, lives with them as does Jesse Jr., said to be a merchant, and his wife Louisa. Milton is a neighbor. Nearby is the Robert C Johnson household. They still all live in New Hanover County, Franklin Township and the nearest post office is Harrell“s Store. They lived in the last area to be annexed to Sampson.

By 1880, Jesse has clearly died, but we find Miriam age 88 living with Jesse W and wife Louisa. They live in Harrell“s Store, Sampson County. One other member of the household is David Bland, described as a nephew of Jesse Wingate Lee.

Jessie Wingate Lee is buried near Harrell“s as is his brother Milton. Both are sons of Jesse Lee and brothers of Margaret E Lee. Jesse Wingate Lee married Louisa H Johnson, probably tied in somehow to Emma“s family though not a member of her immediate family. Robert“s half uncle (same father, 2nd wife) Allen had a daughter Louisa of about the right age.

Sampson County tax records add a little bit of information about these people. The earliest available was 1877.

–In Franklin Township in 1877 and 1879, we find Mariam Lee being taxed on 415 acres. J Wingate and Milton Lee are also listed but have no land. Then in 1882, Mariam disappears and J Wingate has 207 acres and Milton 208. Clearly Mariam has died and her land has been divided between her two sons.
–Margaret E Johnson also is taxed on 33 acres of land in Franklin Township in 1877. This must be some land she inherited from her father. She also is taxed on 1410 acres in Taylor“s Bridge — this was Robert Johnson’s land, some or all of which he inherited from his father Nathan. Her son-in-law FW Herring is taxed on 176 acres. Then in 1879, Margaret’s land holdings drop to 820 acres and FW Herring“s rise to 424. She seems to have disposed of some of her land to some of her children.

But my information on the Lee family exploded because I decided to go to Duplin County — not with the idea that I would learn about the Lees, but because I had recently learned about Nehemiah and Joseph Scott (Dicey Scott“s father and grandfather) of Duplin County and I thought I might learn more about them (which didn“t happen!). I had also only recently found that 1880 Census listing for Mariam, who was living with her son Jesse Wingate Lee and (his) nephew David Bland. The Duplin genealogical library is the personal venture of William Dallas Herring, a very distant cousin. As he was showing me around, I spotted a book whose title indicated it featured the Bland and Lee families. So the first thing I did after my library tour was grab that book and what a wonderful surprise I got.

It gave the full ancestry of Jesse Lee back to his English forbears and made the connection between Jesse“s branch of the Lee family and the Robert E Lee branch. I am not yet convinced that I am ready to accept everything in the book, but the part about Jesse Lee“s immediate ancestry sure checks out.

The book contained letters from the files of Mrs. Julian C Lane of Georgia. Mrs. Lane was compiling a Lee family history and wrote a letter to the Wilmington Star in 1917 asking for information. The first letter below is one she already had in her files and it was actually published in the newspaper with her letter requesting additional information. And the second letter is one she got in response to her request.

LETTER PUBLISHED IN WILMINGTON NEWSPAPER
Whiteville, NC., Sept. 16, 1871

Dear Brothers and Sisters, all that are living in the state of Georgia:

I extend my affectionate respects to you all. I am writing to you a letter together, to inform you that I am yet living and am in tolerable good health, considering my age, and Margaret, my old woman, is yet living, but she is nearly all the time in feeble health. My family is all married and left me but Joshua. Margaret, Joshua and myself all live together. My daughter May was the first to marry. She died in the time of the war and left ten children, and one of her daughters has married lately. My son Jacob was the next one that married and he also died in time of the war at Camp Wiat (Wyatt), just below Wilmington, and he left four children and Martha. Ann and Harmon are married, and live within three miles from me. Joshua is still single. He, my wife and myself all live together, as I above stated. We have tolerable good land and good stock and we make our support. My children that I have stated are married are doing tolerable well. My Daughter-in-law that lost her husband has not married again since, she too is doing very well. I have not the record of my age, but I think that l am in my 84th or 85th year, and my old woman is a few months older than I am. I live at the same place that I moved to when I left New Hanover County. I have not heard from any of my people in New Hanover County since the war until two months ago. Wrote brother Jesse Lee and his son together and I received an answer from Jesse Wingate Lee about a month ago. He stated in his letter that brother Jesse had been dead since last October and that sister Ann and sister Sally were both dead, and also several of the family connection had died since I heard from them last. And I wrote again to Jesse Wingate Lee to write to me whether he had heard from any of my family connection, that live in Georgia, or not: and I received an answer from him four or five days ago, saying that he had heard from the family in Georgia, and he stated in his letter that the brothers and sisters of you all were dead but brother Josiah and brother Benjamin R. Lee, and sister Dorcas McGee, and that was about all he stated in his letter about any of you in Georgia and that is about all I have heard from any of you in Georgia in ten or twelve or fifteen years, and dear brothers and sisters, as soon as you receive this letter I want you to write me correctly how many of you brothers and sisters are living, and which of them are dead. Write me how long they have been dead, also write how all the family connection is and doing in general. I would be glad to see you all again, but I am satisfied that we shall never see each other again in this world, but I want to hear from you all once more correctly. It will be a great satisfaction to me and all of my family. Joshua speaks of going to Georgia this winter to see all of our family connection, but it is uncertain whether he will go or not. Times are hard here and money is very scarce. We work tar, timber and turpentine here to get what money we use. There is some cotton made in this county for market but not a great deal. The people are just getting at it since the War. Turpentine and tar timber is getting scarce in this county. Almost everything you have to buy here from Wilmington and other places is high. Our taxes are high and there is a great deal of idleness among the colored freedman and considerable trouble with them in the law. And you know we have them against us and to contend with the ballot boax and, and taking all things in consideration, our country is in unthrifty and uncertain condition. I have nothing more at present of importance to write to you, only I remain your living brother until death.
From
Thomas Lee

Kerr, NC June 17, 1918

Mrs. Julian C. Lane:

Please pardon me for my long delay but, really I have learned so little to write you. Jesse Lee“s father“s name was Josiah Lee, married Annie Rogers in NC. He was a farmer. Jesse married Mariam Highsmith in NC. He made hats for a living. Here is a list of Jesse Lee“s and Mariam Lee“s children“s births.

As you see Jesse Wingate was the youngest. His mother was fifty years old at his birth. The most of these children died in infancy.

AnnieFeb. 2, 1818SusanSept.15 1819
DorcasFeb. 13, 1821Mary J.Jan. 9, 1821
MiltonMch. 29, 1824JacobDec. 19, 1825
WilliamJuly 12, 1827DavidJune 12, 1829
GeorgeNov. 19, 1830MariamOct. 19, 1832
MargaretSep. 3, 1836Jesse W. July 20, 1842

Jesse, the father of these children died Oct. 12, 1870. Mariam, the mother died in 1881. There is nothing more than this in the family Bible.

Jesse Wingate married Louisa Johnson. Milton married Susan Johnson. They are sisters (my father“s first cousins). Mariam married a Vann, two children survive her. Margaret married a Johnson, she has living children.

Mary J married a Bland. She has living children. If any of the others were married, I do not know who they married.

Mr. R C Bland, Kerr, NC could give you some information perhaps more than I can learn from Mrs. Lee. She does not know where Josiah Lee served in the Revolutionary War or not.

I would be delighted to tell you more if I knew what to tell. You see there is no record and this is from memory. See there is three generations involved here. Josiah Lee, Jesse Lee, his son and Jesse Wingate, son of Jesse.

Annie married John Johnson. After his death she married George Johnson. They were not brothers.

Sallie married William Fryar. Annie and Sallie had no children. Mrs. Jesse Wingate Lee says there was a boy named Rogers. She says he was unfortunate in his marriage. I do not know who he married. Hope this will aid you some in your record.

Respectfully,Mrs. W.J. Ennis

Well that really is exciting information and the first letter makes for fascinating reading. I believe that the two letters constitute strong proof of Jesse“s parents and of Mariam“s maiden name.

I have found the name Jesse Lee, referred to as son, in at least four different wills of early Sampson and New Hanover counties. There never was any way to know which referred to your Jesse Lee, so therefore I could not determine the name of his father. But the names as given in the first letter are consistent with the will I already had found of Josiah Lee.
Jesse Lee was born about 1784 somewhere in Harrell“s Store area (though it is not clear if his father“s home was in Duplin, New Hanover or Sampson County at the time) and died 12 Oct 1870 in the same locale. He married Mariam Highsmith in about 1817. If you believe everything you find in genealogy books (the one I cite is credible, though not guaranteed), Jesse is a 5th cousin 2 times removed from General Robert E Lee.

SOURCE: 1850 Census for NHC assuming Margaret is 14. He is 66.

RELOCATED: Jesse Lee is taxed on 305 acres in Upper Black River area of NHC on 1845 tax list. 1 free poll, 1 black poll, land value $350, total tax 2.37. He was not listed on the 1815 tax rolls, but in the Upper Black River area were: William Lee 300 acres; James Lee 600 acres; Solomon Lee 300 acres.

Describing the Highsmith family history is quite a challenge. I am going to do it by assigning a generation number to each one in turn. Mariam, wife of Jesse Lee, will be considered generation one and her parents generation two and so forth. Mariam was the daughter of William and Dorcas.

Mariam Dorcas Highsmith, wife of Jesse Lee, was born about 1796 and died in about 1881. Jesse was in fact her 2nd cousin and Mariam’s parents were first cousins to each other and to Jesse’s mother. The result of all of this inter-marriage makes for an interesting curiosity as to the g-g-g-g-g-grandparents of the Lawther cousins of Wilmington. Whereas a typical person has 6 unique sets of such ancestors, you only have 4 such sets. Daniel Highsmith and Ann Beck are your 6-g-grandparents in 3 different ways.

MARRIAGE: 1850 Census NHC.

BIRTH: 1850 Census, age 58.