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Meet the People
: People of Williamsburg
: Richard Henry Lee
- Born January 20, 1732, at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County, Virginia
- Parents: Thomas and Hannah Ludwell Lee
- Tutored by private tutors at home as boy
- Sent to England to complete studies at Wakefield Academy
- Returned to Virginia to study law
- Became a Virginia planter
- Held public office:
- Justice of the Peace, Westmoreland County, 1757
- Delegate, Virginia House of Burgesses, 1758 – 1775
- Delegate, Continental Congress, 1775 – 1779
- Signer, Declaration of Independence,1776
- Member, Virginia House of Delegates, 1777, 1780, 1785
- Delegate, Virginia Constitutional Ratification Convention, 1788
- United States Senator, 1789 – 1792
- Resided in Chantilly, Virginia
- Ann Aglett – first wife
- Anne Pinnckard – second wife
- Died June 19, 1794, in Chantilly, Virginia
Aligned with Patrick Henry
Richard Henry Lee was a staunch defender of colonial rights and was aligned
with Patrick Henry as a strong opponent of the Stamp Act.
In late 1765, Lee reportedly led a "mob of gentlemen" to confront
an official stamp collector and force him to promise never again to perform
his duty as a stamp collector. Later, in February 1766, Lee gathered the citizens
of his own county together into an "association" to agree to stop
importing British goods until the Stamp Act was repealed.
Organizer and supporter of "Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer"
Lee, along with Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and a few other burgesses,
wrote the 1774 resolution to make June 1, the day when the port of Boston was
closed, a day of "Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer" in support of
the citizens of Boston. As a result of this resolution, Lord Dunmore dissolved
the assembly, and a number of the burgesses met at the Raleigh Tavern to continue
their discussions.
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Historic Triangle