The Lee's of Beat Four Wayne County, Mississippi
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The Lee’s of Beat Four Wayne County, Mississippi By Lennard (Larry) Woodrow Lee, Jr., PhD Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Generation 1: John Lee of England .............................................................................................................. 5 Generation 2: Joshua Lee ............................................................................................................................. 8 Jesse Woodard Lee, Senior ......................................................................................................... 9 Generation 3: Zachariah T. Lee .................................................................................................................. 12 Generation 4: Samuel Jefferson Lee, Senior .............................................................................................. 13 Generation 5: Robeson Earl Lee ................................................................................................................. 33 Generation 6: Phillip Anaphur “Napper” Lee ............................................................................................. 57 Generation 7: Gerod Clifton Lee, Senior .................................................................................................... 67 Grandpa Gerod Lee’s correct Birth Date ................................................................................... 74 Double kin to the Overstreets ..................................................................................................................... 79 The Lee-Farmer-Braswell Connection ......................................................................................................... 80 The Lee Family from 1694-1863 ................................................................................................................. 83 Summaries .................................................................................................................................................. 86 2 Introduction Sometime before 2007, my second cousin once removed, Luther William Lee, took a DNA test sponsored by the Henry Lee Society.1 Luther’s test proved that he belonged in the John Lee family group.2 In the summer of 2007, I also took a DNA test sponsored by the Henry Lee Society that, as expected, linked me to the John Lee family group too. The Lees of Wayne County, Mississippi are descendants of this John Lee. Larry and Luther Lee (left to right) Lee’s Chapel Freewill Baptist Church Wayne County, Mississippi May 2007 The research of the Henry Lee Society has found that the John Lee of Nansemond County family group appears to be one of the largest Lee-surname clans in the USA in modern times. I am now an active member of the Henry Lee Society myself as of November 2013. With those two DNA tests, my Lee family lineage was found; with no doubt. These two DNA tests were taken in different years, analyzed by different laboratories, yet they yielded SAME results for Luther and me. I am very aware that many of my kin folks are likely to dispute and reject the lineage that have recorded in this document, mostly because for many generations incorrect information has been passed down to them, and they sincerely believe what they have been told all their lives. I myself would have rejected this information in the 1980s; however, the odds of two DNA tests being wrong are inconceivably small. There is also overwhelming research evidence that I have found that was done by the many researchers of our family line literally from all over the nation that verifies the John Lee lineage for my family. 1 Luther’s great grandfather Robeson “Robert” Earl Lee is my 2nd great grandfather. Luther and my Dad are 2nd cousins. 2 John Lee was known both as “John Lee of England” and/or “John Lee of Nansemond County, Virginia.” 3 Most of the following information is from my 3rd cousin Charles Lewis. Charles is from Davenport, Iowa. Charles has documented our family to a great extent, and he gave me oral permission to use any or all of the information he posted on his Internet sites. Charles’ Internet sites have been temporality shut down due to a server problem. He hopes to get them back up soon; and when he does, I’ll provide some links to his tremendous work. A lot of information also came from Dr. Ed Smith, my 3rd cousin from Knoxville, Tennessee. Both Charles and Ed got a good deal of information from their grandmother, Tommie Lenora (Campbell) Lewis. Tommie is also my 1st cousin two times removed. Also another huge contributor was Cousin Luther Lee. Robeson Earl Lee and Catherine West are Tommie’s Grandparents; they are Luther’s Great grandparents; and they are the 2nd Great grandparents of Charles, Ed and I. None of us knew Robeson and Catherine Lee; however Tommie, Luther and I knew people that did. Probably the same can be said of Charles and Ed. So all of the family history in this document before my own memory of my Grandfather Gerod Clifton Lee, Senior is from very old family stories. As you read these stories, remember that they are from 100 to over 200-years old. As stories get passed down orally from one generation to the next, facts often get confused. Eventually different stories can emerge about the same event with no one knowing exactly what really happened. I found very different stories about the same event; perhaps one is true but they are all very entertaining. Besides family, I obtained information from a number of sources. Sometimes sources guess at some particular date, such as a birth date or death date because no documented data exist for the dates in question. Thus you find one source with data that appears credible but is totally different than another source that also appears credible. This is true for not only our Lee family, but every family I’ve investigated. For old family data, there are some uncertainties. Often you cannot find maiden names. You may find the first name and married name on an old document, like a Will or a land transaction, and thus, that’s all we know years later. Sometimes the marriage year is guessed from census data and/or other documentation. Census data are sometimes wrong; I found different birth years for the same person recorded in different censuses. Some data are obtained from old Family Bibles. However, a member of a family may have data in their Bible that differs from data in their siblings’ Bibles, for example. In the absence of old public records, one cannot be sure of whose data are correct. There might not be any documentation correct; sometimes guesses have to be made. I did my best to be accurate, and this document is as accurate that it can be with the information that I presently have. This document is a short summary of my Lee family up to my Grandfather Gerod Lee, Senior. Along with this brief document, I give a very detailed family history on the Internet. The main internet document is currently over 500-pages long and is full of extraneous details and opinions of mine which most probably do not care to read. I had to divide the main document into four parts so that I could upload it to my Internet site. In the larger document, I also tried to frame our ancestors’ lifetimes into the history of their time which invoked a lot of conjecture on my part; but it was all fun. If you are just interested in just the Lee lineage, this is the document for you. If you want to see more about the extended families, the larger documents may be of interest. If you find errors or know MORE info that can be added, let me know. You’ll find my contact information on the Web site that hosts my family documents; www.lennardlee.com. I loved writing this document and I hope it will be enlightening, entertaining, and give some thoughts to ponder upon; enjoy. I hope our Lee family history will be preserved. 4 Generation 1: John Lee of England 1670~1738 John Lee, my 6th Great grandfather, was born about 1670 in Leicester, England. In about 1694, John Lee migrated from England aboard the ship Bonaventure. John Lee was very wealthy. John paid the passage for 20 people, including him, on the Bonaventure which would indicate immense wealth. John Lee was given 960 acres in the upper part of Nansemond County, Virginia as a land grant by the King of England. John Lee was a member of the Planter Class of early immigrants. In the early South, the men were considered to be in one of three primary social classes; the Planter Class, the plain folk and the hill people. (Women were considered below these three classes.) Members of the Planter class were the wealthier and included property owners, landlords, creditors, and marketers. They often embellished old European ways such as chivalry, education, leisure, elegance and social grace.3 Much of what is known about John Lee is by early Virginia land transactions. In about 1694, John married a woman named Mary. Mary is my 6th Great grandmother. Mary was born ~1675. We don’t know Mary’s maiden name. Old land transactions show that John Lee and wife Mary Lee were involved; that’s how we know her first name. There was a Mary Emerson that was one of the 20 passengers that John paid passage for on the ship Bonaventure. Would she have become John’s wife? John’s marriage to Mary is thought to have occurred very close upon their arrival in Virginia. John and Mary had at least seven children. John Lee was a very successful man. The evidence of such lies in the