Francis Lightfoot Lee

Portrait of a man with a thoughtful expression, resting his chin on his hand, wearing period clothing.

BORN - October 14, 1734, and grew up at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County, VA. Parents (English ancestry) - Thomas Lee (b1690-d1750) and Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee (b1701-d1750). Children – Philip Ludwell Lee, Sr. (b1726–d1775), who inherited Stratford Hall, Hannah Ludwell Lee (b1728-d1782), John Lee (b1728-d1729, as infant), Lucinda Lee (b1730-d1750), Richard Henry Lee (b1732-d1790), Thomas Ludwell Lee, Sr. (b1730-d1778), Eleanor Lee (b1730-___), Francis (Frank) Lightfoot Lee (b1734–d1797), Alice Lee (b1736-d1817), Lucy Lee (b1737-___), William Lee (b1738–d1808), James Lee (b1739-d1739, as infant), Arthur Lee (b1740–d1792). It is believed that the name “Lightfoot” came from Francis Lightfoot, who was the best man at his father and mother’s wedding.

DIED - January 11, 1797 (age 62), at his home, Menokin, near Warsaw, VA. Religion – Anglican / Episcoplian. Buried – Originally buried in a local parish graveyard and later reburied at the Tayloe family cemetery at Mount Airy Plantation, near Warsaw, VA.

APPEARANCE – The picture above was painted during Victorian era (1837-1901) by an unknown painter based on a painting and etching of him that have been destroyed. Quiet philosopher, well-read, man “of gentle reasoning and quiet persuasion.” Never spoke on the floor of Congress.

FAMILY – Married - Rebecca Plater Tayloe (b1752-d1797) in 1769. After 28 years of marriage, they both died 10 days apart in 1797. No Children – They helped raise Portia Lee and Cornelia Lee, who were the daughters of his brother, William Lee.

OCCUPATION – PLANTER, LEGISLATOR. Home schooled and tutored. Avid reader. Inherited and moved to Plantation called Cotton in Loudon County, VA and then to Menokin near Warsaw, VA. Member of the Continental Congress representing Virginia from 1774 to 1779.

AT SIGNING – Age 41 at signing. Francis Lightfoot and Richard Henry Lee were the only brothers to be signers of the Declaration.

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until 1779. Worked hard to supply the Continental Army.

HISTORIC SITES

Menokin - Menokin Plantation, Warsaw, VA (1769). Located at 4037 Menokin Road, Warsaw, VA 22572, on Cat Point Creek (Menokin Bay), five miles north of the Rappahannock River. Phone 804-333-1776, Website www.menokin@menokin.org. Home of Francis Lightfoot as an adult and place where he died.

Stratford - Stratford Hall Plantation, Stratford, VA (1730s). Located at 483 Great House Road, Stratford, VA 22558, Phone 804-493-8038, Website www.stratfordhall.org. Birthplace and boyhood home of Francis Lightfoot Lee and his brother and fellow Signer, Richard Henry Lee.

Gravesite – Mount Airy Plantation (1758), in Richmond County, near Warsaw, VA, Phone 804-333-4930, Website www. mountairyplantation.com. Privately owned. Open to the public by appointment.

Church – St. John’s Episcopal Church (1732 / 1835). Located at 5987 Richmond Road, Warsaw, VA 22572, Phone 804-333-4333, Website www.episcopalchurch.org.

Restoration of a historic brick building with two brick chimneys under a modern white-roofed shelter in a park.

Home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, Menokin Plantation, Warsaw, VA (1769).

Located at 4037 Menokin Road, Warsaw, VA 22572, on Cat Point Creek (Menokin Bay), five miles north of the Rappahannock River, Phone 804-333-1776, Website www.menokin@menokin.org.

The Menokin house and plantation were a wedding gift of John Tayloe II to his daughter and new husband, Francis Lightfoot Lee. The name “Menokin” comes from the Rappahannock Indians who lived in the area and translates from their Algonquian-based language, to "He gives it to me". A shelter was built over the remains of the house to help preserve it from further deterioration. The current preservation concept is to replace the missing pieces of the house with architectural glass. The dark stones are locally quarried iron infused sandstone which turn to rust color when quarried.