Gideon Lee II (April 27, 1778August 21, 1841) was an American politician who was the 60th

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

from 1833 to 1834, and

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from New York for one term from 1835 to 1837.

Early life

Lee was born in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

, on April 27, 1778, and attended the common schools there. He was a son of Gideon Lee (1747–1811) and Lucy ( Ward) Lee (1746–1817). The first known member of the Lee family was John "Leigh" of an ancient and honorable family of Burton street, London, England. He was born about the year 1600, came to

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, and settled at Agawam (now

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...

, in 1635. In 1677 his sons agreed to change the spelling of the family name from "Leigh" to "Lee." Gideon belonged to the sixth generation of this family.

Career

He became a

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

in Worthington, Massachusetts. He moved first to New York City and then to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, where he was in the mercantile business, of the old firm of "Gideon Lee, Shepard Knapp and Charles M. Leupp." He returned to New York in 1807 and engaged in the leather business. He served as member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

in 1823, and as alderman from 1828 to 1830. He was

Mayor of New York In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

from 1833 to 1834, but declined to be a candidate for reelection. Lee was elected as a Jacksonian to the

24th United States Congress The 24th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 183 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Campbell P. White and served from November 4, 1835, to March 3, 1837. He then retired and moved to Seneca Lake in

Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...

. He was a

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

on the Whig ticket in

1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janu ...

, voting for

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

and

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

Personal life

On April 28, 1823, Lee was married to Isabella Williamson (1800–1870), who was the daughter of the Rev. David Williamson, a minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * Gideon Lee III (1824–1894), who married Floride Elizabeth Clemson, a daughter of

Thomas Green Clemson Thomas Green Clemson (July 1, 1807April 6, 1888) was an American politician and statesman, serving as Chargés d'Affaires to Belgium, and United States Superintendent of Agriculture. He served in the Confederate Army and founded Clemson Univers ...

and

Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson (February 13, 1817 September 22, 1875) was the daughter of John C. Calhoun and Floride Calhoun (née Colhoun), and the wife of Thomas Green Clemson, the founder of Clemson University. Early life Calhoun was born ...

(a daughter of U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun). After her death, he married Ella Frances Lorton (1844–1921), a daughter of John S. Lorton. Lee died on August 21, 1841, in Geneva, New York. He was buried at the Washington Street Cemetery in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Gideon Mayors of New York City 1778 births 1841 deaths Members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Amherst, Massachusetts Politicians from Geneva, New York 1840 United States presidential electors Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century mayors of places in New York (state) New York (state) Whigs American shoemakers 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives