Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee (December 5, 1701 – January 25, 1750) was an American colonial heiress and the wife of Colonel Thomas Lee. A granddaughter of

Philip Ludwell Philip Cottington Ludwell ( 1638 – 1723) was an English-born planter and politician in colonial Virginia who sat on the Virginia Governor's Council, the first of three generations of men with the same name to do so, and briefly served as s ...

and Benjamin Harrison II, she was a prominent figure within the

American gentry The American gentry were rich landowning members of the American upper class in the colonial Southern United States. The Colonial American use of ''gentry'' was not common. Historians use it to refer to rich landowners in the South before ...

. She grew up at

Green Spring Plantation Green Spring Plantation in James City County about west of Williamsburg, was the 17th century plantation of one of the most unpopular governors of Colonial Virginia in North America, Sir William Berkeley, and his wife, Frances Culpeper B ...

, her family's home in James City County. Upon her marriage, she became a member of the

Lee family The Lee family of the United States is a historically significant Virginia and Maryland political family, whose many prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics and the military. The family became prominent in colonial Bri ...

, bringing a large dowry and social prestige to the family. With her dowry, she and her husband built Stratford Hall, the

family seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...

of the Lees.

Early life and family

Lee was born Hannah Harrison Ludwell on December 5, 1701, at

to Hannah Harrison Ludwell and Philip Cottington Ludwell II. She was their second daughter. Her father served as a member of the

Virginia Governor's Council The Governor's Council, also known as the Privy Council and Council of State, was the upper house of the legislature of the Colony of Virginia (the House of Burgesses being the other house). It also served as an advisory body to the List of colon ...

and was an auditor of the king's revenue. Her paternal grandfather,

, was the first Governor of the

Province of Carolina The Province of Carolina was a colony of the Kingdom of England (1663–1707) and later the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until the Carolinas were partitioned into North and Sou ...

and served as Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Through her mother, Ludwell was a descendant of the

Harrison family of Virginia The Harrison family of Virginia has a history in American political family, politics, public service, and religious ministry, beginning in the Colony of Virginia during the 1600s. Family members include a Founding Fathers of the United States, F ...

. Her maternal grandfather, Benjamin Harrison II, served as a sheriff, a member of the

Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

, and as a member of the Governor's Council. She was a niece of Benjamin Harrison III. Lee's brother, Philip Ludwell III, was the earliest-known

Eastern Orthodox Christian Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

in North America after his conversion to

Russian Orthodoxy The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus ...

in 1738.

Marriage and children

In May 1722 she married Thomas Lee at her family's plantation. She brought a large dowry, as well as social and political prestige, to the marriage, therefore increasing her husband's wealth and status in the colony. She and her husband had eleven children: * Richard Lee (b. 1723) * Philip Ludwell Lee (February 24, 1726 – February 21, 1775) * John Lee (b. 1728 d. 1782) * Hannah Ludwell Lee (February 1729 – 1782) *

Thomas Ludwell Lee Thomas Ludwell Lee, Sr. (December 13, 1730 – April 13, 1778) was a Virginia planter and politician who served in the House of Burgesses and later the Virginia Senate, and may be best known as one of the editors of the Virginia Declaration of ...

(December 13, 1730 – April 13, 1778); a member of the Virginia Delegates and editor of the

Virginia Declaration of Rights The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to reform or abolish "inadequate" government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaratio ...

. *

Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence fr ...

(January 20, 1732 – January 19, 1794); sponsor of the

Lee Resolution The Lee Resolution, also known as "The Resolution for Independence", was the formal assertion passed by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, resolving that the Thirteen Colonies (then referred to as the United Colonies) were "free a ...

, signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

Alexander, ''Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History'' (1912) pp. 86, 103 * Francis Lightfoot Lee (October 14, 1734 – January 11, 1797); signer of the

. Married Rebecca Tayloe, daughter of John Tayloe II of Mount Airy. Tayloe built Menokin for his daughter and her new husband. * Alice Lee (June 4, 1736 – March 25, 1817) * William Lee (August 31, 1737 – June 27, 1795) * James Lee (b. and d. 1739) * Arthur Lee (December 21, 1740 – December 12, 1792) The family lived on a plantation in Machodoc until it was destroyed by a fire in 1728. Lee, who was pregnant with her fourth child, was thrown from her room on the second floor in order to escape the flames, resulting in the miscarriage of a son. The family reportedly lost no less than 50,000 pounds due to the fire. The British government later gave her husband 300 pounds as compensation, and Queen Caroline gave them money to finance rebuilding the plantation. While their home was being rebuilt, the family stayed at Lee Hall Mansion, the home of Lee's brother-in-law. The family later lived at Stratford Hall in

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...

. Lee's husband built Stratford with money from her dowry. She played a significant role in the design and construction of the house. Lee's husband served as a

vestryman A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body.Anstice, Henry (1914). ''What Every Warden and Vestryman Should Know.'' Church literature press He is not a member of the clergy.Potter, Henry Codman (1890). ''The Offices of W ...

, a justice of the peace, as a member of the House of Burgesses, and as a member of the Governor's Council. He served as ''de facto'' governor of the colony in 1749, when he was named President of the King's Council of Virginia after Governor William Gooch was recalled to England. He was nominated for an appointment as governor by George II, but died before the appointment took place.

Death and burial

She died on January 25, 1750, at Stratford Hall. She was buried in the Burnt House Fields Cemetery at Mount Pleasant in January 1751. Her grave was later moved to Stratford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwell Lee, Hannah Harrison 1701 births 1750 deaths 18th-century American women Hannah Hannah Hannah People from James City County, Virginia Spouses of British politicians People from colonial Virginia