Laetitia "Lettice" Lee, also known as Lettice Lee Wardrop Thompson Sim, (1731 – April 3, 1776) was an American colonial planter, society hostess, slaveowner, and

châtelain Châtelain was originally the French title for the keeper of a castle.Abraham Rees Ebers, "CASTELLAIN", in: The Cyclopædia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1819), vol. 6. H ...

e of

Darnall's Chance Darnall's Chance, also known as Buck House, Buck-Wardrop House, or James Wardrop House, is a historic home located at 14800 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, in Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Colon ...

. A member of the prominent

Lee family of Virginia and Maryland Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

, she lived a privileged life typical for members of the

planter class The planter class was a Racial hierarchy, racial and socioeconomic class which emerged in the Americas during European colonization of the Americas, European colonization in the early modern period. Members of the class, most of whom were settle ...

. Unusual for her time, Lee was married three times; first to James Wardrop, then Adam Thompson, and lastly to Colonel Joseph Sim. She lived at Darnall's Chance for the second half of her life, throughout all three of her marriages.

Biography

Lee was born in

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

in 1731. She was the daughter of Philip Lee Sr., the progenitor of the Maryland branch 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 ...

, and Elizabeth, widow of Henry Sewell. A member of 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 was a granddaughter of Colonel Richard Lee II, a Virginian planter and politician, and his wife, Laetitia Corbin Lee, and a great-granddaughter of

Richard Lee I Richard Lee I ( – 1 March 1664) was an English-born merchant, planter and politician who was the first member of the Lee family to live in America. Poor when he arrived in the colony of Virginia in 1639, Lee may have been both the colony's w ...

, who immigrated to the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

from

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England, and

Henry Corbin Henry Corbin (14 April 1903 – 7 October 1978) was a French philosopher, theologian, and Iranologist, professor of Islamic studies at the École pratique des hautes études. He was influential in extending the modern study of traditional Islami ...

, one of the most influential politicians in the colony. In 1748 she married James Wardrop, a Scottish immigrant who made a fortune as a merchant in

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population within the town limits was 652, although Greater Upper ...

. She and her husband owned and managed

, a large plantation in Upper Marlboro. The plantation included a large brick house, outbuildings, orchards, an ornamental garden, and a farm for livestock. They enslaved thirty-two people on their plantation, including

house slaves A house slave was a slave who worked, and often lived, in the house of the slave-owner, performing domestic labor. House slaves performed essentially the same duties as all domestic workers throughout history, such as cooking, cleaning, serving m ...

, craftsmen, and field hands. Lee lived at Darnall's Chance for almost thirty years. She was described by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

as "this fair lady". Following her husband's death in 1760, Lee married a second time to Dr. Adam Thompson, a Scottish physician who created the American Method of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

inoculation. After the death of her second husband, she married a third time to Colonel Joseph Sim. Lee died on April 3, 1776. She left the plantation to her children. In June 2004, Lee's remains were reinterred in the restored family vault, along with eight other members of the family, at Darnall's Chance. Her grave had been discovered on the grounds of the plantation seventeen years prior.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Lettice 1731 births 1776 deaths 18th-century American planters American socialites American slave owners 18th-century American women landowners Lettice People from colonial Maryland Women slave owners