Lee Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Lee/Leigh/Lea/Legh Surname Name Meaning, Origin, History, & Etymology
This is a topographic surname “at the lea”, denoting a person who lived at or near a grassy plain, glade, meadow, or open place in the woods or forest, deriving from the Old and Middle English words ley, lea, legh, or lay. Numerous towns, villages, and parishes throughtout Britain bears this name (ex. Lees, Lea, Leight, and Leece), and hence the name may be a locational one, denoting a person who came from such a place. There are places called Lee in Kent, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, and Shropshire, and there are places called Lea in Wiltshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, and Herefordshire. It is also, in some cases, an Anglicized version of the Irish surname Ó Laoidhigh, meaning the descendant of Laoidheach, a personal (first) name deriving from the word laoidh, meaning “poem or song”. It can also be an Americanized spelling of various foreign names such as Li (Chinese), Li (Korean), Yi (Korean), or Lie/Li (Norwegian). Another possibility is that it derives from the word lee, or the Wlesh word lli, meaning a river or stream, and hence again would be a topographic name.

One source asserts the surname was originally Norman, and arrived into England after the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD, becoming established in Cheshire, at High Leigh. The family of Legh of East Hall in the aforementioned location descendaded from Edward de Lega, a Saxon living in the eleventh century.  The family of Leigh of West Hall, descended from a man named De Lynne who married a Legh heiress in the 1200s AD. The family of Leigh of Adlestrop (Baron Leigh) in Gloucester descended from Agnes, daughter of Richard de Legh. Hugh de Lea owned a manor in the 1100s AD and he was the progenitor of the Leas of Langley and Lea Hall. In Ireland, the name was originally located in Connacht and the family was related to the O’Flahertys. In the 1500s AD, branches were lcated in Galway, in Leix, and in Munster at Cork and Limeric. In Gaelic, the name was spelled O’Laighhigh.

Spelling Variations
Common spelling variants or names with similar etymologies include Lees, Lea, Leas, Leese, Leece, Leigh, Legh, Leghe, Ley, Leyie, Ligh, and Lighe.

Popularity & Geographic Distribution
The last name Lee ranks 22^nd in popularity in the United Status as of the 2000 Census. The name ranks particularly high in the following five states: Hawaii, California, New York, New Jersey, and Washington.

The surname Isaac frequency/commonness ranks as follows in the British Isles: England (20^th), Scotland (80^th), Wales (34^th), Ireland (169^th) and Northern Ireland (197^th).  In England, it ranks highest in Devon. In Scotland, the Lee surname rankest highest in Clackmannanshire. In Wales, it ranks highest in Denbighshire. In Ireland, it ranks highest in Cavan. In Northern Ireland, it ranks highest in county Fermanagh.

The name is also present throughout the remainder English speaking world:  Canada (5^th), New Zealand (15^th), Australia (7^th), and South Africa (239^th).

The 1890 book Homes of Family Names by H.B. Guppy, states the following in regard to this surname: “Taking the two names collectively we observe that they are distributed over the greater part of England, though they are infrequent in the south-eastern counties south of the Wash, and are rare or absent in the counties on the south coast, excluding Devon. They are most numerous in the contiguous counties of Shropshire and Cheshire. When we come to consider their separate distribution we find that Lee is the most widely dispersed and by far the most common of the two names. Lea is confined to a limited and well-defined area, having its home in Cheshire, Shropshire, and Warwickshire, and spreading only to the counties immediately adjacent. On the other hand, Lee is found over the larger part of England, possessing independent centres in the counties of Northumberland and Durham in the north, in Notts and the adjacent counties in the midlands, in Shropshire on the Welsh border, and in Devonshire in the southwest of England. Probably in counties such as Cheshire, where Leigh is a frequent place-name, as well as a surname, it has often been confounded with Lea and Lee. Lees is a midland name, especially numerous in Staffordshire”.

Early Bearers of the Surname
The earliest known bearer of this surname was Ailric de la Leie who was documented in the Charters of Northamptonshire in 1148 AD. Turqod de la Lea was documented in the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire in 1193 AD. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 AD, a census of Wales and England, known in Latin as Rotuli Hundredorum lists two bearers of this surname:  Henry de la Lee (Cambridgeshire) and Richard de la Lee (Wiltshire). John de la Lee was documented in the Placitorum in Dom. Cap. Westminster. Roger de la Lee was recorded in the Calendarium Inquistionum Post Mortem. The Poll Tax of Yorkshire in 1379 AD lists one bearer of this last name:  Johannes del Lee.  An early marriage involving this surname was John Lee to Agnes Masset in London in 1550. An early baptism involving this name was Anne, daughter of Henry Lee, at St. James Clerkenwell, London in 1565 AD.

George Fraser Black’s 1946 book The Surnames of Scotland, states the following in regard to this last name: “Alan de Leia witnessed a charter by Eschina uxor Walteri 1177 AD, and a later Alan de Leya witnessed a charter by Alexander, son of Walter, senescallus, 1246. Phelippe de la Leye rendered homage, 1296. Robertus de Lee, 1436. John Lie in Snook-miln, 1718”.

Lee Family Tree & Lee Genealogy

Lee of Barna
Burke states this family is “the first of the family to whom we can trace with certainty”. Henry Lee, of Craig Castle, Tipperary, according to family tradition, is likely to have been the grandson of Cromwell Lee (brother of Sir Henry Lee and Sir Anthony Lee of Quarendon), and he married Mary, daughter of Sir John Harcourt. He died in 1681 and he left children who settled in Ireland. In 1678, he purchased the lands of Barna, Barony of Owny and Arra in county Tipperary. His son and heir was Henry Lee, Esq. of Barna, who was partially disinherited by his father in consequence of his marriage to Mary, daughter of Benjamin Lanc, with whom he had a son named Benjamin. This Benjamin Lee was Esquire of Barna in county Tipperary and left two daughters (Elizabeth, who married John Spunner, and Mary, who married James McCorrol) and one son. His name was Edward Lee, Esq. of Barna, who married Elizabeth, daughter of George Ryan, of Silver Stream. He had sons named Edward and Henry. The elder son Henry, in 1747, married Mary, daughter of Evan Phillips of Kileen, and had issue with her prior to his death in 1803. His eldest son was George Lee, who, in 1778, married Alice, daughter of John Norris of Limerick, and left at his decease the following issue: Henry (his successor), John (married Emma Bevan and later Ellen Morony), Reverend William (Rector of Motaliffe, Vicar of Emly, married Jane White and had several children with her), Richard, Edward (of Dublin, married Elizabeth, daughter of M. Ryan), and Anne (married James Thomas Dickson, Esq.). His eldest son and successor was Henry Lee, Esq. of Barna, was Justice of the Peace, Cornet 5^th Dragoons, who was born in 1779. In 1808, he married Mary, daughter of Christopher Crofts of Steam Hill, and had issue with her: Henry Albert (his heir), Charles Edward, George Augustus, Anne, AliciA Maria, Catherine Louisa, Charlotte, Emily, and Maria Louisa. His eldest son and heir Henry Albert Lee, Esq. of Barna was born in 1818 and in 1852, he married Susan Kate, daughter of John Benn, of Dromore House, near Newport, and had four issue with her: Albert Henry, William Alexander (1854), George John Francis (1856), and Henry Ewer (1858). Albert Henry Lee Esquire of Barna, county Tipperary, was born in 1853. He succeeded his father in 1861. The Lee Coat of Arms (erroneously called the Lee Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Argent, a fess between three crescents sable. Crest: On a column argent encircled with a ducal coronet or, a falcon proper standing on a bird’s leg azure erased gules.

Lee of Kingsgate House
Reverend Harry Lee, of Kingsgate House, Hants, was Justice of the Peace, B.D. of New College Oxford, Vicar of North Bradley, near Trowbridge, and in 1832, was a Prepndary of Hereford and a Fellow of Winchester College. He was born in 1795, and in 1831, he married Julisa, daughter of Gorges Lowthre of Kilrue, Meath. He is the eldest son of Reverend Harry Lee of Kingsgate House and Philippa Blackstone. He died in 1838, leaving a son named William. William was born in 1796, and in 1836, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomson Master of Chancery, of Awbry Sussex. He represents the ancient family of Lee of Coton Hall in county Salop, which was continued in direct line, from father to son, since the time of King Edward I of England, through the present time, in which the same property remained until conveyed by an heiress to the Wingfields of Tickencote, county Rutland. This family was seated at Kingsgate House, Winchester.

Vaughan-Lee of Dillington
Vaughan Hanning Vaughan-Lee was Esquire of Dillington, Somerset, and Rheola and Lanelay, county Glamorgan, was a Member of Parliament for West Somerset, as well as a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for counties Somerset and Glamorgan. He was born in 1836 and was a Captain of the 21^st Fusiliers and Major of the Glamorganshire Militia, as well as High Sheriff of Glamorganshire in 1871. In 1861, he married Clara Elizabeth, daughter of George Moore, of Appleby Hall, county Leicester, and had issue with her: Arthur Vaughan Hanning (1862), John Edwards (1863), Charles Lionel (1867), Alec George (1868), Jessy Isabel, Katherine Mary, Christine Caroline, and Alice Clara. Burke traces the lineage back to Edward Lee, Esquire of Pinhoc Devon, who had a daughter named Harriet. Harriett Lee of Orleigh Court, Devon, in 1800, married William Hanning, Esquire of Dillington, Somerset, and had three issue with her: John Lee Hanning, Georginia Elizabeth (married William Speke of Jordans), and Sophia Harriett (married John B. Fuller of Netson Park). The only son John assumed the surname of Lee by royal license 1822. He was of Dillington and Orleigh and was a Member of Parliament for Wells from 1831-1837, as well as a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff in 1845. He was born in 1802, and in 1834, he married Jessy, daughter of John Edwards Vaughan, and had a son with her: Vaughan Hanning Lee who was of Dillington, Rheola, and Lanelay. He later married Mary Sophia Hood, daughter of Samuel, 2^nd Lord Bridport, and had four issue with her: Edward Hanning (1845), William Hanning (1846), Emily Mary, and Alice Georginia (1860). He died in 1874, and was succeeded by his son Vaughan Hanning Vaughan-Lee (mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph).

Lee of Dynas Powis
Henry Herbert Lee, Esquire of Dynas Powis, county Glamorgan, was a Major in the Royal Engineers, born in 1838. In 1873, he married Constance Mary, daughter of George Lyall, of Hedley Park. Burke traces the Lee genealogy back to Henry Lee, a merchant of Hull, and was the mayor of that town. He married Catherine Freeman, great-grand-daughters of Lord Brougham, and had the following issue with her: Henry, Thomas (Captain, lost at sea in 1770 while commanding the “Aurora”), and Catherine (married Sir Arthur Clarke, Baronet of Snailwell). The elder son of this marriage, Reverend Henry Lee, was Vicar of Willoughby-with-Wolfham, county Warwick, who was born in 1727. He married Margaret, daughter of Edward Hurst of Upoton, and had two sons with her: Henry and Thomas (lost at sea in 1770). He was succeeded by his son Henry Lee, Esquire, born in 1753, a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant, who in 1779, married Sarah, daughter of Reverend Samuel Roberts of Salisbury, have four children with her: Sarah Margaretta (married Thomas Lane Thompson of Blackheath), Arthuretta Clarke, Anna Maria, and Edward Herbert. His only son, Edward Herbert Lee, was an Esquire of Dynas Powis, Justice of the Peace, and Deputy Lieutenant, who in 1810, married, Mary Anne, 2^nd daughter of Thomas Thomspon, Esquire of London, and had a son with her, named Henry. This Reverend Henry Thomas Lee, was Vicar of Helhoughton with South Raynam, and Rural Dean for 25 years. He was born in 1811 and in 1837, he married Catherine Frances, daughter of James Broadwood of Lyne House, having numerous issue with her: Henry Herbert (mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph), John Robert (Bombay infantry), Francis Ashmore, Edward Broadwood, Reverend August Charles, Mary Anne Elizabeth, Barbara Stewart, Charlotte Mary (married William Fitzgerald), Sophia (married Charles Ed Coffey, Lieutenant), and Katharine Margaret. The Lee Coat of Arms (erroneously called the Lee Family Crest), for this branch of the Lee family tree, is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Argent, on a chevron engrailed between three leopard’s heads sable a crescent. Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or, a leopard’s head sable. Motto: Fortiter sed sauviter.

Lee of Grove Hall
The Lee genealogy or lineage of this branch of the Lee family tree traces back to Thomas Lee of Leeds who was born in 1695. He married Mary Rereby of Woodhouse, with whom he had two daughters (Sarah and Hannah) and eight sons: Thomas, Timothy, James, John (Member of Parliament for Higham Ferrers, Solicitor and Attorney-General to King George III), William, John, Jonathan, Joseph. His son Thomas, also of Leeds, married Margaret Markham, and had the following issue with her: Thomas (progenitor of the Lees of Knaresborough), Robert, and Ricard. The youngest son, Richard Lee, Esquire of Leeds, married Jane, daughter of William Fenton of Carr House, and had the following issue with her: William, James (of Retford, Justice of the Peace for Nottingham, married Caroline Meyrick and Mary Vereslt), Thomas, Richard, Leonard (married Ms. Holmes), Charles (Canon of Durham in 1853, married Mary Ikin), and Margaret Jane (married Archibald Paris of Beech Hil Park, had nine issue). In 1792, the eldest son William married Sophia, daughter of Sit Thomas Wentworth Blackett, Baronet of Bretton Hall, through which he became the possessor of Grove Hall, and fathered five children with her named as follows: Wentworth, Richard Thomas (Grove Hall), Sophia (married Reverend William Verelst and later Lieutenant-Colonel Hay), Harriet Mary, Caroline, and Jane (married Captain E.B. Beaumont, 10^th Lancers, 4^th son of Colonel Beamount, Member of Parliament for Bretton Hall). His son Reverend Richard Thomas Lee was an Esquire of Grove Hall county York, as well as a Justice of the Peace for West Riding, who was born in 1808. In 1853, he married Louisa Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Pilkington of Catsfield Place, and had six children with her: William Frederick (1857), Richard Kenneth (1863), Alice Mary, Georgina Mary (married Mathew Ameott Wilson, eldest son of Mathew Wharton Wilson, grandson of Sir Mathew Wilson), Diana Louisa, and Florence Maria. He died in 1878. This branch of the family tree bore the same coat of arms as Lee of the Abbey, with the motto “Aut une aut nunquam”.  They were seated at Grove Hall, Knottingley, county York.

Lee of the Abbey
Burke traces the lineage of this branch of the Lee family tree back to John Lee, Esquire of the Abbey, Knaresborough, Deputy Lieutenant, son of Thomas of the Lees of Grove Hall, who was born in 1766. In 1794, he married Maria Mainwaring of Goltho Hall, county Lincoln, England, and had six children with her: John (1795), Charles Benjamin (assumed the surname of Mainwairing), Frederick (married Elizabeth Cole), George (married Mary Stark), Charlotte, and Emma Maria. Charles Benjamin Lee-Mainwaring was Esquire of The Abbey, Knaresborough, born in 1797, who in 1839, married the Honorable Mary Stuart Forbes, daughter of James Ochoncar, Lord Forbes, and had the following issue: Charles Walter (Captain Coldstream Guards) and Isabella Ann (married Major Heneral Milman, Commander of the Forces at Mautitius). The Lee Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Lee Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Sable, three crowns or. Crest: An arm in armour, holding a battle-axe, Motto: Sum spirio spero. They were seated at Old Palace, Richmond, Surrey.

Lee of Hartwell
Burke traces the Lee genealogy back to a family of great antiquity, an offshoot of the Lee, or Legh family of High Legh and Lyme, county Chester. It held the estates from around 1268 AD through uninterpretted succession. Very few families can show, for 500 years, such an unbroken possession of an estate, which has never been alienated otherwise than as it has passed in marriage by failure of male issue, wherefore it may be said to continue in the same family. Thomas Lee, Esquire of Hartwell, county Buckinghamshire, was the son of Thomas Lee, of Moreton and Hartwell, and Elizabeth Croke, and was made a Baronet in 1660. He married Anne, daughter and heir of Sir John Davis, and had a son and heir with her named Sir Thomas Lee, 2^nd Baronet, of Hartwell, a Member of Parliament, who married Alice, daughter of Thomas Hopkins of London. He had two issue with her: Thomas (his successor), Sir William (Lord Chief Justice of England and a Privy Coucillor who first married Anne Goodwin and had issue with her), John (Colonel in the Guards, married daughter of Sir Thomas Hardy and later Mary Browne of Arsley), Sir George (Privy Councillor of the Lords of the Admirality and Treasures to H.R.H the Princess Dowager of Wales, married Duthi Morice), and Sarah. He died and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Thomas Lee, Baronet, a Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire, who married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Thomas Sandys, and had three issue with her: William (his heir), Thomas, and Anne (married George Vernon, created Lord Vernon of Kinderston). He died in 1749 and was succeeded by his son, Sir William Lee Baronet. William was a gentlemen who devoted himself to the improvement of his seat at Hartwell, “displaying great taste in his manner of planting and laying out the grounds, and his additions to the mansion house, the east and south fronts of which he rebuilt”. In 1803, he married Lady Elizabeth Harcourt, daughter of Simon, Earl of harcourt, and had two sons with her, William (1764) and George (1767), who were both successive Baronets. He died in 1799 and was succeeded by his eldest son: William. This Sir William Lee was a Lieutenant Colonel of the 16^th Light Dragoons, with whom he served during campaigns in Germany. He also fought in the 25^th Light Dragoons, and died in that regiment in Madras in 1801. He was succeeded by his brother, Sir George Lee, Baronet, of Rector of Hartwell, and Vicar of Beachamtpon and was “distinguished by his benevolence to the poor, and having studied the science of medicine, was their gratuitous physician”. He died in 1827 and the baronetcy expired and his estates devolved to their later possessor, John Lee, Esquire, LL.D, who was the heir in blood. This John was the son of John Fiott and Harriett Lee. Dr. Lee was of Hartwell, Buckinghamshire and was Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant. He was born in 1783 and succeeded his uncle, William Lee Antonie, and assumed his surname, if lieu of his original surname, Fiott. He married Harriet Jenner, daughter of Sir Percyvall Hart Dyke, Baronet of Lullingston Castle and had the following issue with her: Edward (of Hartwell House and Totteridge Park), Lee Pereyvale, Louisa (married William R. Luard), Harriet Sarah), Philadelphia Bruce (married Liebert Edward Goodall), and Fanny Charlotte. Edward Dyke Lee was Esquire of Hartwell, county Buckinghamshire and of Totteridge Park, county Hertsfordshire, Justice of the Peace, and a Captain of the Royal Bucks Militia. He was born 1843 and succeeded the entailed estates of his paternal uncle, John Lee, Esq. LL.D., in 1866. The Lee coat of arms for this branch of the family tree is blazoned in the European art of heraldry as follows: Quarterly: 1^st and 4^th, Azure, wo bars or a bend chequy of the last, and gules; 2^nd and 3^rd, azure, on a chevron between three lozenges or, an anchor sable. Crests: 1^st, A bear passant sable muzzled, and chain reflexed over the back argent; 2^nd, A demi-horse rampant argent, charged on the shoulder with a fleur-de-lis for difference. The family motto was Verum atque deceus; and Malgre Pinjustice. They were seated at Hartwell House, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and Totteridge Park, Barnet, county Hertfordshire, England.

Lee of Holborough
William Lee was Esquire of Holborough Court, Kent, England and was Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and a Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1852 to 1857 and again in 1859 to 1870. He was born in August of 1801 and, in 1820, married Christiana, daughter of Samuel Reynolds of Theydon Hall, Essex, and had two daughters with her: Anne (married Captain W. Henry Roberts in 1845) and Sarah (married Alfred Smith of Rochester in 1853). He was a merchant in the city of London, England, and was the son of Henry and Susannah Lee of Camps Hill, Lewisham, Kent. They Lee Coat of Arms (sometimes mistakenly called the Lee Family Crest) has the following heraldic blazon: Azure, two bars erminois. Crest: A bear statnant proper muzzled gules collared and chained argent. Motto: Verum argue decens. This branch of the Lee family tree was seated at Holborough Court near Rochester.

Leigh of West Hall, High Leigh
Egerton Leigh, Esquire of The West Hall, High Leigh, and Jodrell Hall, county Chester was born in 1843 and was Justice of the Peace and Captain of the 1^st Royal Dragoons. In 1874, he married Lady Elizabeth Mary Gore White, daughter of the Earl of Bantry, and had two issue with her: Edward Egerton (1876) and Margaret Elizabeth Egerton. This ancient family sprung from an even more ancient family named the Lymmes, which could have been a branch of the Barons of Halton.  Agnes de Legh, heiress of the West Hall, High Leigh, married Richard de Lymme during the reign of King Henry III of England (1216-172 AD). They had a son named Thomas de Legh, named from the place of his residence. From him descend the eminent family of Leigh of West Hall and High Leigh. Toward the end of the 1600s AD, the male representative was the Reverend Peter Leigh, Vicat of Great Budworth, Rector of Lymme and Whitchurch in county Salop, England, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Egerton of Tatton, and had numerous issue with her. The Leigh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Leigh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Or, a lion rampant gules. Crest: A cubit arm vested paly of five pieces or and sable cuffed argent hand proper grasping the upper and lower fragments of a broken tilting spear, the point upwards. Motto: Force even vertu. They were seated at West Hall, High Leigh, near Knutsford; Jodrell Hall, Holmes Chapel, Chester.

Leigh of Brownsover Hall
Edward Allesley Ward-Boughton-Leigh was Esquire of Brownsover Hall, county Warwick and Guilsborough Hall, county Hampton, was a Justice of the Peace, High Sheriff, and Deputy Lieutenant born in 1822. In 1867, he married Ellen, daughter of Honorable Charles L. Butler, and had the following issue with her: Henry Allesley, Ellen Theodosia, Maude Mary, Ada Rose, Edith Violet, and Mabel Constance. The Leigh ancestry goes back to John War Broughton Leigh, born in 1790, the son of William Zouch Lucas-Ward of Guilsborough Park, and further back, to Leigh of West Hall. The Leigh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Leigh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Quarterly, Leigh, Boughton, and Ward. Crests: Leigh, Boughton, and Ward. They were seated at Brownsover Hall, near Rugby; Guilsborough Hall, Northampton.

Leigh of Luton Hoo
John Gerard Leigh, Esq. of Luton Hoo Park, county Bedford, was a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff of Hertsfordshire, England was born in 1821 and was Lord of the Manors of Hyde, Leegrave, and other places. In 1872, he married Eleanor Lucy, daughter of Thomas Hawkes. The Leigh genealogy traces back to John Leigh, Esquire of Sandhills, and Upton, Lancaster, and Grand Hall, who married Elizabeth Ward and had a son with her named John Shaw Leigh, Esquire of Luton Hoo Park, born in 1791. No coat of arms of blazon is listed for this family.

Leigh of Woodchester Park
The ancestors of this branch of the Leigh family tree were seated at Lymm for several generations and is likely they descended from Leigh of West Hall. William Leigh, Esq. of Liverpool and of Roby Hall, county Lancaster, was the son of William Leigh and Katerhine, who was born in 1765. Several generations late came William Leigh, Esq. of Woodchester Park, county Gloucester, was a Justice of the Peace who was born in 1829. In 1859, he married Mary Victoria, daughter of Thomas Jarrett of Madras, and had six issue with her: Francis William, Henry Vincent, Arthur Hubert, Bertrand Charles, Mary Blanche, and Beatrice Cecilia. The Leigh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Leigh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Gules, a cross engrailed argent in the first quarter a lion rampant or, and in the second a lozenge of the second. Crest: A lozenge gules charged with a unicorn’s head couped argent and crined or.

Leigh of Hindley Hall
Roger Leigh, Esq. of Hindley Hall, county Lancaster, and Barham Court, Kent, was Lord of the Manor of Preston, as well as Justice of the Peace for Kent and Lancashire, born in 1840. In 1861, he married Elizabeth Jane, eldest daughter of Thomas Eden Blackerell, and had four daughters with her: Margaret Caroline, Amabel Frances Louisa, Mary Etheldreda, Emma Lindsay. The Leigh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Leigh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Gules, a cross engrailed argent between four lozenges ermine, for distinction a canton or. Crest: A demi-lion gules holding beween the paws a lozenge argent charged with a rose gules, and charged on the shoulder for distinction with a cross pate or. They were seated at Hindley Hall, Wigan and Barham Court, Maidstone.

Leigh of Belmont
This branch of the family claims descent from the ancient Leighs of High Leigh. One of the earliest notables was Joseph Leigh, Esquire of Belmont, who was born in October 1768, who, in 1794, married Margaret Sherlock, and had issue with her: James Heath of Belmont and Grappenhall Lodge and John (Rector of Eggington). The Leigh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Leigh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Gules, a cross engrailed argent; in the 1^st quarter a lion rampant or; and in the 2^nd a lozenge of the second. Crest: A lozenge gules charged with a unicorn’s head couped argent crined or.

Leigh of Rosegarland
Francis Augustine Leigh, Esquire of Rosegarland, county Wexford, was born in 1822 and was Justice of the Peace, High Sheriff, and Lieutenant of the 10^th Hussars. He married Augustine, daughter of Mons. Charles Perrier of Metz, Lorraine, France, and had five children with her: Francis Robert (Lieutenant in the Wexford Militia), Edward, Rose Jane, Frances, and Jane. The lineage traces back to Francis MacLeaoighsigh, MacLysagh, MacLye, and Lye petitioned for a lease of the dissolved Monastery, town, and lands of the Holy Cross of Kelleigh, in King’s County, in 1551, and obtained a lease the next year, and later received a grand of English liberty, enabling him to hold the lands. He married a daughter of John O’Caroll and had issue with her: John (his successor), Arthur, Francis, and Henry. The Leigh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Leigh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Argent, two bars azure, a bend compony counter-compony gules and or. Crest: A dexter hand lying fessways couped at the wrist holding a sword erect impaling three gory heads all proper. Motto: En Dios se vince and Conlan-a-gu.

Legh of Norbury Booths Nall
Agnes de Legh, daughter of Richard de Leigh (the great-grandson of Hamon, Lord of the Mediety of High Legh) married Richard de Lymme, and with him had a son named Thomas who assumed the surname Legh. This Thomas in turn had a son, also named Thomas, who was the ancestor of the Leighs of West Hall. She later married William de Hawardyn, and had a son with her named Ralph de Hawardyn, and had the other half of the mediety of High Legh, and sold it to Sir Richard Massey in 1206 AD. Lastly, he married Agnes, daughter of Sir William Venables, and with her had a son named John Legh who purchased Knutsford Booth prior to the 28^th year of the reign of King Edward I. Many generations later came John Pennington Legh, Esq. of Norbury Booths Hall, county Chester, England, who was born in 1827 and was a Justice of the Peace. He married Emily Jane, daughter of Reverend Robert Grant, Vicar of Bradford, and had issue with her: John Robert Pennington and Ruth Isabel. The Legh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Legh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Azure, two bars or, over all a bend gules. Crest—An arm embowed couped at the shoulder vested gules, hand proper, holding a sword erect also proper a snake twisting round the same argent.

Legh of Adlington
The genealogy of this branch of the Legh family tree traces back to Robert de Legh, 2^nd son of John Legh of Booths, with his wife Ellen, daughter and heir of Thomas de Corona of Adlington, who married Matila, daughter and heir of Adam de Norley, and had a son with her, also named Robert Legh. This Robert of Adlington married Matilda, daughter and co-heir of Sir John de Arderne and had two sons with her: Sir Robert, his heir, and Sir Piers, the later being the progenitor of the Leghs of Lyme. Moving many generations forward, was arrive at Charles Richard Legh, Esquire of Adlington Hall, county Chester, who was born in 1821 and was Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenany. In 1846, he married Mary Jane Annabella, 2^nd daughter of Reverend Henry Wright of Mottram Hall, and had three children with herL Charles Henry Americus, Florence Hester Lavinia, and Edith Madel. The Legh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Legh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Azure, two bars argent debruised by a bend componee and gules for difference. Crest—A unicorn’s head couped arg armed and maned or, on the neck a cross-patonce gules.

Legh of High Legh
This genealogy of this branch of the family does back to Thomas de Lega, of East Hall, in the parish of Rostherene, county Chester, who was the son of Hugh de Lega, and grandson of Oswald de Lega de Easthall. He had a son named Thomas, who son Adam, Legh, had a son named Hugh. Many generations down the line was Henry Martin Cornwall, Esquire of High Legh, born in 1839, who was High Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and a Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. The Legh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Legh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Argent, a lion rampant gules, langued azure, quartering Cornwall, Mortimer, Lentall, Grey, and Bassett. Crests: 1^st: Legh, A demi-lion rampant gules langued azure, collared proper, 2^nd: Cornish chough sable beaked and membered gules. Supporters: Two lions rampant gules bezantee and ducally crowned or. Motto: La vie durante.

Legh of Lyme
Willam John Legh, was Esquire of Lyme Park, county Chester, and Haydock Lodge, Golborne Park, county Lancaster, Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace, as well as Lieutenant Colonel of the Lancashire Hussars and a Member of Parliament who was born in 1828. In 1856, he married Emily Jane, daughter of Reverend Charles and Lady Jane Wodehouse, and had four issue with her: Thomas, Gilbert, Duleibella Jane, and Mabel Maud. The genealogy of lineage traces back to Thomas Legh, Esq. of Lyme Park who married Ellen, daughter of William Turner, in 1829. The Legh Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Legh Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Arms—Gules, a cross engrailed argent, in the chief point on an inescutcheon sable semee of estoiles an arm in armour embowed of the second, the hand proper holding a pendant silver, the whole within a bordure wavy or. Crest—Issuant out of a ducal coronet or, a ram’s head arg. armed gold, in the mouth a laurel slip vert, over all a pallet wavy azure. They were seated at Lyme Park, Stockport, county Chester and Golborne Park, Warrington, county Lancaster.

Early American and New World Settlers
Christopher Lee, a servant, age 30, came to Virginia aboard the Southampton in 1623.
John Lee, age 17, came to Virginia aboard the Bonaventure in January 1634.
Thomas Lee, age 20, came to the Barbados aboard the Hopewell in February 1634.
Henry Lee, age 30, came to St. Christopher’s aboard the Paul in April 1635.
George Lee, age 16, came to the Barbados aboard the Faulcon in April 1635.
Richard Lee, age 22, came to the Barbados aboard the Alexander in May 1635.
Robert Lee, age 33, came to Barbados aboard the Alexander in May 1635.
Richard Lee, age 18, came to St. Christopher’s aboard the Mathew of London in May 1635.
Daniell Lee, age 25, came to St. Christopher’s aboard the Mathew of London in May 1635.
William Lee, age 18, came to Bermuda aboard the Truelove of London in June 1635.
John Lee, age 16, came to Virginia aboard the Transport of London in July 1635.
William Lee, age 26, came to Virginia aboard the Assurance in July 1635.
Anthony Lee, age 21, came to Virginia aboard the Assurance in July 1635.
Henry Lee, age 18, came to Virginia aboard the Assurance in July 1635.
Marie Lee, age 22, came to Virginia aboard the Assurance in July 1635.
George Lee, age 16, came to Virginia aboard the Primrose in July 1635.
John Lee, age 25, came to Virginia aboard the Primrose in July 1635.
Walter Lee, age 21, came to St. Christopher’s aboard the John of London in October 1635.
Joseph Lee, age 30, came to the New World in December 1635, as did James Lee, age 28.
Henry Lee came to Virginia in the Unity in April 1679.
Henry Lee came to Virginia in the Martin in April 1679.
Richard Lee came to Virginia in the Rebecca in 1679.
Henry Lee came to Virginia in the Happy in April 1679.
William Leigh, son of Charles and Marta Leigh, was buried in August 1678 in the parish of St. Michael’s, Barbados. Their daughter Sarah was baptized in March of the same year.
Sarah Leigh owned 172 acres of land and 52 slaves in Christ Church, Barbados around the year 1680.

The book Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers, mentions numerous bearers of this last name, ten of which are discussed below:
1) Abraham Lee, Dover, 1680, a man of some skill in natural science, married Esther in 1686, daughter of Major Richard Waldron
2) Henry Lee, Manchester, 1650, brother of Thomas of Ipswich, and moved to Boston in 1656
3) John Lee, Ipswich 1640, had, it is said, come about 1635, from London, had John, born about 1639, and Joseph, 1643; died 1671. His name may have been Leigh originally.
4) John Lee, Saco, 1645, member of the grand jury that year, died or moved in 1647
5) Robert Lee, Plymouth, 1636, likely from London, married a woman named Mary and had children named Ann and Mary
6) John Lee of Farmington, 1653, married Mary, daughter of Stephen Hart, and had children with her named John (1659), Mary (1664), Stephen (1667), Thomas (1671), David (1674), and Tabitha (1677).
7) Samuel Lee, of Boston, may have been a transient, sometimes of Virginia, married Elizabeth Rowland in 1655
8) Samuel Lee of Boston, was born in London in 1623, attended Magdalen College
9) Thomas Lee of Ipswich, 1648, the brother of Henry and John, died 1662 at age 82
10) Thomas Lee, came in 1641 with his mother and two sisters, Phebe and Jane, the father, whose name was Thomas, having died on smallpox on the journey. He married Sarah Kirkland and had issue with her named John, Thomas, and Sarah. His second wife was Mary, likely the daughter of Balthazar de Wold, and had issue with her as well: Mary, Phebe, Elizabeth, Mary, Stephen, Hannah, and others.

Early settlers in colonial America bearing this surname  in the eighteenth include Pricilla Lee (Virginia 1700), Humphrey Lee (Virginia 1700), Elizabeth Lee (Virginia 1705), Bryan Lee (Virginia 1711), and Philip Lee (Virginia 1712). In Canada, two of the earliest settlers with this name were Benjamin and Edward Lee who arrived in Halifax Nova Scotia around 1750. In Australia, two of the earliest bearers were Benjamin and John Lee, both convicts from England who came in 1823 aboard the Albion, settling in Tasmania (then called Van Diemen’s Land). In New Zealand, two of the earliest beaters were Walter Lee, who arrived in the city of Auckland, and Michael Lee, a 20 year old sawyer by occupation, who came to Wellington (aboard the Cuba), both in 1640.

Early Americans Bearing the Lee Family Crest
Charles Bolton’s American Armory (1927) contains six entries for this surname:
1) Arg a fess sa bet 3 crescents sa. Crest: from a ducal cor an eagle holding a bird’s leg erased. Motto: Fide et constantia. Bookplate Thos. J. Lee, 1836.
2) Az on a fess double cotised [or] 3 leopards’ faces [gu]. Crest: a lion passant. Bookplate Edward Lee.
3) Gu 3 antique crowns in pale or. Crest: a pascal lamb carrying the crusaders’ flag of England. Bookplate Roger Lee
4) Quart 1: Arg a fess bet 3 crescents sa; 2: Arg a fess bet 3 leopards’ heads sa; 3: Arg on a fess azure bet 3 unicorns’ heads erased sa 3 tulips arg (?) 4: Arg a lion ramp azure within a bordure azure charged with 5 fleurs-de- lis 2 in chief and 3 in base. Crest: out of a ducal cor an eagle on a tower holding a twig in its claws. Motto: Fide et constantia. Bookplate William Lee, M. D.
5) [Gu] a fess chequy [or] and az bet 8 billets arg 4 in chief and 4 in base. Crest: a squirrel sejant [ppr] holding in his forepaws a [hazel?] branch [vert] fructed [or]. Engr. on a chalice from Hancock Lee, son of Richard Lee, 1711. Wycomico Church, Northumberland Co., Va. Old Sil. Am. Ch., p. 507. Bookplate Lancelot Charles Lee has 10 billets, 4, 3, 2, 1 and a crescent for diff. The cup given to Queen’s College, Oxford, 1658, by Col. Richard Lee’s son John has the above shield, but no crest. The arms in wood from Cobbs Hall have a crescent in chief added ( Lee of Va., p. 50).
6) Quart 1 and 4: [Or?] a less chequy [az?] bet 10 billets; 2 and 3: Arg within a tressure bet 9 crosses crosslet a mullet. Seal Richard Henry Lee. Chamberlain MSS. N. E. Reg., Apr. 1880, p. 184.

Crozier’s General Armory (1904) contains five entries for this name:
1) Thomas Lee of Charleston, South Carolina, 1769, came from Barbados. Argent a fesse, in chief three pellets in base a martlet. Crest: A talbot’s head erased proper.
2) Colonel Richard Lee, York County, Virginia, 1641, came from Shropshire. Gules, a fesse chequy azure and or between ten billets argent, four in chief, three, two, and one in base. Crest: On a staff raguly, lying fesseways, a squirrel sejant proper cracking a nut; from the dexter end of the staff a hazel branch vert fructed or. Motto: Ne incautus future.
3) Lucy C. Lee of Maysville, Kentucky bore the same arms as Colonel Lee as described above.
4) Edward F. Lee, Helen, Shelby County, Alabama bore the same arms as Colonel Lee as described above.
5) Needham Lee Esq., Shelby County, Alabama bore the same arms as Colonel Lee as described above.

Matthew’s American Armoury (1907) and Bluebook contains one entry for this name, that of Colonel Lee, discussed above.

Mottoes
I have identified eleven Lee family mottos:
1) Fortiter sed suaviter (Gently but strongly)
2) Fide et constantia (Faith and courage)
3) Verum atque decens (The truth and rectitude)
4) Dum spiro spero (While I have breath I hope)
5) Aut nunc aut nunquam (Now or never)
6) Courageux (Courageous)
7) Fide et constantia (Faith and determination)
8) Fides non timet (Faith fears not)
9) Vince malum patientia (Overcome evil with patience)
10) Vincendo victus (Conquered in conquering)
11) Ne incautus future (Not unmindful of the future)

I have identified the following Legh family mottos:
1) La vie durante (The lasting life)
2) Prudens, fidelis et audax (Prudent, faithful, and bold)
3) En Dieu est ma foy (In God is my faith) (Legh of Keck)

I have identified the following Leigh family mottos:
1) Tout vient de Dieu (All comes from God)
2) Ut tibi sic alteri (It may be another (?) )
3) Haec manus inimica tyrannis (This hand is an enemy of tyrants)
4) Leges juraque servo (I observe the laws and ordinances)
5) Legibus antiquis (By the ancient laws)
6) Force avec vertu (Strength with virtue (Leigh of West Hall)
7) La vie durante (During life)
8) Pour Dieu, pour terre (For God, for earth)
9) Prodesse quam conspici (To do good rather than be conspicuous)
10) Prudens, fidelis, et audax (Prudent, faithful, and bold)

I have identified the following Lea family mottos:
1) Contentus paucis (Content with few (?) )
2) In seipso totus teres (In himself entirely smooth and round)
3) Spe vitae meliorism (In the hope of a better life)
4) Cave Leam (Beware of the lioness, or Lea)

Grantees
We have 144 coats of arms for the Lee/Leigh/Legh/Lea surname depicted here. These 144 blazons are from Bernard Burke’s book The General Armory of England, Ireland, and Scotland, which was published in 1848. The bottom of this page contains the blazons, and in many instances contains some historical, geographical, and genealogical about where coat of arms was found and who bore it. People with this last name that bore an Lee Coat of Arms (or mistakenly called the Family Crest)
1) John Lee of Lyon’s Inn, London, son of John, of Ottery St. Mary, county Devon, to descendants of his father, 10 April 1729
2) Lee, late Fiott, John, LL.D., of Doctor’s Commons; Colworth House, county Bedfordshire; and Totteridge, county Hertfordshire (1817)
3) Matthew Lee of Elford of Devon, 1759
4) late Philipps, William, of St. Mary Bootham, county York, and Binfield, Berks (1761)
5) late Aytoin, Richard, of Lombar Street, London, R.C. Lee-Bevan? 1773
6) Lee-Warner, late Woodward, Daniel Henry, of co. Norfolk, 1806
7) Lee-Warner, late Bagge, 1. William. 2. Edward. of Quebec House: 3. Arthur. 4. Thomas, sons of Charles Elsden Bagge, M.D., 1814
8) Lee, of Ilfracombe, county Devon, 1818
9) Lee to Harvey, Major in the Army, of Scotland, the reputed daughter of Rai. Harvey, his wife (1820)
10) Lee, late Hanning, of Orleigh Court, county Devon, and Dillington House, co. Somerset, 1820
11) Lee, Wright, of Flixton House, Flixton, co. Lanc., 1833
12) Lee after ? Thornton, Richard Napoleon, of the Middle Temple, London, 1865
13) Lee, G.A., De-Lisle, Bluemantle Pursuivant, College of Arms, London, 1893
14) Lennox Bertram, son of Sir Joseph Cockney Lee, of Rossendale, co. Lanc., 1897

Notables
There are hundreds of notable people with the Lee surname. This page will mention a handful. Famous people with this last name include: 1) Brenda Lee (1944) whose birth name was Brenda Mae Tarpey was an American music artist born in Atlanta Geogia who can rockabilly and country, best known for her 1960 hit, I’m Sorry, 2) Jason Lee (1803-1845) who was an Canadian Methodist Episcopalian missionary and pioneer in the Pacific West, born in Quebec, 3) Nelle Harper Lee (1926-2016) who was an American novelist born in Monroeville, Alabama who was best known for her 1960 book To Kill A Mocking Bird, 4) George Augustus Lee (1761-1836) who was a British industrialist who operated a cotton mill in Salford who pioneered the use of gas lighting and steam power in industry, 5) Jennifer Anne “Jenna” Lee (1980) who is an American journalist and TV anchor for New News and Fox Business who was born in San Francisco and attended Columbia University and University of California, 6) Sir Henry Lee (1533-1`611) who was the Queen’s Champion and Master of the Armouries during the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England, 7) James Prince Lee (1804-1869) who was an English clergyman and schoolmaster who became the first Bishop of Manchester, 8) Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee (1957) is an American film director and producer born in Atlanta Georgia best known for his movies Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, 9) Stan Lee (1922), whose birth name is Stanley Martin Lieber is an American comic book writer and publisher who  was one of the key people in the creation of the Marvel Comic brand, 10) Sir Walter Henry Lee (1874-1963) who was a member of the Tasmanian House Assembly and the Premier of Tasmania (in Australia) thee different times in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s, and 11) Richard Henry Lee *1732-1794) who was an American statesmen from Virginia who was part of the Second Continental Congress, President of Congress of the Confederation, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a Senator for Virginia,  the son of Colonel Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell, and grandson of Colonel Richard Lee II (1647-1715).

Blazons & Genealogy Notes