Walter Lee

Walter Lee was born about 1630 in England. He became a Freeman in 1654 in CT. He moved in 1658 to Northampton, Hampshire, MA. He moved in 1665 to Westfield, Hampden, MA. He died on 9 Jan 1717/18 in Westfield, Hampden, MA.

He was married to Mary. In 1664 Walter had a grant of four acres for a house lot and thirty-three acres of meadow at Westfield. Children were: John Lee, Timothy Lee, Stephen Lee, Nathaniel Lee, Mary Lee, Elizabeth Lee, Hannah Lee.

He was married to Hepsibah in 1670 in Westfield or Springfield, Hampden, MA. Children were: Abigail Lee.

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Children

1. John Lee, b. 02 Jan 1657, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts d. 13 Nov 1711, Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

2. Timothy Lee, b. 08 Aug 1659, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts d. 1659, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts

3. Stephen Lee, b. 05 Mar 1662, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts

4. Nathaniel Lee, b. 25 Dec 1663, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts d. 26 Apr 1745, Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

5. Mary Lee, b. 16 Jan 1665, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

6. Elizabeth Lee, b. 28 Feb 1667, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts d. 13 Apr 1682, Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

7. Hannah Lee, b. 09 Jan 1668, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts

8. Abigail Lee, b. 11 Dec 1670, Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

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Walter Lee was among those who between 1653 and 1658 had grants of land in Northampton. In 1666 he was summoned before the County Court there for neglecting public worship and for profaning the Lord's Day by threshing corn "and for calling Isaac Sheldon a member of Old Nick and a member of Divell." Isaac Sheldon was a prominent citizen, a member of the church the year of its organization, a Selectman the year after the town was organized and later, he was subsequently a Tithing Man and overseer of the poor. His may have been that type of goodness which has a peculiarly exasperating effect upon certain impulsive natures and thus provoked that desperate crime for which Lee was arraigned. It is a relief to find that the next record relating to Walter Lee that we have concerns his work done upon the Westfield parsonage, the town having, in 1678, voted him 15 shillings on account of loss of time about Mr. Taylor's chimneys. The following year he was chosen Surveyor for the Country roads. But a most impressive evidence of his amendment from his early neglect of public worship and his sneers at the pious citizen who became one of the first Tithing men of the Colony, is found in the following vote recorded in 1689: "Walter Lee, Samuel Fowler and the Serjeant of the guard are appointed to take care of children on the Sabbath to see that they atend and keep their places both before and during the time of exercises." Thus he himself, in the course of years, was transformed from a Sabbath breaker into a Tithing Man. He died February 9, 1717, aged at least 84 years. His son John was in the "Falls Fight" 1676.

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Walter Lee. immigrant ancestor, was LEE born in England, about 1630. He died at Westfield, Massachusetts, February 9. 1718 "at a great age." He settled first in Connecticut, and was admitted a freeman there in 1654. He removed to Northampton in 1656, and to Westfield in 1665. In 1664 he had a grant of four acres for a house lot and thirty-three acres of meadow at Westfield. He married (first) a wife who died at West- field, February 29, 1696, and (second) 1705, Hepzibali, widow of Caleb Pomeroy.

Children of first wife, born at Northampton:

I. John, January 2, 1657; mentioned below.

2. Timothy, August 8, 1659, died young.

3. Stephen, March 5, 1662.

4. Nathaniel. December 25, 1663, at Westfield.

5. Mary, January 15. 10*65, at Springfield.

6. Elizabeth, at West- field, February 28, 1667. died young.

7. Hannah, January 9, 1668. 8. Abigail, December ii, 1670.

Walter Lee became a freeman at Windsor, Connecticut on May 18 1654. He moved to Northampton, Massachusetts in 1656. He bought land at Woronoco on November 20, 1663 and was residing there in the summer of 1664 when he killed a steer belonging to Mr. Cornish as per court records. He lived on what is now Union Street near Springdale and is one of the first three if not the very first permanent settler in town. His barn on the Northside was burned by Indians in the fall of 1675 and he moved to the Fortside in 1681. In 1696 he deeded one-half of his "cattle and tenements" to his son (in-law) Samuel Bush as satisfaction for caring for his daughter Mary during her natural life. Walter Lee joined the church on February 7, 1697 and lived with his son John Lee after the death of his first wife and deeded to him in 1699 his whole estate after his death. He was a mason and built the minister's chimneys. He died on February 9, 1717, aged at least 84 years.

References

1. Genealogical Notes as prepared and arranged by Louis Marinus Dewey
2. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ranaldthe...
3. Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Nov 30 2021, 1:53:42 UTC
4. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lee-6366 cites
   1. The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, V.1-8 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013), (Orig. Pub. by Frank J. Doherty, Pleasant Valley, NY. Frank J. Doherty, The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, New York: An Historical and Genealogical Study of All the 18th Century Settlers in the Patent, ten volumes. 1990–2003). (Vol 8 p 1-3) More pages and information on the children in this article.
   2. A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692 Volume #3 Lear - Leister By James Savage http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/bk3/lear-leiste...
   3. Whelan, Mrs. Hoyt E.. Lee Records and Problems, The American Genealogist (1949) Vol. 25, Page 252
   4. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
   5. Whelan, Mrs. Hoyt E.. Lee Records and Problems, The American Genealogist (1949) Vol. 25, Page 252-3
   6. Genealogical and Biographical Record of New London County, Connecticut: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Early Settled Families. 1905. Page 384 [1]